We were able to go through a rapid fire Q&A with Joe DeMayo, the Mets’ minor league guru, who you can follow @PSLToFlushing. We threw a few questions at him regarding Amed Rosario, Dom Smith and the other Mets’ minor leaguers.
See below for the exchange:
DS: When do you anticipate Amed Rosario’s arrival and what can we expect out of him? What’s his biggest strength and his biggest weakness?
JD: I would expect Rosario to come up some time shortly after the trade deadline. You should expect an energetic, strong defensive high contact player. His biggest strengths are his defense and ability to make consistent hard contact. His biggest weakness is discipline in taking walks. Don’t believe they will be a huge part of his game.
DS: Who’s the best Mets’ pitcher in the minors? Who should we be excited about?
JD: Pre-injury I would probably have told you Thomas Szapucki was the top arm in the system. Right now it probably is Chris Flexen who has dominated Double-A thus far. Mets spent three first round picks the last two years on pitchers (Justin Dunn+Anthony Kay in ’16 and David Peterson in ’17). Dunn has struggled his first pro season and Kay is coming back from Tommy John. They should all be interesting names to follow.
DS: This kills me to ask, but does Tim Tebow have any chance to crack the MLB roster, and do you think they could do it if the Mets are out of contention when the rosters expand in September?
JD: Tim Tebow will probably eventually play for the Mets if for no reason other than PR and ticket sales. I will say he has exceeded my expectations as a pro.
DS: Lastly, who’s the best Mets’ prospect nobody knows about yet? He might be years away, but who’s the diamond in the rough?
JD: I wouldn’t say nobody knows about him, but Merandy Gonzalez has been dominant this year with both Columbia and St Lucie (combined 1.66 ERA between the two levels) with a fastball up to 97 MPH and a good breaking ball. He is someone to follow.
