NFT: Mets Minors 5/4/2016- Big Day for the big names

But I could still see Nimmo breaking out in Vegas a bit this summer. There is always some adjustment period (well usually) Vegas or not. He's going up against guys like Gilmartin and Goeddel who were in the majors last year. He's also battled some injuries over his first 50 games or so. I do see him hitting some more doubles eventually (or hopefully). Lets just sit back and watch. We aren't counting on him for anything and expectations are nil. Its all good.

In comment 12944485 DanMetroMan said:

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the article I linked from before the season from AA/Greg Karam makes many of the same points I have. I don't think mentioning his lack of power is harping on some really unfair issue. He's a marginal defensive player without much speed and his approach/walks come from a passive approach. If he doesn't hit for more power he almost certainly won't be a regular. I'm far from the only one saying this. This is what "everyone" seems to believe.

Ok, I'm cool, you don't understand my point, but it's all good I don't care enough to continue to try and make it.

In comment 12944488 Ron Johnson said:

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In comment 12944350 Optimus-NY said: Quote: In comment 12944275 ZGiants98 said: Quote: to fit to be honest. With Rosario exploding and seemingly the best prospect in our system what becomes of Cheech? Maybe 3B? Backup utility guy? Nimmo 4th OF? Smith needs to hit a TON more HR for me before I want him ever replacing Duda. What happens to Smith if we extend Duda? They're gonna let Duda walk, as they should since Smith is gonna be ready for the bigs in 2018. It's lined up perfectly: Duda is a FA after the 2017 season, when Smith will have completed his year at AAA. Smith is the best prospect in the organization. He's not staying down until 2018. Something is going to have to happen before then.

That is not accurate at all. Rosario has surpassed him. He's in the mix with guys like Cheech and others. If Herrera qualified Id have him over him as well. Dan will tell you too, he has to hit for a LOT more power if he's ever going to stick at 1B and replace Duda. In fact, Id say the onus is on him more than Nimmo or others.

“He’s on base, I feel like, every time I come up to bat,” Thompson said. “He’s just so consistent. He’s got a great approach up there -- sees pitches well and swings at his pitch. Every time he’s up to bat, you feel like he’s going to get on base or hit the ball hard somewhere.”

Thompson hit a modest .218/.268/.320 in 228 plate appearances with Brooklyn after last year’s draft. Team officials believe he was out of gas, having reported shortly after playing through the College World Series with the Hurricanes.

This season, he is hitting .278/.346/.467 in 104 plate appearances with Columbia in the South Atlantic League.

“I was tired, but I just had a bad year swinging at some bad pitches,” Thompson said about his inaugural professional season. “I didn’t play too well. I’m trying to put that in the past and move on and not think about that too much.”

Thompson acknowledged that he is still trying to improve his selectivity at the plate after being more of a free swinger in college.

“Just trying to buy into the Mets’ approach, which I’ve still got a lot to work on,” Thompson said. “I’m still getting myself out too much by swinging at bad pitches. But I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at swinging at my pitch instead of a pitcher’s pitch. I’m still working on that. I’m still chasing too many balls. But that’s where I’m working the most.”

The Mets have been complimentary of Thompson’s fielding at third base, although Thompson concedes he does not have a rifle arm. He twice had labrum surgeries and also had a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome, which involved removing a rib and troublesome vein.

DID try to extend Duda last year. It was a laughable offer, but "Smith" wasn't preventing their thought process at all.

Jeff McNeil, who finished second in the Florida State League in batting average in 2015, was expected to undergo sports hernia surgery. McNeil played three games with Binghamton before landing on the disabled list. McNeil had bulked up during the offseason, gaining 35 pounds.

Kevin McGowan has a 1.23 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 14â…” innings with St. Lucie as he has transitioned from the rotation to a relief role this season. He has experienced increased velocity out of the bullpen.

Recently christened Spirit Communications Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies, marks quite a change from the spacious stadium the Mets’ South Atlantic League affiliate played in last season in Savannah, Georgia. Twenty-five homers have been hit in 14 games in Columbia. That long-ball total ranks eighth among minor league ballparks.

Mets officials are pleased by right-hander Gabriel Ynoa’s command with Las Vegas. Ynoa is 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA in five starts. Opponents are hitting only .204 and have not homered against him in 30â…” innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

The Mets are not ready to move 20-year-old shortstop phenom Amed Rosario to Binghamton just yet, but the internal discussions have begun. Rosario leads the Florida State League in total bases (54) and triples (five). He is hitting .308 with three homers and 17 RBIs in 104 at-bats with St. Lucie.



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TRIPLE-A
The “Prospects” aren’t hitting much.

In 19 games in April, Brandon Nimmo hit .260/.333/.315 with seven walks and 18 strikeouts. One pretty good sign that the season is still young: Nimmo raised his batting average 64 points in the final final five games of the month by going 8-for-17 with two doubles. Again, Nimmo is developing a platoon split, hitting nearly .300 with a .375 on-base percentage against righties while going 3-for-20 (.150) with one walk and 10 strikeouts against southpaws. If you were the kind of person who wondered whether Nimmo would have the offensive chops (both hit tool and power), to play everyday in the big leagues, April will not be terribly encouraging.

The Mets decided last winter that Neil Walker made more sense at second base than handing the job to Dilson Herrera. After Walker bopped nine homers in the big leagues in April, and Herrera hit .258/.279/.364 with seven doubles and no homers in the Pacific Coast League, that looks like a wise call in hindsight. Herrera has been earning less than a walk a week (two in 17 games). That’s not a great sign given that MLB pitchers exploited his aggressiveness in 2015.

Meanwhile, Herrera’s double-play partner–Gavin Cecchini–had a similar batting average, but arrived at the outcome in dissimilar fashion. He showed outstanding strike zone control (11 walks/11 strikeouts) in 20 games on his way to hitting .258/.364/.333 with two doubles and one home run. Yeah, sure, shortstops don’t have to hit 20 homers a year, but at what point does below-average power become a major liability?

The MLB depth guys are looking more, well, depth-y

Matt Reynolds, who’s now 25, hit .299/.379/.468 in 20 games mostly at third base with a few games at short and second. This doesn’t change any of my thinking about Reynolds, who I think would be a fine backup infielder. Should the Mets tire of Eric Campbell (1-for-10 in April), they could turn to Reynolds anytime.

Travis Taijeron, in his age-27 season, hit .299/.415/.522 with 10 extra-base hits and 20 strikeouts in 20 games. Mets fans whose memories go all the way back to Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Matt den Dekker, know what this looks like in the big leagues when a pretty good athlete in the OF strikes out this much in Triple-A. (Editor’s Note: Who else can’t believe those two have regular big-league jobs today?)

Speaking of strikeouts on the mound, Gabriel Ynoa isn’t getting enough of them. His 1.48 ERA looks sparkly, but his 12/9 K/BB ratio is a duller shade. It’s just tough, if not impossible to pitch in the big leagues with a 12.3 percent strikeout rate.

You’re going to see versions of this chart again, friend. In his first month in Double-A, Smith is hitting for a smidge more power than he did in 2015, but his strikeout rate has climbed nine percentage points, an increase of 60 percent. That’s not good.

Go-Go Gsellman

We’re really interested in guys who are doing something differently in April than they were in the past, or than we had reason to suspect. While Smith’s strikeouts meet that criteria, so too do Robert Gsellman’s.

Rosy (Amed) Rosario

The 20-year-old shortstop finished April by hitting .305/.340/.537 with five triples (!) and three home runs. There’s little to critique in this line or his work at the plate. He’s also become an active presence on twitter, where he seems to enjoy engaging with fans.

At the risk of slicing the apple too thin, he didn’t draw a walk in his first 10 games, but admitted on Twitter later in the month that he was working on his plate discipline.

Becerra’s Singles

I was excited about Wuilmer Becerra because I saw a young guy with a big league frame, who was strong and fast and already had easy power. I wondered whether he’d hit for average. And in 2016, he’s hit for average but no power. Oh, well. Through May 2nd, on the heels of an eight-game hitting streak, the 21-year-old is raking at .394/.437/.470. He leads the FSL in batting average by 49 (!) points but did not homer in the month. He’s also striking out far less than he used to. Check out the three year trends since the Appalachian League in 2014.

XBH% SO% BB% HR% BABIP ISO
2014 APP 8.3 24.1 6.1 3.1 .372 .169
2015 SAL 8.0 19.7 6.8 1.8 .351 .134
2016 FSL 6.9 15.3 6.9 0.0 .473 .076
Becerra the singles hitter is a lot less interesting than the guy who looked like he could threatening to hit 25 homers in a season. Still the power’s in there. The question is whether he can add it back into his more contact-driven approach.
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89-91 touching 94 last start

of a platoon with Lagares.

If you discount the Nimmo draft position (and it is now long enough that you should) why would you play Nimmo in CF over Lagares?

Strong organizations do not view SS and CF as defensive "dump" positions, the equivalent of LF.

It is not even clear that Nimmo offers more offensively than Lagares even against RHP.

Nimmo is awful against lefties. Seems like a match made in heaven assuming Nimmo fulfills what we've been talking about and can handle CF adequately.

Still... that's a best case scenario imo. Likely scenario, he just replaces De Aza in a year or two.

Has he gotten enough abs not pinch hitting to make that assumption? Or is he just lost in the numbers with Cespedes and Conforto offering far superior offense, and Granderson offering a usually more than acceptable obp for a team that lacks this?

In comment 12944592 Bob in Newburgh said:

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Has he gotten enough abs not pinch hitting to make that assumption? Or is he just lost in the numbers with Cespedes and Conforto offering far superior offense, and Granderson offering a usually more than acceptable obp for a team that lacks this?

Yeah. He's really bad Bob.

wRC+ 113 VS lefties
wRC+ 76 VS righties