Las Vegas 51s (Triple-A)

BP Mets writer Tyler Oringer has been hammering the table for a Drew Smith call-up, so I figured who else better to bring in to write Smith’s Prospect Watch debut than him.

Pitcher: Drew Smith

Little has gone right for the 2018 New York Mets and before this somewhat historic offensive draught, the bullpen was what seemed like the main cause of concern for Sandy Alderson, Mickey Callaway and Co.

Still, the bullpen has wavered significantly. But luckily, help may be on the way soon in the form of the right-handed Drew Smith.

Smith, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Lucas Duda trade last year, has been straight-up dominant in Triple-A and has limited opponents to no earned runs, six hits and four walks in his last 14 innings, as well as fanning 14 batters.

After being drafted in the third round of 2015 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers, it was clear after his first two years in the minors that Smith projected to be at least a serviceable set-up man. Now, following a strong 2017 campaign where he finished with a combined 1.65 ERA in mostly High-A play, it is clear that he is an advanced caliber arm.

2018 has seen him jump from Double-A immediately to Triple-A after 4.1 innings of near-shutdown ball. Smith has excelled against PCL hitting and improved his already plus fastball and secondary slide-curve, which seems to garner more break with each year. He is explosive off of the mound and comes aggressively towards the plate with a violent over-the-top motion. Smith will lift his left knee above his belt buckle, allowing him to get nice extension for power pitches from his back leg. He has struggled with command this year, but has shown improvement recently and clearly has professional stuff.

Smith’s fastball sits around 95 miles per hour, but can get up to 98 on the somewhat rare occasion. Factored in with his ability to deceive batters with his motion, it is no surprise he has compiled an eye-popping career 1.95 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 171 minor league innings.

The prize of the Duda trade currently sits in Vegas, likely awaiting a call despite limited Triple-A action, but once the phone rings – Smith should be ready to perform.

Hitter: Jeff McNeil

The 26-year-old McNeil finally got healthy and tore through the Eastern League this season, hitting .327/.402/.626 with 14 home runs and a 23:22 strikeout to walk ratio. It’s easy to look at his age relative to the league (1.7 years older than the average player) and dismiss his performance, but McNeil hasn’t been this healthy in years. Injuries took a major toll on him the past two seasons, robbing him of valuable at-bats and developmental time, but he looks major league ready right now.

The Mets finally chose to promote McNeil, along with teammate Peter Alonso, to Triple-A Las Vegas Thursday, a move long overdue in this writer’s opinion. While it’s nice to see McNeil and Alonso rewarded for their stellar play, the promotion feels like too-little-too-late. There isn’t a single good argument to be made as to why both are toiling away in the minors while the major league club can’t score a run if Jacob deGrom’s life depended on it. At the least, McNeil’s an upgrade on Jose Reyes as a useful utility man with some pop from the left side.  The Mets are sorely lacking capable hitters and McNeil’s age and current talent level mean this move would make too much sense.

McNeil has worked incredibly hard to get to this point, a testament to his work ethic, and is more than deserving of an opportunity in the big leagues. When that opportunity will come, no one knows, but there’s no denying he’d be a welcome midseason addition to a Mets team in dire need of a spark.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A)

Hitter: Patrick Mazeika

Take one look at Mazeika’s triple-slash this season with Binghamton, .212/.311/.359, and you’d likely assume the 24-year-old catcher is struggling for the first time in his professional career. A career .305/.414/.402 hitter, Mazeika is running an incredibly low .206 BABIP this season, a number more than .100 points below his career BABIP. Add in the fact that he’s running a 20:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Mazeika’s 2018 looks a lot better than it does on the surface.

Mazeika’s already launched six home runs this season after hitting just seven with Port St. Lucie last year. Once his BABIP normalizes, likely around .280, Mazeika is going to be a guy we talk about as a potential 2019 contributor. If the BABIP stays in the low .200s for the remainder of the season, he’ll be one of my sleeper prospects this offseason.

While he’s going to turn 25 this October, Mazeika still looks like an offense-first backup at peak. I don’t think he’s quite a good enough defender behind the plate to be a regular there, but the bat should play well enough for him to stick as a backup, likely be as the strong side of a platoon. The only concern is the lack of pop, but if Mazeika, who’s run a career 144:130 strikeout-to-walk ratio, can keep his approach, he’s going to provide positive value.

Pitcher: Adonis Uceta

After a breakout 2017 (1.51 ERA across three levels), the 24-year-old Uceta was promoted to Binghamton. Uceta has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a change that flashed plus in the past, but his stuff has backed up a bit. He was sitting 92-95 for me with a change that didn’t flash better than average. One of the names to watch prior to the season in a loaded Binghamton bullpen, Uceta’s development has stalled a bit, and I have questions about whether he can be a major league reliever. While I do think his stuff is better than his current results (4.26 ERA), the lack of fastball command and the inconsistency on the changeup is concerning. Uceta has been comfortably passed on the totem pole by Eric Hanhold, Drew Smith and even Tim Peterson. I think he’s likely to repeat Double-A next season, and shouldn’t be counted on when Sandy Alderson and co. are constructing the 2019 roster.

Port St. Lucie (Advanced-A)

Pitcher: David Peterson

What exactly was a former Pac-12 lefty drafted in the first round in part due to his impressive track record against good competition doing in A-ball? I don’t know either. Peterson dominated in the Sally League, to the tune of a 1.82 ERA and 57 strikeouts against 11 walks in 59.1 innings.

It’s par for the course though, and Peterson received a long-awaited promotion to Port St. Lucie last week. I, for one, have a hard time understanding the fascination with a polished college starter if you don’t plan on moving him quickly. If the Mets were looking for an arm to develop for a couple of years, why not draft a prep pitcher instead of Peterson? Realistically, Peterson should be in Double-A by now. Instead, the Mets messed with his timeline by starting him in Columbia. Yet another puzzling decision for an organization oh so prone to them.

Columbia Fireflies (Low-A)

Hitter: Jeremy Vasquez

Vasquez has cooled off mightily after a hot April and that, my friends, is why we don’t jump to rash conclusions so quickly. There was talk that Vasquez was in the same tier as Alonso and Dominic Smith, but that line of thinking is honestly quite absurd. While the Mets do like Vasquez and believe in his ability to hit, he’s a soon to be 22-year-old with an OPS below .800 in A-ball.

While he’s still running a respectable strikeout-to-walk ratio (48 to 35), the complete lack of power (three home runs in 210 at-bats) is concerning for a first base prospect. In 447 career minor league at-bats, Vasquez has hit just 11 home runs. If the Mets truly want to learn what they have in last year’s 28th rounder, they should send him to Port St. Lucie after the All-Star break. Until we see him perform at the upper levels of the minors, I’ll remain skeptical that Vasquez is anything more than a role 3.

 Photo credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports

RHP Adonis Uceta

After he made 11 starts for the Kingsport Mets in 2016, the Mets promoted Uceta to Columbia to begin the 2017 season and moved him to the bullpen. While I never saw Uceta during his time as a starting pitcher, the early returns on his move to the bullpen are strong. The 23-year-old righty sat in the 93-96 mph range with his fastball, which he complemented with a changeup in the 81-84 range that has the potential to be an above average offering for him. The 6’1″ Uceta throws from a low three-quarters slot and does not have excessive amount of effort in his delivery. While it’s obviously hard to project out a single-A reliever, Uceta was the most impressive pitcher out of the bullpen for Columbia or Hagerstown during my four-day stay and I would feel comfortable projecting him to be a major league middle reliever.

RHP Matt Blackham

After missing a year and a half with a back injury, Matt Blackham has returned to the mound in 2017 and is doing so as a reliever, in the same role he pitched out of in college. The 2014 29th pick, now 24 years old, is an undersized righty who does not look any bigger than his listed height and weight: 5’11″ and 150 lbs. Despite his small stature, Blackham is able to sit in the 94-95 range with his sinker, which lives true to its name with significant sink. It’s a plus pitch for Blackham that can carry him all the way to the majors. He paired the pitch with a low 80s change that has the makings of becoming a solid average offering. He is clearly too good for this level and should be promoted to St. Lucie in short order.

RHP Gary Cornish

After hurling 25 dominant relief innings for the 2016 Brooklyn Cyclones in his draft year, Gary Cornish was suspended 50 games before the start of this season for performance-enhancing drugs. On the 51st game of the Columbia Fireflies’ season, Cornish reemerged with his first professional start. The 23-year-old Cornish has a strong pitcher’s frame and throws from a bit higher than a standard three-quarters arm slot. Pitching into the seventh inning, he displayed impressive command and feel for his four-seam fastball and curveball. The four-seamer, which sat in the 91-93 mph range, was frequently elevated and featured noticeable rise and life. His curve, which sat in the 79-81 mph range, has the makings of a solid average offering that can play up due to his ability and willingness to throw it in and out of the strike zone and in all counts. Given that he is exclusively a two-pitch pitcher, Cornish is likely destined for the bullpen. However, with his advanced command and feel for both of his pitches, he seems like the odds-on favorite to be the Binghamton…sigh…Rumble Ponies closer in 2019.

IF Michael Paez

Michael Paez, the Mets’ fourth round pick out of Coastal Carolina in 2016, had a rough start to his professional career with the Cyclones in his draft year, finishing the short season below the Mendoza line and with a .223 TAv. 2017 has been a different story for the former Chanticleer, who is presently sporting a .306/.400/.533 line for the Fireflies. He’s clearly too advanced for this level as an early round college pick and should be promoted to St. Lucie soon. Despite only being listed at 5’8,” Paez is able to make the most of his fringe-average raw power in games. He seems to have calmed down the uppercut slightly this season, but power remains his main focus at the plate. The hit tool, while more than fine for this level, still looks like a present 30. Given his experience and lack of his physicality and projection, it’s hard and likely unwise to expect significant growth in this regard. A college shortstop, Paez looked surprisingly advanced at third base, with the ability to play up the middle as well. Versatility is a key for a player with Paez’s profile to advance through the ranks and could be what allows him to reach the major leagues. While his upside is limited, he could carve out a major league role for himself in the future as fifth infielder who could play all across the dirt.

Notes

A converted catcher, RHP Joseph Zanghi sat 91-93 mph with his fastball, topping out at 94, and featured a low-mid 80s slider as well. He threw from a standard three-quarters release point with a fair bit of effort. Fellow reliever RHP Max Kuhns sat at 89-92 mph with fastball with a breaking ball in the 78-79 mph range. He threw from a three-quarters arm slot with high effort but had a decent amount of deception in his delivery.