1. SS Amed Rosario
2. RHP Robert Gsellman
3. LHP Thomas Szapucki
4. 1B Dominic Smith
5. CF Desmond Lindsay
6. RHP Justin Dunn
7. SS Andres Gimenez
8. OF Brandon Nimmo
9. SS Gavin Cecchini
10. RF Wuilmer Becerra

And now, prospects 11 through 20!

11. Luis Carpio, SS/2B, Age 18 (GCL/Brooklyn)

JP: Life comes at you fast. A year ago, Carpio was a polished, 17-year-old Venezuelan middle infielder with a potential plus hit tool, not all that different from Andres Gimenez, minus a million bucks in the bank or so.

JS: And now he’s a shortstop-in-name-only … probably? Do we have any idea if he can still throw or not?

JP: He spent a few weeks DHing at two short-season levels, getting the Spring Training he never had. So no. He was always gonna be a little stretched at shortstop, the arm was more solid-average than plus. Outlook cloudy, I guess. We’ll know more this Spring, and a heck of a lot more next September. I’ve comped him to Ruben Tejada in the past, which tends to annoy Mets fans, but Tejada was a very useful player his first couple seasons before he had major injuries.

JP: …

JP: Oh, right.

12. Tomas Nido, C, Age 22 (St. Lucie)

JS: So the Mets have always liked Nido’s catching abilities and his bat came alive in 2016. I don’t think any of us actually got any Florida State League looks this year, did we? Internal reports at BP from the rest of the prospect team were pretty good. Catchers are freakin’ weird.

JP: I did not get my usual fix of Lola’s Seafood, Vine and Barley, and divorce lawyer highway billboards unfortunately.

SK: Catchers always seem to emerge late and have unpredictable career paths and Nido may be yet another example of that. Kevin Plawecki was once a catcher with a potential 60 hit tool and Matt Wieters was supposed to be the next Johnny Bench, while two years ago Willson Contreras was left unprotected for the Rule 5 Draft and in the span of one year Carson Kelly went from posting a .263 OBP in the Florida State League to appearing in major league games.  

JP: Hey, I only put a 55 on Plawecki’s hit … uh, and thought he would be a fringy defender. Catchers are freakin’ weird. Nido has a case to be higher, but I’d like to see him do it for another year before I bump him into the top ten after two years of vaguely anonymous looks at him.

JS: And now Plawecki’s the new really awesome defensive catcher/future Tampa Bay Ray that can’t hit a lick. Go figure.

SK: When Nido was drafted in the eighth round in 2012 and signed for $250,000 the scouting report on him indicated plus raw power but a raw defensive toolset that put into question whether or not he would be able to stick behind the plate. For the first few years of his minor league career, his defensive tools became his calling card that allowed him to reach St. Lucie despite not hitting at all until this year. If he is able to combine his developed defensive skills with his newfound hitting ability and the raw power that made him interesting in the draft four years ago, he has chance to be a major league starting catcher and a good one at that. The fact that the bat only showed up for the first time as a pro in 2016 keeps him lower down on the list, but catchers are weird.

13. Gabriel Ynoa, RHP, Age 23 (Las Vegas/New York)

JP: My #brand is looking good for 2017 as Ynoa is in line to be the Mets eighth starter, which means he might be the Mets fifth starter by May 1st. He got the Warthen bump in the majors, sitting 94 in the majors with both his fastballs and the slider tightened up and looked more Warthen-like at times. But Ynoa’s long arm action and low slot give hitters a long look at the ball, and major league hitters sure hit a lot of line drives off him, and may limit how much magic the Mets coaching staff can work here. There’s a major league arm in here, but it’s off the likely role 40, middle relief or fifth starter, variety.

14. Ali Sanchez, C, Age 19 (Brooklyn)

JP: Don’t scout the stat line, kids.

JS: I have no sense if Ali Sanchez can hit. I also increasingly have no sense if we should care whether a catcher hits.

JP: So you were paying attention during Harry Pavlidis and Jonathan Judge’s Saberseminar presentation too? I don’t know if we are any good at evaluating the important non-hitting aspects from our view behind the backstop either. I do think Sanchez will hit. I like the swing. I like the way he uses center and right-center, and he sure looks the part behind the plate, throwing arm excepted. We do have a better idea about how little that matters now compared to the rest of the defensive profile now.

JS: What we do know is that Ali Sanchez gets amazing, incredible marks on the soft factors. There’s the famous quote from our dearly-departed Triple-A skipper about how he’s the best framer in the system. He’s still a few levels from having minor-league framing numbers, but he’s supposed to be really great, and most of the dudes who have supposed to have been really great have been. And again, catchers are freaking weird. Austin Hedges slugged .597 in Triple-A this year! Austin Freaking Hedges!!!

JP: If you are a disappointing prospect looking to get some new helium, go to El Paso, young man.

JS: It’s still .597 slugging for a guy who once looked like he couldn’t hit water if he fell off a boat.

SK: While Sanchez doesn’t project as much of a power hitter, his defensive ability could allow to climb up the minor league ranks until he starts to hit more, like Tomas Nido. And Sanchez has the advantage of being an even better defender than Nido and anyone else in the organization. If he can find a way to hit like Yadier Molina did, he can become, well, a slightly lesser version of Yadier Molina.

JP: And if I can find a way to drink like Jason Parks, I can become, well, a slightly lesser version of Jason Parks.

JS: Congratulations on your 2021 World Series ring, Jeffrey.

JP: Sanchez could be much higher on this list a year from now. He could also be a third catcher for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies six years from now. Catchers are freakin’ weird.

SK: Remember Francisco Peña?

JP: Congratulations on your 2015 World Series ring, Francisco Peña.

15. Marcos Molina, RHP, Age 21 (DNP)

JS: It’s a hell of an arm. He’s had basically two lost years, I don’t think any of the three of us thinks he can start, and he’s ahead of two actual major-league contributors. It’s a hell of arm.

JP: The grainy YouTube videos coming out of fall ball suggest that his wonky mechanics haven’t changed significantly, but the stuff has come back well a year out from his surgery. This is a placeholder ranking that probably is wrong in one direction or the other (aren’t they all), because either the stuff comes all the way back and he stays healthy–and he’s a top 10 prospect in the system–or he’s a reliever who’s going to start 2017 in the Florida State League.

SK: If you think Luis Severino is all upper body, then you should look at Marcos Molina’s delivery.

16. Josh Smoker, LHP, Age 27, (Las Vegas/New York)

JS: Why in Seaver’s good name is Smoker still eligible for this list? He should’ve been up in August or September 2015, let alone waiting a full year. He’s a good MLB lefty reliever now—probably more a setup guy than a straight LOOGY—and he’ll never be anything more because this is what he is. But that is pretty cool for a dude signed off an independent league tryout.

JP: What he is: A fastball/split lefty with a 96 mph fastball that was somehow cast as a LOOGy throwing a below-average slider a lot because Terry Collins. I do worry if gopheritis will continue to haunt him a bit, the fastball lacks wiggle, but he’s providing major league value now.

SK: A lefty that can throw in the mid-high 90s. Along with Addison Reed and Hansel Robles, Smoker remains probably one of only three locks to make the Mets opening day bullpen.

17. T.J. Rivera, IF, Age 27, (Las Vegas/New York)

JP: Pass.

SK: He’s from the Bronx.

JS: It might be a 60 hit tool. And the rest of the profile might not be enough to carry it. But 60 hit guys who can sort of stand at many positions do have roles as good utility players. He could be a good utility player. By the meritocracy version of the game, he probably does deserve a chance to figure out if there’s more there.

JP: He also had a top-five swinging strike rate on the Mets in 2016 and that checks out with my eye test, where he looked overmatched by better velocity and better sliders. He’s below-average defensively even at second. He could hit an empty .250 and be on a Jet Blue to McCarran by 5/1. But 3’s play in the majors too.  

SK: TJ Rivera has absolutely no secondary tools. His defense, arm, power, and run tools are not major-league caliber and he can’t walk either. But the hit tool is so good that he’s going to stick as a major league player for a while.

18. Luis Guillorme, SS, Age 21 (St. Lucie)

JP: We’re at the part of the list where we are stretching for guys with major league futures. If you want to have a major league future as the 18th best prospect in a system, it helps to do one thing really well. It especially helps if that one thing is “play shortstop.” Guillorme fits the bill. This is the converse of the Rivera profile, if you are a 60 shortstop glove (and Guillorme might be a 70), it’s usually enough.

JS: Legitimately the best defensive infielder in the organization. Some feel for hitting. No power. Can we just cut and paste one of your old Wilfredo Tovar reports?

SK: If this was the 1970s, he’d be penciled in as a major league starting shortstop for the next decade.

JP: He’d be the best shortstop in the league in the 1870s, even had the mustache for a while. I’ll always root for him, insomuch as I “root” for prospects anymore. He’s an 80 makeup, baseball rat that gets absolutely every inch out of his limited physical tools. I guess that means I should be higher on Rivera, but aesthetics matter here too. And good shortstop defense is high art.

JS: He’s really cool and he’s got a shot because it doesn’t take much for this profile to bump into major-league regulardom.

19. Peter Alonso, 1B, Age 21 (Brooklyn)

JP: I get it. I really do. But this org has been putting overqualified college dudes in Brooklyn for as long as there has been a Brooklyn, and they always hit a ton.

JS: The competition Peter Alonso faced in the New York-Penn League was arguably worse than the competition he faced in the SEC. The SEC is good college baseball. The Penn League has some dudes throwing 83 that can’t locate. You would expect a high-round SEC pick to destroy the Penn League, and he did. It doesn’t mean much.

SK: Raw power is fun. Did you see that 113 mph exit velocity in the NY Penn League?

JP: I’ll just quote what I wrote about him earlier this Summer:

“Alonso’s stance is wide open and he stands well off the plate. He uses a medium leg lift to close, but he starts the whole process early and lets the leg hang a bit before getting it down. The timing here is inconsistent and often leaves his upper half trying to catch up. The swing itself has some length to the ball, the bat speed doesn’t jump out at you, and Alonso struggles with balls below his waist and spin generally. It’s a long-and-strong power profile, and those tend to struggle the first time they see higher-quality stuff. Even short-season arms have occasionally been able to exploit the holes (though they have many more times given him balls up in the zone he can both catch up to and get extended on).“

Ask me again in Double-A. First base profiles are tough.

SK: I like first basemen with plus power profiles over first basemen who are reliant on any other tool.

20. Merandy Gonzalez, RHP, Age 20 (Brooklyn)

JP: Merandy Gonzalez is the kind of polished Latin pitcher the Mets like to put in the Brooklyn rotation. He has a little more stuff than the median Cyclones arm though. His fastball regularly hits 95. He can elevate it to get Ks and command it down to both sides of the plate. The curve flashes and he can spot or bury it. It’s inconsistent and he’ll slow his arm and guide it in when it’s coming out of his hand in the 70s. He doesn’t have an ideal starter’s frame and the change is crude. There’s a major league arm in here, albeit one best-suited to the pen. Not bad for No. 20.

SK: What round of the draft would Merandy Gonzalez be projected to go in as a 21-year-old next year?

JP: Is he just Dakota Hudson minus four inches? For all you kids out there, there’s a reason I don’t do amateur stuff.

JS: I mean, we’re listing him a spot after a mid-second round pick whose stock hasn’t changed much and signed for around slot, so mid-second round sounds just about right. And that’s not far off from Dakota Hudson, really.

Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

BATS STRUGGLE AGAINST PHILLIES’ STARTER EICKHOFF

Phillies’ starter Jerad Eickhoff flummoxed the Mets over his final six innings of the season, much as he has done throughout his young career. New York’s bats came out swinging early and often, and Eickhoff was able to get through the first inning on only seven pitches, including a strikeout of Jay Bruce. He commanded his 90-91 mph fastball well, but his real out pitch is still his stellar curveball, on which he generated several strikeouts in this outing.

Curtis Granderson was the team’s first baserunner with a leadoff walk in the fourth, and he was replaced by pinch-hitter Juan Lagares. He was promptly thrown out by catcher Cameron Rupp, just before Bruce singled for the Mets’ first hit of the day. New York finally broke through in the sixth, as Matt Reynolds doubled on a well-placed ground ball and was brought home by an Alejandro De Aza single up the middle. Eickhoff’s day was done after the sixth, having accumulated eight strikeouts while only allowing one walk and one run.

Reliever Colton Murray came in in the seventh, and struggled some to command his 94-95 mph fastball. Kelly Johnson was able to single and steal second base, and was eventually brought home on Kevin Plawecki’s line-drive double. Murray would get through the inning, while Michael Mariot and Joely Rodriguez shared a clean eighth. De facto closer Hector Neris closed out the Phillies’ season while silencing the Mets, who probably spent most of this game trying to get back to New York as soon as possible.

GABRIEL YNOA IS HIS SERVICEABLE SELF

Ynoa did exactly exactly what he was asked to do today, with a little bit of fastball command shakiness for good measure. He allowed five hits (all singles, including two to Maikel Franco), but only allowed one hit. He managed to work an even faster first inning than Eickhoff (only requiring five pitches), and suffered no damage in the second inning.

In the third, three singles sequenced in such a way as to score the first run of the game on a Franco RBI, but that would be all of the damage Ynoa would allow. He got his final five outs efficiently and mostly without incident. On the day, 80 percent of his batted balls were ground balls, and threw only 52 pitches. It’s interesting that he didn’t even get to finish the fifth inning, but Terry Collins instead decided to go to the bullpen.

BULLPEN STRUGGLES TO RECORD OUTS IN THE SEVENTH

Jerry Blevins came in and got out Odubel Herrera to end the fifth, and that was all that was to be asked of him on the evening. Josh Smoker worked around a hit to get through the sixth cleanly. Erik Goeddel struggled in general, and failed to record an out. He gave up a walk and two hits, allowing one of the runs to score while he was on the mound. Josh Edgin’s line on the box score looks clean, but he allowed the sacrifice fly that scored the third run of the inning. In the eighth inning, Jim Henderson closed out the game for Mets’ pitching, but allowed an RBI single to Aaron Altherr before all was said and done. This was the final run scored in the game, and the Mets fell 5-2.

UP NEXT

With the regular season completed, the Mets await the San Francisco Giants in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday, at Citi Field. New York was able to line up their schedule to have Noah Syndergaard available to start, which is very good. However, the Giants were able to clinch their spot on the last day of the season AND have worked their schedule in such a way as to have Madison Bumgarner available to start – which is bad. It’s also an even year, which basically makes this game meaningless, but the Mets will give it their best shot regardless.

Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports

The 24-year-old Fernandez and two close friends were killed in a boating accident early Sunday off of Miami Beach, a tragedy that sent shockwaves throughout the baseball community.

The teams lined up on the baselines while those in Miami’s starting lineup congregated near the pitcher’s mound as a heartbreaking pregame ceremony commenced. The public address announcer at Marlins Park spoke some brief words about Fernandez, first in Spanish and then English, as multiple players from both sides began to break down.

A moment of silence was followed by a solo trumpet rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, played as a photo slideshow of the two-time All-Star and 2013 Rookie of the Year was shown on the center field scoreboard.

By the time the national anthem wrapped up there was nary a dry eye in the house, with Marlins stars Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton taking multiple deep breaths amongst the tears. The entirety of both clubs then gathered on the infield, exchanging hugs in a touching moment of solidarity among NL East rivals while chants of ‘Jo-se’ rang out from the crowd of 26,933.

“I saw some real emotion out of both teams. I can understand their team, but you saw some of our guys that were touched by the whole thing, rightfully so,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “We’re all gonna miss him for a long time. He’ll be in our minds forever.”

After the Mets left the field, each Marlin returned to the area near the mound and knelt together, many putting dirt in their pockets and scribbling Fernandez’s initials and number onto the surface where the Cuban-born right-hander plied his craft.

The crestfallen club then huddled as Stanton gave a short speech, after which he led them in pointing to the sky in salute of their fallen teammate. The melancholy tune “See You Again” by Charlie Puth played over the stadium loudspeakers as most Marlins walked in unison back to the dugout while others prepared to take their positions, all wearing #16 Fernandez jerseys in place of their own; a number that will never be worn again by a Marlins player following Monday’s game.

“It’s not scripted. Nobody tells you how to handle it,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “I feel like they just stuck together and went out and played.”

Dee Gordon, who wore a t-shirt with the letters R.I.P. across the chest where the ‘I’ was represented by a picture of Fernandez, was still crying along with veteran Martin Prado while they tossed the ball around as starter Adam Conley threw his warmup pitches.

Standing on a mound with Fernandez’s number emblazoned on the back side, the left-hander began the unenviable task of taking the hill in a game that his friend and staffmate was originally scheduled to start.

Pitching for the first time in seven weeks after being shelved with a finger injury, Conley set the tone with three scoreless frames including an eight-pitch second inning.

Gordon, a lefty hitter, led off the bottom of the first by stepping into the right-hander’s batter box as another way to honor Fernandez; who hit .213 from that side of the plate with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 136 career at-bats. After taking ball one from starter Bartolo Colon, last year’s NL batting champion switched to his natural side.

What happened next was akin to something right out of a Hollywood screenplay.

With just eight home runs in over two thousand plate appearances coming in, the slender second baseman crushed a 2-0 fastball into the second deck in right field to put Miami on the board immediately. Gordon cried rounding the bases, looking up to the sky and pounding his chest once he crossed home plate. He was greeted and embraced by each teammate as he made his way into the dugout, the crowd on its feet. Yelich, with tears streaming down his face, stood on the top step in disbelief.

“That was one of the best moments of my life,” a visually drained Gordon, 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs and a stolen base on the night, said to Fox Sports Florida after the game. “I don’t have kids so that’s the best moment of my life to hit a home run for him.”

Stanton started the second with a single up the middle off of Colon. Justin Bour lined a deep shot off the wall in left-center for a double, pushing Stanton to third. J.T. Realmuto hit a soft grounder to short for an infield single, scoring the Marlins slugger for their second run.

Miami continued to square the ball up against the typically reliable veteran, tagging him for seven runs on eight hits over 2.1 innings in what was arguably his worst start of the season.

“Bart got off to a rough start and you hoped that he was going to settle down and get it going because we needed some innings,” Collins said. “We just fell too far behind early.”

Adeiny Hechavarria crushed the 43-year-old’s next pitch over Curtis Granderson’s head in right-center for a ground-rule double, sending Bour home for a 3-0 lead.

Conley lined a bunt towards Jose Reyes at third, executing a successful safety squeeze that allowed Realmuto to score Miami’s fourth run.

Gordon singled in Hechavarria to extend Miami’s advantage to 5-0.

The Marlins continued the barrage against Colon, who threw just 47 pitches, in the third. Yelich led off with a single back up the box. Granderson made a nice sliding catch on a hard-hit Stanton liner to rob a potential hit. Six-foot-four Justin Bour, not exactly fleet of foot, got one by Jay Bruce in right for his first career triple.

After diving into third, Bour popped up and flexed both arms while looking towards the Miami dugout. Yelich, who came home on the hit to make the score 6-0, was grinning ear-to-ear on his way back to the bench, a rare smile on a trying night.

“I never hit a ball that far, even in BP,” Gordon said. “For that to happen today and for J.B. to hit that triple, man, we had some help.”

Colon was lifted after the unlikely three-bagger for Gabriel Ynoa, who allowed an RBI single to Hechavarria that padded the lead to 7-0.

Lucas Duda worked a pinch-hit walk against reliever Brian Ellington with one out in the fifth. Rookie Brandon Nimmo, drafted one pick ahead of Fernandez in 2011, followed with a single. The red-hot Asdrubal Cabrera, batting .349 with 6 homers and 17 RBIs in September, lined a double into the right field corner that cleared the bases and cut Miami’s lead to 7-2.

A day after scoring 17 runs against Philadelphia, a string of nine Miami pitchers held New York in check despite allowing six walks.

Duda’s opposite-field single against reliever Kyle Barraclough in the eight drove in Bruce, wrapping up the night’s scoring at 7-3.

With Cincinnati clobbering the Cardinals 15-2 and the Giants off, the Mets remain a half game ahead of San Francisco for the first NL Wild Card spot with just five more to play.

“We’re lucky that St. Louis is getting beat tonight,” Collins said. “This night is over and hopefully we can get back to doing what we do and win baseball games.”

After Granderson grounded out against A.J. Ramos for the third out in the ninth, Gordon looked towards the heavens and tapped his hat to chest. Stanton, Yelich and others instantly peered up at the night sky as well, appearing to say something to the man who was always full of life even on days when he wasn’t pitching.

“I think they really wanted to honor Jose, the way he played and how he went about (his business). Just that joy that he had when he played and that confidence and that energy,” Mattingly said. “I really think that was the focus of these guys of honoring him by the way we played.”

Stanton then turned his jersey around so that Fernandez’s name and number were facing the front as he headed towards the infield. The players all lined up in a procession and hugged one another for several minutes, as Gordon removed his Marlins jersey and revealed the R.I.P. T-shirt underneath.

With the game ball placed carefully between the rubber and Fernandez’s number, the entire Marlins squad formed a circle around the mound as Stanton appeared to give a speech to his teammates; touching his jersey and pointing at the #16 now on his chest while addressing them as the crowd erupted.

The team then bowed their heads in unison, many with their eyes shut, for an extended period of silence and reflection.

Then, in a truly poignant moment, they did what baseball players do. They left it all on the field and said goodbye to Jose Fernandez, the energetic leader of their pitching staff with the electric arm and the infectious smile.

All at once the Miami Marlins removed their caps, pointed them to the sky, and dropped them on the mound in a pile. The crowd began to chant “Jo-se, Jo-se, Jo-se, Jo-se” as several players crouched down to tap the #16 emblem, many beginning to weep.

As a unit, they broke to leave the field with Gordon and Stanton hugging once again.

Within a few beats, all that remained on the pitcher’s mound was the game ball and a pile of Miami hats, many with personalized tributes scribbled on them. That, and the countless memories left behind by a once-in-a-generation talent that left the game, and the world, much too soon.

Rest in peace, Jose. Baseball already misses you.

Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove – USA Today Sports

Ynoa held the Phils scoreless in the first, but the second inning did not go as well. Freddy Galvis singled on a soft line drive with one out, and Cody Asche followed with a single of his own. Cesar Hernandez and Roman Quinn drove both of them in with two out RBI singles to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. This would also end Ynoa’s start, as he exited after only two innings pitched, walking and striking out one.

The Mets answered right back against Phillie starter Jeremy Hellickson, as Michael Conforto doubled with one out. After Lucas Duda drilled a line drive out (some rotten luck, but already a big improvement over James Loney), Travis d’Arnaud drove in Conforto with a double of his own to cut the deficit to one. Unfortunately, the Phillies got the run right back, as Maikel Franco homered off Logan Verrett to start the third and put the Phillies up 3-1.

The fourth inning was quiet as Verrett settled in and Hellickson held the Mets at bay, as was the top of the fifth where Josh Smoker tossed a perfect frame with a pair of strikeouts. The Met half of the inning was anything but. Rene Rivera lead off with a single, and walks to Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes loaded the bases for Curtis Granderson. Granderson singled in Rivera, and Kelly Johnson followed with a two-run single of his own to put the Mets up 4-3.

Discontent with a one run lead, the Mets managed to bring home three more on a three-run opposite field bomb from Conforto. Conforto’s double and homer gave him as many extra base hits as Jay Bruce has in the month of September combined. Don’t worry though, I’m sure Terry Collins will happily plug Jay Bruce back in the lineup with a trademarked “we’ve got to get him going” while Conforto is returned to rotting on the bench.

Erik Goeddel relieved Smoker and got off to a rough start, walking Cody Asche and surrendering a two-run home run to Darin Ruf that cut the Met lead to 7-5. He retired the next three batters, but ran into more trouble in the seventh after Maikel Franco singled and Ryan Howard walked. Josh Edgin entered and gave up an infield single to Freddy Galvis that loaded the bases. Without Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia, Collins was forced to turn to Hansel Robles, who quickly induced a double play ground ball from Tommy Joseph to end the threat.

Poor defense gifted the Mets some insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh. Cespedes led off with a double and Granderson walked. Collins then made the very bad decision of pinch hitting for Johnson against a lefty with Juan Lagares, who was presumably sent to the plate to bunt (almost always a bad move). Lagares got the bunt down though, and the Phillies threw the ball away, allowing Cespedes to score and putting runners on second and third with none out.

Conforto was due up next, but as he’s entirely incapable of ever seeing a lefty pitcher ever, Eric Campbell was sent in to pinch hit. At least I presume that was the dialogue in Terry’s head. The move worked however, as Campbell drove in another run with a single. T.J. Rivera then pinch hit for Duda (a fine move, because Duda has a long history of ineptitude against lefties and just came off the DL) and drove in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.

The remaining two innings were quiet, mostly thanks to the superb pitching of Robles, who recorded the last eight outs of the game, allowing only one Philly to reach base on an error. He recorded three strikeouts over his 2.2 frames as the Mets nailed down their second consecutive victory, topping the Phils by a final score of 10-5.

With the Cubs demolishing the Cardinals and the Padres topping the Giants, the Mets are now alone in the first Wild Card spot, one game ahead of San Francisco and a game and a half ahead of St. Louis. The remaining schedule is extraordinarily soft, with five games against the Phillies and three against the Marlins (who have been a pain for the Mets in the past, but are not a good baseball team). As it stands, the Mets control their own playoff destiny despite devastating injuries all over the team. Even if this season ends in disappointment, their resiliency is impressive.

Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports

OFFENSE PEPPERS GIBSON IN FIRST THREE INNINGS

Twins starter Kyle Gibson had a hard establishing his high 80s sinker in the strike zone early in this start. He allowed a lead-off walk to Alejandro De Aza, a single to Rivera and hit Yoenis Cespedes with a pitch to load the bases with no outs in the first. Michael Conforto singled to bring home two runners and Kelly Johnson also drew a walk. Gibson’s troubles could’ve continued but for a line-out unassisted double play handled by Brian Dozier. In his return from the DL, Duda grounded out softly to end the productive first inning.
After a clean second inning, Rivera demolished a hanging slider into the right field bleachers, followed immediately by a Cespedes double. Gibson calmed down over the next couple innings, preventing further damage until allowing three straight singles to begin the sixth. Buddy Bosheers relieved him at this point and got out of the inning, due in large part to an exceptional pick by James Beresford.
Taylor Rogers finished the game for the Twins, striking out two over two perfect innings. Dozier’s defense became a storyline throughout the game as he came up with several difficult balls, saving Twins’ pitchers from further damage. It was not the best offensive day for the Mets, but enough damage was done, and Terry Collins got to rest some of his big weapons. After leaving in the seventh with nausea and dizziness, Cespedes’ status is unclear.

GABRIEL YNOA IMPRESSES WITH UNEXPECTED START

Right-handed starter Ynoa made his MLB rotation debut in place of Rafael Montero, who has been moved to the bullpen, and performed better than anyone expected. Aside from some turmoil in the second inning (a walk and two singles resulted in a JR Murphy sacrifice fly RBI), Ynoa looked confident and dominant against the Minnesota lineup. He worked effectively off of his mid 90s sinker and was able to locate his slider to both sides of the plate.
Ynoa worked quickly in the first inning, retiring all three batters faced. In the second, he worked through a bases-loaded, one-out jam and earned two strikeouts. He struck out three batters in the third inning and, after only 76 pitches, was pulled with two outs in the fifth. It seemed a bit disappointing to see a player performing so well pulled so early during his first MLB start, but with the tying run at the plate, the times through the order penalty in effect and in such a consequential moment in the Wild Card race, it was a completely reasonable move.
The bullpen’s immediate struggles threatened to make that reasonable decision a post-game press conference nightmare for Terry Collins, but they managed to hold on.

BULLPEN HOLDS EARLY LEAD, SHUTS DOOR DESPITE SHAKINESS

Josh Edgin relieved Ynoa, but allowed the only batter he faced to reach base via single and he was pulled for Erik Goeddel. Goeddel then struggled to establish his rising fastball above the zone, resulting in two wild pitches and a walk, but still managed to strike out three Twins over his clean 1.1 innings.
Josh Smoker entered in the seventh, along with Brandon Nimmo in place of a nauseous Cespedes. Smoker looked good, striking out Kurt Suzuki and Logan Schafer without allowing a hit. Fernando Salas’ eighth inning appearance was far shakier, as he left too much of his fastball over the plate and got clobbered with three straight line drives. Kennys Vargas’ was a bomb that cut the lead to one and, after two outs, Salas was pulled for Jerry Blevins.
Blevins closed out the game with a scoreless 1.1 innings, including a two-out strikeout of Brian Dozier in the ninth, for his second save of the season. Given Terry Collins’ interest in resting his top relievers yesterday, there’s not a much better performance the team could have hoped for in a tight game with playoff implications.

UP NEXT

On Monday, the Braves head to Flushing to begin another three-game series against the Mets. Noah Syndergaard continues his Cy Young-deserving campaign against Aaron Blair, who’s had a rough rookie season with Atlanta. At nine games behind the Nationals, the Mets are effectively eliminated from the division race, but currently hold a one-game lead over the Giants in the NL Wild Card race. Cespedes’ status after his early exit from yesterday’s game is something to watch. Game time is 7:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports

After a long and painful day, the Mets got to celebrate a franchise-record 201 home runs in a season as Curtis Granderson hit a game-tying homer in the 11th and a game-winning homer in the 12th.

Fans probably walked in to yesterday’s game a little bummed out. It was Jacob deGrom hair hat day, but the Mets announced the pitcher will probably miss the rest of the season and need surgery for inflammation in his ulnar nerve. Seth Lugo started the game reminding Mets fans how much they missed having a dominant power pitcher on the mound. He gave up several long fly outs in the first and walked multiple batters in the second. The Twins finally got a run in the fourth as Eddie Rosario homered on a changeup that didn’t drop out of the zone.

It looks like Lugo’s start was about to go off the rails after two more walks, an Ervin Santana sacrifice bunt and then three straight balls to Brian Dozier. The Mets rookie looked for an intentional walk signal with an open base at first but Collins said no, pitch to one of baseball’s top home run hitters this season. One of Lugo’s strengths in the majors has been his ability to keep executing pitches to fight out of jams and he battled back for the strikeout. Lugo wasn’t impressive, but he kept the Mets in the game and that’s all you expect out of the replacement pitchers.

The Mets have been relying on their increasingly healthy offense to carry them to a Wild Card. Yesterday it took four innings before they got their first baserunner, a Yoenis Cespedes single. Journeyman Ervin Santana had a great performance for the Twins, striking out eight over seven scoreless innings. T.J. Rivera got into scoring position twice, but Kelly Johnson and Michael Conforto were both overmatched as pinch hitters with runners in scoring position and two outs.

When Ryan Pressly came in for the eighth, the top of the Mets lineup immediately took advantage. Jose Reyes singled the first pitch up the middle, advanced on a wild pitch and got to third on a groundout. Cespedes went with a cutter and lined it to right-center for a game-tying single.

That would be all the scoring before extra innings. Jeurys Familia came in for the ninth, walked Dozier with two outs, then struck out Joe Mauer in an epic 11-pitch at-bat. Terry Collins stuck with Ty Kelly (who had pinch-run for Loney earlier) and Kevin Plawecki, making his major league first appearance since June 19 as a defensive replacement after Rene Rivera was pinch-hit for in the seventh. Neither hitter got on.

Collins turned to Hansel Robles for the 10th. After a somewhat shaky inning, Collins asked for another inning from the volatile right-hander instead of burning every pitcher with Gabriel Ynoa making his first big league start the next day. Robles tried to beat Byron Buxton up and in, but the top prospect pulled the ball down the line into the second deck.

Minnesota turned to Brandon Kintzler for the save. One pitch later, it was a blown save. Granderson turned on the pitch for his first opposite field homer of the season. Jay Bruce almost hit a game-winning homer, then T.J. Rivera, Brandon Nimmo (pinch hitting for Robles) and Matt Reynolds (double-switched in) loaded the bases for Reyes. Just like Lugo stepped in and gave the Mets a chance on the mound, it looked like a series of Triple-A callups were giving the Mets a change at the plate. But Reyes couldn’t get the clutch hit – a problem for the Mets all season – and it’s off to the 12th.

Despite September callups, it looked like both teams would quickly run out of pitchers. Collins turned to Josh Edgin to face both lefties and righties for a full inning. After Edgin survived the ordeal, Twins right-hander Michael Tonkin got two quick outs. Left-hander Ryan O’Rourke came in to get Granderson but served up a hanging breaking ball to send the Mets home happy.

What’s Next?

Gabriel Ynoa gets his first big league start as the Mets look to sweep the series. The Cardinals took Game 3 of their series against the Giants and the Mets are now tied for the top Wild Card spot with San Francisco, two games ahead of St. Louis.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Nothing prepared me for watching Reds’ right fielder Scott Schebler get thrown out stealing second base in the second inning because he forgot to slide. Jose Reyes scored on a short wild pitch in the third as Reds’ ace Anthony DiScalfani didn’t cover home. By the bottom of the third inning, Keith Hernandez said it’s time for the Reds to start sending players home for the day. A few batters later, Cincinnati leadoff hitter Jose Peraza tried to steal home after Noah Syndergaard picked off Eugenio Suarez. Asdrubal Cabrera read the play and threw him out.

Baserunning mistakes bailed Syndergaard out on one of his worst starts of the season. The Mets ace walked a season-high four batters and could only get through five innings, allowing six hits along with the walks. But the Reds kept running their way out of opportunities. Base stealers had been 45-51 against Syndergaard but the Reds went 0-3 with two incredibly stupid plays. Bad teams don’t just lack talent; they also make dumb mistakes like forgetting to slide that cause them to play below their talent level.

It was a bizarro Syndergaard outing, but the Mets’ offense did exactly what we would expect them to do. Reyes drove the first pitch out of the ballpark. Curtis Granderson continued his hot streak with a deep home run to center, giving the Mets a 3-0 lead in the sixth. Wilmer Flores came in for Kelly Johnson to pinch hit against a left hander and delivered a two-run homer to make it 5-0 in the eighth. But the Mets started 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.

It looked like the Mets were going to roll to another sweep of Cincinnati when Gabriel Ynoa took the mound in the top of the eighth. Three batters later, Ynoa left the mound and Addison Reed had to come in with the bases loaded and no outs. Reed could only get two of the first three hitters out. That meant he had to face Peraza, who is hitting over .400 since the All Star break. Peraza drove a pitch off the wall in left center, just missing a game-tying home run. Reed struck out Suarez to end the threat. Yoenis Cespedes tacked on an insurance run in the ninth to give the Mets their only hit with runners in scoring position, and Jeurys Familia closed the door.

Terry Collins’ lineup juggling paid off again yesterday. Granderson started in right field and went 2-5 with a homer. Alejandro De Aza got a start at center and reached base three times in five appearances. James Loney went 2-for-3 before being pinch hit for in the ninth to avoid a lefty-lefty matchup. Collins showed he is comfortable using Flores at first and T.J. Rivera at second to close out a game, which may mean less Loney down the stretch.

Notes:

The Mets have won 14 straight games against the Reds. The franchise record for most wins against an opponent is 15 over the Pirates in 1986-87.

Jose Reyes became the first player this season with a home run and a steal in back to back games.

What’s Next?

The Mets finally get a day off after playing 16 straight days (and 29 of their last 30). Then it’s their last series in Turner Field before the Braves move to their taxpayer-funded park in the suburbs.

Photo credit: David Kohl – USA Today Sports

Playing in front of a sparse crowd at Great American Ball Park, New York (73-66) remained one game behind in the NL Wild Card race following the victory, their 13th straight against the Reds dating back to 2014.

Cincinnati has allowed 225 long balls, the most in the majors by a wide margin. None was bigger on Tuesday than the two-run bomb to dead center field off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes.

Asdrubal Cabrera legged out a one-out infield single in the seventh against reliever Michael Lorenzen, reaching just in time following an excellent diving stop by shortstop Zack Cozart on the first-base side of the bag.

Cespedes then crushed a 2-2 slider for his 28th of the year, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.

The Cuban slugger also showed off his cannon-like arm in the eighth, bare-handing a Brandon Phillips liner off of the wall in left and gunning him down on the fly trying to stretch what initially appeared to be an easy double.

“When you’re a star, that’s what they do,” manager Terry Collins said. “They come through when you need them. That’s why they get paid.”

Curtis Granderson (4 HRs and 9 RBIs over his last seven games) started the scoring with a two-out solo homer to right-center field in the second inning against Cincinnati left-hander Brandon Finnegan, the outfielder’s 24th of the year.

Jose Reyes extended the advantage to 2-0 leading off the third, driving a 400-foot shot just inside the left field foul pole for his fifth home run. It was the 29th long ball surrendered by Finnegan this season, most in the National League.

All-Star Adam Duvall knotted the score at 2-all in the bottom of the frame with his 30th home run, lining a two-run opposite field shot off of the top of the wall in right-center against starter Rafael Montero. The runs were the first allowed by Montero across his two spot starts in place of the injured Jacob deGrom, despite walking nine in 7.2 innings up to that point.

Hernan Iribarren led off the bottom of the fifth with a pinch-hit triple, his second pinch-hit three-bagger in as many days. After a ground out and a walk, Montero was lifted for Josh Edgin, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A, with runners on the corners.

Joey Votto lined a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Iribarren and giving the Reds a 3-2 lead.

Montero, once considered a key piece in the team’s future rotation plans but whose stock has fallen significantly, could end up playing an important role in whether or not the Mets play in the postseason; especially if the ailing deGrom is unable to return soon.

The 25-year-old righty was charged with three runs on three hits in 4.1 innings, walking and striking out four apiece.

“He’s got to stop walking guys,” Collins said. “That puts him in trouble.”

The Mets bullpen continued its recent hot streak as a combination of Edgin, Gabriel Ynoa, Josh Smoker, Fernando Salas, Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia allowed just two hits and no walks in relief of Montero. Familia notched his 46th save in 49 opportunities, navigating around a Reyes error in the ninth.

New York wasted an opportunity in the sixth. Jay Bruce singled to left to lead off the inning against Lorenzen, a routine ground ball misplayed by Duvall in left field which allowed Bruce to advance to second. After Travis d’Arnaud struck out looking, Granderson was hit by a pitch.

Pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson grounded into a fielder’s choice, moving Bruce to third and setting up runners on the corners with two outs. Michael Conforto, also pinch-hitting, was then frozen by a Lorenzen curveball to end the threat.

Alejandro De Aza added an insurance run in the eighth, clubbing a pinch-hit solo home run off of reliever Blake Wood to give the Mets a 5-3 advantage.

CROWDED CLUBHOUSE

The Las Vegas 51s, New York’s Triple-A affiliate, played their season finale on Labor Day. The Mets beefed up their bench and bullpen before Tuesday night’s game, taking advantage of September’s expanded roster limits and recalling several players from Vegas. Infielders Eric Campbell and T.J. Rivera rejoined the big club, along with outfielder Brandon Nimmo. Reliever Erik Goeddel is also back in the majors.

In addition to these players with previous big league experience, highly-touted infield prospect Gavin Cecchini was promoted for the first time.

“It’s something that I dreamed of my whole life,” Cecchini said before the game. “It’s everything that I imagined.”

The Bronx-born Rivera edged Nimmo by just one point for the Pacific Coast League batting title on the season’s final day, barely taking the crown with a .353 average. Rivera is the third player in the Mets system to win a batting title this year, joining Phillip Evans (.335, Double-A Binghamton, Eastern League) and Tomas Nido (.320, Single-A Advanced St. Lucie, Florida State League).

CHECKING UP ON THE CAPTAIN

According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, David Wright will be leaving the team this week to see his surgeon in Los Angeles. The seven-time All-Star, recovering from neck surgery, is scheduled to see specialist Robert Watkins for a routine checkup.

Per Heyman, Wright hopes to resume light baseball activities or at a minimum receive a tentative date when he can begin. The 33-year-old was batting .226 with 7 home runs and 14 RBIs before being placed on the disabled list. Wright last appeared in a game on May 27.

LOOKING AHEAD

RHP Noah Syndergaard (12-8, 2.56 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 4.7 WARP) toes the rubber in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon. The 24-year-old is 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA over his last three starts.

He’ll be opposed by Cincinnati’s most effective starter, RHP Anthony DeSclafani (8-2, 2.93 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 2.1 WARP). The New Jersey native has been dominant in his last two outings, which included a complete game shutout in Arizona on Aug. 27.

Photo credit: David Kohl – USA Today Sports

It Is Certain

Michael Conforto: Through Tuesday, Conforto has hit .493/.541/.821 over 74 plate appearances in his latest return engagement to Las Vegas. 74 plate appearances isn’t much, and the PCL is the PCL and Vegas is Vegas, but if you hit .493 with power for more than a couple weeks anywhere—Vegas, a complex league, the moon—people will notice. With Jay Bruce stumbling towards an ignominious and unexpectedly quick end to his Mets tenure (and Curtis Granderson and Alejandro de Aza both still underperforming) little should stand in the way of Conforto. But that’s been the case for most of the season, and true to form, Terry Collins has thrown cold water on the idea that he’s more than “in the mix.”

Kevin Plawecki: The most obvious September call-up is always the third catcher, especially for a manager who manages in fear of running out of catchers. Plawecki is the extra catcher on the 40-man, so he’s back. He hit .300 in Vegas, and while everyone hits .300 in Vegas, Plawecki had pointedly not actually hit .300 in his previous tenures in Vegas. Maybe that’s the sign of life in his bat. Maybe it’s a dead cat bounce in the Pacific Coast League. While BP’s catching metrics and evaluators like Keith Law love Plawecki’s defense, the Mets themselves seem enamored with Rene Rivera’s veteran-ness and arm, to the point that he’s cut heavily into Travis d’Arnaud’s playing time—he’s now the personal catcher to not only Noah Syndergaard, but also Seth Lugo. So Plawecki might not be playing much going forward, or even in 2017.

Gabriel Ynoa: Ynoa not starting the Monday tilt against Jose Fernandez and the Marlins is one of the more baffling process decisions of the season. He’s now fully stretched back out as a starter—he’s thrown consecutive eight-inning starts for Vegas—but the Mets are at least one and maybe two injuries from needing his services in that capacity again. Still, he’s a familiar presence as an arm now, and should be entrusted with long and middle relief. And the Mets are probably going to need more spot starters, of course.

Ty Kelly: Kelly’s inclusion on the initial call-up list comes as a surprise, because he was also included on Team Israel’s roster for the World Baseball Classic qualifying round starting September 22 in Brooklyn. It’s possible the Mets will let him leave for a few days. Hell, it’s possible he’s on both rosters at once, subject to traffic on the BQE.

Signs Point To Yes

Brandon Nimmo: Nimmo has quietly taken the lead in the race for the PCL batting title, hitting .351 overall on the season. The top three are all Las Vegas 51s, so again, this is as much about the park as it is anything else, but still, it’s better to hit well than to not hit well. He’s the one genuine surprise omission from Helfand’s initial list, since he already has major league service and adds defensive, speed, and pinch-hitting utility to the major league club. I suspect the Mets are content to let him finish out a season in the PCL over the weekend that may bring home some hardware before bringing him back, but we’ll see.

T.J. Rivera: Rivera was optioned after Sunday’s game to make room for Rafael Montero. He’s obviously coming back, but roster rules prevent his recall until 10 days have passed, someone goes on the DL, or his team’s minor league season ends. Vegas finishes up Monday afternoon and is functionally out of PCL playoff contention, so Rivera should be back Tuesday.

Erik Goeddel: Goeddel is in the same option purgatory as Rivera, and will also be back soon enough. Since he was sent out after last Wednesday’s game, the Mets could bring him back as early as late this weekend, or could just wait to save on bulk plane flights.

Matt Reynolds: With lingering health questions over middle infielders Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, it’s a little surprising not to see Reynolds back at the first available opportunity, although Kelly Johnson and Jose Reyes have picked up a lot of the role that Reynolds provided earlier in the season. Reynolds hasn’t hit much in the majors or minors this season, but he seems to be something of an organizational and managerial favorite. Even still, he’s probably going to be sweating the 40-man cuts this offseason.

Rafael Montero: Montero’s five shutout innings on Monday were, like much of his last few seasons, quite the high-wire act, including six walks. I don’t know precisely how he fits on this September roster, because he’s adjusted very poorly to the bullpen in the past and yet doesn’t rate to get starts, but I suspect the Monday start ensures that he’ll be around as the extra arm in case a game goes 16 innings or the Mets need an emergency spot start. He’s a day behind Rivera in option purgatory, but Binghamton isn’t making the playoffs either, so he should be back sometime around Tuesday. Given his awful performance in Las Vegas and clashes with the organization, Montero is a stealth candidate to be excised from the 40-man this offseason.

Reply Hazy, Try Again

Zack Wheeler: Okay, so Wheeler isn’t quite a minor leaguer, but he was supposed to functionally be a September call-up, at least after July and August went out the window. Wheeler had a setback two weeks ago that was supposed to sideline him for, well, two weeks. There isn’t much of an update of when–or if—he’ll make his 2016 debut past that.

Josh Edgin: Edgin looked bad enough earlier this month that while it might not be a lock that he gets recalled instead of designated for assignment. He turns 30 this offseason, is arbitration-eligible, will be out of options next year, and has no obvious major league role moving forward. 2016 could be his Met swan song either way.

Eric Campbell: One of the most perplexing aspects of the Collins/Alderson Mets tenure is how Eric Campbell has gotten 491 plate appearances to hit an anemic .221/.310/.312 while playing almost exclusively at the corners. He may get recalled again just because he’s on the 40-man and the manager seems to love him, though Adam Rubin has suggested that he’s on the bubble. It’s implausible to believe that he’ll survive on the roster this offseason, but that was true last offseason too, and he did.

Gavin Cecchini: The next four guys are the guys off the Triple-A roster who aren’t on the 40 yet that the Mets could plausibly make room for. Of the four, Cecchini is the significant prospect of the group. He’s third in the PCL batting race behind Nimmo and Rivera, hitting .330, and he has to be added to the 40-man after the season. Helfand has reported that the Mets may send Cecchini to the Arizona Fall League after the minor league season instead of to the majors, in part to learn second base. After Dilson Herrera was traded to the Reds, Sandy Alderson mentioned Cecchini as a 2017 second base candidate depending on the status of Neil Walker, so that would make some sense.

Roger Bernadina: Bernadina represents a typical September call-up type, a speed and defense outfielder who can be an early-inning pinch-hitter or a late-inning pinch-runner and provide some veteran presence. But he’s really duplicative of Alejandro de Aza, who is himself duplicative of Curtis Granderson, who is himself somewhat duplicative of Michael Conforto … you can see the logjam forming here. There may simply just be better candidates to clear a roster spot for.

Travis Taijeron: Taijeron, a frequent concern of avid Mets fans, put up a second straight perfectly good season in Triple-A Las Vegas. As a right-handed backup corner outfielder with some pop, he would provide some utility off the bench that the Mets currently don’t have. But he’s never been up before, and the Mets tend to trend towards filling these spots with more known quantities. And the park/league conditions at Las Vegas make one skeptical that Taijeron’s game would translate at all.

Paul Sewald: In a perfect world, Paul Sewald absolutely deserves a call-up. He’s put up a 3.39 ERA and struck out 11 per nine innings in Vegas, which as I’ve noted repeatedly is a terrible, awful place to pitch. He’s pitched well at every level, a $1,000 senior sign made good. There was a very compelling story in a local Las Vegas paper earlier this year explaining his background, how far he’s come, and what a struggle the minors are like for a player in his shoes. But the Mets just don’t churn relievers at the back of the 40-man the way other clubs do—that whole familiar faces thing again—and while I’m rooting for him to come up, I’m not all that optimistic that he will.

Very Doubtful

Amed Rosario: Top prospects just generally don’t get called up to the majors anymore for the September cup-of-coffee unless they have a defined role. Keith Law wrote eloquently about this for ESPN this past week. Rosario is the type of prospect that would’ve gotten called up in the past—he’s hit .324 at Double-A and needs to go on the 40-man after the season anyways. But he wouldn’t start and probably wouldn’t play much, and promoting Rosario now would burn a month of service time. The Mets are one of the most service-conscious teams in the majors, and just won’t do it. He could be up as soon as the late-April depending on offseason moves and his showing in major league camp next year, though.

Dominic Smith: Smith is in basically the same position as Rosario, with two major caveats. With James Loney’s return to pumpkindom, Smith might actually be the best first baseman available to the Mets right now, not that it means that Terry Collins would play him. But Smith doesn’t have to go on the 40-man until after the 2017 season, which all but eliminates his chances of coming up this year. The Mets are likely to find a bridge to Smith for 2017, whether that means handing an outfielder like Conforto or Granderson a first base glove or bringing back Lucas Duda, but he also could make his major league debut sometime next year.

Photo Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

It should be noted, though, that Matz is not just the latest Mets pitcher to succumb to an injury—he’s one of several pitchers from last year’s playoff teams to be taken out of action; the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw has spent the entire season out of play with a herniated disc, and his scheduled return for the season’s final games is still in question, while the Cubs’ John Lackey (of the Cardinals in 2015) and Héctor Rondon were both deactivated Friday for shoulder and triceps soreness, respectively. The Nationals, near contenders in 2015, also lost Stephen Strasburg to the DL Monday with a sore elbow. (RIP my fantasy baseball team.)

Like my colleague Andrew Mearns, I’m not one to argue that the occasional high pitch count is career-destroying. But a look at this list of pitchers, all of whom who played hard, high-pressure seasons and all but Strasburg who pitched into the postseason, does smack of fatigue. The subject has been hot on the BP Mets site of late, with writers calling for Matz’s shutdown, weighing the same question with respect to Syndergaard, and making the broader argument against ruining the Mets’ 2017 for the sake of the fiery remains of this season.

For the Mets, losing Matz from the starting rotation—one already weakened by a broken, then really broken Harvey—might just be the death rattle of the team’s playoff bid. The only hope now is (1.) Céspedes hits a home run in every at bat and/or (2.) the bullpen X-Men morphs into an amazing starting rotation. Of course the bullpen is also tired, with a collective 8.02 ERA for the past 10 games. Still, if a come-from-behind Mets miracle is going to clinch the wild card race, it’s going to have to come from these guys, who, increasingly as they approach the plate, I don’t recognize at all. So, for my own education’s sake, here’s a look at the few of the Mets’ less-than-star pitchers, who are—no pressure—responsible for carrying our 2016 hopes and dreams. To start:

Jonathon Niese

How has this happened!? you despair. We all know Niese, much as many of us may wish to un-know him. Seeing his name kind of makes me want to cry. Seeing his face under a Mets hat again kind of makes me want to punch it. But as of this writing (Tuesday afternoon) he is tonight’s starting pitcher, so it’s worth taking a look at his work in 2016. Niese, who spent most of the season in Pittsburg after being traded for Neil Walker, has pitched 28 games with 19 starts for a total of 120.7 innings. He’s 8-7 with zero saves and an ERA of 5.30. Sigh.

(Editor’s Note: Welp. That didn’t last long.)

Robert Gsellman

The 23-year-old righty was called up from Triple-A after Matz was sent to the DL. This year, Gsellman was 3-4 in 11 starts at Binghamton with 66.3 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.71; in Las Vegas he struggled, going 1-5 in 9 starts and 48.7 innings pitched with an ERA of 5.73. On the bright side, he’s used to those starting nerves, and his combined 2016 ERA of 4.22 is better than Niese’s.

Seth Lugo

Hey, so this isn’t so bad! Lugo pitched a solid six innings on August 19 in San Francisco, his first start in the majors. Sure, the rest of the team flushed that good start down the toilet, but it was still a pleasant surprise to see Lugo outkick his statistical coverage. In Triple-A Vegas this year, Lugo went 3-4 in 14 starts with an ERA of 6.50. But, that combined with last week’s start and his 9 other major league outings put him at a 2016 ERA of 4.77, which is still better than Niese’s.

Josh Smoker

Speaking of guys who messed up Lugo’s good start—Josh Smoker made his major league debut in the third of an inning in which he gave up two runs to San Francisco that night. The 27-year-old lefty, the Nationals’ first-round draft pick in 2007, fared better in Vegas, where he was 3-2 with three saves over 52 games and 57 innings pitched. Given his rocky foray into the majors last week, his ERA is not better than Niese’s, but the Mets are expected to give Smoker another shot tonight, so redemption is near.

Gabriel Ynoa

This 23-year-old righty is another pitcher to make his debut in the majors this August. Ynoa pitched three innings in three games and struggled, giving up four runs, but his overall performance for the year has been much stronger; In Vegas he started 24 games and went 11-5. Because he’s so young and has been such a promising starter in the minors, I’d be keen to see Collins take another chance with Ynoa on the mound.

Erik Goeddel

I must have blinked and missed this guy (a few times), because the Mets have been calling Goeddel up since 2014. This year he pitched 28 games for the Mets and 21 for Triple-A Vegas, actually faring slightly better in the majors than he did out west (4.18 vs 4.94 ERA). He pitched well for the Mets in 2015, going 1-1 in 35 games with a 2.43 ERA. Also, talk about sibling rivalry—Erik is the brother of Tyler Goeddel, the 23-year-old left fielder who debuted with the Phillies this year.

Sean Gilmartin

Gilmartin pitched well as a Met last year—he went 3-2 and posted a 2.67 ERA over 50 games. In 2016, he struggled, giving up 11 hits over nine innings in the five games he played in the majors. He fared better later in the season in Triple-A, going 9-7 in 18 starts. Fingers crossed he’s ready to come back and crush it?

Jim Henderson

After a stint in the minors in 2015, Henderson joined the Mets to go 1-2 across 31 games (25.3 innings) this year. Every time I turn around Henderson is either being called up or sent down to Vegas, but I for one am happy to see him on the 25-man roster. The 33-year-old was originally drafted by the Expos, traditionally a team from which many great Mets have come, so I’ll take it as a good omen. Plus, his ERA for 2016—4.50 in the minors and 4.26 in the majors—is better than Niese’s.

Here’s hoping to a speedy recovery for Matz, and that the young talent can pick up at least some of the slack in the final games of the season. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching with one eye shut as #49 takes the mound tonight.

Photo Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports