DSL Mets: 2017 Season In Review

Taking a closer look at how both DSL Mets clubs finished the season with two of the best records in the DSL

What’s in this post:

-       Season Summary

-       Astro’s Awards

-       Coaches

-       Mets on the DSL Leaderboards

-       Promotions

What Happened

            As a lifelong Mets fan, it has often felt as if the team is lagging behind the league in some important areas – like analytics, injury prevention and treatment, and advanced scouting to name a few – but there is one area the team has long been respected for: international scouting, specifically within the Latin American community. According to Baseball-Reference, the Mets have had at least one DSL team since 1992, plus they had a team in the VSL when it was active, and that has allowed them to sign a higher number of young, international prospects than most teams.

            The Mets had two DSL teams active for the 2017 season, and they both made the playoffs, where they were both eliminated by a DSL Dodgers affiliate – the DSL Mets1 finished at 44-27 while the DSL Mets2 finished at 50-21. Unfortunately, the DSL is even harder to get reliable info from than the GCL, and the stats are significantly less meaningful. As such, it’s probably not worth my time to point out a few of the bigger performances, but let’s dive in anyway, starting with the offense.

            Luis Santana led both teams with a .911 OPS for the season while mostly playing 2B as a 17-year old. He finished with 23 XBH (12 2B, 8 3B, 3 HR), more walks (34) than strikeouts (22), and went 16-20 on stolen base attempts. However, he’s listed at 5’8”, so unless he’s still growing or that’s just wrong (both are very possible), the odds are stacked against him.

            OF/INF Yoel Romero (19) was second with a .903 OPS for the DSL Mets2 and he shared a Sterling Award with Santana. SS Shervyon Newton (listed at 6’4”) improved his OPS by 300 points (.877) in his second pro season as an 18-year old, and he finished with 57 K: 50 BB in 303 PA.

            Jose Peroza (.786 OPS) and Sebastian Espino (.772 OPS) led the DSL Mets1 in OPS as 17-year olds, and both earned a late season promotion to the GCL (where they both went 3-17 at the plate).

            There’s one last name to note before moving onto the pitchers, and this player has baseball in his bloodline. Wilfred Astudillo is a soon-to-be 18-year old catcher with a brother catching in Triple-A. According to this LVBP article, Wilfred got to join his brother – Willians Astudillo – in the winter league preseason, and both are following in the footsteps of their father, Wuillians Astudillo, who apparently played for that same team back in his day. It’s a long journey from the DSL to the upper minors, but Wilfred has something most young players don’t: an older brother who has been there/done that (Willians spent 3 seasons in the VSL) to provide motivation and perhaps some guidance. Wilfred finished 2017 with a .719 OPS, a 40% CS-rate, and 20 K: 17 BB in 206 PA.

            Trying to figure out which DSL pitchers are interesting without seeing them is even more of a crapshoot than with the position players. We have almost nothing on their stuff, and we pretty much have to assume they would’ve been signed younger or for more money if they were lighting up radar guns. Plus, pitchers put up good lines in the DSL while never getting promoted every year, suggesting you don’t need the best stuff to have success in the DSL. So, while these were some of the top DSL Mets performers on the mound last year, there is no guarantee they ever make it out of the DSL.

            Miguel Ramirez saw huge gains in control from his first pro season (when he walked 30 in 42 IP), which allowed him to finish with 53 K: 3 BB in 66.2 IP in his age-20 season. Willy Taveras has kept his walk rate way down as a pro (2.6%, or 11 BB in 107.2 IP), but 2017 saw him make significant gains in his strikeout rate: from 16.7% in 2016 to 23.7% in 2017.

            Oscar Rojas made his pro debut as an 18-year old and finished with 35 K: 2 BB over 33 IP (7 starts). Jose Butto made his pro debut as a 19-year old and forced his way into the DSL Mets2 rotation before the season was over. Butto finished with 41 K: 9 BB in 50 IP, and allowed just 9 XBH (8 2B, 1 3B) while facing 199 batters.

            In review, while it’s nice to highlight these players top performances, the players are generally not worth discussing for too long (or at all) until they reach full season ball. These were not the only good performances from the DSL Mets teams in 2017, but I just wanted to highlight the top performances from the youngest players who aren’t already positionally-challenged. For pitchers, I focused mostly on K: BB ratio, and I didn’t bother highlighting any full-time relievers.

Astro’s Awards

(DSL Mets1 and DSL Mets2)

MVP’s: Sebastian Espino and Luis Santana

Cy’s: Miguel Ramirez and Willy Taveras

Firemen: Hector Rodriguez and Jefferson Escorcha

Coaches

DSL Mets1

Manager: Manny Martinez

Pitching coach: Rafael Roque

Hitting coach: Leo Hernandez

DSL Mets2

Manager: David Davalillo

Pitching coach: Francisco Martinez

Hitting coach: Pedro Reyes

Other: Yucary De La Cruz (infield), Alberto Castillo (catching)

Mets on the DSL Leaderboards

Offense

Top-15 among qualified hitters, per Fangraphs

Runs

Jhoander Saez, 56, 3^rd

Shervyen Newton, 51, t-4^th

Yoel Romero, Luis Santana – 47, t-7^th

Hits

Jhoander Saez, 88, 1^st

Yoel Romer, 87, 2^nd

Luis Santana, 77, t-5^th

Shervyen Newton, 75, 7^th

Doubles

Jose Peroza, 21, t-1^st

Sebastian Espino, 16, t-11^th

Triples

Shervyen Newton, Sebastian Espino – 9, t-2^nd

Luis Santana, 8, t-6^th

Homeruns

Jeison Rodriguez, 6, t-9^th

RBI

Luis Santana, 52, 1^st

Jeison Rodriguez, 37, t-15^th

K%

Luis Santana, 7.7%, 5^th

BB/K

Luis Santana, 1.55, 9^th

Average

Yoel Romero, .364, 2^nd

Luis Santana, .325, 10^th

Jhoander Saez, .320, 12^th

OBP

Yoel Romero, .439, 4^th

Shervyen Newton, .433, 7^th

Luis Santana, .430, 8^th

SLG

Luis Santana, .481, 9^th

Yoel Romero, .464, t-13^th

wRC+

Luis Santana, 165, t-5^th

Yoel Romero, 163, 7^th

Shervyen Newton, 157, t-11^th

Pitching

Top-15 per Fangraphs, minimum 30 IP

Wins

Nelson Leon, Willy Taveras – 8, t-2^nd

Ivan Jean, 7, 5^th

IP

Nelson Leon, Willy Taveras – 70 IP, t-10^th

Strikeouts

Willy Taveras, 63, t-12^th

K%

Hector Rodriguez, 34.4%, t-3^rd

Oscar Rojas, 28.2%, t-13^th

BB%

Miguel Ramirez, 1.2%, 1^st

Oscar Rojas, 1.6%, t-3^rd

Willy Taveras, 2.3%, 7^th

K/BB

Miguel Ramirez, 17.67, 1^st

Oscar Rojas, 17.50, 2^nd

Willy Taveras, 10.50, 6^th

Boris Sanchez, 7.38, 15^th

Average

Hector Rodriguez, .153, t-8^th

WHIP

Jasson Pena, 0.86, 13^th

Oscar Rojas, 0.88, t-14^th

FIP

Oscar Rojas, 1.32, 1^st

Malky Mena, 1.88, t-6^th

Miguel Ramirez, 2.00, 12^th

Promotions

(Initial promo date)

-       Jose Moreno (7/4)

-       Pedro Ventura (7/16)

-       Wilmer Reyes (8/17)

-       Jose Peroza (8/28)

-       Sebastian Espino (8/30)

Free Agents/Released

-       Rafael Valdez (Released 10/12)

-       Jose Guerrero (Released 10/12)

-       Miguel Pinedo (Released 10/12)

-       Joel Romero (Released 10/12)

-       Michael Martinez (Released 10/12)

-       Gilberto Espinoza (Released 10/12)

-       Gregori Advincola (Released 10/12)

-       Yom Felipe (Released 10/12)

-       Luis Pena (Released 1/19)

  

In 2006, the SMART-1 probe crashed into the Moon with a flash. Now we've spotted the long gouge it left behind. https://t.co/07L5tSHupd pic.twitter.com/ijw18pScvL

— Corey S. Powell (@coreyspowell) September 23, 2017