Taking a closer look at how the Mets finished the season with one of
the worst records in the GCL
What’s in this post:
-
Season Summary
-
Astro’s Awards
-
Coaches
-
Team Stats
-
Mets on the GCL Leaderboards
-
Promotions
What Happened
The
GCL Mets finished 2017 with a 19-37 record, which was good for the second worst
record in the GCL. The GCL Mets spent 2017 in the East division of the GCL,
which meant all of their games were against one of the following four teams:
GCL Marlins, GCL Nationals, GCL Cardinals, or the GCL Astros. Unfortunately,
the GCL doesn’t offer any MiLB.tv or MiLB radio, and very little in the way of
actual coverage. Unless a scout writer goes down there to watch a few games and
makes his/her report public, there is nothing more than stats and (hopefully)
old scouting reports available on the GCL players. With that in mind, I have
little to offer beyond some background and a statistical review of noteworthy individual
performances. And just to be clear, these GCL statistics are like the points on
‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ – they just don’t matter.
The
GCL Mets had 9 players who finished with at least 100 PA in the GCL last year,
three of which provided at least a 100 wRC+ (league average). There were also
several minor league position players who made rehab stops in the GCL as they
worked their way back from injury, plus a few DSL players who were rewarded
with a late season promotion to the states.
Obviously
Mark Vientos is the big name here after the Mets made him their 2nd
round pick in last year’s draft. He did nothing to get too excited or concerned
about in the GCL, finishing with a 104 wRC+ and 16 XBH (4 HR) in 193 PA, but he
is someone who Mets fans should be excited about moving forward.
Kenneth
Bautista led the team with a 141 wRC+ in his third season at the GCL level.
Still just 20 (until August 7), Bautista was the Mets 23rd
round pick from the 2015 draft. Last year he showed considerable
improvement in production from his first two seasons, when he had posted a
sub-.500 OPS, but he was still striking out 28% of the time in rookie ball.
The
speedy Guillermo Granadillo was second on the team with a 127 wRC+ before his
late season promotion to Brooklyn. The Mets signed Granadillo in November of
2015, so this was just his second season as a pro and first stateside. He has
44 stolen bases in just 129 games as a pro, so speed should be a big part of
his game, but he’ll have to prove himself against better defensive catchers
first.
Gregory
Guerrero has drawn plenty of interest from Mets fans since signing due to his
famous last name, but he struggled as an 18-year old in the GCL last year (49
wRC+). Kenny Hernandez is another ‘big name’ from the international market that
struggled for the GCL Mets in 2017, finishing with a 68 wRC+ in his second
season stateside. The Mets signed Hernandez for a cool million back on his 16th
birthday: August 13, 2014.
There
was a third 18-year old from the international market that found more success
in his stateside debut last year: Raul Beracierta. Beracierta was a 2016
Sterling Award winner for his work in the DSL and followed that campaign up
by posting an 84 wRC+ in the GCL last year. While that’s still below average
for the season, Beracierta posted a 103 wRC+ over his final 132 PA (out of 177
PA total), suggesting he just needed some time to adjust to the league.
I
haven’t really followed the other regulars, so I have little to offer on them.
Of the players promoted from the DSL, infielder Wilmer Reyes stood out by
posting an .819 OPS over 62 PA as a 19-year old. It was Reyes’ second pro
season and first chance stateside, and he finished 2017 with a 37 K: 31 BB
ratio in 314 PA between the GCL and DSL. In addition to Reyes, a pair of
17-year-olds were promoted from the DSL for the final week of the GCL season:
Jose Peroza and Sebastian Espino.
There
were a few strong performances on the mound by GCL pitchers in 2017, but there
isn’t much info publicly available on these guys. Of the 33 pitchers who
pitched for the GCL Mets in 2017, 8 finished with at least 20 IP, and another 8
finished with at least 10 IP.
Righty
Jaison Vilera led the way with 62.1 IP, and with 59 strikeouts, and with a 1.88
ERA, and with just 2.5 BB/9-innings. He allowed just 43 hits and walked 17 in
his second season as a pro (first stateside). Vilera will turn 21 midseason, so
the Mets could look to start challenging him this season.
Yeizo
Campos and Briam Campusano were another pair of righties who stood out in their
first shot at playing stateside in 2017, and both ended up pitching for St.
Lucie before the season was out. Campos finished with more than a strikeout per
inning in the GCL (49K in 46 IP) and 3 fairly effective starts for the St.
Lucie Mets. Campusano struck out 30 batters in 33 IP with the GCL Mets, 14
batters in 12.1 IP with the Kingsport Mets, 13 batters in 11 IP with the
Brooklyn Cyclones, and 6 in 9 IP with the St. Lucie Mets.
After
missing the entire 2016 season, righty Jose Moreno quickly pitched his way out
of the DSL last season and ended up making 5 starts and 5 relief appearances
for the GCL Mets: 40.1 P, 3.12 ERA, 36 K: 25 BB. Signed back in 2014, Moreno
turns 22 at the trading deadline (7/31), so he needs to start showing the Mets
he can improve his command.
One
name to keep an eye out for from this pitching staff is Daison Acosta. Currently
19 and listed at 6’2”, Acosta was reportedly getting it up to the mid-90’s in
extended Spring Training last year and had a few very strong outings in the
GCL. Unfortunately, he had to leave in the 1st inning in
back-to-back starts, went 3 innings of nearly perfect relief in his next outing
(on 7/26), and was then done for the season.
Mets
fans should also keep an eye out for what Matt Cleveland does this year.
Drafted in the 12th round of the 2016
draft, Cleveland could get his fastball up to the mid-90’s in high school,
but his mechanics needed work. After a poor showing post-draft in the GCL in
2016, Cleveland bounced back to hold the league to a .469 OPS in 2017. He faced
exactly 100 batters, striking out 17 and walking 12 while allowing just 13 hits
(4 extra base hits).
Unlike
Cleveland, fellow 2016 draftee Eric Villanueva (30th round) did
little to improve upon his poor 2016 showing in the GCL. Villanueva is up to 13
K: 37 BB over 26.1 IP as a pro after his 18 appearances last season.
Dedniel
Nunez made his pro debut as a 21-year old on opening day in the GCL and went on
to finish the season tied for the team lead in starts. He finished with 46 K:
16 BB in 44.2 IP, but the results weren’t always great (5.24 ERA), especially
against lefties (1.022 OPS allowed in 76 PA vs. LHB).
Two
pitchers that spent most of the season working in relief for the GCL Mets were
released when the season ended: Luis
Mateo and Miguel Gutierrez.
Eight
pitchers from the 2017 draft pitched for the GCL Mets last year, and the
results were mostly not great. Kyle Wilson (35th round) had the best
overall performance of the group, finishing with a 1.50 ERA over 18 IP and a 19
K: 7 BB ratio. Jose Sierra (23rd round) didn’t allow an earned run
across 11 appearances, but he finished with a 10 K: 12 BB ratio. Bryce
Huchinson (12th round) went 7.2 IP as an 18-year old and is the big
name to keep an eye out for from this group of 2017 draftees. Nate Peden (13th
round), Liam McCall (29th round), Noah Nunez (39th
round), and Ronnie Taylor (40th round) were also 18-year olds making
their pro debut last year. Lastly, 37th rounder Josh Walker finished
with 13 K: 6 BB in his first 14.1 IP as a pro.
When
reviewing the season of a rookie ball team, it’s not important how the team
did, and it’s not even that important how the youngsters performed, but it is
important that there is a lot of potential talent on the team. The 2017
Kingsport Mets weren’t great, but there was a good amount of potential talent
on that team (mostly offensive), and some of it stood out. Unfortunately, these
GCL Mets were lacking in potential talent beyond Vientos and Huchinson. Sure, a few position players and pitchers put together good seasons
and have some upside, but too much of the roster already looks like future org.
filler. That’s not a great sign for a team that has seen its farm system drop
from one of the best to one of the worst over the past few seasons.
Astro’s Awards
MVP: Mark Vientos
Cy: Jaison Vilera
Fireman: Kyle Wilson
Coaches
Manager: Jose Carreno
Pitching coach: Jeremy Accardo
Hitting coach: Yunir Garcia
Team Stats/Rankings
W-L
Overall: 19-37 (.339)
Home: 13-15
(.464)
Road: 6-22 (.214)
June: 1-3 (.250)
July: 8-16 (.333
August: 10-16 (.385)
September: 0-2 (.000)
One-run Games: 9-13 (.409)
Shutouts: 3-5 (.375)
Offense
Table 1 – 17-team
league, stats below per BB-Ref
STAT
|
Mets
|
Rank
|
Average Batter Age
|
19.3
|
9
|
Runs/Game
|
3.84
|
15
|
Hits
|
450
|
11
|
Doubles
|
93
|
t-5
|
Triples
|
13
|
t-14
|
Homeruns
|
14
|
t-17
|
RBI
|
181
|
16
|
Stolen Bases
|
42
|
15
|
Caught Stealing
|
28
|
11
|
Strikeouts
|
421
|
8
|
Walks
|
171
|
17
|
Average
|
.245
|
t-11
|
On-base %
|
.315
|
16
|
Slugging %
|
.333
|
13
|
GIDP
|
39
|
t-10
|
Sac bunts
|
12
|
7
|
Sac flies
|
14
|
15
|
Pitching
Table 2 – 17-team
league, stats below per BB-Ref
STAT
|
Mets
|
Rank
|
Average Pitcher Age
|
20.7
|
t-10
|
Runs/Game
|
4.98
|
13
|
ERA
|
4.25
|
14
|
IP
|
470
|
15
|
Batters Faced
|
2,097
|
11
|
Hits
|
425
|
t-4
|
Homeruns
|
23
|
10
|
Strikeouts
|
426
|
12
|
Walks
|
248
|
17
|
HBP
|
41
|
7
|
Wild Pitches
|
63
|
12
|
Shutouts
|
3
|
t-14
|
Defense
Table 3 – 17-team
league, stats below per BB-Ref
STAT
|
Mets
|
Rank
|
Errors
|
83
|
t-12
|
Fielding %
|
.958
|
t-13
|
Passed balls
|
21
|
t-13
|
Stolen bases
allowed
|
57
|
t-7
|
Runners caught
stealing
|
16
|
16
|
CS%
|
22%
|
16
|
Mets on the GCL Leaderboards
Offense
Top-10 among qualified
hitters, per Fangraphs
Doubles
Kenneth Bautista, 13, t-6th
Mark Vientos, 12, t-10th
Stolen Bases
Guillermo Granadillo, 17, 1st
SLG
Kenneth Bautista, .450, 10th
ISO
Kenneth Bautista, .186, 7th
wRC+
Kenneth Bautista, 141, 7th
Pitching
Top-10 per Fangraphs,
minimum 30 IP
IP
Jaison Vilera, 62.1, 1st
ERA
Jaison Vilera, 1.88, 9th
FIP
Yeizo Campos, 2.55, 5th
Strikeouts
Jaison Vilera, 56, 1st
Yeizo Campos, 49, 4th
Dedniel Nunez, 46, t-6th
K%
Yeizo Campos, 26.3%, 5th
Average
Jaison Vilera, .193, t-10th
WHIP
Jaison Vilera, 0.96, 8th
Promotions
(Initial promo date)
-
Briam Campusano (7/6)*
-
Hansel Moreno (7/15)
-
Aneury Olivo (7/17)**
-
Ryan McAuliffe (8/5)
-
Yeizo Campos (8/9)***
-
Guillermo Granadillo (8/18)****
-
Mark Vientos (8/28)
*Started bouncing around: GCL à
St. Lucie à
GCL à
St. Lucie à
GCL à
Kingsport à
Brooklyn
**Made two spot starts for St. Lucie before his promotion to
Kingsport on 7/17
***Began the year with Brooklyn for one start, finished the
year filling in for St. Lucie
****Promoted to Brooklyn
Free Agents/Released
-
Jack Schneider (Retired on 10/3)
-
Luis Mateo (Released
10/12) – the Luis Mateo who never made it out of rookie ball
-
Luis Montero (Released
10/12)
GIF
One highlight, thanks to the man himself, Hansel Moreno
— @el_insoportable_09 (@hanselmoreno11) July 8, 2017
Comet or asteroid? Hubble discovers that a unique object is a binary. https://t.co/ChiQmPsqa2 pic.twitter.com/siCzLztYEP— Astronomy Now (@AstronomyNow) September 23, 2017
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