January 2, 2026 • 34 mins
We each ranked out Top 10 Mets prospects (plus a few honorable mentions). Plenty of notes on Jonah Tong, Carson Benge, Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford, and some more exciting prospects in the Mets' system.
0:00 - What's Up Mets Fans
1:38 - System is sooo deep right now
10:20 - Most exciting bats we've had in a while
22:35 - The Untouchables
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Let's rank the top ten prospects in the Mets system
for the twenty twenty sixth season. Me and James talk
about prospects all the time, So if you like that
kind of stuff, make sure you are subscribed to Mets
Up so you don't miss out on that content. Shout
to everybody listening as well, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google drops
a rating, drops a review, download and subscribe. James, I
got my list of ten, You got your list of ten.
We're just honorable mentions at the end. Is that what
(00:32):
we're gonna do?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, I think honorable mentions at the end because that's
when you know the people are gonna want to hear
the niche thoughts about non.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Top ten prospects.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Also, just starting into this, this is our fifth year
doing Mets Up. We've been doing Top ten Mets prospect
list a few time of years during that time. So
cool to see where this system has gone from where
it was and we started doing this show the fact
that we have talent up and down the boards. Tough
honorable mentions I had to cut out, which is again
I think one of the first time has ever happened.
So proud of the Mets that we have this farm
(00:58):
system together, a great thing that happened for them this
season while a lot of other things went poorly.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Also, just a quick quick word right now.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Usually for this list that Mark and I do, we
only do non debut prospects. But for this, just because
we want to catch some other guys who are going
to start the year in the minor leagues. That's our expectations.
You're starting the year in the minor leagues, you can
make this list. And if you've played in the major leagues
but you're starting there in the minor leagues, I included you.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
But yeah, normally we don't do that. Normally will do that.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We don't want Noel McLean will not be on this list,
but Brandon Sprot and Joonah Tongu will be on this list.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
That's basically what we're telling you.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Yes, we just we're still gonna rank these guys because
they have such such few amount of innings and their
spot on the major league roster is still a little
bit murky. So start off at number ten, James, do
do we work down? Why do we normally do this?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
We usually start attend and go back from there. Is
that the right move we want to do that, I
think so number Elli and Payna.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Okay about you. He was my first donable mention minus
Will Watson. Okay, yeah, I went Elly and paint.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That's so funny. Our last guy, I Go Hit You
Go picture as always classic. But for me, Elli and Payna,
like his numbers were just really good in DSL. I
think the ceiling is lower than what people probably expected
our guy like Paanion not to not to say that
his ceiling isn't good. I still think the ceiling can
be a very very productive player for the Mets in
the near future. While near future being like four years
(02:11):
from now when he's like twenty one, maybe, but what
we saw him do at the minor league level pretty good.
Like he had a four hundred on base percentage, He
had a bunch of home runs. I think he hit
nine home runs in his small sample size the games.
The ops was pretty high. I don't think he's gonna
be a shortstop, which is why I can't really put
him much higher. But I do think he can still
be a very much plus bat for this Mets organization
(02:32):
in four or five years on one of the corners
or maybe even second base. And I don't think that's
a problem. I think sometimes the prospects we get a
little bit too worried about if they play that premium
premium position and we could lose sight.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Okay, So that was one of the main reasons I
left him off my top ten, because I just need
to see a guy like Elim Pagna, where there's so
much unknown.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I need to see you hit against more advanced pitching.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Like to me, the bonus Eliam Payne got the prestige,
the mystique that he has. He should have gone to
the DSL and ripped it to shreds like that was
like the first box to check that we can actually
expect major league production from him in the future.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
And it's also cool to note with Elli.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
And Paanna that he went nine games in the DSL,
thirty four played appearance of twenty six at.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Bats, did not have it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yes, he just struggled then and then from that point
once he got his first hit. I want to get
the stats here quickly, just because they're so obscene ridiculous
to read out. From when he got that first hit,
he hit three forty going after that, he had more
walks than strikeouts, and it just it kind of all
clicked for them, but he just missed my list.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Will Watson was my number two. It has been for me.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
There's been a few years in the making with Will Watson,
where with Mets draft for them basically just for fastball
released traits. He's got that nice low slot fastball. We
talked about a lot in this channel, and he gets
on hitlers fast. The fastball didn't really perform super well
for him in the lower miners. I got a stat
from Aaron Layton on here from Just Baseball that apparently
the fastball had almost fifty percent hard hit rate against
an under eight percent swinging strike rate. So I think
(03:50):
that's definitely concerned. But something that happens with some of
these low slot forcing fastball guys. You can struggle sometimes
to build repertoires off that. It's hard sometimes get differences
of pitches horizontal movement off when you have a vertical approach.
And he developed a plus sly the hard pitch sits
in the high high eighties. He has a good change
up now that gets the lefties, and per baseball perspectus,
(04:12):
he had a passable changeup that's relatively new. So the
fact that we have all that stuff off that we
gotta probably see maybe his fastball locations as happening. I
know his command has been a work in progress as well.
But having the fastball with those specs and now having
three true secondary pitches, I like him as a good
bet to just be a major league starter, which is
kind of what my line was for him making my
(04:33):
top ten and what we get past that is great touch.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
By the way, most systems this would be a huge
piece for them, being like we're gonna have a major
league starter.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
So it is pretty it wasn't super high draft.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Pretty sick for the Mets to be like, well, Watson,
you're like a borderline top ten guy on our system
and we're pretty confident you're gonna be a major league pitcher.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, definitely the kind of guy too that probably gets
tangled in trade stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
That's kind of what it is here.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
And to me, like there's still multiple other tiers of
Mets pitching, probably inside of my top.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Of course, number nine.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
James, who do you got?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
This is a weird one for me.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Eli Sourano, Oh interesting, I did not have him on
my list. I know he struggled mightily in Brooklyn, but
that's the weird lefty in Brooklyn type thing.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
As I'm saying, I kind of washed the way the
lefty in Brooklyn thing, just the way that he looks
so much bigger. Watched some videos I swinging since he
got drafted when he was NC State. He's kind of
a wiry dude. Looks like dude was put on a
ton of masks. And that's a good thing for guy
like Eli Serrano. And while he's put on that mass,
that will always affect your swing mechanics. While the effect
of swinging mechanics, his contact rate is still high. And
the small leggs of Vlassi stuff I could find, people
(05:33):
said the hard hit rate was good. It's good, so
right there. The fact that we know how much Brooklyn
eats left he's alive, that wind blowing it off the
literal up the Atlantic Ocean, it just kills you over
there in my mind of these parking fits, that's still
the name what it is. And the fact that he's
a lefty bad. The fact that he has a cannon
for an arm. I think that Eli Serrano looks like
a pretty again, high likelihood, strong side platoon corner outfielder.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
It's a nice thing in the back of a top ten.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
See, we've had some people tell us great things about
Eli Serano, so someone that we're definitely gonna keep a
eye on, I went Jonathan Santucci to me, like, I
hate to be boring, but for me, like from this
spot on, I felt like all these guys were also
kind of the same nine guys that everyone in baseball's
talking about. With Santucci, I'm sure it's gonna be a
little bit higher on your list. Just no, he didn't
make it.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
He was one of my honorable mentions.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I mean he's a little bit behind Will Watson for me,
like there was my nine intents Toronto and Watson with
some of my honorable mentions were kind of their own
tier because I like to tear this and I'll tell
you guys how I'm do tiering these prospects as we
go through. And then I had Santucci another honorable mention.
It's just a tier below of them. I just need
to see I need to see the third pitch for
I left he like him. I need to see that change.
(06:40):
And he had the change up in college. It had
decent faith on it, but we really haven't seen much
of that coming through the miners yet, and there's a
lot to build down with his fastball and slitherer, but
without that meaningful third pitch. I just the stats are great,
but I just that has to happen from together over
the hump to actually be a major league star there.
So until I see that, I can't, I can't put
them above a guy like watch.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, I just I just like that the k rate
was pretty high, like it was near thirty percent, especially
when we got with double A it was it got
even higher, I think, and the walk rate was relatively handleable.
I think it was like eight nine percent when he
got up to double A. Stuff that I like to
see for my pictures, and like you said, good stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Would like to see though that change.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Up make a little bit more of a prominent appearance
for him and his repertoire.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I feel like just when now that he's in the
upper levels, like now he made ten starts a double
A and he still rip them up.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
But I just I would like to see.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I want to see now, is you guy just get
that their pit rate double A major like had his
big differenel.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Ski's another just dangle for trades.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yes, okay, guy, like him, like your slave is that good,
Like you could tear apart the mind list, but like
once you get to the advance hit that you just
need new fields.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
But number eight one of my favorite guys in the list.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
I wanted to find a way to push him up,
but I just couldn't because of how great the depth
is that we have in like this tier.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
And this is new tier now.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Jack went the same spot for me at number eight,
same reasoning. I just I couldn't put him higher than
the other guys. But I really like Jack Wenninger and
people around baseball realm too. He's a borderline top one
hundred prospect the k K minus and baseball perspective top
on every go ball knowers k minus walk rate is
one of the highest and all of minor leagues last year.
Throws a ton of strikes, gets a ton of whiffs,
(08:11):
all things that you'd like it. It feels like not
the similar ish because I'm not comparing them to Joon Tong.
They're not really similar, but like the idea of like
kind of makes something out of nothing, and this could
be a guy who could be one of the top
pitching prospects in baseball by the end of twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Oh, if we're just scouting stat lines, we're looking at
you know, eras strikeout rates, walk rates, like he actually
is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. And
something cool about Wedinger talk about this every time he
do his prospects of these cold weather guys when they
wind up coming into a system, get much more, you know,
many more opportunities just literally throw baseballs, and like environments
conducive to training and development, like you get a lot better.
(08:47):
And Wenger another thing I like about Wenger just build
like a horse. Big six four two fifteen. He put
up one hundred and thirty five double A innings this year.
Also one hundred thirty five double innings is sick. And
now we have good fastballs from him. We have legit
a super legit splither. There was a great tweet by
again Aaron Layton to do his great prospect work where he
had I remember if this was in the playoffs. I
(09:07):
think he actually was in the championship Series Double Light,
which Binghamton won. Shout out to Binghamton Rumpa Ponies champions.
He came up against Kevin McGonagall, who's one of probably
the second best prospect in baseball third if you want
to Nippick right now. And he had him go ready
in this playoff matchup to Gyro Slider's back door to
start the at bat and then ripped a splither.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Aaron called the change up.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Other people call the splither, but the pitch had tons
of faith on it, like right in that same tunnel
as those sliders at Nick the corner, Nick the corner
and they fade off it. McGonagall looked puzzled after that,
with a good fastball to gaining velocity with a sinker
as well, Like he's the way I see a guy
like this getting better year over year. I I love that,
just I like seeing, you know, upper trajectory Wenger has.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah, I think I think Weninger looks like could be
one of the top guys in this system by the
end of the year, and someone who has been LinkedIn
trade talks.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
And I think even in the past I've been like trading.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
But as the days go on, I gotta see what
that big name is that we for him, because I
think it does have to be a big name.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, He's He's the one I'm I'm keeping over Santucci
and Watson obviously I ranked them ahead of them right now.
And the gay I love. Sometimes sometimes size matters, and
just being six four twenty is like, that's that's sick
for a bitch.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
That's huge. It helps for durability as well, that get
more innings on that. Who's your number seven?
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Jack Brimer? Oh got Chick Brimer at number seven. H
third base, first base, Not really sure necessarily what it's
going to be his defensive home, but he just mashes.
He just absolutely mashes every level he's been at. All
this guy does is hit, and last season he was phenomenal,
got up to double A as well. Like just a
really good overall year from Rhymer and someone who shout
(10:42):
out him fan a draftneck mark that's always that's always
gonna get you a couple extra bonus points too.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I ranked Rhymer a little bit higher. Kind of the
most excited I've been about Rhymer since we've started doing
these lists. Last year, he played sixty one games at
double A. Binghamton had the one fifty WRC plus two
eighty three seventy four eighty triple slash, nine homers with
ten percent walking twenty four percent strikeout again everything, they're
super in line.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
He did it twenty one years old. Very usually age
to level for less caps.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Talk about this that you know, Sarah talks about a
lot in the Rates and Barrels podcast too. You could
basically give twenty five points a WRC plus for every
year you are below the average age at the level
average age double a about twenty three, so it'd be
like two two hundred WRC plus like that, that's stupid,
and like it looks like he's good enough to like
be okay at first at their base, like he's got
a cannon. So it's like if you could be passable there,
(11:30):
even if you have to move to first maybe.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Corner outfield maybe just just.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Looks like a masher. I don't think he moves. I
don't know if his quarter off field, I don't think
I don't think he's flee the foot. But this looks
like a guy that aren't they so spark fiant dos.
This looks like a dude who just looks like he's
raised or rip. But he's again he's a little higher.
And who do you have at number seven?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Is rad Ryan Clifford?
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Okay, I have Clifford hired on mine.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah, I think that might have been a footplop for
two of us there.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
But Clifford, like, dude, sick unless you're tripple, I'll wait
till you talk about hm higher on your list to
give some of the triple underlying stats because.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
This guy is nast It's like, again, I hate saying
the comp that I always say, what Lucas.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Dudah like, what if it's it's souped up?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
What if Lucas Duda was like sexy as a baseball
like prospect. That's kind of what it feels like to
me with Brian Clifford. So yeah, Cliford's a little bit
higher on mine. All right?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That was your number seven, number six? Who you got
number six?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
It seems like it's a bit of a faller, But
I do think it's a bit about just where the
Mets system is.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
It's Brandon Sproke, that was my number six as well.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Nice h I've mind working out And again all these
guys are in the same tier. When is your Clifford
spro and the next guy? But just there's so many
things that spro does so well as a picture, like
the things that made me fall in love with him
on this show two years ago, where you got big
philosophy and there's tremendous feel of breaking balls for a
guy that's a relative a young picture.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Even the Bras Sport's like actually kind of old now
for being a prospect.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
But just we haven't seen the change up, and we
know last year from what happened in the major leagues,
there's no swinging mess on that fastball, So you're just
walking a tight rope of Brandon Sprot. I think this
room for him to develop, and the velocity and the
breaking balls are a great place to start. But just
we need that Florida change up to come back.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I don't know where it's gone. He had in the
low miners too went away.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I just that coming back would do big things for
him because with the best fastball doesn't miss.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Bats need some of those lefties, and we need that
change up for them.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Really interesting to see what Justin Willard could do with him.
That's gonna be a fun one because while we've applauded
the Mets the trade, Yeah, why we've applauded the Mets
minor leagues for pitching development, and obviously Brands Sprot's a
big part of that. Now we got to see what
these guys can get better at the major league level. Obviously,
Noil McClain's been a little bit different than everybody else,
but like Tongue and Sprote who will mention tong a
(13:32):
little bit later, we're gonna see major league development. Now.
We need to see how the organization functions at the
major league level, how much better they can make those guys.
Something that you saw great from the Tampa Bay Rays
of the past, you're seeing now with the Marlins. How
can you get the most out of these four A
players currently where they stand.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Yes, I think also a.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Big part of this now we pour one now for Jeremyffner.
The beginning of the off season. We know we've hired
Justin Willard. We've talked about a lot in this show.
Looks like he's going to be able to do great
things with hiring Justin Willard. Asistant pitching coach would be
Dan McKinney, who's been the Double A pitching coach. I
think he might have been a minor league pitching coordinator,
served one of those two roles in the past. I'm
sorry Dan for messing that, but now he's going to
be the assistant pitching coach in the staff.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
So I think it's a really good thing.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
They have a mess of a line their staff really
well where Willard's coming in and he's a freaking nation.
The guy's genius, but is not having the experience with
these players. The fact that his right hand man is
the guy who we know can relate to these players
because he's been relating to these players for years and
he's probably been a decent reason why a lot of
these guys have become the players they've been for the
last few years. So it's nice as we're graduating a
lot of these pitching prospects the major league at the
(14:32):
same time, Boom, there's your guy that was helping you
out in the minor leagues.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Think that's a nice touch by the Mess this offseason.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I also think Sproke's gonna actually have a huge impact
on this major league team as like the swingman in
the bullpen. I just can see him in like little
two winning role and just come out and throw one
hundred and that's like kind of your thing. And I
think that's really valuable and something that we've seen David
Sertin's teams do in the past with young pitchers.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
YEAPREDI Peralta, of course, Gordin Burns. I think there's Woodroff.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yes, I think there's a good little rule line there
for him.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
We're at number five. I have top five, nown yeah,
top five, top five. I've got aj Ewing at number five.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Okay, nice, this is right, Jacob Brimer, Okay, yeah, so
we can skip over r when we already talked about him.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
He's great.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Aj Ewing has been kind of the biggest riser, like
outside of like Carson Bench, but we all know that
one in terms of like going from relatively unknown to
where he's at now. Aj Ewing the shrives that he
made in the past year are huge. And I remember
when we drafted him a few years ago. This is
one of the guys that we had circled because this
was a guy that we took a little bit later
in the draft. We were able to steal away from college,
(15:32):
right yeah, and we gave him a little extra money.
But it was like, okay, like the Mets clearly see
something here because you wouldn't just pay this guy and
all the numbers look great. We have some stack cast
stuff too. He's a freak athlete, seems like he can
play center field like this is this is a really
fun prospect and a guy that again, I think his
ceiling has been a little bit higher than where we
once thought, especially now getting some of those eggs, vlos
(15:53):
and stuff behind the scenes. But at the like absolute
worst get it looks like it's gonna be a good,
solid center fielder.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
And I think that I have him a little bit higher.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Actually another tier up, a jewing, just because there seems
to be a lot of upside left in that defense
that the Mets still think they're probably coaxing out of him.
And if you get that, I think a j ewing
right now. Well, we'll talk about a little more as
we move forward, but I guess i'll say next he's
my number four. Okay, yeah that's the yeah, yeah, yeah,
he knowing that he has one hundred and twelve mile
narrow max ex vlassi he had this year, I believe
(16:22):
in double LAYERO was Brooklyn one of the two.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
The fact that you have that he does doesn't have
doesn't lift the ball very much, so that's something that's
going to stop the game.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Power.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I don't know where that ever winds up like, I
don't know if a Juwing ever even hit sixteen home
runs in major league season, truthfully, But if he could
be a true elite defensive center fielder, if he can
be like a plus plus guy out there, and he's
fast enough, he's still learning the position, He's still played
a bunch of second bases here. It seems like he's
decent enough at that too, which is like hilarious versatility
for a guy like him. But if you can actually
get to himself, which a lot of people think is
(16:51):
on this trajector being a plus plus defensive center fielder,
if you have fifteen home runs and thirty doubles and
nine triples, suddenly that's what you get yourself to one
to WRSC plus three twenty on base percentage on on ten,
it's like.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
A three to four win player for it.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
That's what I'm saying you.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
If that happens like all of a sudden, this is
approaching a top tier prospect the guy who plays them.
I think he could be approaching by mid season this year,
like top fifties on some list, top forties. It might
be getting near there on his own right, there's there's
a lot of good stuff here. I love love when
a guy like Adre Ewan, who's a better athlete and
everyone in the field in the minor leagues, just steals
every base he can.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
He's like, I can do this because you can't get me.
That's a fun thing to watch, all right. My number
four was Ryan Clifford. You want didn't know the reasons why,
the reasons I put it there. One just the proximity
to the major leagues. I think he's super close. I
think with a strong start to triple A, there's a chance,
especially if Fiano's doesn't hit or whatever the offense looks like.
I think there's a chance we could see Clifford at
the major league level this year, maybe even as early
(17:43):
as June, while the average is going to be low. Again,
this is why I keep saying Lucas due to thing
he gets on base a ton. He's extremely selective at
the plate, maybe too selective, that would be like, seems
to be the one kind of knock on Clifford is
maybe a little too selective because when he does make contact,
he absolutelytely obliterates baseballs. He hits the ball so damn hard.
(18:03):
He had twenty nine home runs last year between Double
A and Triple A, even in Triple A, where he
like struggled more so as a twenty one year old,
which again is gonna be twenty two next season. That's
absolutely insane. Sometimes we get a little prospect fatigue. I
feel like it's happened a bit with Clifford still had
a three fifty nine on base in the thirty five
games that he played in Triple A last year as
a twenty one year old, with guys throwing junk, with
(18:25):
guys who were trying to make it to the majors
one stop away.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
I think that's really really encouraging for Clifford.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Oh very in the same rule we just applied to
Jacob Brimer in Double A, we could apply it with
an extra twenty five WRC plus points in Triple A
and we go to get ourselves to almost a two
twenty WRC plus a.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Yeah, and that to me is ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
And the advanced stats in Triple A two even better
than what he actually did, like a seven to fifty
oh p has high walk rate, average strekt rate like, okay,
that's nice. He had over a fifty percent hard hit rate.
He was in like the ninety fifth percent health of
every type of eggs of lasity wont max average ninety percent,
fifty percent out. He hits the crap out of the
ball at lifting his pulled fly balls, at pulling pulling.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
His fly balls. Although I said the same thing twice
in a row.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And for a guy who doesn't swing as often as
some other hitters, very high zone contact rate. Yes, so
he does pick the right pitches to swing out when
he does decide to swing, and he's that good at
getting the bat on the ball and he still doesn't
swing and miss a lot for his power. And I
heard something else with the grape Vine that has me
really deep on Clifford here again shout.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
With the guy's baseball perspectives.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Apparently hit Lasik surgery or something eye proceed at some
point last year. Now he's just seeing things. Yeah, that's
insanely big. Imagine imagine not being able to see the
baseball one hundred percent trying to hit it.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Baseball is impossible to begin with. Yeah, So this is
this lot of upshell on Clifford.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I just have him a little bit further down again
in that tier with Rhymer, Weninger and Sprote because as
a first base. Mean, just there's a lot much bigger
of a hurdley you have to climb to be a
major leaguatguer Yeah, left, you know what helps, He's got to.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Be elite hitter, and I.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
I loky is why they didn't sign Pee Alonzo.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Maybe I we'll see, we'll see, We'll say, we'll see
what happens in next few months.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Next we got we're up to number three now, right,
number three, the number three, Jet Williams.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
For me, Sam exactly, I'm gonna be talk from this
point on, I believe, so yeah, Jet three, let's talk
about him briefly. I think we're also getting a little
prospect fatigue with him too, Is that fair to say,
just because we've been hearing his name forever and he
hasn't ascended as fast as the other guys. But truthfully,
like Jet does everything that you'd want out of a
top prospect.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
No, he definitely does.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
And I think also with Jet there was a bad
month month plus at Triple A last year, and that
also is kind of dulling a shine. But when he
was a double like, he was like kind of unstoppable.
He's someone who's very patient against minor league pitching. And
he's one where I'm curious of how that patience adapts
to major league pitching because the guy like Jet, if
he gets bombarded in his zone and that walk rate
doesn't come with him to the majors, and that seemed
(20:40):
like something that might have happened to Triple A. That's
something that's concerning. I'm also just in general baseball, Jet
Williams is very valuable because I think.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
He can be a shortstop guy.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
I actually think he has defensive chops to stick a
short stop for the Mets. That changes things because he's
that's not going to happen. So I how how good
does your bat have to be? They just carry a
second base who we think is plus. Can you play
center field? That's still something that's up in the air
with Jet. I still think there's good. He just seems
like like a rock solid major league baseball player, like
a roster guy. I'm still just curious about how much higher.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
He can go.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
That's the big thing is what is a ceiling on
a guy like Jet Williams, where like he has good
power numbers, it's not like they're bad, but like does
he hit does he hit more than twenty homers? In
the season, maybe not.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
And it's also the thing with Jet, you never want
to do this, but you kind of have to nippick
at this spot when we get to these guys. It's
just not that many players in Major League Baseball look
like Jet Williams, like you always like to talk about,
like the smaller players with the punchy Archya type, the Corbyn,
Carroll Firus Alec Thomas, Like that's kind of the range
of outcomes there. And then also you get to like
Slay the Ruin who's just traded into Shane bos trade,
Like that's that kind of like whippy, punchy, short guy
(21:51):
that's not really Jet. Jet has more of like a
strong build. He's got the fire hydrant like they like
to say Dylsin Herrara, but a little bit more beef
on him. And there's still don't say that name, but
just saying he hits the ball hard. He doesn't swing
out of strikes home, but he also doesn't swing that much.
He pulls his fly balls like there's there's still definitely
a step to go with Jet Williams, but for him.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
To get to that next level, because I think I
think we're confident he's going to be a pretty good
MLB player.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
But I also tell you, Gus with Jet Williams, I
think a lot of people are souring on him because
of prospect fatigue.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Like you've said, if he went to college, he'd be
into the draft this year. Yeah, which is crazy.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Like he just turned twenty two. Yeah, he's so young,
he's so so like he's say birth he is my mom. Wow,
that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Oh, shout out, shout out James's.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Mom November third. That's crazy. But yeah, it's a he
stills to get over a hump. But I still like
him as a Player's floor was number two. Jonatan Jonatan.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Yeah, so again, to take what Joe DeMeo DMed me
that one time, if he never made an appearance in
Major League Baseball, he would be one of the most
untouchable prospects in the entire farm system. He's probably still
is one of the most untouchable prospects in the farm system.
But I don't think Mets fans would be as willing
to trade him as they are publicly, which also doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
But I mean, he was rocking like a forty percent
k in the minors. The stuff's on.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
He's got one of the most unique arm angles that
we've seen. He throws basically almost from the left. He
almost throws lefty because he's so far over the top
right handed. The fastball is good, the change, it's ridiculous.
He needs that third pitch. That's what's gonna be the
difference between what we saw from Joan Tong last year
and being a true, true and I think if he
gets a slider, he'll just be an ace.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
I really do think so.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
No, it's he's someone right now is on such a
seesaw because what he has now is like is good.
It's like when we saw him last year. There was
some moments where he looked amazing there some almost looked terrible.
It did feel like the hitters could play a cat
and mouse with him where they could kind of just
sit fastball. It's not easy to catch up to, but
if you know it's coming, it's easier to catch up to.
He still struck out the core of the batters he
faced when he kind of only had one true weapon
(23:42):
against them, like two pitches. But it is just gonna
be curious, what is ourm angle with the lift he
gets on his fastball, if what that next pitch could
be like we see this with ball, right, he has
the curveball, but it's just it's obvious. It's almost like
too much vertical separation. It's too crazy there. It's like
it's it's almost a twenty on our difference, like they
spot the thing out of Handstanly, he's a great with
(24:02):
the changeup.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
We see Trey Savage with the split.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
We see also Trey Savage with the backwards Slyther the
fuse slides that Jonah's tong threw actually did have some
glove side movement, but they just weren't really good. Like
I'm this is good you talk about the pitching lab.
This is when like this is when the pitching lab
is walking out to the mound like edwind Diez with
the trumpet's like, this is when the pitching lab are
his money right now, because you could Joeah Tom you
can see a world where he's one of the best
pitchers in baseball. You can see a world where he
(24:26):
can't really elevate himself past like a three four. Well,
it's like the uh, he's right now, he's stuck in.
Like again, that for a thing that we've seen with
some top prospects on the hitting side. When they've come
up where you're way too good for Triple A.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
You have conquered it. It's over. There's nothing else that
you need to do there. But the major league level,
you just might not have that pitch recognition, you might
have the discipline, you might not be able to square
the ball up because it moves a little faster, moves
a little bit more. For Tong right now, it's all
the guys in Triple A can't touch you. They never will.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
It's over.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
The guys at the major league level will just sit fastball,
and because they're they're the best players in the entire.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I wonder if there's any kind of I don't know,
carryover effect like translation here to the way that Freddy
Prawlta broke into the league six seven years ago. Now
where he was fastball Freddy that was it extension Freddy
fastballs to catch up to it, but eventually hit his
canue that was coming and Freddy Prault's command.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
I think when he broke through it was even I
think significantly.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Worse than Jonah Tong's was when we just saw him
at again twenty two, twenty one years old, when he
made his debut a the end of last season, he
was twenty two. Any debut a baby, they're eighteen to
two thirds innings, And if it did take Freddy Perrault
a few years, and he even didn't develop the full
repertoire until this past year, he was six years in
the show. Like it just takes a while sometimes, but
that fastball is not you can't really teach what Jonah
(25:40):
Toan can do with that fastball.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So it's still just it's such an amazing place to
start and I can't wait to cherry pick on this
stat here.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
But it's like, of those eighteen innings, I just like
thirteen of them were pretty good and he just had
like five blow up innings.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And then also there was the thing where like the
Cincinnati game was the home runs getting in the best
of him, and like it's not I mean again, some
of those are pissed on, but some of them are not.
Like it was, there's this is this is also our
baby boy, Like we're going to protect this.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
This is our fucking boy. I love this dude. I'm
gonna keep him safe next year.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
And you get if you guys call me bias, I
don't care because I'm keeping him safe.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Messed up was hip to Jonah Tong. Before Jonah Tong was.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Hipped to Jonah Tong, we mentioned Jonah Tong. I think
the first episode we did the Media Marvel when I
was in Morocco and Jose Bhutto had that great start
against Cold Reagan's in April of twenty twenty four. I
think that was the first Jonah Tong mentioned good times,
but it was a buster only week in the mess
of No Pittrick Prospects. That one came to ahead now
very quickly, and then on that one. But it's so
(26:35):
it's almostly, it's kind of scary. They have this kind
of tantalizing of a prospect where the ceiling is so
high and the floor is like.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Kind of low. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, it's it's
gonna be fun to watch, what if anybody.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
I trust the guy who's kind of done it already,
like kind of been a little freak, like he's developed
so much already.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I trust him that he's gonna be able to do
it again totally. And the attitude seems impeccable. And you
have to you have to be ready and willing to
fail to get to this point in life. And anything
way for Joan Tong to reach the major leagues as
a as a as a six foot tall, one hundred
and eighty pounds string bean from Canada who loves grilled
cheese and maple syrup together because he's again he's a freak.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
But like this, Oh yeah, you like a good combination.
I forgot about that. That was yeah, a right, that was yeah,
my byhand, I'm sorry, but my heart Taylor recipe. Nothing
better but so good.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
It's so good, it's I can't I can't wait to
watch jo and Tong this year. But also it might
not click this year and bite not click next year.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Also, if it clicked, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm good
to be patient.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
I got no I got no problem being patient with
him because again, the ceiling is so good. Number One
Carson Bench, Carson Bench. I mean he's one of the
what five best prospects in baseball by by some people's accounts.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Yeah, seven eight.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I'm doing more prospects stuff to my channel now. I'm
putting him ahead of JJ Weatherhall. I think he's actually
better than def after digging into things, and I don't
think that's consensus right now. And last year he struggled
a lot in Triple A. Like the surface stats, we're
quite bad. At the same time, he just went He
ricocheted through three levels last year, a year out of college,
so I don't really I also leave in college early,
(27:59):
and he's like twenty four games, sure hit terrible, a
buck eighty average.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
You've seen the cars in benj at Van stats and
Triple A. They're phenomenal, unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
He was hitting the crap out of the ball. We
have one hundred and ten and a half max EV
and again that was only in thirty games, So it's
good chance we get a higher one there, especially when
you consider the fact that his fiftieth percentiles lost he
was ninety fourth percentile. His ninety percent was his eighty
fourth percentile high barrel rate, fifty four percent hard hit
rate with.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
One eighty batting average. I would go postal if that
was me.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, to play like a Greek out hitting me, that
was especially when I'm not swinging and missing, I'm making
contact in the zone. I'm not striking out like that.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
That's the difference is like you could be like, I
understand how Joey Gallo hits one eighty because he doesn't
hit the very often.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Carson Bench puts the ball in play, can turn the contact.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Yeah, and he's a little bit more passive, and he
also is still not pulling the fly balls. But there's
there are so many tools in his toolbox that really
might not matter, especially that we're getting the murmurs. I
mean talking about like what we've been able to get
out of David Stearns this offseason.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
He said he's got a shot at opening Day. That's like,
that's the craziest thing David certain To said as a
met isn't that president?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
He said that in November, Like I was like, what like?
And he started less year in Brooklyn, Like he only
he played sixty games of Brooklyn. He only played thirty
games at Binghamton, And he's like, what eighty WRC plus
It's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
He destroyed that level. One of the ten best prospects
in baseball.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Good testaments like what this regime is doing getting a
guy like Carson Bench, who was a good college player
well round. The guy had some flaws, was a two
way player, focus up on the bat, and now it's
just boom out of a cannon. This guy could be
like I still see Carson Bench throwing around trade proposals,
and I have to emphasize this. This guy is untouched, touchable,
untouched shot, a lefty bat, possible, slightly above average defensive
(29:41):
center fielder with power, crazy speed to his speed grades
in Triple A was like a ninety percentile as well.
But I know he's an incredible athlete. I legitimately don't
know who the Mets. Like, what would the Mets move him?
Who would be a player moving for Hunter Green?
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah, like that's that's kind of it, right in terms
of realistic players that could ever even slightly be a
well like yeah, take him for show, Donnie, of course, like.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
He like, this is gonna sound great. I don't even
think you put them up for like Jose Ramirez. It's
a close one. I mean, Jsermirra's a contract. That's what
plays into this.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Said, Well, I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Thinking about your best contract lest from the wine time that'shere.
I'm just going to my head right now. I just
he's guys, this guy might be like he might be special,
and even if he's not special, the chance of be
being like, well above average.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Are really high.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And it's not that we wouldn't take Hoser ramires.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
It's just what I'm saying. It's all contract. Play is
a contract, is the age, It's all that stuff put together.
It's close. He's not bad than that's not, of course not.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, but Carson Bench has the ability to be a special,
special player. And again, for David Stearns to mention opening
day murmurings in November, it seems like every time he
brings up car he brings up Carson Ben jump prompted.
It feels like, honestly, he might really like this guy,
might see something. I I'd like to see what Carson
Bench can do for the New York Mets. And I
got an inkling that he is gonna be on the
opening day roster.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
I do too.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
The one thing you do worry about though, like just
young guy like this, like a lot of pressure to
be here opening day when there could be a slightly
hostile environment.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
But like pressure mixed.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Diamonds, I am. I am thinking about the pressure that
Noel McLean and Carson Bench could be under this season.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Again possible, but I guess again, I mean there is
gonna be a lot in those guys shoulders based on
the way his offseasons gone. So far, maybe nothing was
happened by the time this goes out, tell me your
honorable mentions.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Honorable mentions, Chris Swerro. I think just the fact that
he did so well in the Arizona Fall League as
well as he had a great season, just someone to mention.
I think especially the Mets sending him out there too,
they wanted to see a little bit more of him,
and I think he impressed. And then on the pitching side,
I've mentioned it before, but that Doug Douglas Oreana guy,
as well as Ryan Lambert and Dylan Ross. I think
all three of those guys are gonna have big impacts
(31:30):
in the Mets bullpend this season.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Yeah, I love to swear I mentioned I had him
on mind too. Just looks like a super duper athlete
and can play everywhere. That's valuable, and we have advanced
staff in Arizona Fall If you guys missed that episode
about a month and a half ago, seventy five mile
an hour average swing speed, one twelve point five max
eggs of Flosi right there, Boom, that's a plus power guy.
That's a guy who could probably had twenty five home
runs with a full season of playing time and we'll
see where the defensive home winds up. Like he's fast
(31:54):
enough for you, Like, imagine if he can even get
basketball in center field, Like that'd be freaky.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
He could catch some innings give for instance, guaut As
a bump would be sick.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
I wanted to give a shout to Mitch Voyd as well,
our first round pick from this past season. I got
a couple of great notes here, one from a guy
Michael Donedeo Baseball Perspectus and MJD's stats. I've shot him
out a lot in the show. He's doing prospect Or
with Baseball Perspectives. Now big swing change with Mitchvoyd. Big
swing Change. Mitch Foyd had a bit of a more
subtle light kick and stride when he came to the
(32:23):
Mets all of a sudden midway through only playing a
handful of games last year with Saint Lucy Due was
kicking his leg in the air and swinging and swinging
for jacks and I like people were still into Mitch
Foyd in college, like, I know I've another right. Tyler
Jennings of I think he's Prospects Live said that he
tickled one hundred and fifteen mile per hour Barrier when
he was in college and he had a thirteen percent
(32:43):
strikeout rate at over fifteen percent walkerate as but his
last year in Michigan and again some rumblings moving to
shortstop might be nasty there.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Listen would be huge, That would be huge.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
That's the kind of thing where if he if he goes,
if he hits for power next next to HEAs like
into next season with Brooklyn and he's playing good shortstop.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
He got George Lombark. Also keep out keep an eye
out for r J. Gordon. He did some good stuff
too last year. Yeah, so many pitches are so I
can't wait.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I can't wait to find out who the new guys
are gonna.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Be during the season when we do this update mid
seas in July to the top fifteen prospects.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
There's so many guys now, but I hope you guys
enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Make sure you subscribe to mets up on YouTube as
well as if you're listening to US Apple podcast, Spotify,
Google drops a rating, drops a review, download and subscribe.
You can follow James on social media at James Shanna.
I'm Draftnick Mark. Thank you guys for listening, Thank you
for watching. We'll catch you on the next one.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Peace Out, peace out guys. Let's go Mets.
Let's rank the top ten prospects in the Mets system
for the twenty twenty sixth season. Me and James talk
about prospects all the time, So if you like that
kind of stuff, make sure you are subscribed to Mets
Up so you don't miss out on that content. Shout
to everybody listening as well, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google drops
a rating, drops a review, download and subscribe. James, I
got my list of ten, You got your list of ten.
We're just honorable mentions at the end. Is that what
(00:32):
we're gonna do?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yeah, I think honorable mentions at the end because that's
when you know the people are gonna want to hear
the niche thoughts about non.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Top ten prospects.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Also, just starting into this, this is our fifth year
doing Mets Up. We've been doing Top ten Mets prospect
list a few time of years during that time. So
cool to see where this system has gone from where
it was and we started doing this show the fact
that we have talent up and down the boards. Tough
honorable mentions I had to cut out, which is again
I think one of the first time has ever happened.
So proud of the Mets that we have this farm
(00:58):
system together, a great thing that happened for them this
season while a lot of other things went poorly.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Also, just a quick quick word right now.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Usually for this list that Mark and I do, we
only do non debut prospects. But for this, just because
we want to catch some other guys who are going
to start the year in the minor leagues. That's our expectations.
You're starting the year in the minor leagues, you can
make this list. And if you've played in the major leagues
but you're starting there in the minor leagues, I included you.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
But yeah, normally we don't do that. Normally will do that.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We don't want Noel McLean will not be on this list,
but Brandon Sprot and Joonah Tongu will be on this list.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
That's basically what we're telling you.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Yes, we just we're still gonna rank these guys because
they have such such few amount of innings and their
spot on the major league roster is still a little
bit murky. So start off at number ten, James, do
do we work down? Why do we normally do this?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
We usually start attend and go back from there. Is
that the right move we want to do that, I
think so number Elli and Payna.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Okay about you. He was my first donable mention minus
Will Watson. Okay, yeah, I went Elly and paint.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That's so funny. Our last guy, I Go Hit You
Go picture as always classic. But for me, Elli and Payna,
like his numbers were just really good in DSL. I
think the ceiling is lower than what people probably expected
our guy like Paanion not to not to say that
his ceiling isn't good. I still think the ceiling can
be a very very productive player for the Mets in
the near future. While near future being like four years
(02:11):
from now when he's like twenty one, maybe, but what
we saw him do at the minor league level pretty good.
Like he had a four hundred on base percentage, He
had a bunch of home runs. I think he hit
nine home runs in his small sample size the games.
The ops was pretty high. I don't think he's gonna
be a shortstop, which is why I can't really put
him much higher. But I do think he can still
be a very much plus bat for this Mets organization
(02:32):
in four or five years on one of the corners
or maybe even second base. And I don't think that's
a problem. I think sometimes the prospects we get a
little bit too worried about if they play that premium
premium position and we could lose sight.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Okay, So that was one of the main reasons I
left him off my top ten, because I just need
to see a guy like Elim Pagna, where there's so
much unknown.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I need to see you hit against more advanced pitching.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Like to me, the bonus Eliam Payne got the prestige,
the mystique that he has. He should have gone to
the DSL and ripped it to shreds like that was
like the first box to check that we can actually
expect major league production from him in the future.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
And it's also cool to note with Elli.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
And Paanna that he went nine games in the DSL,
thirty four played appearance of twenty six at.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Bats, did not have it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yes, he just struggled then and then from that point
once he got his first hit. I want to get
the stats here quickly, just because they're so obscene ridiculous
to read out. From when he got that first hit,
he hit three forty going after that, he had more
walks than strikeouts, and it just it kind of all
clicked for them, but he just missed my list.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Will Watson was my number two. It has been for me.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
There's been a few years in the making with Will Watson,
where with Mets draft for them basically just for fastball
released traits. He's got that nice low slot fastball. We
talked about a lot in this channel, and he gets
on hitlers fast. The fastball didn't really perform super well
for him in the lower miners. I got a stat
from Aaron Layton on here from Just Baseball that apparently
the fastball had almost fifty percent hard hit rate against
an under eight percent swinging strike rate. So I think
(03:50):
that's definitely concerned. But something that happens with some of
these low slot forcing fastball guys. You can struggle sometimes
to build repertoires off that. It's hard sometimes get differences
of pitches horizontal movement off when you have a vertical approach.
And he developed a plus sly the hard pitch sits
in the high high eighties. He has a good change
up now that gets the lefties, and per baseball perspectus,
(04:12):
he had a passable changeup that's relatively new. So the
fact that we have all that stuff off that we
gotta probably see maybe his fastball locations as happening. I
know his command has been a work in progress as well.
But having the fastball with those specs and now having
three true secondary pitches, I like him as a good
bet to just be a major league starter, which is
kind of what my line was for him making my
(04:33):
top ten and what we get past that is great touch.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
By the way, most systems this would be a huge
piece for them, being like we're gonna have a major
league starter.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
So it is pretty it wasn't super high draft.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Pretty sick for the Mets to be like, well, Watson,
you're like a borderline top ten guy on our system
and we're pretty confident you're gonna be a major league pitcher.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, definitely the kind of guy too that probably gets
tangled in trade stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
That's kind of what it is here.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
And to me, like there's still multiple other tiers of
Mets pitching, probably inside of my top.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Of course, number nine.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
James, who do you got?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
This is a weird one for me.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Eli Sourano, Oh interesting, I did not have him on
my list. I know he struggled mightily in Brooklyn, but
that's the weird lefty in Brooklyn type thing.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
As I'm saying, I kind of washed the way the
lefty in Brooklyn thing, just the way that he looks
so much bigger. Watched some videos I swinging since he
got drafted when he was NC State. He's kind of
a wiry dude. Looks like dude was put on a
ton of masks. And that's a good thing for guy
like Eli Serrano. And while he's put on that mass,
that will always affect your swing mechanics. While the effect
of swinging mechanics, his contact rate is still high. And
the small leggs of Vlassi stuff I could find, people
(05:33):
said the hard hit rate was good. It's good, so
right there. The fact that we know how much Brooklyn
eats left he's alive, that wind blowing it off the
literal up the Atlantic Ocean, it just kills you over
there in my mind of these parking fits, that's still
the name what it is. And the fact that he's
a lefty bad. The fact that he has a cannon
for an arm. I think that Eli Serrano looks like
a pretty again, high likelihood, strong side platoon corner outfielder.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
It's a nice thing in the back of a top ten.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
See, we've had some people tell us great things about
Eli Serano, so someone that we're definitely gonna keep a
eye on, I went Jonathan Santucci to me, like, I
hate to be boring, but for me, like from this
spot on, I felt like all these guys were also
kind of the same nine guys that everyone in baseball's
talking about. With Santucci, I'm sure it's gonna be a
little bit higher on your list. Just no, he didn't
make it.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
He was one of my honorable mentions.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I mean he's a little bit behind Will Watson for me,
like there was my nine intents Toronto and Watson with
some of my honorable mentions were kind of their own
tier because I like to tear this and I'll tell
you guys how I'm do tiering these prospects as we
go through. And then I had Santucci another honorable mention.
It's just a tier below of them. I just need
to see I need to see the third pitch for
I left he like him. I need to see that change.
(06:40):
And he had the change up in college. It had
decent faith on it, but we really haven't seen much
of that coming through the miners yet, and there's a
lot to build down with his fastball and slitherer, but
without that meaningful third pitch. I just the stats are great,
but I just that has to happen from together over
the hump to actually be a major league star there.
So until I see that, I can't, I can't put
them above a guy like watch.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, I just I just like that the k rate
was pretty high, like it was near thirty percent, especially
when we got with double A it was it got
even higher, I think, and the walk rate was relatively handleable.
I think it was like eight nine percent when he
got up to double A. Stuff that I like to
see for my pictures, and like you said, good stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Would like to see though that change.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Up make a little bit more of a prominent appearance
for him and his repertoire.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I feel like just when now that he's in the
upper levels, like now he made ten starts a double
A and he still rip them up.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
But I just I would like to see.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I want to see now, is you guy just get
that their pit rate double A major like had his
big differenel.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Ski's another just dangle for trades.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yes, okay, guy, like him, like your slave is that good,
Like you could tear apart the mind list, but like
once you get to the advance hit that you just
need new fields.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
But number eight one of my favorite guys in the list.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
I wanted to find a way to push him up,
but I just couldn't because of how great the depth
is that we have in like this tier.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
And this is new tier now.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Jack went the same spot for me at number eight,
same reasoning. I just I couldn't put him higher than
the other guys. But I really like Jack Wenninger and
people around baseball realm too. He's a borderline top one
hundred prospect the k K minus and baseball perspective top
on every go ball knowers k minus walk rate is
one of the highest and all of minor leagues last year.
Throws a ton of strikes, gets a ton of whiffs,
(08:11):
all things that you'd like it. It feels like not
the similar ish because I'm not comparing them to Joon Tong.
They're not really similar, but like the idea of like
kind of makes something out of nothing, and this could
be a guy who could be one of the top
pitching prospects in baseball by the end of twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Oh, if we're just scouting stat lines, we're looking at
you know, eras strikeout rates, walk rates, like he actually
is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. And
something cool about Wedinger talk about this every time he
do his prospects of these cold weather guys when they
wind up coming into a system, get much more, you know,
many more opportunities just literally throw baseballs, and like environments
conducive to training and development, like you get a lot better.
(08:47):
And Wenger another thing I like about Wenger just build
like a horse. Big six four two fifteen. He put
up one hundred and thirty five double A innings this year.
Also one hundred thirty five double innings is sick. And
now we have good fastballs from him. We have legit
a super legit splither. There was a great tweet by
again Aaron Layton to do his great prospect work where he
had I remember if this was in the playoffs. I
(09:07):
think he actually was in the championship Series Double Light,
which Binghamton won. Shout out to Binghamton Rumpa Ponies champions.
He came up against Kevin McGonagall, who's one of probably
the second best prospect in baseball third if you want
to Nippick right now. And he had him go ready
in this playoff matchup to Gyro Slider's back door to
start the at bat and then ripped a splither.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Aaron called the change up.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Other people call the splither, but the pitch had tons
of faith on it, like right in that same tunnel
as those sliders at Nick the corner, Nick the corner
and they fade off it. McGonagall looked puzzled after that,
with a good fastball to gaining velocity with a sinker
as well, Like he's the way I see a guy
like this getting better year over year. I I love that,
just I like seeing, you know, upper trajectory Wenger has.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah, I think I think Weninger looks like could be
one of the top guys in this system by the
end of the year, and someone who has been LinkedIn
trade talks.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
And I think even in the past I've been like trading.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
But as the days go on, I gotta see what
that big name is that we for him, because I
think it does have to be a big name.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, He's He's the one I'm I'm keeping over Santucci
and Watson obviously I ranked them ahead of them right now.
And the gay I love. Sometimes sometimes size matters, and
just being six four twenty is like, that's that's sick
for a bitch.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
That's huge. It helps for durability as well, that get
more innings on that. Who's your number seven?
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Jack Brimer? Oh got Chick Brimer at number seven. H
third base, first base, Not really sure necessarily what it's
going to be his defensive home, but he just mashes.
He just absolutely mashes every level he's been at. All
this guy does is hit, and last season he was phenomenal,
got up to double A as well. Like just a
really good overall year from Rhymer and someone who shout
(10:42):
out him fan a draftneck mark that's always that's always
gonna get you a couple extra bonus points too.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I ranked Rhymer a little bit higher. Kind of the
most excited I've been about Rhymer since we've started doing
these lists. Last year, he played sixty one games at
double A. Binghamton had the one fifty WRC plus two
eighty three seventy four eighty triple slash, nine homers with
ten percent walking twenty four percent strikeout again everything, they're
super in line.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
He did it twenty one years old. Very usually age
to level for less caps.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Talk about this that you know, Sarah talks about a
lot in the Rates and Barrels podcast too. You could
basically give twenty five points a WRC plus for every
year you are below the average age at the level
average age double a about twenty three, so it'd be
like two two hundred WRC plus like that, that's stupid,
and like it looks like he's good enough to like
be okay at first at their base, like he's got
a cannon. So it's like if you could be passable there,
(11:30):
even if you have to move to first maybe.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Corner outfield maybe just just.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Looks like a masher. I don't think he moves. I
don't know if his quarter off field, I don't think
I don't think he's flee the foot. But this looks
like a guy that aren't they so spark fiant dos.
This looks like a dude who just looks like he's
raised or rip. But he's again he's a little higher.
And who do you have at number seven?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Is rad Ryan Clifford?
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Okay, I have Clifford hired on mine.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah, I think that might have been a footplop for
two of us there.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
But Clifford, like, dude, sick unless you're tripple, I'll wait
till you talk about hm higher on your list to
give some of the triple underlying stats because.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
This guy is nast It's like, again, I hate saying
the comp that I always say, what Lucas.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Dudah like, what if it's it's souped up?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
What if Lucas Duda was like sexy as a baseball
like prospect. That's kind of what it feels like to
me with Brian Clifford. So yeah, Cliford's a little bit
higher on mine. All right?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That was your number seven, number six? Who you got
number six?
Speaker 2 (12:22):
It seems like it's a bit of a faller, But
I do think it's a bit about just where the
Mets system is.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
It's Brandon Sproke, that was my number six as well.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Nice h I've mind working out And again all these
guys are in the same tier. When is your Clifford
spro and the next guy? But just there's so many
things that spro does so well as a picture, like
the things that made me fall in love with him
on this show two years ago, where you got big
philosophy and there's tremendous feel of breaking balls for a
guy that's a relative a young picture.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Even the Bras Sport's like actually kind of old now
for being a prospect.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
But just we haven't seen the change up, and we
know last year from what happened in the major leagues,
there's no swinging mess on that fastball, So you're just
walking a tight rope of Brandon Sprot. I think this
room for him to develop, and the velocity and the
breaking balls are a great place to start. But just
we need that Florida change up to come back.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
I don't know where it's gone. He had in the
low miners too went away.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I just that coming back would do big things for
him because with the best fastball doesn't miss.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Bats need some of those lefties, and we need that
change up for them.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Really interesting to see what Justin Willard could do with him.
That's gonna be a fun one because while we've applauded
the Mets the trade, Yeah, why we've applauded the Mets
minor leagues for pitching development, and obviously Brands Sprot's a
big part of that. Now we got to see what
these guys can get better at the major league level. Obviously,
Noil McClain's been a little bit different than everybody else,
but like Tongue and Sprote who will mention tong a
(13:32):
little bit later, we're gonna see major league development. Now.
We need to see how the organization functions at the
major league level, how much better they can make those guys.
Something that you saw great from the Tampa Bay Rays
of the past, you're seeing now with the Marlins. How
can you get the most out of these four A
players currently where they stand.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Yes, I think also a.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Big part of this now we pour one now for Jeremyffner.
The beginning of the off season. We know we've hired
Justin Willard. We've talked about a lot in this show.
Looks like he's going to be able to do great
things with hiring Justin Willard. Asistant pitching coach would be
Dan McKinney, who's been the Double A pitching coach. I
think he might have been a minor league pitching coordinator,
served one of those two roles in the past. I'm
sorry Dan for messing that, but now he's going to
be the assistant pitching coach in the staff.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
So I think it's a really good thing.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
They have a mess of a line their staff really
well where Willard's coming in and he's a freaking nation.
The guy's genius, but is not having the experience with
these players. The fact that his right hand man is
the guy who we know can relate to these players
because he's been relating to these players for years and
he's probably been a decent reason why a lot of
these guys have become the players they've been for the
last few years. So it's nice as we're graduating a
lot of these pitching prospects the major league at the
(14:32):
same time, Boom, there's your guy that was helping you
out in the minor leagues.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Think that's a nice touch by the Mess this offseason.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I also think Sproke's gonna actually have a huge impact
on this major league team as like the swingman in
the bullpen. I just can see him in like little
two winning role and just come out and throw one
hundred and that's like kind of your thing. And I
think that's really valuable and something that we've seen David
Sertin's teams do in the past with young pitchers.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
YEAPREDI Peralta, of course, Gordin Burns. I think there's Woodroff.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yes, I think there's a good little rule line there
for him.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
We're at number five. I have top five, nown yeah,
top five, top five. I've got aj Ewing at number five.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Okay, nice, this is right, Jacob Brimer, Okay, yeah, so
we can skip over r when we already talked about him.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
He's great.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Aj Ewing has been kind of the biggest riser, like
outside of like Carson Bench, but we all know that
one in terms of like going from relatively unknown to
where he's at now. Aj Ewing the shrives that he
made in the past year are huge. And I remember
when we drafted him a few years ago. This is
one of the guys that we had circled because this
was a guy that we took a little bit later
in the draft. We were able to steal away from college,
(15:32):
right yeah, and we gave him a little extra money.
But it was like, okay, like the Mets clearly see
something here because you wouldn't just pay this guy and
all the numbers look great. We have some stack cast
stuff too. He's a freak athlete, seems like he can
play center field like this is this is a really
fun prospect and a guy that again, I think his
ceiling has been a little bit higher than where we
once thought, especially now getting some of those eggs, vlos
(15:53):
and stuff behind the scenes. But at the like absolute
worst get it looks like it's gonna be a good,
solid center fielder.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
And I think that I have him a little bit higher.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Actually another tier up, a jewing, just because there seems
to be a lot of upside left in that defense
that the Mets still think they're probably coaxing out of him.
And if you get that, I think a j ewing
right now. Well, we'll talk about a little more as
we move forward, but I guess i'll say next he's
my number four. Okay, yeah that's the yeah, yeah, yeah,
he knowing that he has one hundred and twelve mile
narrow max ex vlassi he had this year, I believe
(16:22):
in double LAYERO was Brooklyn one of the two.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
The fact that you have that he does doesn't have
doesn't lift the ball very much, so that's something that's
going to stop the game.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Power.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I don't know where that ever winds up like, I
don't know if a Juwing ever even hit sixteen home
runs in major league season, truthfully, But if he could
be a true elite defensive center fielder, if he can
be like a plus plus guy out there, and he's
fast enough, he's still learning the position, He's still played
a bunch of second bases here. It seems like he's
decent enough at that too, which is like hilarious versatility
for a guy like him. But if you can actually
get to himself, which a lot of people think is
(16:51):
on this trajector being a plus plus defensive center fielder,
if you have fifteen home runs and thirty doubles and
nine triples, suddenly that's what you get yourself to one
to WRSC plus three twenty on base percentage on on ten,
it's like.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
A three to four win player for it.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
That's what I'm saying you.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
If that happens like all of a sudden, this is
approaching a top tier prospect the guy who plays them.
I think he could be approaching by mid season this year,
like top fifties on some list, top forties. It might
be getting near there on his own right, there's there's
a lot of good stuff here. I love love when
a guy like Adre Ewan, who's a better athlete and
everyone in the field in the minor leagues, just steals
every base he can.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
He's like, I can do this because you can't get me.
That's a fun thing to watch, all right. My number
four was Ryan Clifford. You want didn't know the reasons why,
the reasons I put it there. One just the proximity
to the major leagues. I think he's super close. I
think with a strong start to triple A, there's a chance,
especially if Fiano's doesn't hit or whatever the offense looks like.
I think there's a chance we could see Clifford at
the major league level this year, maybe even as early
(17:43):
as June, while the average is going to be low. Again,
this is why I keep saying Lucas due to thing
he gets on base a ton. He's extremely selective at
the plate, maybe too selective, that would be like, seems
to be the one kind of knock on Clifford is
maybe a little too selective because when he does make contact,
he absolutelytely obliterates baseballs. He hits the ball so damn hard.
(18:03):
He had twenty nine home runs last year between Double
A and Triple A, even in Triple A, where he
like struggled more so as a twenty one year old,
which again is gonna be twenty two next season. That's
absolutely insane. Sometimes we get a little prospect fatigue. I
feel like it's happened a bit with Clifford still had
a three fifty nine on base in the thirty five
games that he played in Triple A last year as
a twenty one year old, with guys throwing junk, with
(18:25):
guys who were trying to make it to the majors
one stop away.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
I think that's really really encouraging for Clifford.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Oh very in the same rule we just applied to
Jacob Brimer in Double A, we could apply it with
an extra twenty five WRC plus points in Triple A
and we go to get ourselves to almost a two
twenty WRC plus a.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Yeah, and that to me is ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
And the advanced stats in Triple A two even better
than what he actually did, like a seven to fifty
oh p has high walk rate, average strekt rate like, okay,
that's nice. He had over a fifty percent hard hit rate.
He was in like the ninety fifth percent health of
every type of eggs of lasity wont max average ninety percent,
fifty percent out. He hits the crap out of the
ball at lifting his pulled fly balls, at pulling pulling.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
His fly balls. Although I said the same thing twice
in a row.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And for a guy who doesn't swing as often as
some other hitters, very high zone contact rate. Yes, so
he does pick the right pitches to swing out when
he does decide to swing, and he's that good at
getting the bat on the ball and he still doesn't
swing and miss a lot for his power. And I
heard something else with the grape Vine that has me
really deep on Clifford here again shout.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
With the guy's baseball perspectives.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Apparently hit Lasik surgery or something eye proceed at some
point last year. Now he's just seeing things. Yeah, that's
insanely big. Imagine imagine not being able to see the
baseball one hundred percent trying to hit it.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Baseball is impossible to begin with. Yeah, So this is
this lot of upshell on Clifford.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
I just have him a little bit further down again
in that tier with Rhymer, Weninger and Sprote because as
a first base. Mean, just there's a lot much bigger
of a hurdley you have to climb to be a
major leaguatguer Yeah, left, you know what helps, He's got to.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Be elite hitter, and I.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
I loky is why they didn't sign Pee Alonzo.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Maybe I we'll see, we'll see, We'll say, we'll see
what happens in next few months.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Next we got we're up to number three now, right,
number three, the number three, Jet Williams.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
For me, Sam exactly, I'm gonna be talk from this
point on, I believe, so yeah, Jet three, let's talk
about him briefly. I think we're also getting a little
prospect fatigue with him too, Is that fair to say,
just because we've been hearing his name forever and he
hasn't ascended as fast as the other guys. But truthfully,
like Jet does everything that you'd want out of a
top prospect.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
No, he definitely does.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
And I think also with Jet there was a bad
month month plus at Triple A last year, and that
also is kind of dulling a shine. But when he
was a double like, he was like kind of unstoppable.
He's someone who's very patient against minor league pitching. And
he's one where I'm curious of how that patience adapts
to major league pitching because the guy like Jet, if
he gets bombarded in his zone and that walk rate
doesn't come with him to the majors, and that seemed
(20:40):
like something that might have happened to Triple A. That's
something that's concerning. I'm also just in general baseball, Jet
Williams is very valuable because I think.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
He can be a shortstop guy.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
I actually think he has defensive chops to stick a
short stop for the Mets. That changes things because he's
that's not going to happen. So I how how good
does your bat have to be? They just carry a
second base who we think is plus. Can you play
center field? That's still something that's up in the air
with Jet. I still think there's good. He just seems
like like a rock solid major league baseball player, like
a roster guy. I'm still just curious about how much higher.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
He can go.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
That's the big thing is what is a ceiling on
a guy like Jet Williams, where like he has good
power numbers, it's not like they're bad, but like does
he hit does he hit more than twenty homers? In
the season, maybe not.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
And it's also the thing with Jet, you never want
to do this, but you kind of have to nippick
at this spot when we get to these guys. It's
just not that many players in Major League Baseball look
like Jet Williams, like you always like to talk about,
like the smaller players with the punchy Archya type, the Corbyn,
Carroll Firus Alec Thomas, Like that's kind of the range
of outcomes there. And then also you get to like
Slay the Ruin who's just traded into Shane bos trade,
Like that's that kind of like whippy, punchy, short guy
(21:51):
that's not really Jet. Jet has more of like a
strong build. He's got the fire hydrant like they like
to say Dylsin Herrara, but a little bit more beef
on him. And there's still don't say that name, but
just saying he hits the ball hard. He doesn't swing
out of strikes home, but he also doesn't swing that much.
He pulls his fly balls like there's there's still definitely
a step to go with Jet Williams, but for him.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
To get to that next level, because I think I
think we're confident he's going to be a pretty good
MLB player.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
But I also tell you, Gus with Jet Williams, I
think a lot of people are souring on him because
of prospect fatigue.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Like you've said, if he went to college, he'd be
into the draft this year. Yeah, which is crazy.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Like he just turned twenty two. Yeah, he's so young,
he's so so like he's say birth he is my mom. Wow,
that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Oh, shout out, shout out James's.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Mom November third. That's crazy. But yeah, it's a he
stills to get over a hump. But I still like
him as a Player's floor was number two. Jonatan Jonatan.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Yeah, so again, to take what Joe DeMeo DMed me
that one time, if he never made an appearance in
Major League Baseball, he would be one of the most
untouchable prospects in the entire farm system. He's probably still
is one of the most untouchable prospects in the farm system.
But I don't think Mets fans would be as willing
to trade him as they are publicly, which also doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
But I mean, he was rocking like a forty percent
k in the minors. The stuff's on.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
He's got one of the most unique arm angles that
we've seen. He throws basically almost from the left. He
almost throws lefty because he's so far over the top
right handed. The fastball is good, the change, it's ridiculous.
He needs that third pitch. That's what's gonna be the
difference between what we saw from Joan Tong last year
and being a true, true and I think if he
gets a slider, he'll just be an ace.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
I really do think so.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
No, it's he's someone right now is on such a
seesaw because what he has now is like is good.
It's like when we saw him last year. There was
some moments where he looked amazing there some almost looked terrible.
It did feel like the hitters could play a cat
and mouse with him where they could kind of just
sit fastball. It's not easy to catch up to, but
if you know it's coming, it's easier to catch up to.
He still struck out the core of the batters he
faced when he kind of only had one true weapon
(23:42):
against them, like two pitches. But it is just gonna
be curious, what is ourm angle with the lift he
gets on his fastball, if what that next pitch could
be like we see this with ball, right, he has
the curveball, but it's just it's obvious. It's almost like
too much vertical separation. It's too crazy there. It's like
it's it's almost a twenty on our difference, like they
spot the thing out of Handstanly, he's a great with
(24:02):
the changeup.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
We see Trey Savage with the split.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
We see also Trey Savage with the backwards Slyther the
fuse slides that Jonah's tong threw actually did have some
glove side movement, but they just weren't really good. Like
I'm this is good you talk about the pitching lab.
This is when like this is when the pitching lab
is walking out to the mound like edwind Diez with
the trumpet's like, this is when the pitching lab are
his money right now, because you could Joeah Tom you
can see a world where he's one of the best
pitchers in baseball. You can see a world where he
(24:26):
can't really elevate himself past like a three four. Well,
it's like the uh, he's right now, he's stuck in.
Like again, that for a thing that we've seen with
some top prospects on the hitting side. When they've come
up where you're way too good for Triple A.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
You have conquered it. It's over. There's nothing else that
you need to do there. But the major league level,
you just might not have that pitch recognition, you might
have the discipline, you might not be able to square
the ball up because it moves a little faster, moves
a little bit more. For Tong right now, it's all
the guys in Triple A can't touch you. They never will.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
It's over.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
The guys at the major league level will just sit fastball,
and because they're they're the best players in the entire.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I wonder if there's any kind of I don't know,
carryover effect like translation here to the way that Freddy
Prawlta broke into the league six seven years ago. Now
where he was fastball Freddy that was it extension Freddy
fastballs to catch up to it, but eventually hit his
canue that was coming and Freddy Prault's command.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
I think when he broke through it was even I
think significantly.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Worse than Jonah Tong's was when we just saw him
at again twenty two, twenty one years old, when he
made his debut a the end of last season, he
was twenty two. Any debut a baby, they're eighteen to
two thirds innings, And if it did take Freddy Perrault
a few years, and he even didn't develop the full
repertoire until this past year, he was six years in
the show. Like it just takes a while sometimes, but
that fastball is not you can't really teach what Jonah
(25:40):
Toan can do with that fastball.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
So it's still just it's such an amazing place to
start and I can't wait to cherry pick on this
stat here.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
But it's like, of those eighteen innings, I just like
thirteen of them were pretty good and he just had
like five blow up innings.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And then also there was the thing where like the
Cincinnati game was the home runs getting in the best
of him, and like it's not I mean again, some
of those are pissed on, but some of them are not.
Like it was, there's this is this is also our
baby boy, Like we're going to protect this.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
This is our fucking boy. I love this dude. I'm
gonna keep him safe next year.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
And you get if you guys call me bias, I
don't care because I'm keeping him safe.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Messed up was hip to Jonah Tong. Before Jonah Tong was.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Hipped to Jonah Tong, we mentioned Jonah Tong. I think
the first episode we did the Media Marvel when I
was in Morocco and Jose Bhutto had that great start
against Cold Reagan's in April of twenty twenty four. I
think that was the first Jonah Tong mentioned good times,
but it was a buster only week in the mess
of No Pittrick Prospects. That one came to ahead now
very quickly, and then on that one. But it's so
(26:35):
it's almostly, it's kind of scary. They have this kind
of tantalizing of a prospect where the ceiling is so
high and the floor is like.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Kind of low. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, it's it's
gonna be fun to watch, what if anybody.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
I trust the guy who's kind of done it already,
like kind of been a little freak, like he's developed
so much already.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
I trust him that he's gonna be able to do
it again totally. And the attitude seems impeccable. And you
have to you have to be ready and willing to
fail to get to this point in life. And anything
way for Joan Tong to reach the major leagues as
a as a as a six foot tall, one hundred
and eighty pounds string bean from Canada who loves grilled
cheese and maple syrup together because he's again he's a freak.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
But like this, Oh yeah, you like a good combination.
I forgot about that. That was yeah, a right, that was yeah,
my byhand, I'm sorry, but my heart Taylor recipe. Nothing
better but so good.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
It's so good, it's I can't I can't wait to
watch jo and Tong this year. But also it might
not click this year and bite not click next year.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Also, if it clicked, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm good
to be patient.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
I got no I got no problem being patient with
him because again, the ceiling is so good. Number One
Carson Bench, Carson Bench. I mean he's one of the
what five best prospects in baseball by by some people's accounts.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Yeah, seven eight.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I'm doing more prospects stuff to my channel now. I'm
putting him ahead of JJ Weatherhall. I think he's actually
better than def after digging into things, and I don't
think that's consensus right now. And last year he struggled
a lot in Triple A. Like the surface stats, we're
quite bad. At the same time, he just went He
ricocheted through three levels last year, a year out of college,
so I don't really I also leave in college early,
(27:59):
and he's like twenty four games, sure hit terrible, a
buck eighty average.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
You've seen the cars in benj at Van stats and
Triple A. They're phenomenal, unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
He was hitting the crap out of the ball. We
have one hundred and ten and a half max EV
and again that was only in thirty games, So it's
good chance we get a higher one there, especially when
you consider the fact that his fiftieth percentiles lost he
was ninety fourth percentile. His ninety percent was his eighty
fourth percentile high barrel rate, fifty four percent hard hit
rate with.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
One eighty batting average. I would go postal if that
was me.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, to play like a Greek out hitting me, that
was especially when I'm not swinging and missing, I'm making
contact in the zone. I'm not striking out like that.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
That's the difference is like you could be like, I
understand how Joey Gallo hits one eighty because he doesn't
hit the very often.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Carson Bench puts the ball in play, can turn the contact.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Yeah, and he's a little bit more passive, and he
also is still not pulling the fly balls. But there's
there are so many tools in his toolbox that really
might not matter, especially that we're getting the murmurs. I
mean talking about like what we've been able to get
out of David Stearns this offseason.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
He said he's got a shot at opening Day. That's like,
that's the craziest thing David certain To said as a
met isn't that president?
Speaker 2 (29:03):
He said that in November, Like I was like, what like?
And he started less year in Brooklyn, Like he only
he played sixty games of Brooklyn. He only played thirty
games at Binghamton, And he's like, what eighty WRC plus
It's ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
He destroyed that level. One of the ten best prospects
in baseball.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Good testaments like what this regime is doing getting a
guy like Carson Bench, who was a good college player
well round. The guy had some flaws, was a two
way player, focus up on the bat, and now it's
just boom out of a cannon. This guy could be
like I still see Carson Bench throwing around trade proposals,
and I have to emphasize this. This guy is untouched, touchable,
untouched shot, a lefty bat, possible, slightly above average defensive
(29:41):
center fielder with power, crazy speed to his speed grades
in Triple A was like a ninety percentile as well.
But I know he's an incredible athlete. I legitimately don't
know who the Mets. Like, what would the Mets move him?
Who would be a player moving for Hunter Green?
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah, like that's that's kind of it, right in terms
of realistic players that could ever even slightly be a
well like yeah, take him for show, Donnie, of course, like.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
He like, this is gonna sound great. I don't even
think you put them up for like Jose Ramirez. It's
a close one. I mean, Jsermirra's a contract. That's what
plays into this.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Said, Well, I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Thinking about your best contract lest from the wine time that'shere.
I'm just going to my head right now. I just
he's guys, this guy might be like he might be special,
and even if he's not special, the chance of be
being like, well above average.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Are really high.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
And it's not that we wouldn't take Hoser ramires.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
It's just what I'm saying. It's all contract. Play is
a contract, is the age, It's all that stuff put together.
It's close. He's not bad than that's not, of course not.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, but Carson Bench has the ability to be a special,
special player. And again, for David Stearns to mention opening
day murmurings in November, it seems like every time he
brings up car he brings up Carson Ben jump prompted.
It feels like, honestly, he might really like this guy,
might see something. I I'd like to see what Carson
Bench can do for the New York Mets. And I
got an inkling that he is gonna be on the
opening day roster.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
I do too.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
The one thing you do worry about though, like just
young guy like this, like a lot of pressure to
be here opening day when there could be a slightly
hostile environment.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
But like pressure mixed.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Diamonds, I am. I am thinking about the pressure that
Noel McLean and Carson Bench could be under this season.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Again possible, but I guess again, I mean there is
gonna be a lot in those guys shoulders based on
the way his offseasons gone. So far, maybe nothing was
happened by the time this goes out, tell me your
honorable mentions.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Honorable mentions, Chris Swerro. I think just the fact that
he did so well in the Arizona Fall League as
well as he had a great season, just someone to mention.
I think especially the Mets sending him out there too,
they wanted to see a little bit more of him,
and I think he impressed. And then on the pitching side,
I've mentioned it before, but that Doug Douglas Oreana guy,
as well as Ryan Lambert and Dylan Ross. I think
all three of those guys are gonna have big impacts
(31:30):
in the Mets bullpend this season.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Yeah, I love to swear I mentioned I had him
on mind too. Just looks like a super duper athlete
and can play everywhere. That's valuable, and we have advanced
staff in Arizona Fall If you guys missed that episode
about a month and a half ago, seventy five mile
an hour average swing speed, one twelve point five max
eggs of Flosi right there, Boom, that's a plus power guy.
That's a guy who could probably had twenty five home
runs with a full season of playing time and we'll
see where the defensive home winds up. Like he's fast
(31:54):
enough for you, Like, imagine if he can even get
basketball in center field, Like that'd be freaky.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
He could catch some innings give for instance, guaut As
a bump would be sick.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
I wanted to give a shout to Mitch Voyd as well,
our first round pick from this past season. I got
a couple of great notes here, one from a guy
Michael Donedeo Baseball Perspectus and MJD's stats. I've shot him
out a lot in the show. He's doing prospect Or
with Baseball Perspectives. Now big swing change with Mitchvoyd. Big
swing Change. Mitch Foyd had a bit of a more
subtle light kick and stride when he came to the
(32:23):
Mets all of a sudden midway through only playing a
handful of games last year with Saint Lucy Due was
kicking his leg in the air and swinging and swinging
for jacks and I like people were still into Mitch
Foyd in college, like, I know I've another right. Tyler
Jennings of I think he's Prospects Live said that he
tickled one hundred and fifteen mile per hour Barrier when
he was in college and he had a thirteen percent
(32:43):
strikeout rate at over fifteen percent walkerate as but his
last year in Michigan and again some rumblings moving to
shortstop might be nasty there.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Listen would be huge, That would be huge.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
That's the kind of thing where if he if he goes,
if he hits for power next next to HEAs like
into next season with Brooklyn and he's playing good shortstop.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
He got George Lombark. Also keep out keep an eye
out for r J. Gordon. He did some good stuff
too last year. Yeah, so many pitches are so I
can't wait.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I can't wait to find out who the new guys
are gonna.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Be during the season when we do this update mid
seas in July to the top fifteen prospects.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
There's so many guys now, but I hope you guys
enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Make sure you subscribe to mets up on YouTube as
well as if you're listening to US Apple podcast, Spotify,
Google drops a rating, drops a review, download and subscribe.
You can follow James on social media at James Shanna.
I'm Draftnick Mark. Thank you guys for listening, Thank you
for watching. We'll catch you on the next one.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Peace Out, peace out guys. Let's go Mets.
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