213 Miles From Shea

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Today we are looking at Trevor Hildenberger who signed with the Mets at the end of November in 2020. He was drafted in 2014 with the Twins and made his major league debut in 2017. His stint with the Twins ended in 2019 and last year he signed with the Red Sox (although he didn’t see any major league time in 2020).

Trevor came out strong in his rookie season, pitching in 37 games and 42.0 innings with a 3.21 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.048 WHIP and a 139 ERA+. It was the only time his ERA+ was over 100. The following year was his first full year, pitching in 73 games and 73.0 innings with a 5.42 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.384 WHIP and a 79 ERA+. Trevor didn’t see a lot of time in 2019, pitching in 22 games and 16.1 innings with a 10.47 ERA, 4.81 FIP, 2.265 WHIP and 44 ERA+.

Signing Trevor was a depth signing for the Mets. As stated over and over in other articles, the Mets are just incredibly thin in AAA. So there are going to be a lot of people ahead of Hildenberger on the Mets depth chart. During spring training we’ll be looking to see where his stuff is and how major league hitters are dealing with it. The most likely way he makes the majors this year is if the Mets need an additional pitcher on a double header day. That being said, his time in the majors is an asset, maybe the Mets can help him find his 2017 self again.

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Harol Gonzalez has been with the Mets for a while, so you probably know his name by now. He was 19 when first played with the Mets in 2014 and started to play in the states the following year, starting in Kingsport. He first started to make noise on prospect lists in 2016 after posting a 2.01 ERA over 85.0 innings (he was the average age for the league) Since then he’s had success mixed in with set backs.

He literally had one start in AAA Las Vegas in 2018 and had to work his way back in 2019. In 17 games and 97.1 innings in Binghamton, he posted a 3.14 ERA and earned a stint in Syracuse where he was 2.2 years younger than the average player. In 8 games and 40.1 innings with a 2.68 ERA. He was slated for more AAA experience in 2020.

So now he is in camp on an NRI and is probably in the same grouping as Oscar De La Cruz. The Mets are looking at what the starting pitching depth looks like beyond the pitchers battling it out for a 5th spot in the rotation. With BVW trading away multiple upper minor league starting pitchers over the last few seasons, Gonzalez really is the next person up (in terms of players that have been in the Mets system for their career). We are hoping he gets an extended look this spring.

Every year at 213 we do three series of articles, essentially all at the same time. We look back at Baseball America’s profiles for the Mets Top Prospects from the previous season and see how they are changing. We look at a conglomerate of projections and try to make sense of what will happen next and there is this series. Sometimes a player ends up in more than one.

That’s exactly what is happening with Ryley Gilliam, who we looked at on 2/9. We actually wrote about him the previous spring as well. Mainly our take away has been that, holding Syracuse outside, he’s pitched well at every single level he’s been at.

• 2019 Arizona Fall League – 7 G, 9.1 IP, 0.96 ERA, 1.071 WHIP
• 2019 Syracuse – 10 G, 9.1 IP, 13.50 ERA, 3.000 WHIP
• 2019 Binghamton – 12 G, 18.2 IP, 4.34 ERA, 1.179 WHIP
• 2019 St. Lucie – 7 G, 10.2 IP, 2.53 ERA, 0.938 WHIP
• 2018 Brooklyn – 17 G, 17.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.358 WHIP
• 2018 Clemson – 27 G, 38.1 IP, 1.41 ERA, 1.148 WHIP

Here’s what we are looking for from Ryley. What can he do against Triple A level players? What can he do against major leaguers? If it wasn’t for the pandemic, he probably would be slated for at least a cup of coffee call up this season (and could have received one last year too). He’s close to at least touching the majors, so we are looking to see what he does against high caliber hitters on other teams.

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

The Mets signing Jerad Eickhoff feels like forever ago. It was the start of the off-season and the Mets were desperate to fill out back up options for the rotation, at that point there were so many questions for the rotation both in Queens and Syracuse. So the Mets got Eickhoff.

The long time Philly was actually with multiple teams last year. He signed as a free agent in December 2019 with the Padres. He was granted free agency in August in 2020 and a few days later and signed with the Rangers, the team that drafted him in 2011. (He was also drafted in 2010 with the Cubs but didn’t sign). Eickhoff made it to the Phillies in a 2015 deadline day trade with the Rangers for Cole Hamels (there are a lot of players involved in this trade). Jerad makes a splash immediately and posts a 2.65 ERA. 146 ETA+, 3.25 FIP and a 1.039 WHIP in 8 starts and 51.0 innings in 2015. Statistically, things get progressively worse for Eickhoff in his career. Ended in 2019, his last major league season, where he pitched in 12 games, made 10 starts, with a 5.71 ERA, 6.51 FIP, 1.303 WHIP and a 78 ERA+. His ERA+ was over 100 only in 2015 and 2016.

Worth noting – he’s been amazing against the Mets in his career over 8 starts and 10 games with 56.0 innings posting a 2.41 ERA and striking out 58 batters.

So now Eickhoff is a Mets where at least he can’t do damage on another team against the Mets! Most likely he doesn’t factor into the Mets major plans for this season. As of writing this article, Lucchesi and Yamamoto are the most likely pitchers battling for the fifth rotation spot. Eickhoff is battling for where he fall in the depth chart. Also, there’s always the possibility that if he pitches well this spring but doesn’t make it on the roster that he asks for a release so he can sign with another team (something the Mets famously didn’t let happen with Devin Mesoraco, tanking the Mets reputation as a good faith employer).

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Oscar De La Cruz is a former top prospect in the Cubs system who has not made it to the majors yet. The main blight in his career – in 2018 he was suspended for 80-games due to a positive test for a performance enhancing masking agent. Before the 2019 season – Baseball America had De La Cruz listed as the #21 prospect in the Cubs system. In general, BA was struck by his potential with a fastball that could hit 96 and an inconsistent change up. The main issue they noted – his change up and other pitches were coming out of a different arm slot. They wrote he was working on this, but this was also in the midst of his suspension.

De La Cruz is a right handed pitcher who has mostly been a starter in his career. After his suspension in 2018, he came back and pitched at A+ and AA ball for the Cubs. In A+ ball, he made 3 starts, 15.0 innings, with a 2.40 ERA. In AA ball, he was right around the average age of the league and had a 4.09 ERA and a 1.156 WHIP over 81.1 innings – not bad.

Oscar is a wild card for the Mets, so this spring training we are looking to see what he has. The Mets upper minors has been basically stripped of talent, putting De La Cruz up in the depth chart if things get bad and the Mets have to start making emergency roster dips into Syracuse.

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Today’s NRI doesn’t need an introduction, maybe just a re-introduction. It’s New York Mets and (#MetsTwitter) legend Jerry Blevins, who is coming into camp to compete for a lefty bullpen spot. The Mets traded for Jerry right before the start of the 2015 season, sending Matt den Dekker to the Nationals. Blevins spent the next four seasons with the Mets including two amazing years between 2016 and 2017 where he posted a 2.87 ERA over 148 games and 91.0 innings with 121 K’s. During that stretch he had a 143 ERA+ and 1.297 WHIP.

After an average 2018 with the Mets (42.2 IP, 4.85 ERA, 4.96 FIP, 1.359 WHIP and 77 ERA+) he signed with Oakland but made it back to the majors with Atlanta. He posted a 3.90 ERA over 32.1 innings and 45 games with a 1.268 WHIP and 4.61 FIP. BUT he did have a 120 ERA+. He didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2020.

The rule three batter minimum rule definitely hurts Blevins a bit. But the Mets don’t have a ton of lefty help right now and New York loves Jerry. Here’s what we are looking for in Spring Training – What stats from 2019 were the real stats. On the surface his 2019 looks like 2018 but that ERA+ and drop in WHIP are promising. Plus we would love the Mets a lot more with a lot more Jerry involved.

Note on the Series: A tradition at 213 Miles From Shea is walking through Baseball America’s Top 30 Mets prospects, one year after the list comes out. The BA printed book is generally out of date immediately when it’s published, especially when BVW was at the helm trading away prospects. Our goal with this series is to check in with how the prospects are doing. Some of them have been traded away. Because of the pandemic, minor league games did not happen last year, so we are also missing stats. Staying on top of the Minor League camp was not something I did last year, so when appropriate, I’ll link to the actual experts.

Daison Acosta was an international signing in 2016 right before his 18th birthday. Daison might have been a household name going into Spring Training this year if minor league baseball was a thing last year. Before the 2020 season, Baseball America noted how he ran through Brooklyn in 2019 finishing the year in Columbia (with some struggles). BA notes that he has a fastball in the low 90’s that has some sink and his slider is strikeout pitch. They project that Acosta would be a back of the rotation starter or reliever (not elite). Acosta was not listed as a Top 30 Prospect before the 2019 season.

So his numbers are not that remarkable – except for Brooklyn in 2019. In 4 games (and 3 starts) he pitched 18.1 innings with a 0.98 ERA, 6 BB and 25 K’s. He also posted a 0.818 WHIP. So the Mets shoved him up to the next level where he made 11 starts over 52.1 innings with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.452 WHIP (not his worse WHIP in the minors).

A few days ago he was added to the Brooklyn Cyclones roster – so he’ll open the season at the new version of high A ball, which seems right for his age and development.

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Matthew Allan falls under the “future rookie” bucket. He’s part of a large group of Mets NRI’s that are exciting prospects, looking to get more exposure as the Mets try to reevaluate what is left of the farm system after BVW.

The Mets drafted Matt Allan in round three back in 2019 making waves because of the amount of money that Allan was requesting. He was aiming to sign for 4 million and had a commitment to University of Florida. The combination of these two kept him on the draft board until the Mets third pick when they went after him and then drafted college seniors with less leverage for the next several rounds. The Mets ended up signing Allan for 2.5 million, in a slot that was valued around 670 thousand. Most draft profiles mention Allan’s plus fastball, plus 12-6 curve and in progress changeup .

Allan didn’t see a tremendous amount of action in 2019, pitching in 5 games and 4 starts in the Gulf Coast league with a 1.08 ERA. He allowed 5 hits and 1 run while walking 4 and striking out 11. He was then promoted to Brooklyn for one start, 3.3 years younger than the average player at 18 years old where he allowed 2 runs and 5 hits in 2.0 innings of work.

Allan is currently listed as the Mets fourth best prospect on MLB.com with a 2023 arrival date. On a 20-80 scale they give him:

• Fastball 65
• Curveball 60
• Changeup 55
• Control 55
• Overall 50

Ultimately Allan has a lot of what you can’t teach, “Big, strong and physical. with present stuff” according to MLB.com.

Here’s what we are looking for in Allan this spring – just to pitch! There’s very, very little chance that he makes the team at all in 2021, let along break camp with the Mets. He’s here to face major league batters. Hopefully gets to hang around camp a bit longer. With the Mets facing NL East foes so often in Spring, it would be nice to see Allan make some starts towards the end of spring when regular, major league hitters are playing more and we are trying to hide our starters.

Note on the Series: A tradition at 213 Miles From Shea is walking through Baseball America’s Top 30 Mets prospects, one year after the list comes out. The BA printed book is generally out of date immediately when it’s published, especially when BVW was at the helm trading away prospects. Our goal with this series is to check in with how the prospects are doing. Some of them have been traded away. Because of the pandemic, minor league games did not happen last year, so we are also missing stats. Staying on top of the Minor League camp was not something I did last year, so when appropriate, I’ll link to the actual experts.

Well this is exciting!!! We actually have current stats for Carlos Cortes for this article. Carlos Cortes is making waves down under as one of several Mets who were signed by the Sydney Blue Sox this off-season for Winter Ball.

Before the 2020 season, Baseball America gave Cortes a 45 grade (High Risk). They concluded his write up with “Cortes doesn’t have a prototype body or speed for the middle infield, but Mets are convinced he will hit”. The third round pick in 2018 out of South Carolina sticks out in my mind because he plays different positions with different hands. He throws lefty when plays in the outfield and righty at second (I’m sure this will be come a fun fact SNY will repeat over and over again when he makes the majors). In 2018 he slashed .264/.338/.382 and in 2019, in St Lucie, he slashed .255/.336/.397.

Carlos is having a ton of fun in Sydney. He is hitting .392/.429/.706. His slugging right now is similar to his OPS the last two years in the minors. He’s doing this off of 56 trips to the plate. I’m not sure how much this changes things for the Mets – they don’t need an outfielder like him (the Mets are still looking for a true center and have plenty of people playing in the OF who probably shouldn’t be) and the middle infield is already crowded as well. The real question for the Mets to answer right now – what is happening in Sydney? If this is a true breakout, then Carlos will start to jump the depth chart. This winter doesn’t hurt his stock at all.

Additionally, the Mets are at a point where they are trying to take stock of talent in the system for trades after BVW. What if another team is intrigued by Cortes this winter? Surprise leaps forward by prospects are always fun!

Note on the Series: A tradition at 213 Miles From Shea is walking through Baseball America’s Top 30 Mets prospects, one year after the list comes out. The BA printed book is generally out of date immediately when it’s published, especially when BVW was at the helm trading away prospects. Our goal with this series is to check in with how the prospects are doing. Some of them have been traded away. Because of the pandemic, minor league games did not happen last year, so we are also missing stats. Staying on top of the Minor League camp was not something I did last year, so when appropriate, I’ll link to the actual experts.

Ryley Gilliam was picked in round 5 of the 2018 draft. Baseball America starts off their profile noting that the Mets were attracted to the Clemson Closer’s “electric arm speed and high – spin breaking ball” (I mean they’re not wrong – the Mets love pitchers with high – spin breaking balls). In 2019 he made it all the way to Syracuse and pitched in the Arizona Fall League.

He dominated lineups in 2019 in St. Lucie, putting up a 2.53 ERA over 7 games before being promoted to Binghamton where he he still did well, posting a 4.34 ERA over 12 games (WHIP went from a 0.94 to 1.18).

Baseball America ended their profile saying that they thought he might get some time in the majors in 2020. Things looked to be heading that way too pre-pandemic. He was invited to camp with an NRI. We wrote last year how he has performed well at every level besides Syracuse. He got added to the Mets 60 player pool last year but that’s pretty much the last that we heard from him last season. This year he’s in the same boat. He’s high on the Mets depth chart, depending on injuries. The Mets will be looking at his performance in spring and early in the minors. He’s not on the Mets 40-man yet, which will be a roadblock for him getting playing time in Queens.