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?

Following a continuing trend this off-season, today’s NRI article features another player who is trying to make it the majors with the Mets, after not debuting with their original organization. Today we look at Drew Ferguson who was with the Astros since he was drafted in the 19th round in 2015.

Drew has had success at the plate in the minors, hitting .293/.394/.452 and success in Triple A ball at that level as well, hitting .280/.397/.420/.817. He also fills a need for the Mets – center field (he played all outfield positions in 2019 but spent most of his time in Center, 60 games).

He’s essentially directly competing with Fargas for centerfield depth. I’m assuming both players will split time in center in Syracuse for the Mets if there’s no path for either of them to get (first) on the 40-man roster and (second) on the Active roster.

This article was also written a while ago (2/20) and I can’t predict what has already happened in Spring Training but I’m assuming both Fargas and Ferguson are getting an extended look so far and will probably be in camp for a while near the final cuts. Because the success of the Mets in 2021 isn’t tied directly to either player, it takes the stakes for everyone else out of this competition.

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets lost to the Nationals yesterday when the Nationals scored two run runs in the bottom of the ninth against Ryley Gilliam – but the games here don’t mean anything in the win/loss column and what we really care about is individual performances, and there was a lot to be happy about.

Jordan Yamamoto made the start for the Mets and pitched 3.2 innings allowing 2 hits and a run while striking out 2 – his ERA this spring is at 1.08. Daniel Zamora came into relieve Jordan and Daniel continued his terrific spring with recording two outs, keeping his spring ERA to 0.00. Even more exciting were the relievers that came in after. Edwin Diaz pitched another perfect inning this spring and so did Miguel Castro.

What We’re Watching For Today:
The Mets 5th starter contenders (Jordan Yamamoto, Joey Lucchesi, Mike Montgomery) all had good outings yesterday and today is David Peterson‘s turn to keep on pushing forward. In his first outing this spring he allowed 1 hit and that was it over 2.0 innings of work. (David Peterson has also gotten work in B-games as well)

The Mets are coming into today’s game with lineup that is fairly close to a starting lineup if there was a DH and Jeff McNeil wasn’t playing. Nimmo/Lindor/Conforto top the lineup followed by Alonso/Dominic Smith/ JD Davis. A pretty great starting 6. Nimmo has been crushing it this spring hitting.444/.500/.722 and Alonso has hit .333/.478/.833. Both have already surpassed the point where you hope they leave some hits for the season they’re doing so good.

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?

Oh hey! For a second year in a row we are writing about Johneshwy Fargas, and that’s not a bad thing! Last year we wrote about how Fargas was one of the few center fielders in camp on an NRI, a position the Mets are thin on (article written on 2/20, so this obviously pending any trade the Mets might make for a center fielder). Fargas was originally drafted by the Giants and has made it up to AA ball and plays in Puerto Rico basically every winter.

In the minors in his career he has hit .255/.311/.342/.673 and in international leagues he has hit .229/.300/.321/.621. That being said, he’s coming off his best winter ever. In 89 PA’s he hit .307/.393/.560. One of the few players we have covered with an OPS over 900 (let alone above .950) in winter ball this year.

There are still a lot of players in front of Fargas right now and honestly the most likely scenario is something has to go wrong with injuries for Fargas to break camp with the team. It looks like he took a step forward this winter with his bat, even though the main asset he brings is his glove. It will be interesting to watch his bat this year in Triple A as he fights his way up the depth chart for when the Mets will inevitably need to dip into the minors at some point this year.

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets dropped the game yesterday to the Marlins 4-2, falling to 5-4 for the meaningless spring training game season. Pete Alonso though kept his tremendous spring going, picking up a double in two trips to the plates pushing his OPS to 1.312. Nimmo also picked up a double, somehow dropping his OPS to 1.222.

On the mound, Stroman allowed only 1 run over 3.1 innings from 4 hits and a walk while striking out 4. His Spring ERA is now sitting at 3.24 and has been promising so far. He got up to 58 pitches in the outing and the goal is to get him to 90 before the start of the season. Betances also pitched and his line looked ok (a walk and a strikeout with no hits and no runs in one inning), there is concern about his fastball which started at 89 mph yesterday. Joey Lucchesi stole the show at the end of the game with 2.0 innings with a walk and 3 K’s as he tries to push his way into the rotation.

What to Watch Today:
In what’s becoming a theme for the Mets – they are playing on Saturday afternoon and there are no cameras to capture it. Frustrating. Anyway Jordan Yamamoto makes his third appearance in a today. He has recorded 5.0 innings of work with 2 unearned runs off 5 hits while walking 1 and striking out 3. He’ll be followed by several key Mets bullpen pitchers. Edwin Diaz will get into his third game and he’s looked good so far, 2.0 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts. Miguel Castro comes in after and he’s had a fantastic spring with 2.0 shutout innings with a walk and 2 K’s.

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?

I am very excited about today’s NRI profile! Pete Crow-Armstrong (I also fully understand that by the time this article posts, written on 2/20, Pete may already be back in minor league camp). Pete is also the last top prospect we’ll be looking at in this series. Generally he’s around the 5th best prospect in the Mets system, depending on where you look. MLB.com has the following grades for him:

• Hit 55
• Power 40
• Run 60
• Arm 55
• Field 60
• Overall 50

Pete was a first round pick for the Mets in 2020, and because it was 2020, we don’t have any stats from the minors yet to dive into for the soon to be 19 year old (next week!). He’s generally considered a strong defensive asset to Centerfield, with good speed. His plate development is going to dictate where he goes. Outfield, especially center fielders, is an area the Mets are just missing right now in the system.

Pete is the first player in this article series that we don’t have any minor league stats, any college stats (drafted out of high school) and no winter ball stats. High School stats are sometimes misleading outside of “this player is really good and is a professional playing against some players who might be professional and a lot of players that won’t be” He was a standout though on the 18U USA team where he hit .364/.405/.606. This is why I’m so excited to see him in Mets camp this year – we get to see him play against other players with similar talent! It will also be a joy to watch him play in the minors.

It’s also important to talk about Pete off the field. Pete was advocate and an activist last summer for against racial inequality and police brutality showing support for Black Lives Matter. We need more of that with white players in the league.

Recapping Yesterday:
The game last night was made for prime time. Jacob deGrom. Zack Grienke. Evening spring training game. It would have been perfect. But the Astros don’t have TV broadcast support set up yet down in Florida. We ended up missing a really good one for the Mets. Mets pitchers combined to throw 9.0 innings allowing 1 hit, 2 walks and struck out 17 batters. Jacob deGrom started everything off with 3 perfect innings with 7 K’s (and reached 102 with a fastball!). He looked great. Mike Montgomery, trying to break his way into the Mets roster, followed with 4 K’s over 2.0 innings. Barnes had a bounce back performance and Zamora allowed 2 walks, but no hits and no runs as he continues to have a great spring.

The Mets offense, despite using a lineup close to their starting lineup, was mostly silent. Brandon Nimmo collected two hits and raised his OPS in Spring to 1.263. Pete Alonso hit another homer in spring, raising his OPS to (an identical to Nimmo’s) 1.263.

What We are Watching For Today
The Mets have their first day game after a night game today! (Their previous 6 PM start, also against the Astros, was moved up to 1 PM for weather reasons last Saturday). One important thing to note, we actually can watch today’s game as SNY will be carrying it.

Marcus Stroman gets the start today. In two games so far this spring he has allowed 2 runs off 3 hits in 5.0 innings while walking 1 and striking out 4. The runs came from one inning of work last time out and besides that inning, he’s looked great. Lots of movement on his pitches.

Scheduled to follow are Dellin Betances, Aaron Loup, Joey Lucchesi, Drew Smith, Tommy Hunter, Stephen Nogosek and Trevor Hildenberger (who was sent to minors camp earlier in the week). Betances is still looking to find his stuff this spring. Joey Lucchesi is competing for the fifth starting spot against Peterson and Yamamoto (and others). This will be Loup’s third game this spring. So far he has allowed 2 hits and an unearned run while striking out 2.

Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Last Time:
The Mets beat the Cardinals on Tuesday 5-3 thanks to a go-ahead hit by top prospect Ronny Mauricio in the bottom of the 7th. In a small sample size this spring, Ronny has a .455 batting average, .909 OPS. Walker allowed 2 runs in 2.0 innings (his first inning was great and he confirmed that he’s going to wear the shark-tooth necklace Turk Wendell sent to him during his next start). The real story is how good the Mets bullpen was. Edwin Diaz had a great inning of work, Familial allowed a walk and that’s it, Miguel Castro struck out 2 in his inning of work. Good news all the way around.

What We are Looking For Today:
I guess we are using “looking for” very lightly. The Mets have a made for TV spring training game, starting at 6 PM tonight. Spring Training games TV coverage is controlled by the home team usually and the Astros haven’t had any TV games yet. So deGrom is going to go against Grienke, again, and no one will be able to see it. Radio coverage by the Astro’s announcers (and they aren’t that good).

Anyway, deGrom is the main story today and he was so good his last time out. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out 3 over 2.0 innings with a fastball that sat in the high 90’s touching 99, 100 multiple times. I’m also all for him making all his spring starts against the Astros at their home. He gets to face more major leaguers that won’t see him in the regular season.

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?

It’s another prospect day in this series! Mark Vientos!

Mark Vientos is ranked differently in the Mets system depending on where you look. He’s generally considered a top ten prospect, generally in the middle range of those lists. MLB.com for example has him ranked #7. The 21 year old was drafted in 2017 in the second round and plays third. MLB gave him the following grades:

• Hit 45
• Power 60
• Run 40
• Arm 60
• Field 50
• Overall 50

The appeal of Vientos has always been his power. In his first year in the minors, 2017, he played in the Gulf Coast League and for the Kingsport Mets being 2.5 years and 3.3 years younger than the average player (identical to Ronny Mauricio the following year) and during that time he hit .262/.318/.398/.715. The following year he spent the whole year in Kingsport and hit a .287/.389/.489/.878 earning a promotion the following year to full season ball in Columbia. With the fireflies, he was still 2.5 years younger than the average player and hit .255/.300/.411/.711.

There’s now another issue to consider with Vientos, which might not be an issue by the times this article posts (article written on 2/20). Vientos tracks right now as a third baseman, his power would need to jump a lot to move over to first. Mauricio is a short stop but might have to move over to third base if the Mets sign Lindor to a long term deal, which the Mets absolutely need to do. This is why Vientos could be a trade target at some point (or Mauricio). Vientos made it through the BVW era, which is amazing. But now there are some interesting long term road blocks for him in his development.

I’m looking forward to seeing him this Spring and then for his second year of full season minor league ball!

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 get to look an old friend, Wilfredo Tovar! Wilfredo was signed by the Mets back in 2007 and made his major league debut in 2013 with the Mets and also saw some time in 2014 as well. After the Mets he has signed with the Twins. Cardinals, Angels, Twins again and now Mets again. So close to a palindrome of a career (if he ends with the Mets).

You would be forgiven if you missed his time as a Met. In 2013, as a 21 year old, he had 19 PA’s and hit .200/.294/.200 and then in 2014 he had only 3 PA’s. He had a longer look in 2019 as a 27 year old where he was in 31 games and 88 PA’s with a .193/.239/.253/.492 line.

Despite struggles in the majors, he’s done well in the minors with a .268/.324/.352 line and in International leagues he has hit .279/.324/.361. He did turn some heads with his three most recent minor league lines:

• 2019 AAA .321/.355/.446
• 2019 VEWL .293/.331/.414
• 2020 VEWL .323/.407/.415

So why not give Wilfredo Tovar another chance? There are no infielders on the Mets who are immediately ready. He’s had some interesting recent stats in the Venezuelan League (there are similarities here with the David Rodriguez signing), so why not take a risk! Tovar and Jose Peraza are basically competing this spring for next infielder up in the case of injury for the Mets, maybe even trying to squeeze on to the roster by the end of Spring.

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets dropped to a meaningless .500 record after losing 9-5 to the Nationals on the road. The result in spring doesn’t matter, but individual performances (sort-of?) matter and it was the first time the Mets had multiple players record at least two hits in a game. Francisco Lindor got 2 hits, which were also his first two hits as a Met. Mark Vientos, a top prospect, smoked two doubles. And fan favorite Luis Guillorme, who should see more playing time this year, recorded two hits raising his batting average to .455 this spring. A good chunk of the Mets runs came from a pinch-hit 3 run bomb by Jake Hager (the second player in as many days to hit a 3-run homer).

On the, “oh boy, we need to work that out side” was the defense. The Mets recorded three errors on the day and is reflected in Yamamoto allowing 2 runs over 3.0 innings, but none earned. Matt Allan made his Mets debut and allowed 4 hits and 3 runs, but only one of the runs was earned. Sloppy day for fielding.

What To Look For Today:
Taijuan Walker makes his Mets debut today! The Mets newest pitcher worked in 11 games last year totaling 53.1 innings with a 2.70 ERA, 1.163 WHIP, 4.56 FIP and 161 ERA+. Walker rounds out a good off-season for the Mets forcing an open competition for the last rotation spot that includes David Peterson. Walker will be followed by Edwin Diaz who had a super easy outing a few days ago where he threw only 7 pitches. Other key bullpen arms are on deck in Trevor May, Jeurys Famila, Miguel Castro and Drew Smith. Two of the more interesting pitchers in camp, Sam McWilliams and Ryley Gilliam will make their 2nd and 3rd appearance respectively and one of the more intriguing NRI’s, Tommy Hunter is slated to go to. Unsure if everyone will get in the game today but there’s a lot to look for as far as pitching is concerned.

McCann behind the plate has been fascinating to watch this spring as he builds relationships with the starting pitchers. We’ll also get our first look at Drury over at third base. If you were tuning in to watch the Mets starting outfield today you’ll be disappointed in Pillar flanked by Almora Jr. and Fargas.