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?

Around the same time that the Mets announced the Seth Lugo injury, they also announced contracts to Mike Montgomery and Tommy Hunter. We already looked at Hunter, today we’ll look at Montgomery, what he has done recently as we get ready for spring training games to start.

Mike was drafted by the Royals in 2008 in the first round and was part of the 2012 trade that sent former top prospect Wil Myers and (as of writing this on 2/16) free agent Jake Odorizzi to Tampa Bay for Wade Davis and James Sheilds. He would make his major league debut in 2015 with the Mariners after being traded for Mets legend Erasmo Ramirez. The following year he was traded to the Cubs, which is the team I personally associate Montgomery with and he was traded again in 2019, this time back to the Royals. He was granted free agency at end of 2020.

2016 was his best year – posting a 2.52 ERA over 100 innings across two leagues with a 3.79 FIP, 1.170 WHIP, and 164 ERA+. His last full season in 2019 was terrible – especially compared to pitchers the Mets had filling out the rotation for the last couple of years. In 2019 across two leagues he had a 4.95 ERA over 91.0 innings with a 5.52 FIP, 1.615 WHIP and 94 ERA+. It was the first time his ERA+ was below 100 since his rookie season. Last year he only saw 5.1 innings over a few games allowing 5 runs, 3 earned.

Mike Montgomery will be 31 this season and this spring he’ll be taking stock of what he has left. Like several other NRI’s in camp, there are a couple of ways this can go. He could be very impressive and surprisingly beat out a few people for the fifth starter spot (unlikely), he could perform well enough to be asked to be released (not sure if he can opt out) and sign with another team. He could also take an assignment to Syracuse. Given his long track record in the majors, he’ll probably get a long look throughout Spring Training, especially considering how many times the Mets have to play the Marlins and Nationals this year in spring.

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?

Tylor Megill is the first pitcher in several days that were writing about here who is primarily a prospect. He was drafted in the 8th round in 2018 and could see some time in Queens this year, otherwise he’ll break into the bigs next year. Tylor is 6’7″ which is one of those things you can’t teach a pitcher (his brother was a Rule 5 Draft pick for the Cubs and is 6’8″). MLB’s Prospect Page (formerly The Pipeline) give’s his pitches and profile the following grades:

• Fastball 55
• Slider 55
• Changeup 40
• Control 45
• Overall 40

He’s currently the #28 prospect in the Mets system according to MLB.com and Baseball America ranked him the #30 prospect in the Mets system back in 2019. If the Pandemic doesn’t happen, Megill would have started last year off in Binghamton or in Syracuse.

2019 was the first year we really saw movement for Tylor in the Mets system. He did well in first season in minor league ball in 2018, pitching in 22 games and 71.2 innings with a 3.21 ERA. In 2019 he put up these numbers across three levels:

• Columbia (1.2 years older than average) – 14 G, 31.0 IP, 2.61 ERA, 1.226 WHIP
• St. Lucie (0.1 years older than average) – 7 G, 35.2 IP, 4.04 ERA, 1.290 WHIP
• Binghamton (1.3 years younger than average) – 1 Game, 3 ER over 5.0 IP

With all of the moves the Mets have made this off-season he projects to start in Syracuse and could see time in the majors due to injuries or roster crunches. Because last year was so weird, here’s what we are looking for this spring – we want to see Tylor vs Triple A and Major League hitters. He is right at the age when he should be seeing time in the majors. If Cohen doesn’t buy the Mets and the Mets don’t retool this off-season, we would be certain that he would be making his debut this season, considering how thin the Mets were at pitchers before they started to sign a ton of pitchers on minor league deals.

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?

Tommy Hunter was a more recent Mets depth signing and it’s an intriguing one! Hunter was a first round pick for the Texas Rangers in 2007 and made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2010 but he’s more known for being in the 2011 deadline deal that sent Chris Davis to Baltimore for Koji Uehara. He stays in Baltimore for a while until he is traded again in a deadline deal in 2015 to the Cubs for Junior Leake. At this point he starts bouncing around with contracts with Cleveland, Baltimore again, Tamp Bay, The Phillies twice (and for a couple of years) and now with the Mets.

Tommy Hunter was a starter until 2012 when he started to get converted into a reliever, which is where he found his groove (between 2013 and 2014 he had a 2.81 and 2.97 ERA with the Orioles as a reliever). After a fantastic season with Tampa Bay in 2017 (2.61 ERA over 61 games) he goes to the Phillies and has a solid year as a reliever, putting up a 3.80 ERA over 64.0 innings. The following year he has a season ending injury and only logs 5.1 innings, allowing no runs. He started to fight back last year, pitching 24 of 60 games with a 24.2 innings and a 4.01 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 114 ERA+ and 1.135 WHIP.

To be honest, I’m surprised Hunter could only sign a minor league contract with an invitation to camp. His FIP was better than his career number (4.29) and kept up a pretty good streak of his ERA+ being over 100.

This article is being written on 2/16 – important because the Mets just lost Seth Lugo, did not sign Wilson and it is unclear if the Mets were able to sign anyone else. Hunter is an interesting option. He will get a long look over spring to see if there’s a spot for him on the roster. I’m not sure if his Minor League Contract allows him to opt out but he if he is good in spring, but the Mets can’t place him on the roster, I imagine he will want to leave as another team will be for sure interested in him.

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.