Six Interesting Non-Roster Big League Spring Invites

Since the New York Mets announced the non-roster minor leaguers they invited to major league camp for spring training the biggest story written by many is the inclusion of former quarterback Tim Tebow.

As captivating as Tebow is, when talking strictly about baseball talent I think we need to focus more on guys that have the possibility to help the Mets as soon as this year and in the long-term.

In no particular order, here are six guys I look forward to seeing in big league camp this spring:

Peter Alonso, 1B

Our No. 3 prospect at MMO/MMN will be in big league camp for the first time and fans will get to see him display some of the best power in the Mets entire system including the major league roster. The 23-year-old hit .289/.359/.524 with 27 doubles and 18 home runs during his first full pro season in 2017.

We’ll also get to see how much his defense has improved after working on it during Instructs this offseason. With the Mets down on Dominic Smith, it will be a good opportunity for the 2016 second round pick to impress the Mets with him likely starting the season not that far away from the majors in Double-A Binghamton.

David Thompson, 3B

I’m well aware that very few people outside of me (and Carson Cistulli at FG) have any hope for the former Florida high school home run champ. One of the big issues scouts saw with Thompson coming out of the draft was that he couldn’t stick long-term at third base defensively after two shoulder surgeries. The former high school quarterback has actually played a passable defense and looks like he stays at third.

Now let’s get to the offense in which he slashed .263/.325/.429 with 29 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 RBI last season for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2017. Thompson found his power in the second half with a .476 slugging and set a career-high with 42.4% flyball rate for the season. The 24-year-old finished the season with a team-leading .940 OPS in the AFL for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

Adonis Uceta, RHP

I’ve talked about Uceta on here multiple times leading up to the Rule 5 draft as an option to get added to the 40-man roster, he didn’t and wasn’t drafted thankfully. The right-hander converted full-time to a reliever in 2017 and it paid off big time for the Mets with him starting the season in Low-A with the Columbia Firelfies and finishing with the Double-A Rumble Ponies.

Uceta, 23, had a 1.51 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 5.1 H/9, 10.1 K/9, allowed only two home runs in 59.2 innings and had 14 saves between three teams last season. From May 11 to August 11, Uceta didn’t allow an earned run in 36 innings and gave up just 18 hits in that span. He throws in the mid-90’s with a plus changeup that is an out pitch and a slider that improved as the year went on.

Kevin Kaczmarski, OF

Normally Kacz isn’t the type of player I would look forward to seeing in ST, but the Mets outfield depth is so bad that you can argue he’s likely sixth on that list. Solid defender that has played all three outfield spots though his range is stretched in center. The 26-year-old hit .274/.370/.369 with 18 doubles, five triples, five home runs in 2017 for Binghamton.

Lack of power (.095 ISO) is a concern though he does have a good eye at plate (11.5 BB%), makes contact frequently (15.8 K%) and has slightly above average speed (15 SB). Kacz struggles to get any lift with a 28.2% flyball rate. He had a fine AFL season (.834 OPS, 3rd on team) and would likely be one of the first outfielders promoted if the Mets have a need.

Matt Purke, LHP

Another guy that might normally get overlooked in big league camp, however is currently one of only four lefty pitchers that will be there. The former first round pick and then big bonus ($2.75M & MLB deal) guy has 18 innings of big league experience. He had a 3.84 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 11.0 K/9 during the 2017 season pitching for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights of the White Sox organization.

He’s a three-pitch reliever (former starter at TCU) with a fastball now in the low 90s, solid slider and a splitter. He held lefties to a .192/.314/.222 slash line in 2017 and a .446 OPS in 2016. In fact, over the last two seasons he has faced 149 lefties and given up only three extra base hits (no home runs). The 27-year-old should get a long look this spring.

Drew Smith, RHP

Acquired in the trade that sent Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays last year and a former third round pick of the Detroit Tigers. In 60 innings last year he had a 1.65 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 6.0 H/9, 2.1 BB/9 and saved seven games. He has allowed only two home runs in his pro career spanning 139 innings (first one was to the aforementioned Alonso).

The 24-year-old throws a fastball in the mid-90s that has flashed upper 90s with a sharp curveball that can be plus pitch at times. He minimized a previous issue for him with only 14 walks last season in his 60 innings. He showed off his potential plus combo of fastball-curve August 21 for Binghamton when he struck out seven consecutive batters.

Catcher Patrick Mazeika, left-handed pitcher P.J. Conlon, righty reliever Corey Taylor, infielder Phillip Evans, outfielder Zach Borenstein and veteran catcher Jose Lobaton round out the rest of the Mets non-roster invites to big league camp.