No. 23 Daiverson Gutierrez

B/T: R/R      Age: 19 (09/11/05)
Ht: 5’11″        Weight: 206 lbs
Acquired: International free agent (Jan. 2023; Venezuela)
ETA: 2029   Previous Rank: 28
2024 Stats: .259/.396/.435 (.831 OPS), 134 plate appearances, 28 H, 13 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBIs, 1 SB, 16 BB, 28 SO – Dominican Summer League, Florida Complex League, Single-A

Overview

The New York Mets once again dipped into the Venezuela pipeline by signing then 17-year-old Daiverson Gutierrez with almost one-third of their international spending budget in 2023. At the time of his signing, Baseball America assigned Gutierrez with a slightly above average power tool and arm strength as well as average fielding. His hit tool and speed tool were assigned below average grades.

The young, right-handed hitting catcher got his first taste of action later that season in the Dominican Summer League (DSL). Across 172 at-bats, Gutierrez struggled, slashing .186/.321/.244, good for a lowly .565 OPS. He only had six extra-base hits, two of which were home runs.

Fortunately, he improved big-time in 2024, as he played between three different levels of the Mets’ minor-league system. He posted a .947 OPS across 40 at-bats in the DSL before moving to the Florida Complex League (FCL) where he posted a 1.000 OPS across 41 at-bats. He followed the upward trajectory throughout the Mets’ system, finishing the year with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets.

Gutierrez got a mere 27 at-bats with St. Lucie before the season ended. He went 3-for-27, with all three of those hits being doubles. He struck out nine times without walking. Regardless, it was terrific to see Gutierrez improve big time at the DSL and FCL levels, where he struggled to begin his professional career after signing from Venezuela.

As far as his batted ball profile changes year-over-year, in his more successful 2024 season, he decreased his ground-ball rate by 7.1% and, importantly, increased his line-drive rate by 8.9%. He also did pull the ball a lot more, increasing his pull rate from 39.9% to 48.4%. Unsurprisingly, albeit the small sample size, his struggles in Single-A to end the season was accompanied by a huge drop in line-drive rate and a large increase in fly-ball rate.

Gutierrez profiles more as a power-hitting catcher with a strong arm and average defense. He hit the ball hard in 2024 which was shown in isolated power (ISO) figures of .175 and .220, respectively, in the DSL and FSL (.140 is the major-league average). As he fills out his frame, the power should continue to come.

Daiverson Gutierrez, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

2025 Outlook

Gutierrez is still a far ways away off as he is so early in his development. At only 19-years-old, if his progression continues, we likely won’t see the power-hitting catcher until the latter part of the decade. In 2024, expect Gutierrez to start the year toward the bottom of the Mets’ system at the Single-A level. His ceiling in 2025, if everything were to go well, is High-A Brooklyn or a full season with St. Lucie at the Single-A level.

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