Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
On March 31, the Syracuse Mets season is set to begin on the road against the Worcester Red Sox. In advance of that game, the Mets have announced the Opening Day roster:
Starting Pitchers
- Tylor Megill, RHP
- José Butto, RHP
- Joey Lucchesi, LHP
- Humberto Mejia, RHP
- Denyi Reyes, RHP
After losing the spring training battle for the vacant rotation spot, Megill has been tabbed as the Opening Day starter. He will be followed by Lucchesi, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.
Butto was named MMN’s No. 13 ranked prospect. Mejia and Reyes were signed to minor league deals. The Mets recently Dylan Bundy, but he has not yet been named to the roster and will likely begin the season in extended spring.
Relief Pitchers
- Jeff Brigham, RHP
- Tony Dibrell, RHP
- Grant Hartwig, RHP
- T.J. McFarland, LHP
- Zach Muckenhirn, LHP
- Eric Orze, RHP
- Bubby Rossman, RHP
- Josh Walker, LHP
- William Woods, RHP
- Jimmy Yacabonis, RHP
The Syracuse bullpen is set to be very strong. Hartwig and Orze are top 30 prospects with Walker being previously named as one. Yacabonis and McFarland are trying to re-establish themselves as Major League caliber relievers. Of the group, only Brigham is on the 40-man roster giving him the best bet to be the Mets first call up.
Rossman signed with the Mets after pitching for Team Israel in the WBC and we recently did an interview with the hard-throwing right-hander.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Catchers
The obvious focus here is Álvarez and his continued development behind the plate. He’s considered the Mets’ best prospect and the top-catching prospect in baseball.
Meyer is a glove-first catcher. Pérez returns after he was designated for assignment last year.
Infielders
The Syracuse infield is loaded with Mets top prospects in Baty, Mauricio, and Vientos, and the four other players in the group all have major league experience. This infield might be better than a few teams in the major leagues. Interesting that the Mets listed Stewart in the infield given the entirety of his big league time has come in the corner outfield.
Outfielders
Pretty clearly the weakest spot of the Syracuse roster though it will improve once veteran Abraham Almonte is healthy. Mendick, Peraza, and Stewart do have experience in the outfield as well.
All joking aside, this Syracuse Mets roster would likely take a couple of games from the likes of the A’s or Reds in a deep series. The lineup is going to be tough for opposing pitchers to manage and the pitching staff is good enough to keep Syracuse in most games.
