JT Schwartz, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO
No. 35 JT Schwartz, 1B
Age: 22 (12/19/1999)
HT: 6’4, WT: 215
B/T: L/R
Acquired: Drafted in 4th RD of 2021 Draft – UCLA
ETA: 2024 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (St. Lucie Mets): 25 G, .195/.320/.256, 13 BB/12K, 70 wRC+
The left-handed hitter was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2021 draft after having a monster 1.142 OPS in 44 games during his redshirt sophomore year at UCLA. He also walked 37 times and struck out only 28 times during that span. His .396 batting average was tops in the Pac-12 and he hit .407 with runners in scoring position. As noted by Mason McRae on Twitter — a very good MLB draft resource — Schwartz was among a small group of players that drafted last year with a contact rate above 85% and an average exit velocity of 89 mph or higher.
Baseball America had Schwartz as their No. 127 prospect heading into the draft and called him the best hitter that the Mets drafted in 2021.
Unfortunately for Schwartz, in a small sample size, he struggled to hit for average (.195) and power (.256) during his pro debut in 25 games for the Low-A St. Lucie Mets. The 22-year-old continued to show a strong knowledge of the strike zone though with a 13% walk rate and a very low 12% strike zone percentage.
Schwartz has shown the propensity to hit high velocity and post plus exit velocities, but he is right on top of the plate and tends to fall into inside-outing a lot of pitches he could do more damage on. The Mets will need him to hit with more power on those pitches to make it to the big leagues.
Injuries and below average speed have limited Schwartz to first base and that’s likely his only defensive option going forward, making his need for more in-game power even more important going forward.
No. 34 Jose Peroza, 3B
Age: 21 (6/15/2000)
HT: 6’1, WT: 221
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as International Free Agent in 2016
ETA: 2024 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (St. Lucie/Brooklyn): .254/.365/.424, 22 2B, 12 HR, 64 RBI, 117 wRC+
Last year was a tale of two different seasons for the 21-year-old infielder. Peroza was terrific in 64 games with St. Lucie as he posted a .404 OBP and 136 wRC+. But, following a promotion to High-A Brooklyn, Peroza struggled to the tune of a .293 OBP and 82 wRC+ in 38 games. It’s pretty easy to see the reasons for his struggles as his walk-to-strikeout ratio went from 0.61 in St. Lucie to 0.30 in Brooklyn, and his groundball-to-flyball ratio went from 0.79 to 1.36. Simply put, striking out a ton and hitting too many groundballs is not a recipe for success at any level.
Jose Peroza with a long 2-run home run in the 3rd off of Levi Prater gives Ginn & the St. Lucie Mets a 3-1 lead over the Cardinals.@Metsmerized @Mets_Minors pic.twitter.com/hMVMJDH4l9
— Alexis Farinacci (@AlexisFarinacci) June 9, 2021
It is important to note that Peroza was almost two years younger than the average player once he was promoted to Brooklyn, and it was also the first time he played a full season in full season ball during his career.
The carrying tool for Peroza is his power. He’s in the next tier of Mets prospects after Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, and a few others in terms of raw power. His .168 ISO ranked ninth among Mets full season prospects in 2021. When the stocky Peroza is going right he’s a player that flashes power to all fields and doesn’t put the ball on the ground often. There was certainly loft to his swing in St. Lucie when he posted a 16.8 degree launch angle; for reference, the MLB average in 2021 was 12 degrees. He also posted a 43% hard hit rate, significantly higher than the MLB average of 35.
Defensively, spent a majority of his time at third base last season (60 games), but also played second base (29 games), and first base (six games) as well. He has the arm strength to play third, and his mobility is currently fine for the position as well. If his frame does get bigger that could limit his agility and move him over to first base, where his ceiling certainly takes a big hit.
No. 33 Brian Metoyer, RHP
Age: 25 (11/13/1996)
HT: 6’3, WT: 173
B/T: R/R
Acquired: 40th Rd Pick in 2018 – Louisiana State University of Alexandria
ETA: 2022 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (Brooklyn/Binghamton: 36 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 4.0 H/9, 4.8 BB/9, 13.0 K/9
The right-handed Metoyer came into the 2021 season with only 41 innings pitched during his pro career, but pitched very well and reached as high as Double-A with Binghamton. The reliever was elite in eliminating hits last season. His .131 opponents batting average ranked 17th among over 2,200 minor league pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched. But it wasn’t simply hits that he was prohibiting; it was also the long ball as well. His 0.25 HR/9 was the best for all Mets minor league full season pitchers last season.
Metoyer didn’t give up a triple or home run to right-hander batters in 2021 (90 plate appearances) and the only extra base hit he gave up to left-handers was a home run (54 plate appearances). The 25-year-old was among the top Mets minor leaguers with his 36.1 strikeout percentage. It ranked third among all pitchers and first among pitchers that only played in full season ball.
When Metoyer wasn’t striking out more than a third of the batters he faced, he was getting a large portion of the rest to hit the ball on the ground. His ground ball rate of 69.2% was way ahead of the second highest in the Mets farm system and only two big leaguers posted a higher percentage in 2022.
Here’s the high-spin curve from Mets prospect Brian Metoyer that I keep telling you about.
Average spin in last outing was 3,300 and had 100% whiff rate on the pitch (3/3).
His 36.1 K% led all Mets full season minor leaguers in 2021.
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 3, 2021
The issue you can see right away with Metoyer’s 2021 season is the high 4.8 BB/9 walk rate that got even worse when he pitched in the Arizona Fall League. Metoyer walked 10 batters 10 innings during AFL action; the strikeouts were still there with 17 though.
Metoyer’s best pitch is his high-spin curveball that he matches with a cutting fastball in the 92-95 mph range and an occasional changeup. His curveball is 78-81 mph with generally about 55-60 inches of vertical break, but his spin rates have fleshed above 3300 rpms. For reference, Seth Lugo led the big leagues in 2021 with an average spin rate on his curve of 3261 rpms. He’s also posting elite spin rates on his cutter as well, with a few over 2800 rpms in the AFL. Trevor Bauer led the majors with his average of 2872 rpms and Yu Darvish was second at 2774.
The Mets decided not to add Metoyer to the 40-man roster this offseason, so he will be exposed to the Rule 5 if/when that happens following a new CBA deal. If Metoyer isn’t taken and he improves his control early in the season, he’s the type of arm we could see in the Mets big league bullpen at some point during the 2022 season.
No. 32 Thomas Szapucki, LHP
Age: 25 (6/12/1996)
HT: 6’2, WT: 181
B/T: R/L
Acquired: 5th Rd Pick in 2015 out of High School
ETA: Made Debut in 2021 Previous MMO Ranking: 19
2021 Stats (Syracuse): 41.2 IP, 4.10 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 1.68 WHIP, 6.0 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
Beyond the ugly numbers that Szapucki posted in Triple-A Syracuse last season, he also gave up six runs in 3 2/3 innings at the big league level and had season-ending ulnar nerve transposition surgery in July. Once a top pitching prospect in the Mets system after putting up elite strikeout numbers and flashing a plus breaking ball, Szapucki is coming off an all-around bad season and will turn 26 in June.
Maintaining velocity has become an issue for Szapucki following 2017 Tommy John surgery and he was mostly in the low 90’s last season, but would dip into the high 80’s at times too. His previously-highly though of curveball didn’t have the same late break in 2021, and he didn’t show command of any of his pitches before needing surgery.
Szapucki continued to work primarily as a starter last season, but it might be best for the Mets to try to maximize what his stuff is now as multi-inning reliever.
No. 31 Colin Holderman, RHP
Age: 26 (10/8/1995)
HT: 6’7, WT: 240
B/T: R/R
Acquired: 9th RD of 2016 Draft – Heartland Community College
ETA: 2022 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (St. Lucie/Binghamton): 24 IP, 3.38 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 6.0 H/9, 10.1 K/9
Holderman has thrown just 66 1/3 innings (all in 2019) since the end of the 2017 because of injuries and the COVID-canceled season. Holderman started the season in the rotation for Binghamton before another injury hit. After two months on the shelf, he went to the bullpen and that’s where he will stay.
The very tall right-hander pitched 17 innings over 13 bullpen appearances between St. Lucie and Binghamton, including five saves in that span. He struck out 21 batters and walked six in those 17 innings and held opponents to a .503 OPS.
I was lucky enough to see Holderman in person last season when he pitched against the Portland Sea Dogs in my neck of the woods. The former starter was electric that night with his fastball sitting 97/98 and topped out at 99 mph. He also got multiple swings and misses on his slider around 87/88 mph with good shape.
Another potential big league reliever that has struggled with control at times as shown by his seven walks in 10 Arizona Fall League innings last year. Still, Holderman has a big velo and elite spin four-seamer combined with a sharp biting slider that could make for a nice 1-2 in the late inning for the Mets soon.
