Here you can see the first six in the Mets Midseason Top Prospects 25-21
#20 Matthew Bowman
Preseason: #22
Age: 24 – May 31, 1991
Drafted: 13th round in 2012
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Bowman has had the worst year of his professional career going 7-13 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.62 WHIP to start the season for the Las Vegas 51’s. He has allowed 153 hits in 121.1 innings and has a bad 1.61 SO/W ratio. He did have a good showing in Spring Training this year allowing two runs in 10 innings with seven strikeouts.
Matt has been better against right-handed hitters this year holding them a .706 OPS with only one homerun in 249 at bats. Lefties have scorched him hitting .324/.380/.541 with twelve homeruns in 234 at bats. He was much better in 2014 with both Binghamton Mets and the 51’s going 10-8 with a 3.22 ERA while striking out 124 batters in 134.1 innings.
He was named PCL pitcher of the week on July 27th after pitching a complete-game shutout against Fresno with six strikeouts. Obviously the numbers for Matt aren’t as pretty this year but he is still getting groundball outs which is evident by the 14 doubles plays that have been turned behind him. He throws a heavy sinker in the lows 90’s, changeup, slider, and curveball without any of the secondary offerings being plus pitches. He follows the line of current Mets pitchers swinging the bat well with his career .191 average. Video from his two-hit complete shutout this season.
#19 Seth Lugo
Preseason: Unranked
Age: 25 – November 17, 1989
Drafted: 34th round in 2011
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Jacob Lugo has overcome being a late round pick from a D III school and being diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis which happens when there is a displacement of a vertebra in the spine. After his first pro season he underwent the lumbar fusion and surgery despite the risk that he may never pitch again. He was bedridden for almost 3 months and had his entire 2012 season wiped out following the surgery.
Lugo is 7-5 overall with a 3.79 ERA, 3.38 FIP, and 1.272 WHIP this year in 20 starts (19 with the Binghamton Mets, 1 with Las Vegas 51’s) with his best month coming in July when he was 4-1 with 2.39 ERA. He was named the Eastern League pitcher of the week for 7/20-7/26 after going 2-0 with one run allowed in 14 innings and 16 strikeouts in that span. It has been a streaky year for Lugo who’s ERA by month are 1.38, 3.41, 7.06, 2.39, and currently 6.30 in two August starts.
Lugo comes at you with the kitchen sink throwing two different fastballs, slider, curveball, and a changeup.He throws a two seamer at 88-90 with his 4 seamer topping out at 94. His best secondary pitch is his curveball which has good bite but sometimes gets left it up in the zone. Slider is average and the changeup below average as pitches he throws occasionally to keep the hitter off balance. He has kept the ball in the park this year allowing only 8 homeruns in 114 innings and holds runners on well giving up four steals all year.
I talked to multiple scouts this year that told me they liked Lugo’s pitchability and that he could be a Major League 4th or 5th starter. Paul DePodesta was also quoted saying that “he certainly has Major League potential” in an NJ.com article earlier this year. Here is video from a eight strikeout game this year.
#18 Max Wotell
Age: 18 – September 13, 1996
Drafted: 3rd round in 2015
Bats/Throws: Right/Left
The Mets drafted the 6’3 left-hander in the 3rd round this year out of Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, North Carolina. In his senior year he went 14-0, led his team to the state championship, and was named the North Carolina Gatorade player of the year. Wotell was committed to the University of Arizona, instead he signed with the Mets for $775K which was over the slot value of $666,500.
In high school he was consistently at 89-91 while topping out at 93 MPH with his fastball and will surely add more velocity as he fills out. He has a deceptive three-quarters arm slot delivery with a curveball that has a chance to be a plus pitch. His third pitch is a changeup that some scouts think he has some feel for but needs to work controlling the pitch better in the strike zone. He has an unconventional delivery that he needs to work on to make it more repeatable for long-term success.
Max made his professional debut on June 24th with the GCL Mets pitching a scoreless inning with one walk and two strikeouts. In 7 pro innings he has allowed two hits, two runs, six walks, and struck out eleven. He is yet to allow an extra base hit or a hit with the bases empty. Here is video of him in 2014.
#17 Matt Reynolds
Preseason: #16
Age: 24 – December 3, 1990
Drafted: 2nd round in 2012 (Comp pick for Jose Reyes)
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Matt put himself on the Top 25 prospect scene with a great year in 2014 hitting .343/.405/.454 with 21 doubles, 7 triples, 6 homeruns, 61 RBI, and 20 stolen bases combined playing with Binghamton and Las Vegas. He showed up in great shape for Spring Training and impressed hitting .375/.404/.583 with two homeruns and ten RBI in 48 at bats. He went to Las Vegas and kept right on hitting having a great month of April posting a .903 OPS with 12 extra base hits, 12 RBI, and 5-5 in stolen base attempts.
He then came back down to earth hitting .252/.310/.365 from the start of May until the end of July in 230 at bats. He was limited to only 27 at bats in July because of an elbow injury that he tried playing through before ultimately being put on the disabled list. Coming back from injury he has hit better albeit without walking at all with a .310/.333/.448 line. Overall this year he is hitting .278/.331/.416 with 25 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homeruns, 61 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. However, his slash line is actually mediocre compared to the average PCL line of .272/.337/.414.
Reynolds has a nice short line drive stroke and can use the whole park but his reluctance to take walks while hitting for league average power limits his value to me. He plays a passable shortstop and has played 11 games at 2B where I think he can be an above average defender. Would like to see the Mets have him play winter ball this year and play some games at third base where he played in college. Matt was a Pacific Coast League All-Star but was unable to participate because he was on DL during the break.
Matt was left in Vegas this year when David Wright and Daniel Murphy were hurt leaving you to wonder what the Mets opinion of him could be. I think next year depending on who the Mets resign he could play a valuable role off the bench ala Justin Turner when he was here. He definitely has the athleticism to play some outfield as well if the Mets choose to turn him into a super utility guy. Still believe he has the potential to be a Major League regular at second base. Video of a homerun earlier this year.
#16 Akeel Morris
Preseason: #14
Age: 22 – November 14, 1992
Drafted: 10th in 2010
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Akeel has excelled since the Mets switched him to a primarily a reliever for Brooklyn in 2013 and full-time closer for Savannah last season. He put up video game numbers last year pitching 57 innings allowing a minuscule 19 hits while recording an eye popping 89 strikeouts. He sported a 0.63 ERA, 0.719 WHIP, and saved 16 games but did walk 22 batters. Akeel shared the Sterling Award (MVP) with Dario Alvarez for Savannah in 2014. He was an All-Star in 2014 and 2015, also named MiLB’s Fans Choice for best relief pitcher in 14′.
He started this year right where he left off in 2014 shutting down hitters in the Florida State League for the St. Lucie Mets allowing only 11 hits in 32 innings while recording 13 saves. The strikeouts did drop from 14.1 K/9 last year to 12.9 K/9 in St. Lucie and the walks rose from 3.5 BB/9 to 3.9 BB/9. The Mets saw enough in him to promote Akeel straight to the big leagues when they needed a bullpen arm in June, although mostly done because he was on the 40-man roster. He wasn’t ready yet and unsurprisingly struggled giving up five runs in his only outing.
When Morris was sent back down he went to the Binghamton Mets where he struggled at first allowing six runs and five walks in his first 4.1 innings. He has settled down since though giving up two runs on eleven hits and six walks while striking out seventeen in his last 17.1 innings. Over that span he is holding the Eastern League to a .183/.254/.283 slash line. He has always been able to keep the ball in the park allowing just 16 homeruns in 270 pro innings.
Akeel throws his fastball in the 93-95 MPH range that seems even harder with his deceptive straight over the top delivery. His changeup is his bread and butter, gets a good downward plane with a 13-15 MPH separation from his heater. Rarely throws a slider that needs work to become a Major League pitch. His fastball-changeup combination is good enough to get him to the big leagues if he is able to limit the walks. If he can improve his slider to a Major League average pitch he will be a back-end of the bullpen type guy. Video of Morris pitching in 2014.
