With the 2017 year coming to an end we will take a look at the top minor league players from the New York Mets system over the past season. We based our choices on how they did statistically and not prospect ranking.

Starters

Juan Uriarte, C – The 2014 signee out of Mexico delivered a breakout season this year at Kingsport. Although he had always been known as an exceptional defender behind the plate with a cannon for an arm, his offense took a step up this year, as he hit .305/.372/.455 with 13 doubles. He’s a contact hitter, only striking out 25 times this year. He placed in the top 15 in the Appalachian League in OPS, average, doubles, hits, and total bases. The right-handed hitter recently turned 20 years old.

Peter Alonso, 1B – The product of the University of Florida, Alonso finally delivered on his raw power that convinced the Mets to draft him in the second round of the 2015 draft. Although the beginning of his season was marred by a broken hand and ineffectiveness, he really stepped it up in the second half. His 16 home runs were the second most in the FSL. Starting 2017 in St. Lucie, Alonso impressed so much that he was called up to help during the Rumble Ponies’s 2017 run to the playoffs.

Luis Santana, 2B – In his second professional season, he had arguably the most underrated season in the Mets minor league system. He hit .325/.430/.481 and his OBP was third among Mets minor leaguers. The second baseman relied on hitting ground balls, which served him well due to his advanced speed. He joined DSL 2 this year and will most likely start at Kingsport next year. The 18-year-old was given a $200k signing bonus in 2016.

Amed Rosario, SS – Amed is arguably the most impressive position player prospect the Mets have had in years. While his offense struggled in his brief stop into the Major Leagues, there is no denying his Triple-A slash line: .328/.367/.466. His spectacular defense was on display in both Vegas and at times in New York, hopefully allaying the fears that his bat is not yet Major-League ready. Especially worrisome was his 1.8% walk rate in his inaugural MLB season. However, if he can fix that in his sophomore year, he should easily cement himself as an above-average shortstop.

Rigoberto Terrazas, 3B – Terrazas is another player on this list who had a breakout year. He earned a Sterling Award and received his first All-Star selection. Doing most of his damage at Hunter Wright stadium, he finished with a .348/.413/.486 slash line. His come-out-of-nowhere year was warranted by increasing his line drive percentage by 13 points. He finished top 10 in the Appalachian League in OPS, average, hits and runs. This season was a step in the right direction for the 21-year-old.

Wagner Lagrange, OF – A 2015 international signee, Lagrange greatly underachieved in his first full season hitting only .231/.276/.301. However, he greatly outperformed those numbers in 2017. With Kingsport, he hit .330/.379/.460 and was voted an All-Star. His defense was raved about due to the fact that he had 10 assists in 2017 as he has a cannon for an arm in left field. He finished with 40 RBIs and a .379 OBP, both which were ninth in the Appalachian League.

Jayce Boyd, OF – One of the most forgotten men in Las Vegas, Boyd has proven all throughout his minor league career that he can make contact, but he’s never been able to slug for extra bases.  A sixth round pick in 2012, had a bounce back season as he was finally able to hit for extra bases with a .297/.371/.512 slash line. His 2014 TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) surgery has been a huge detriment to his defense, especially since he moved to left field in 2015.

Travis Taijeron, OF – A huge man with extreme power, Taijeron had another huge offensive year for the 51s. He finished his season with a .907 OPS, second among Mets minor leaguers. Although he cut down his strikeout rate in his third year with the 51s, he’s still a three true outcome player. Among league leaders in doubles, home runs, and total bases, he was finally given a deserving promotion in late August.

Rotation

Corey Oswalt, RHP – It was a banner year for Corey Oswalt, who led a talented Rumble Ponies team to a playoff appearance and took home both the Mets Sterling Award for Minor League Pitcher of the Year and the Double-A’s Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.

The 23-year-old right-hander won half of his 24 starts, while holding opponents to a .236 batting average and a league-leading 2.28 ERA. The 2012 7th rounder punched out 119 opposing batters in a career-high 134.1 innings. Though Oswalt’s K/9 jumped a full strikeout from 2016 (to 8.0), inducing weak contact remains his strength. His home run rate remained low, as the 6’5” hurler gave up just nine longballs all season.

Harol Gonzalez, RHP – In 2016, Harol Gonzalez was nearly unstoppable for the Brooklyn Cyclones. This past season proved to be a different experience for the 22-year-old. He spent the majority of his season in Columbia and fared well, pitching to a 9-8 record with a 3.56 ERA.

Gonzalez’s dip in ineffectiveness can possibly be attributed to his significantly lower strikeout rate, as he dipped from 9.3 K/9 in Brooklyn to 6.5 K/9 this year. Despite his lowered strikeout rate, the Dominican right-hander maintained a solid K/BB of 2.5. Gonzalez was still a consistent arm and a workhorse for the Fireflies, pitching in a career high 137.2 innings.

Miguel Ramirez, RHP – Miguel Ramirez is a name that many Mets fans are not familiar with, but if his 2017 is any indication, they may have to learn the name quickly. The 20-year-old spent his season in rookie ball, with the DSL Mets. There, he pitched to a 1.76 ERA in 66.2 innings. However, it was Ramirez’s walk total that truly jumps out. After walking 30 batters in 42 innings in 2016, he walked just three batters this season.

His low walk total helped produce a WHIP of 0.90, the third best mark in the DSL. Ramirez struck out just 53 batters, a number he will need to improve upon as he gets older. Ramirez’s dominant stats, which include 11 scoreless starts of the 14 he made, do not give the full picture. He turns 21 in March, and has yet to throw a pitch in stateside ball. His listed height and weight of 6’1” and 140 lbs. indicate that the right-hander will need to fill out his frame if he wants to continue to improve and build upon his successful season.

P.J. Conlon, LHP – After pitching to a 1.65 ERA across two levels last year, Irish-born Conlon faced regression in 2017. At 8-9 with a 3.38, Conlon still had a successful first season at Binghamton, despite not showing the same progress that earned him a Sterling Award in 2016. The jump to a higher level did not affect his strikeout rate, as it remained hovering right around 7 K/9. Conlon saw a slight increase in his walk total, however, the fact that he gave up nine more home runs in six fewer innings than last season should be more of a concern.

It should be noted how the left-hander finished his season. Six of Conlon’s last seven appearances were all in relief. He fared well, not giving up a single run in any of those outings. Conlon, a University of San Diego product, was a 13th round selection in 2015.

Jordan Humphreys, RHP – Humphreys only made 13 starts this year across Columbia and St. Lucie, but in those starts he was utterly dominant. The 21-year-old shined as a Firefly, pitching to an ERA of 1.49 in his 11 starts in Columbia. Remarkably, the right-hander allowed one run or less in nine of his 13 starts, and only gave up more than two runs once, in his first of two starts for St. Lucie.

The 2015 18th rounder struck out more than a batter per inning, dispatching 83 batters in 80.2 innings. A big factor in his run prevention was his stinginess with the home run ball, allowing just three  all year. The righty also limited walks, as he only gave up 12 free passes.

If not for Tommy John surgery in August, Humphreys might find himself higher than on Mets prospects lists. His dominance when healthy speaks for itself. Despite the fact that he’s likely to miss the entire 2018 season, Humphreys has youth on his side. He doesn’t turn 22 until next June.

Bench

Jhoan Urena – In 67 games for St. Lucie, Urena hit .282/.364/.437 with 129 hits, 34 doubles, 72 runs and 200 total bases, all which were among the Florida State League leaders. The 22-year-old also showed defensive versatility this season as he played first base, third base, left field, and right field.

Yoel Romero – He was one of the many young prospects who had a tremendous year in the Dominican Summer League. Hitting .364/.439/.464, he dominated the DSL2 as a teenager. Romero delivered a breakout year, proving the Mets made a good investment when they spent 300,000 dollars on him in 2015.

Patrick Mazeika – As a 24-year-old, Patrick Mazeika excelled in his first year in St.Lucie. Every level he’s played at in his minor league career he’s hit at and this season was no different as he had a .287/.384/.406 slash-line with 21 doubles and 48 walks.

Dominic Smith – Dubbed the first baseman of the future, Dom Smith showed why the Mets picked him in the first round in 2013. Hitting .330/.386/.519 with the 51s, Smith begun to tap into his raw power. The Californian was finally called up to help the Mets on August 9.

Walter Rasquin – With the graduation of Amed Rosario, Walter Rasquin became arguably the second-fastest player in the Mets farm system. He stole 32 bases, which broke Angel Pagan’s Cyclones stolen base record. Overall he hit .300/.341/.407 with 73 hits, 21 doubles and 41 runs, all which were top-5 in the New York-Penn League.

Bullpen

Adonis Uceta, RHP – The 23-year-old Uceta shined across three levels with a 1.51 ERA, 14 saves, 0.91 WHIP and 10.1 K/9. After starting the season in Columbia, he would quickly advance through the Mets minor league system finishing his season with Double-A Binghamton to help them in their postseason push.

Using his hard fastball in tandem with his excellent change-up proved to be a lethal combination for the Dominican-born righty. Both pitches worked much better for him in the bullpen than it did in the rotation with him posting career bests in strikeouts per nine and WHIP.

Tyler Bashlor, RHP – Utilizing a deceiving stretch and plus stuff, Bashlor was able to record an astounding 15.22 K/9 (led MiLB). While his His WHIP (1.31) was higher than you would like from a reliever of Bashlor’s ilk, he did yield a .438 BABIP, which would indicate he could put up even better stats next season. This goes a long way in explaining why the Mets added him to the 40-man roster.

It was also a reason he was promoted to Binghamton to help with their postseason push. In Binghamton, he really shined. Bashlor failed to allow a single run in any of his 12 appearances for the Rumble Ponies. Moreover, not only was he able to maintain an impressive strike out rate, (14.1 K/9), but he was able to significantly cut down on his walk rate (5.4 BB/9 to a 2.5 BB/9).

Austin McGeorge, RHP – In just his second professional season, Austin McGeorge turned quite a few heads. The Long Beach State product improved upon his 2.89 ERA as a Cyclone in his debut season, turning in a sparkling 1.78 ERA in 2017, across both Columbia and St. Lucie. The right-hander also raised his strikeout rate to better than a punch out per inning, at 11.7 K/9. The 2016 seventh rounder also maintained a WHIP below 1, as he walked just 17 batters in 50.2 innings and kept opposing hitters at a .185 average.

Impressively, McGeorge managed to only allow single homerun all season, matching his total from his Cyclones tenure in 2016. With just two homeruns allowed through two professional seasons, limiting the longball appears to be a strength for the righty. McGeorge was able to do so with an astounding 66.2% ground ball rate in his 38-inning stint in St. Lucie.

Matt Blackham, RHP – After missing the entire 2016 season with a fracture of the olecranon in the right elbow, Blackham returned to the mound in 2017, and he proved himself to be an even more dominant reliever than the one he was in his first two professional season. Blackham dominated opposing batters striking them out at a high rate (13.0 K/9) and limiting them to a .185 batting average. The end result was a career best WHIP (0.99) and ERA (1.42).

Steve Villines, RHP – Steve Villines’ first professional season went as well as anyone could have hoped with a ridicoulous 41 strikeouts compared to only one walk (intentional) in 27.1 innings. The right-hander was the Mets’ tenth round selection in the most recent draft, and excelled in 19 relief appearances (1.65 ERA) between Kingsport and Brooklyn. The University of Kansas product found success by using a sidearm delivery to deceive hitters and garner added movement.

Tim Peterson, RHP – In 2017, Peterson unlocked a level of run prevention (1.86 ERA) that he had never been able to sustain over a full season. This was largely fueled by his ability to cut down on an already good walk rate (1.9 BB/9) and an ability to strand 84.1% of base runners. He would be a large reason why the Binghamton Rumble Ponies had a surprising season, and why they made the postseason.

For his efforts, Peterson was rewarded with being assigned to the Arizona Fall League. Peterson would similarly shine in the Arizona Fall League. In his seven appearances, he was 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA and a 0.774 WHIP.

Jasson Pena, RHP – Part of the 2016 International Free Agent signing class, Pena impressed in his first professional season with a 2.29 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. The righty held the opposition scoreless in exactly half of his relief appearances on the season. He was largely able to do that by keeping the ball in the ballpark and by limiting opposing batters to a .174 batting average.