John Flanigan/MMO

Ken asks…

The best part of the 2019 season was watching Pete Alonso come up as a rookie and dominate from beginning to end. What rookies should we be excited for in 2020?

Rob Piersall answers…

Hey, Ken. Thanks so much for the question.

Watching Pete Alonso burst on the scene in 2019, smash records, appear in the All-Star Game and win the Home Run Derby, and likely win Rookie of the Year have been some of my favorite memories of being a Mets fan ever.

However, Alonso is a rare breed, and with the Mets farm system being stripped via trades the last calendar year, there isn’t too much to be excited about in the high minors at the moment.

Most of the Mets talent in the wings is in the lower levels (Brett Baty, Matthew Allan, Josh Wolf were all drafted this year, and guys with high upside like Ronny Mauricio, Shervyen Newton and Mark Vientos are still likely not to play in the bigs in 2020).

It’s likely going to be an interesting couple years in Queens, if the Mets are still trying to contend. They seem content in trading unproven albeit highly touted prospects in exchange for veterans in order to try and compete in the short term. That trend might continue going forward, for better or for worse.

But let’s just take a look at some guys who can impact the team as it currently stands.

I’d say the most likely player to debut in 2020 and have some sort of impact is Andres Gimenez. After having a pedestrian season for Double-A Binghamton where he hit .250/.309/.387 in 117 games while battling injury isn’t exactly promising, Gimenez lit it up in the Arizona Fall League this year, where he won the batting title (.371 batting average, .999 OPS).

However, Gimenez is a shortstop and with Amed Rosario coming into his own, it’s unlikely Gimenez could get regular playing time there, unless of course Rosario starts playing outfield more which seems kind of out of the question at this point and for good reason.

Regardless, I think Gimenez will making the majors at some point in 2020 and who knows? Maybe he will make some waves and the Mets will have a good problem on their hands.

Other than Gimenez, a couple other guys I think we will see in the majors in 2020 are left-handers Blake Taylor, Kevin Smith, David Peterson and recently acquired Stephen Gonsalves as well as right-handers Ryley Gilliam and Steve Villines.

Taylor recently made the transition to a bullpen arm and thrived and was added to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule V draft. Taylor was originally acquired for Ike Davis way back in 2013. He also appeared in the AFL this year and yielded just two runs in nine innings.

Smith, Gilliam and Villines will likely be up in a relief capacity at some point this year, while we can see Peterson and Gonsalves in the rotation at some point.

But at the moment like I mentioned, I don’t foresee anybody coming up and having an Alonso or deGrom like impact, but hey, you never know! That’s the beauty of baseball.

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