Joshua Cornielly, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

No. 45 Joshua Cornielly, RHP

Age: 21 (1/15/2001)
HT: 6’2, WT: 175
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as International Free Agent in 2017-2018 Period
ETA: 2025 Previous MMO Ranking: #29
2021 Stats: DNP – Injured

The young right-hander missed the entire 2021 season following shoulder surgery during spring and then he had visa troubles once he was healthy, leading to an unfortunate lost season.

The last time Joshua pitched during a game was in 2019 in 13 starts between the Dominican Summer League Mets (6.10 ERA in 10 1/3 innings) and the Gulf Coast League Mets (4.54 ERA in 35 2/3 innings). In those combined 46 innings, Cornielly had 52 strikeouts and walked only nine.

Cornielly is a good-sized right-handed that is certainly not only 175 pounds still. He’s a good athlete that moves well on the mound and his mechanics are clean all the way through his delivery.

Two things that stick out for Cornielly on the mound are his changeup and his ability to throw strikes. The feel and the ability to throw his changeup in any count are advanced for a pitcher with such minimal experience. His fastball sits in the low 90s and has hit 95 mph. His curveball is clearly the third pitch of his repertoire. The youngster ranked as high as #20 in the Mets farm system back in 2020 according to FanGraphs, and he could get back to that pretty quickly if he can prove to be healthy.

Cornielly has been part of the group of minor leaguers that’s been rehabbing their injuries in Port St. Lucie over the past month.

No. 44 Bryce Montes De Oca, RHP

Age: 25 (4/23/1996)
HT: 6’7, WT: 265
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Drafted in 9th RD of 2018 Draft (University of Missouri)
ETA: 2022 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (Brooklyn/Binghamton): 34 IP, 4.50 ERA, 12.44 K/9, 7.5 BB/9, .185 AVG

Yes, the height and weight for Bryce Montes De Oca are correct, he’s big, big dude with a huge fastball. Injuries and the COVID-19 lost season pushed off Bryce’s pro debut until this year. He impressed with his fastball velocity as he regularly hit 100 mph and was clocked as high as 102 mph with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones.

As you can see his arm action is quick with whipping action and lands on a firm plant leg. The issues for Montes De Oca have been the same in the pros as they were in college: walks and more walks. The big right-hander walked 27 batters in 32 1/3 innings for Brooklyn last season after walking 84 batters in 124 college innings.

Besides the fastball, Montes De Oca uses a slurvy breaking ball in the 83-86 mph range that is loose in today’s standards but has still been effective in getting swings and misses at the pro level.

Montes De Oca had Tommy John surgery in High School then ulnar nerve transposition surgery in college, and then he had to deal with a shoulder surgery, back surgery, and knee surgery in his short time with the Mets. He also dealt with blood clots and deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism following his back surgery. Very impressive to see Montes De Oca still out there, and throwing with that type of velocity after all injuries he’s had to deal with.

There’s no question that Montes De Oca has two big-league caliber pitches, but can he stay healthy and throw strikes are two serious issues going forward. If he’s healthy and throwing strikes in 2022, I would expect the Mets to fast track him to the big leagues.

No. 43 Connor Grey, RHP

Age: 27 (5/6/1994)
HT: 6’1, WT: 195
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as MiLB free agent in 2021
ETA: 2022 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (Brooklyn/Binghamton): 54 IP, 4.00 ERA, 10.33 K/9, .225 AVG

Connor Grey was a casualty of the mass releases that happened in early 2020, his done by the Arizona Diamondbacks organization after spending four seasons with them. Grey didn’t pitch during the 2020 season, so he found himself in Indy Ball to start 2021. The Chicago Dogs of Rosemont, Illinois in the American Association is where Grey decided to continue his baseball career.

It didn’t take long for major league scouts to take notice of what Grey was doing, he had multiple teams vying for his services after only a handful of starts. The Mets signed Grey following him posting a 3.18 ERA and 37 strikeouts over 34 innings in six starters for the Dogs. Before talking about how Grey was with the Mets, it’s important to note that the right-hander made is as far as Triple-A in the D-Backs organization for a few games in 2019.

Double-A Binghamton desperately needed pitching so Grey went directly there. He struck out four in two innings for his first outing as a reliever. Then he was sent down to High-A Brooklyn where they needed a starter. He had a 3.22 ERA in four starts, including 8 1/3 innings of one-run (no-hitter through 8) ball that got him back to Double-A. He had a 4.55 ERA (3.45 FIP) over 29 2/3 innings. In that span, Grey struck out 33 and walked only six. He finished his time in Double-A with a very impressive 6.17 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.

The Mets then decided to send the 27-year-old to the Arizona Fall League, typically a spot for top prospects or players that are going to be Rule 5 eligible in the offseason. Grey, pitching against strong competition, had a 3.00 ERA and gave up only 15 hits over 18 innings.

Grey uses a fastball that sits 89-93 that tops out at 94 with some posting spin rates of at least 2500 rpms–which would put him among the major-league leaders. He will mix in a slider in the low-80s with above-average spin rates and rarely a changeup in the mid-80s. His bread and butter, though, is a big vertical breaking curveball in the high-70s. He has good command of the pitch, uses it any count, generates swings and misses, and had some outings this year in which he threw it more than his fastball.

The clear downside for Grey is that he will be pitching at 28 for most of the 2022 season.

No. 42 Luke Ritter, 2B

Age: 25 (2/15/1997)
HT: 5’11, WT: 187
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Drafted in 7th RD of 2019 Draft (Wichita State)
ETA: 2023 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (Brooklyn): 73 G, .232/.311/.436, 99 wRC+, 14 HR, 43 RBI

Ritter is in the second tier —Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez among the first– of power hitters in the Mets minor leagues. His .204 isolated slugging from 2021 puts him behind Khalil Lee (.226) and right ahead of Ronny Mauricio (.201). Ritter was among the Mets leaders in line drive rate as well, his 22.6% rate had him right above Baty’s 22.5%.

The strong, athletic second baseman has experience playing all over the diamond in his college days. He also played shortstop, third base, and both corner outfield spots. Ritter played 13 games at first base for Brooklyn in 2021. All of his defensive skills are right around average with second base and corner outfield being his most logical landing spots.

He’s not an above-average runner, but he’s smart on the bases, which allows him to take the extra base on hits and balls in the dirt.

The right-handed hitter was slashing .241/.312/.476 when he suffered a broken hamate bone in his left hand. He wasn’t the same hitter following five weeks on the injured list, and posted just a .666 OPS in 26 games after his return.

A lot of Ritter’s value comes from his power at the plate, so we will need to see that return or his prospect status will take a serious dip.

No. 41 Kevin Villavicencio, SS

Age: 18 (11/24/2003)
HT: 5’10, WT: 172
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as International Free Agent in January of 2021
ETA: 2026 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (DSL Mets): 45 G, .303/.373/.414, 15 BB/17 K, 14 SB, 123 wRC+

The Mets signed the Mexican shortstop in January of 2021 after Kevin had recently played for the Diablos Rojos. Villavicencio had a strong start to his pro career with a 123 wRC+ and a .388 weight on-base in 169 plate appearances with the Dominican Summer League Mets. He also stole 14 bases while being caught three times.

Though he was primarily a shortstop, the Mets also had him play 14 games at second base and three games at third base. The youngster has strong arm, moves well side-to-side, and has good instincts whatever position he’s playing.

Villavicencio is playing defense in the following video.

Offensively, he has a short, quick line-drive approach and a good knowledge of the strike zone. Mets officials I talked to raved about his defense at multiple positions and his ability to put the ball in play at such a young age.

Kevin was named the DSL position player of the year for 2021 by the Mets.

Previous Rankings: 50-46