With the Major League roster pretty close to being set minus 2nd lefty and possibly the last bench spot, lets take a look at what could be the opening day roster for the Las Vegas 51’s.
Starting Rotation
Noah Syndergaard – Ace in Vegas until the Super Two cutoff.
Steven Matz – Started last year in St. Lucie but he is rising fast.
Rafael Montero – Seems like most the likely prospect to get traded.
Matthew Bowman – Rarely talked about but is very consistent.
Cory Mazzoni – Pitched good in 9 starts for Las Vegas last season.
Bullpen
Jack Leathersich – Needs to refine his control to see MLB, 15.1 SO/9 though.
Zack Thornton – Came over in the Ike trade, 9.8 SO/9 last year.
Erik Goeddel – Looked solid in limited time with Mets.
Darin Gorski – Will be the long relief/spot starter guy.
Chase Bradford – Only walked 4 in 46 innings for Vegas last year.
Scott Rice – I think Gilmartin gets a look firstm
Buddy Carlyle – First call up when someone gets hurt.
Catchers
Kevin Plawecki – Keeps getting better, should see him in NY soon.
Johnny Monell – Nothing more than a veteran backup.
Infielders
Brandon Allen – .266/.368/.434 last year, will play some LF too.
Dustin Lawley – Could hit 30 HR’s in Vegas but strikes out a lot.
Matt Reynolds – Needs to prove last year wasn’t a fluke.
Dilson Herrera – Just biding his time until Murphy is traded.
Eric Campbell – Could be on Mets roster but I think they at least take a look at Puello.
Daniel Muno – Walks a bunch, utility guy with some pop.
T.J. Rivera – Hitting machine without a position.
Outfielders
Brandon Nimmo – I would start him at AA but Mets are being aggressive.
Matt den Dekker – Has options left so he will be odd man out on Mets bench.
Cory Vaughn – Struggled to a .647 OPS last year.
Alex Castellanos – Career .286/.360/.493 in Minors. Can play 1B, 2B, and 3B too.
Thoughts
They may decide to go with another outfielder like Darrell Ceciliani or Kyle Johnson, and have Rivera go back down to Binghamton. Starting infield is pretty set with Jayce Boyd probably getting some AB’s in Vegas at some point.
Mets have alot of back end of the bullpen depth with guys like Adam Kolarek, John Church, Cody Satterwhite, Dario Alvarez, Jon Velasquez, and Chase Huchingson most likely seeing Vegas at some point next season.
The big wild card is Hansel Robles who has been electric since converting to reliever last season. Ultimately I think he starts in Binghamton and gets the first call up to Vegas.
Overall a very impressive roster that includes 6 of the Mets Top 10 Prospects and lots of versatility that will help the big club in the coming years!
