Gerson Bautista was the lowest ranked prospect of the three relief arms the New York Mets got from the Boston Red Sox in the deal for Addison Reed according to MLB Pipeline.

However, most felt that Bautista had the highest ceiling of the group because of his blazing fastball that has topped out at 101 MPH this season for the Mets and Red Sox.

The big issue for Gerson during his entire minor league career before coming to the Mets organization was lack of control, he had walked 28 batters in 45.1 innings in Sox system this season.

In 8.1 innings for the St. Lucie Mets so far, Bautista has walked only one batter. In that span, he’s allowed only two runs on eight hits and struck out nine. Bautista has allowed pick up two saves in his last two appearances and didn’t allow a baserunner in either outing.

The 22-year-old righty began his pro career as starter in the Red Sox system before switching to the bullpen in to begin last season. That is when he saw the big spike in velocity that has seen him consistently at 98/99 MPH in his short Mets tenure.

Gerson has been mainly a fastball guy in his last two outings, but showed off a slider in 88-91 MPH range that can be an above average pitch for him when he commands it.

If the Mets are able to tame the mechanics of Gerson and get him consistently around the plate he could be the steal of the Reed trade.

Also of note, is that the Mets need to add Bautista to the 40-man roster this offseason if they want to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

How The Other New Mets Have Fared

Jamie Callahan (Las Vegas) 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER (3.00 ERA), 3 BB, 9 K, hitting 95-98 MPH and sharp slider at 88-90.

Drew Smith (Binghamton) 6.1 IP, 4 H, ER (1.42 ERA), 2 BB, 3 K, vulture three wins, 94-97 with sharp breaking ball.

Stephen Nogosek (St. Lucie) 9 IP, 9 H, 6 ER (6.00), 6 BB, 10 K, Fastball 92-94, cutter and slider.

Ryder Ryan (Columbia) 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER (6.75), 2 BB, 3 K, Topped out at 97 MPH, sharp slider at times.

Minor League Notes

Jeff McNeil was promoted to the Las Vegas 51s and went 2 for 4 in his debut on Thursday night. I’ve been steadfast in my opinion that the athletic McNeil will be on a big league roster at some point given his versatility that comes with strong defensive acumen.

Submariner Ben Rowen has a 1.50 ERA in 18 second half innings for the 51s with a 0.89 WHIP. He isn’t on the 40-man roster which hurts his chances of a September call-up.

Mets 2016 first rounder Justin Dunn was placed on the St. Lucie Mets disabled list and did go to New York to have doctors check on his pitching arm.

St. Lucie Mets first baseman Peter Alonso now has enough plate appearances to qualify for batting title and he leads the Florida State League with his .525 SLG%.

Adonis Uceta had his earned run streak snapped in his last outing that raised his season ERA to 1.22. In 51.2 between St. Lucie and Columbia he has 59 strikeouts and has allowed only 27 hits.

Jhoan Urena has set new career highs this year with 34 doubles, 11 home runs and 17 stolen bases. His .806 OPS is sixth best in the Florida State League.

Photo by Ed Delany