Photo By Logan Barer
The Mets are sending many players to the Arizona Fall League this offseason. So far, the prospects heading out west include Tomas Nido, Luis Guillorme, David Thompson and Kevin Kaczmarski.
All four of those players are with Double-A Binghamton this season, a team that has made the playoffs.
After Nido hit .320 last season, he has had a down year in 2017 having hit just .237/.293/.366 with eight home runs and 59 RBIs. He is the Mets’ best catching prospect and while his 2017 slash line is cause for concern, he is a plus defender behind the plate. He has thrown out 44% of would-be base-stealers this season, compared to Travis d’Arnaud‘s 16% and Kevin Plawecki‘s 20%.
Luis Guillorme has a reputation of having the best hands in the Mets organization, and after watching him play in person this year, I wholeheartedly agree. He impressed me more than any other player on the team with his glove and his arm, but he isn’t shabby with the bat either.
He has shown great plate discipline and bat control this season, slashing .279/.374/.325 with 18 doubles, one home run and 39 RBIs in 122 games. He has little if any power, but his defense is so good – I believe he should be considered an option for second base in 2018.
Third baseman David Thompson has mostly flown under the radar but his bat has a lot of potential. In 128 games this season he has hit .260/.324/.431 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs. He also has some speed, having stolen eight bases and knocking one triple and 28 doubles.
Lastly, the speedy outfielder Kevin Kaczmarski has hit .273/.370/.364 with four home runs and 49 RBIs. More notable are his 15 stolen bases, five triples, and plus defense in the corner outfield spots.
The Mets still have four more pitcher spots to fill for the AFL, but for now, those Rumble Ponies are the biggest names heading to Arizona this fall.
