Luis Guillorme/Photo by Ed Delany, MMO

Position Players

Luis Guillorme, 2B/SS
Level/Age: MLB, 23
Stats: .300/.394/.433, 7 2B, 3B, HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB, CS
MMN Rank:10

As noted in a recent MMN article, Guillorme was in the middle of a torrid nine-game hitting streak for Las Vegas. During that stretch, not only did he amass six straight two-hit games, but he also started to display some unprecedented power for the middle infielder. This all may not be an accident as Guillorme spent his offseason dedicated to driving the ball more in the hopes of making it to the majors.

Guillorme’s efforts have paid off not just because of the recent hitting streak, but also because he was called up to the majors to take the place of Todd Frazier, who landed on the disabled list. With him on the Major League roster, the Mets now have a late inning defensive replacement which would rival what Juan Lagares can give the team in center.

And who knows from here?  If Guillorme continues the hot hitting he displayed in Las Vegas while flashing the leather like he has his entire career, he may just force himself onto the Major League roster.

Jeff McNeil, INF
Level/Age: Binghamton, 26
Stats: .276/.364/.609, 7 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 13 RBI, SB
MMN Rank: 34

The question with McNeil was what would he be able to do if he could ever stay healthy. So far this season, the answer to that question is to destroy the baseball. Right now, McNeil is on an eight-game hitting streak, and he has reached base in 19 of the 23 games he has played this season.

Really, if it wasn’t for Peter Alonso, we may very well be talking about how great a season McNeil is having down in Binghamton.

Currently, McNeil has the fourth best SLG and homers, and the fifth best OPS in the Eastern League.  Given how he’s healthier and stronger, and how he already had good contact ability at the plate, these numbers may not be just the result of a small sample size.  Rather, it is an indication of how much better a hitter can be when they are making the necessary adjustments and healthy enough to let their ability shine.

With McNeil having played second and third this season, he is becoming a versatile player which could one day prove to be quite enticing to the Mets organization.

Honorable Mention: Columbia Fireflies 22-year-old catcher Scott Manea has begun this season hitting .281/.465/.516, and he has thrown out 65% of base-stealers.

Stephen Nogosek/Photo by Ed Delany

Pitchers

Joe Cavallaro, RHP
Level/Age: Columbia, 22
Stats: 3-1, 1.93 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
MMN Rank: N/A

On a star studded Columbia Fireflies starting rotation, which featured former first round draft picks Anthony Kay and David Peterson, it is last year’s 24th round draft pick who is pitching like the staff ace.

Each time Cavallaro goes on the mound, he continues to impress. In his four starts this season, Cavallaro has allowed both two walks and two earned runs or fewer. In three of his four starts, he has struck out six or more.  Overall, opposing batters are hitting just .196 off of him.

Among the starting rotation, Cavallaro leads in wins, ERA, innings per start, and WHIP.  He has also yielded the fewest hits and earned runs. Overall, these are the types of numbers you expect to see from your top starter.  While Cavallaro may not be that due to his relative prospect ranking and draft position, he has been that in his performance on the field.

Stephen Nogosek, RHP
Level: St. Lucie, 23
Stats: 1-0, 1.84 ERA, SV, 0.818 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 11.0 K/9
MMN Rank: 38

After a slow start to his Mets career, Nogosek got lost in the shuffle among all the right-handed relievers the Mets obtained last season. Whatever the reason for the slow start, Nogosek is back to being the reliever the Mets thought they were obtaining in the Addison Reed trade.

One of the reasons why is Nogosek is back to striking out more than a batter per inning. In fact, this season, Nogosek has struck out multiple batters in seven of his 10 appearances, and he has struck out at least one batter in eight of his 10 appearances.

When looking at both his career and 2018 stats, many may point to how Nogosek walks many batters, but that’s not telling the complete story about a pitcher who pitches from a 3/4 arm angle. Against right-handed batters, Nogosek is not walking batters. In fact, he has issued just two walks in 32 plate appearances to right-handed batters.  The end result is right-handed batters hitting just .138/.219/.172 off of him.

Another impressive aspect to his start of the season is his ability to go multiple innings. In six of his ten appearances, and in his last four appearances, Nogosek has pitched at least two innings.

Honorable Mention: Mets 2017 first round pick David Peterson is coming off his best start as a professional where he faced just one over the minimum while striking out eight in seven scoreless innings.  P.J. Conlon earned a call-up to the Major Leagues.