Mets Minors Monday: Pitchers On The Way

The Mets got rid of a lot of minor league pitchers last year. A LOT. Either they graduated them to the majors, or traded them for players to gear up for the playoff push.

Players that came up to the big team were:
Noah Syndergaard
Logan Verrett
Steven Matz

Players traded from the minors:
Michael Fulmer
Jon Gant
Rob Whalen
Casey Meisner
Dawrin Frias

That's A LOT of pitchers gone from the system. Michael Fulmer is the best of the bunch, but Whalen, Gant and Meisner have a chance to develop into quality major league pitchers.

While the major league rotation might be set for awhile, there will always be a need for new pitchers to move up through the system. Here are some names Mets fans should be keeping an ear out for.

Rafael Montero

A completely lost 2015. Arm injuries, arm pain, false starts and shut downs. Once considered a top 5-10 prospect, now everyone is wondering if he still has the stuff that had him up there a few years ago. Currently throwing to a 3.00 era over 2 games with 9 strikeouts in 9 innings.

Robert Gsellman

22 year old pitching in AA Binghamton, currently has a 1.45 ERA over 3 games, with 16 strikeouts in just over 18 innings. Pitches in the low 90's, I've seen him hitting 95 this year. In my personal opinion, with Fulmer out of the system, Robert is the best high level pitching prospect the Mets have. I think he could be a great #3 starter, but on this team that means he's a #5/long reliever. He's actually pitching tonight against a bottom of the division Portland Sea Dogs team.

Josh Prevost

Local guy from New Jersey, he's just plain huge. He stands 6 foot 8 and graduated from Seton Hall University. 15 k's in 15 innings, but he gives up too many hits. He has a 94 mph sinker, but needs to expand his off-speed offerings in order to make it to the next level. Any time you have a chance to get a 6'8 pitcher on the mound, you do you bets to make it happen.

There are a few pitchers from last years draft that I'm really excited to watch for the next few years. Max Wotell, Thomas Szapucki and Sixto Torres are all young, left handed throwers who are still in extended spring training. It'll take a few years to see how they turn out, but the Mets have a great system that harbors pitching talent. I've got very high hopes for last years pitching draft.