New York Mets: Farm system provides little hope

Even though the second half of the season for the New York Mets is going to be meaningless, we look at the minor leagues and find very little hope.

It’s already July, and the New York Mets season is basically over. The remaining games belong to the Las Vegas 51’s and Binghamton Mets. The players on those teams are the ones that will get a shot at the major league level in the coming months. Everyone knows that the Mets farm system is in need of major overall. That being said, there are still viable prospects for Mets fans to hang their hopes on.

1B Peter Alonso

The 23-year old Alonso has garnered the most attention out of any prospect in the organization this season. His 1.012 OPS is something that should make every Mets fan smile.

The 2016 draftee out of Florida has shot through the organization. His bat has caught on faster than anyone would have thought.

Alonso has also tallied 15 home runs and 52 RBI’s for Binghamton and later Las Vegas.

The continued struggles of Dominic Smith seem to suggest that Alonso will get his chance to play at some point, whether at the end of this season or the beginning of 2019.

INF Jeff McNeil

McNeil can play just about everywhere in the infield, although he is mostly a second baseman.

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He has come out of nowhere this season, jumping onto the Mets radar after being a lowly rated prospect for most of his career.

This season, with both AA and AAA, McNeil has 18 homers and 64 RBI’s while batting .346. The home run numbers may be a little inflated, though, as Las Vegas is a hitter’s paradise.

With Asdrubal Cabrera likely to be dealt before the July 31st trade deadline, expect McNeil to get his shot with the Mets sooner rather than later.

P Justin Dunn

The Mets 1st round pick out of Boston College in 2016, Dunn has had a great bounce back 2018.

After a rough 2017, Dunn has pitched to a 2.67 ERA averaging 10 strikeouts per 9 innings in 2018 for St. Lucie and Binghamton.

Dunn still has a lot of room for improvement, so don’t expect him to make a jump to the major leagues this season. He will have to show that he can sustain this success over a longer period.

That being said, if Dunn continues to excel expect him to be called up sometime towards the middle or end of 2019.

Farm System Overall

While Alonso, McNeil, and Dunn provide some hope, the entire system is, quite frankly, a mess.

It will take a move like trading a Jacob deGrom or a Noah Syndergaard in order to reestablish this system as one that can provide the Mets with sustainable major league talent.

Next: Five Mets who should survive the roster purge

As much as it would hurt Mets fans to trade one of their two aces, it would be the right decision for the future direction of this franchise.

The odds are against the Mets competing in the final few years of deGrom’s contract. With Jacob already hitting the age of 30, now may be the time to move him and replenish the farm system with talent.

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