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  • 5 weeks ago
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00:00:03what's up everybody welcome back to another edition of
00:00:06Straight Outta Flushing it's your boy Dexter Henry you see
00:00:08my guy Tyler Ward all the way to the right of your screen and
00:00:13in the middle is a guest he has been on Straight Outta
00:00:16Flushing before he is the host of the Dove Report he is a
00:00:19Mets minor league baseball guru one of the best voices
00:00:22when it comes to prospect it's my guy Ernest Dove
00:00:26Ernest what's going on man how you doing? I'm doing good man
00:00:29thank you for so much for having me on the show
00:00:32glad to have you Wardy how you doing sir? I'm doing great
00:00:36had a great conversation with Ernest last summer talking
00:00:39prospects fast forward a year later here to chop it up again
00:00:42I know he has a brilliant mind when it comes to what's happening
00:00:44the farm and Dex you and I have been very locked in with the farm
00:00:47obviously at this juncture in the season so no better time to
00:00:50go ahead and deep dive what is happening in the minor leagues and
00:00:53what the future holds for this Mets team it should be a fun discussion
00:00:55it should be a fun discussion here's how we're going to do it
00:00:58all of us have come up we have not talked about who it is but
00:01:01we are going to have our five Mets prospects who we think can
00:01:06impact the big club in 2027 so we're looking a little bit ahead
00:01:10to the future trying to figure out what's going to happen but
00:01:12just five guys we think could come up and have an impact on
00:01:15this Mets team not saying it's gonna be a positive impact just
00:01:17some kind of impact on this Mets team in 2027 so we've all made
00:01:23the list of one through five Ernest you are the guest so I
00:01:27would like to hear from you first who this is not a ranked
00:01:31order so it could be wherever you want to go on your list yeah
00:01:33but who do you have who's the first guy you're going to talk
00:01:36about that you think could impact the Mets in 2027 I mean I
00:01:41want to make it easy or obvious especially for the first one
00:01:44because it the ETA fits the high ranking fits the tools hit you
00:01:50got to go with the new number one prospect in the Mets
00:01:53organization Jefferson Rojas for multiple reasons including the
00:01:58fact that he can play multiple positions even as coming up a
00:02:02nice shortstop at the time but kind of branched off second he's
00:02:06seeing a lot of third recently for the Syracuse Mets so I would
00:02:12think that third base could be the option double a but he's playing
00:02:16third base in double a I think he has enough at bats this season
00:02:21where he could easily break camp and triple a next year so nowhere
00:02:25else to go after that top prospect plenty of a B's once he gets
00:02:28triple a experience I would think that Jefferson Rojas and he could
00:02:33be the third baseman could be his spot now he may take it I like
00:02:37his glove I like his arm strength I like the range at third I think
00:02:41he can make it work so I will say this I did not have Jefferson Rojas
00:02:46on my list at all whatsoever really interesting I did not have
00:02:51this not because here's why I want to know I'm assuming you did
00:02:58Wardy you had him on the list he was on your list I had him on my
00:03:02list with borderline cheating I'm making this a six man instead of a
00:03:06five man but yeah he's on my list but yeah no he's on my it's hard it's
00:03:11hard for him not to be but I want to hear your reasoning as to why he
00:03:14decided that he wasn't for you so I thought about it and I just was so
00:03:18for me a lot of it is what's the pathway and though Ernest you just
00:03:20brought up a good point right like there's these multiple positions you
00:03:23could play complete second play short are we are we seeing Boba Shep
00:03:28back at third how does that work will there be a pathway from there it's
00:03:32not really clean I mean second feels like it could be clean for him because
00:03:35we'll see what happens to Marcus Simeon but I I'm just not sure of what the
00:03:39pathway is direct I didn't see it from as cleanly there's a world in which he
00:03:43can hit well and happen but I just thought some other guys had some cleaner
00:03:47pathways to the bigs over him and so that's why he didn't make my top five he
00:03:51was right he was right on the cusp of making I don't think it's a bad pick or
00:03:55anything I like the pick and I hope Mets fans should hope he's the number one
00:03:58prospect in their organization they should hope that he can make it up here but
00:04:03we'll see the pathways not clean but maybe guys you can tell me what you
00:04:07think you know maybe this is one of these situations where he just kind of
00:04:11forces his way in there I we didn't think Carson Carson Benj I think we
00:04:15thought would play up this year AJ Ewing was a shock right so my point is
00:04:19sometimes you never know sometimes you just never know how this stuff is
00:04:22going to play out and he's got the talent Ernest you like him you know I've
00:04:28taught some people who said you know they were a little concerned with him
00:04:32defensively do you have any concerns with his defense with the glove at all
00:04:35whatsoever I mean again I don't I don't want to get a lot into the extreme
00:04:39small sample size here but watching him in the game at third base now I know
00:04:44there's some scouting stuff I tried to do my research after the trade even for a
00:04:48top prospect and it always sounded like okay Jefferson Rojas top-ranked
00:04:53prospect foot something range speed he may may have to move off short which is
00:04:59perfectly fine not just because of Lindor but in general so that's why I was
00:05:03thinking more second base and then now watching him small sample size in at
00:05:08third base which by the way they were moving one of my favorites now over to
00:05:12first so I was curious I think they're making room for some multiple reasons
00:05:17especially when you move a top 10 prospect who plays third all the time and
00:05:21now he's quietly post deadline playing first I think there's a plan here but I
00:05:25think the glove and the range in the arm they work at third base like like a
00:05:30Ronnie Mauricio situation here not necessarily comparing the players
00:05:33defensively and stuff but third is a lot different than short for a player like
00:05:38this I think the scouting and the research is a little bit higher on him in
00:05:42the corner than in the middle very interesting all right so wordy you also
00:05:46had him on your list he's one of the guys why'd you have him on there I'm on the
00:05:50list because given that uncertainty to Bichette you know there is a world
00:05:54where he is still not a New York Met next season right many people think
00:05:57that he's gonna opt in is how can he not opt in for 40 plus million dollars gross
00:06:00with the way that Bichette's played this year but knowing that Bichette has
00:06:04really turned it on the past couple months now really especially this entire
00:06:07second half thus far and knowing that there could still be a level of
00:06:10urgency to get a new contract in that if he opts out might be able to get a
00:06:15team desperate enough before the lockout begins on December 1st assuming
00:06:19that it does in fact happen I think that there's still a world where Bo Bichette is
00:06:23not a Met next season so especially bearing that in mind is what really opens
00:06:27the door for Rojas who as soon as the Mets acquire the common consensus that
00:06:30he is going to be a third baseman at the major league level I wouldn't put
00:06:33much of any stock defensively into what he's doing or not doing right at short
00:06:37stop because I don't think that's gonna matter all that much by the time he's at
00:06:40the big league level for this club but is it a guarantee that Bichette will be
00:06:44gone no and if he's not then the Mets will have to get a bit more creative would
00:06:47they want to shift Jefferson to a different position in second base because
00:06:51he's the most viable option or will they go with a different option to farm at
00:06:56second base as the Mets are quickly building an abundance of thanks to their
00:06:59deadline success all right so you guys both had Jefferson Rojas here I'll give
00:07:05my first pick since you guys both given away one I went pitching here I went with Jonathan
00:07:10Santucci now we'll see how the Mets could use another lefty arm in their starting rotation
00:07:17I don't know what you earners you could talk a little bit more about this after I'm done
00:07:20exactly how he projects the thing that's been good for him you've seen the strikeout totals
00:07:24up there the big question with him for me though is the command right he has 50 of
00:07:29I'm trying to remember 57 he's walked 57 batters in just over a hundred innings this
00:07:34year so the command is a little bit of question you like some of the stuff with him the Mets
00:07:40could use somebody that could establish themselves as a lefty here in the rotation going forward
00:07:45you you know when you look at him and I look at pathways to Santucci where he is and where
00:07:49he's ranked right now in the organization right he's just one injury away in the Mets rotation
00:07:54from coming up maybe we see him get a look in September here but he's a guy you could
00:07:59say okay if somebody gets hurt he can figure in to the Mets rotation in 2027 now how the
00:08:05Mets feel about his stuff how they feel about his development and his command that's going
00:08:10to be particularly interesting like I said the stuff is there you're seeing the strikeouts
00:08:14he's able to get those K's and able to get batters out and you know he's still got some
00:08:18other pitches he can work on developing but the key thing for me I think to watch if he comes
00:08:23up towards the end of the season or if he's starting the season again in AAA next year where's
00:08:30that command at or does the organization feel like hey he's got a control he's not walking
00:08:34guys the command looks a little bit better I think if all those things hit there's a good
00:08:39pathway for him to come up and impact this club in 2027 where they are looking for a lefty
00:08:43starter right this is a need for the Mets and so there was a pathway for him to come up
00:08:48so Jonathan
00:08:48Santucci he's he's the guy I have here your thoughts no that's a great pick with Santucci and
00:08:54Ernest before we get to you on this the only thing I really want to add was that Santucci's on
00:08:58my
00:08:59list as well he's someone who heading into the season Ernest I'm curious to know your thoughts on
00:09:02I actually had ahead initially Zach Thornton to be the next like homegrown lefty talent to make his
00:09:07debut at the big league level this year because Thornton as we know was dominant last year in
00:09:13high A up until he went down an injury around June so I didn't think that he would skyrocket as
00:09:17quickly as he did this season he only was in double A for a cup of coffee was a little
00:09:21up down
00:09:21to begin the year gets to Syracuse for literally a starter so the Mets are like listen you're
00:09:25pounding the strike zone there's nothing else that we really need to think about here let's
00:09:28get you to the big league level and that's been awesome thus far with Santucci when it comes to
00:09:32locating that strike zone that's that big difference right he has I think greater stuff when looking at
00:09:37velocity and greater swing and miss rates but currently in three starts in Syracuse thus far
00:09:41it's been quite the adjustment he struck out 15 but he's walked 12 decks so entirely to your point
00:09:46it's about commanding that zone and that's why while I initially was thinking that with
00:09:50Santucci moving up to Syracuse that this is someone that we could see soon before the conclusion
00:09:54of the 2027 season there is not a single doubt in my mind that Santucci will stay in Syracuse
00:10:00for the remainder of the year if he does not get this walk rate figured out so throwing it back
00:10:06to you now
00:10:06Ernest what's your thoughts on Santucci and where he's had success versus lack thereof
00:10:10making a case for 2027 well the interesting part is he is not on my five by the way so
00:10:18I did not have
00:10:20I'm loving this this is a lot more creative than I thought it was going to be okay go ahead
00:10:24and it's not saying that I believe that Jonathan Santucci will pitch for the Mets in 2026 but
00:10:30I wanted to use other factors pick a specific five but yeah the thing with Jonathan Santucci of
00:10:36course I've been hyping as well for years I saw him as a ceiling of being a more higher maybe
00:10:43more
00:10:43productive version of a David Peterson who throws harder than Peterson that was some of the stuff
00:10:48but the thing with him now my understanding in spring Jonathan Santucci was learning a kick change
00:10:54uh so but the thing now during the season the walk race which were really bad in college it got
00:11:00really
00:11:01good in pro ball but now all of a sudden this year he's like backtracking with his pitch command so
00:11:06now
00:11:07not only is the pitch command kind of off this season a little bit more maybe than last
00:11:11but I don't know he seems to rely very heavily on fastball slider and some of his recent outings
00:11:18especially now in triple-a so that's the thing when you're relying on a two-pitch pitcher and you're
00:11:24having some command issues we're hitting that Jonah Tong level perhaps of hey I want to go with my two
00:11:30best
00:11:30pitches but then at the same time if you're not even commanding them that's maybe how he can get
00:11:36lost a little bit in the sauce uh in these outings with overall command I believe he was also trying
00:11:42a curveball as well try to get that fourth pitch but if the third pitch is not thrown like even
00:11:4710 of
00:11:48the time if you're heavy heavy fastball slider fastball slider if that's pretty much even 80
00:11:54plus percent of your day those two pitches even the minor leagues and not commanding it enough
00:12:00I do respectfully have a concern okay what's the next step for a guy like this again not comparing
00:12:06a guy like Kodai Senga now you put him in the pen just throw these two baby and you see
00:12:11some success
00:12:12that's why people want to give Santucci the label of hey you make him a 90 plus 98 plus mile
00:12:19per hour
00:12:19lefty and just say fastball slider don't worry about anything else I like the floor of that but I still
00:12:26believe in him as a starting pitcher but I just want to see maybe even small sample size the rest
00:12:31of the
00:12:31season what are the percentages of the change up and even a fourth pitch at all in these starts for
00:12:38the
00:12:38rest of the season and then of course the baseballs I've been saying it for a couple of years the
00:12:42baseballs are different for some reason double a and lowers different baseball than the ones in triple
00:12:48a major leagues he's got to start at least three starts right now so how soon does he adjust amongst
00:12:55the natural command issues with the new baseball I think he could dominate the rest of the season but
00:13:00I had to respectfully give some of my factors why he's not even in my five no I like this
00:13:05I'm like
00:13:06Wardy I like that he did not make your five we've already got two of Wardy's five right we've had
00:13:10one
00:13:10each I thought Wardy brought up a fantastic point too about Zach Thornton and we've talked a little
00:13:15bit about how well he's pitched in his time with the Mets up with the big club and I wonder
00:13:20how that
00:13:20factors into plans with Santucci because he's the lefty that went ahead of him and is now pitching here
00:13:25on the major league level so that all that is very interesting Ernest give us your next guy
00:13:30since we have no overlap Wardy we know two of yours we know one of mine we know one of
00:13:33Ernest
00:13:34who's your next guy I mean do we have a future AJ Ewing situation occurring because we might a guy
00:13:43who struggled out the gate then he got insanely hot is he going to build off this and bring it
00:13:49into
00:13:49next spring even if he even had to repeat double a I think that Mitch Voight could have an impact
00:13:56even on the 2027 again knock on wood for a season I think Mitch Voight can do the AJ Ewing
00:14:02leap
00:14:03because of his elite athleticism and the numbers are rocketing right now you can't really count on
00:14:09him to hit 440 for the rest of the year in double a but I think he can continue to
00:14:14take these steps as
00:14:15a super athlete with above average defense a whole lot of speed he's got AJ Ewing speed as well he
00:14:22could
00:14:22even handle shortstop and second base now again even to your stuff maybe that can prevent him from some of
00:14:29the options even other players I have who play the same position of him on my five I think Mitch
00:14:36Voight I don't think this is a mirage what he's doing right now the batting average and the ridiculous
00:14:41OPS is not going to be sustainable even at the double a level but I think with some of the
00:14:46stuff he has
00:14:47going on I think it'll continue to have a certain progression he can make an impact next season which
00:14:53might even lower his ETA by almost the whole year I think pipeline as 2028 I think once they see
00:15:00the
00:15:01rest of this season play out they may quietly change there it's a 2027 in their latest updates in the
00:15:06offseason yo I thought looking at him and this is why I defer to folks like yourself Ernest I was
00:15:13like
00:15:13ah nah he's too he's probably too far away I I peeped the hitting I've seen all that I've seen
00:15:23I need to see a little bit more here um okay I'm very intrigued by this now Wardy did you
00:15:29have
00:15:30Mitch Voight on your list or no I did have Mitch Voight on my list yes but there's there's an
00:15:36asterisk with
00:15:37Mitch Voight though and I'll explain that once we get on to a pick that I have um but no
00:15:42Voight is one of my
00:15:42players and while I may not be as bullish on him as maybe someone else that we'll talk about in
00:15:48today uh today's
00:15:49discussion what I will say is that to Ernest's point he's just uber athletic I mean at the end of
00:15:53the day
00:15:53when you have guys are you know north of anywhere from three to five tool type players that is going
00:15:58to what's going to skyrocket them to the major league level I mean AJ Ewing a prime example of
00:16:02this was someone who started the year in a ball in 2025 but when you go on an entire season
00:16:07of batting
00:16:07300 a 400 slug and stealing 70 bags you know you're forcing your way up whether the Mets want it
00:16:13to be
00:16:13during that timeline or not and for Voight will be 22 next year um of course the first draft pick
00:16:19for
00:16:19David Stearns in 2025 out of the second round for Michigan he looks like another fantastic pick
00:16:25by Stearns because of that college aspect okay the Mets have done a very good job over the past
00:16:30couple years under Stearns with bringing in players that already have that college ball pedigree so it's
00:16:36pretty much a smoother transition for them to pro ball that we've seen versus guys coming straight
00:16:39out of high school now obviously it varies on the individual player Kate well seen with guys like
00:16:44Carson Bench out of OSU now Mitch Voight blossoming greatly batting over 400 over 1000 OPS and double
00:16:50a to everyone's point no that's not sustainable but what is sustainable is for Mitch Voight to be
00:16:55around you know like maybe a 280 270 guy that has given you an 800 or so OPS stealing a
00:17:01lot of bags
00:17:01can play all over the diamond in the infield and with injuries and inconsistencies inevitably to happen
00:17:06the ebbs and flows of 162 even if he doesn't crack the team out of camp it very well could
00:17:10be an
00:17:10AJ Ewing thing where a month a month and a half into the year after the Mets stupidly are still
00:17:15playing someone say like Marcus Simeon to begin next season they come the realization that oh you
00:17:19know what we should give the kid a call now as he could be a nice jolt into this lineup
00:17:24so yeah I'm
00:17:25with you Ernest I love what Mitch Voight is dealing right now I hope it continues and Dex now the
00:17:30great
00:17:30question is was he on your list he was not on my list um okay at all because because you
00:17:36know maybe I
00:17:37you know maybe this is a little bit of scarred Mets fandom here but I was like oh are they
00:17:41gonna
00:17:42bring up the athletic guy that showed some and you know I like a player of Mitch Voight's type just
00:17:47like I like AJ Ewing I am a fan of that type of player will this will lightning strike twice
00:17:51for
00:17:52David Stearns here will he do this again Ernest at the beginning of the season Wardy and I talked a
00:17:57lot
00:17:57about the Mets need to become more athletic and if they are leaning in this way then I will be
00:18:05very
00:18:05excited about this so while Mitch Voight didn't make my listen to be honest some of it had to do
00:18:09with could he be blocked at certain positions and I thought his timeline was a bit further down the
00:18:14road but I agree with you that I think that timeline will be accelerated now by a year if he
00:18:19continues to
00:18:19hit this way out for the rest of the season at the double-a level I think that'll happen but
00:18:24if he does
00:18:25that he should be knocking on the door and I would love to see the Mets just organizationally guys
00:18:30I would love to see them have situations where guys are knocking on the door and they're not
00:18:35afraid to bring up prospects if they are raking it at the double-a level and just say hey come
00:18:39on
00:18:39let's see what let's see what you got now with all that being said right because I did not Mitch
00:18:44Voight here I went with a guy here I don't know I guess we still have to call him a
00:18:49prospect because
00:18:49he's back down in the minors now he did get a cup of coffee up here in the majors but
00:18:53there's
00:18:54oh I already know who you're going to say next you know if I know where I'm going but I
00:18:58think
00:18:59my thought process on this is I want to be very clear I think a lot of times we look
00:19:02at prospects
00:19:03and we say not you earn a stadium by particular but just fans right like we'll be like hey this
00:19:08guy comes up and he can be somebody you can put a disposition for x amount of years and life
00:19:13will be
00:19:13good and we and if everything worked out perfectly we'd love it to be that but sometimes some guys can
00:19:18come up and they're just bench players and this guy might be that I'm going with Nick Morbido
00:19:22came up here earlier this year did not hit well but when you look at his numbers
00:19:27in Syracuse a 744 OPS he's got 12 homers I do think the power is notable because he only hit
00:19:34six last year so the power is increased he can play he grades out pretty well defensively he can play
00:19:41all three outfield positions you know what that sounds like to me a fourth outfielder you need that
00:19:46on your team you need a guy who come in you can put him in right put him in left
00:19:49if you need
00:19:50the pitch to put him in center you can be fine with that you need a guy like that maybe
00:19:54that's
00:19:54just what Nick Morbido is and when you look at guys who are no longer here when you look like
00:19:59a
00:19:59Tyrone Taylor maybe there's room for Nick Morbido to slot right into that role and that position so
00:20:04just looking at role fit what this team might need in 2027 and here's the key Nick Morbido's got a
00:20:10hit
00:20:10at the major league level which we did not see when he came up here so can he if he
00:20:15does do that and
00:20:16you see sort of where his numbers are around at the level of Syracuse at AAA level then I think
00:20:21there's a role for him to be a fourth outfielder just because the speed is decent outfield defense
00:20:26is deep is decent as well too and it seems like there could be a spot for him as a
00:20:30fourth outfielder
00:20:31so Nick Morbido was one of my picks I love that pick I don't have Morbido on my list I'm
00:20:38glad that you
00:20:38chose him however because I think the only reason as to why I didn't go the lengths to put Nick
00:20:43there
00:20:43is because is there a world where Nick is not in the organization next year I'm not entirely sure
00:20:48that's that's honestly that's honestly the main question that I have is because right now the
00:20:53Mets outfield will be Soto Benji Ewing right and Soto is going to get a number of reps at DH
00:20:58next year
00:20:59we just don't know to what degree and when that happens obviously who's going to be in the outfield
00:21:03is it going to be Luis Robert that maybe the Mets bring back and how that 20 million but you
00:21:07know
00:21:07at a fraction of that if he's willing to return to this Mets you know if they're willing to take
00:21:12that
00:21:12chance but I think what is most important about a fourth outfielder is something that Robert doesn't
00:21:16have to his game and that's the consistent availability like Tyrone Taylor was perfect
00:21:21in that role for stretches for the Mets over the past couple years because of his ability to rather
00:21:25stay healthy for one and to clutch up whether you need him just as your late game defense replacement
00:21:29your pinch hitter come in in the seventh or eighth inning and give you a nice little bomb or a
00:21:33clutch RBI
00:21:33down the line whatever the case may be Morbido has tremendous range defensively you know this
00:21:39obviously Uranus the speed is obviously there with someone like him too he does not skip a beat
00:21:43between himself Ewing and Benj they're interchangeable when looking at the speed element to them
00:21:47and their game so it really comes down to is that a role that the Mets are comfortable putting Morbido
00:21:52in
00:21:52for an entire season knowing that he really isn't going to have a greater opportunity with this
00:21:56organization if it does happen it'll be because of ailment it'll be because of either a
00:22:00Benj B Ewing or C Soto goes down with injury and then can he run with that when that opportunity
00:22:06is
00:22:07bestowed upon him kind of like what we saw earlier this year so I like that pick a lot for
00:22:11you Dex and
00:22:12while I don't have him I think it's very realistic that Morbido is impacting the Mets next season so
00:22:17Ernest what's your thoughts I uh he was also not on my list I love this I love this this
00:22:25is great
00:22:26I wanted to even uh jump on what Wardy was saying because I also agree as well not only do
00:22:32you factor in
00:22:33things like a possible trade because of the depth maybe in the outfield or in the Mets organization
00:22:39but even before you do all that before a lockout you have things like the rule five and the Mets
00:22:45are
00:22:45going to have another whole handful of top prospects pitching bats that are going to need to be protected
00:22:52so not only just becomes does he fit the team even as a fourth outfielder and then we may even
00:22:57have
00:22:57the Jake Mangum discussion a guy like Jake Mangum was eventually kind of let go because sometimes
00:23:03people will say or argue okay hey we feel we can find similar value maybe in the free agency market
00:23:10or else elsewhere for bats like a Mangum and that could be the situation for a guy like Morabido
00:23:17with the speed with the defense my excitement over Morabido was he now has his career pro season high
00:23:24of home runs for weeks now while maintaining if not lowering his k-rate a little bit because my
00:23:30concern with him is you can't lack power and be a 30 kind of k-rate guy it's kind of
00:23:36gone down a little
00:23:36bit as the power's gone up so not necessarily now proclaiming him an everyday starter as a ceiling but
00:23:43I think the added power and the k-rate maintaining or almost lowering I do continue to see a major
00:23:50leaguer
00:23:50in Nick Morabido no matter the organization but again like Warty said and I'm comparing it of sorts
00:23:56to Jake Mangum we could see him somewhere else or even a Carlos Cortez he may be elsewhere in the
00:24:03major leagues yeah now it's it's more it's more than a fair point there because you never know what
00:24:08can happen here in the offseason so Warty just so I check again with you you had Jefferson Rojas you've
00:24:14had Mitch Voight and you've also had Jonathan Santucci on your list and Ernest you had Jefferson
00:24:20Rojas and Mitch Voight that we've talked about from you who's your third who's the third player that you
00:24:25have uh now we're going to get into my version of not sleepers or wild cards but I'm kind of
00:24:31thinking
00:24:32of them as higher floor guys I think these guys based on their pedigree and the tools that they have
00:24:37I think they're definitely going to be eligible ETA wise talent wise to be in the major leagues and I
00:24:45wanted to go with one of the newer guys again Emilian Petra yes my god I have him on my
00:24:52list
00:24:52now we have I didn't even have him highly ranked he's one of those kind of bat-to-ball skill
00:24:58guys
00:24:59not a soup not a slugging guy not a home run guy but he plays multiple infield positions
00:25:06using Mets centric information I blew up the internet by somewhat comparing him to Luis
00:25:11Guillaume as far as the role for a team like the Mets other people maybe go higher ceiling maybe think
00:25:18more Jeff McNeil or even Brett Beatty at his best when he's hot can he have that role of playing
00:25:25two
00:25:25to three infield positions but having a better hit tool than Beatty is that kind of the focus but I
00:25:32think overall he's already in AAA you always have the higher ranked guys at the top of lineups but
00:25:39even at AAA brief he's playing a lot of second in the order and with that bat to ball skills
00:25:46that could
00:25:46be his thing maybe at a major league level as a rookie even next year maybe he's looking more 8
00:25:51-9 at
00:25:52the bottom but I do love the idea of a guy that hardly ever strikes out bat on ball I
00:25:59think that's going
00:26:00to create a lot of value like you said as well with your Morabito pick for depth bench I think
00:26:05he
00:26:05could be a role player as a floor and it could start in 2027 with a lot of value and
00:26:12again with with his
00:26:12skills if a negative thing did occur I think he could be an everyday player at one of the infield
00:26:19spots be
00:26:20it second or third yo I so we've talked about Petra already a bunch on this show and I am
00:26:28I again
00:26:29baseball prospects and you know this Ernest because you this is where you live but I I don't get too
00:26:35crazy but I do like a guy that shows me high on base percentage right low strikeout rate love that
00:26:44kind
00:26:44of player again I'm kind of I love what you said about the floor for him and I and I
00:26:48do think
00:26:49that's probably where even if he's at the floor I think that's where he can help this Mets team next
00:26:53season even if it's as a utility player they need that kind of guy I love that he's hitting number
00:26:59two in order or you know top of the order I think that's really good sign here even at the
00:27:03lower levels
00:27:04I've spoken about him of what I've been excited about with him and it's really it's it's the low strikeout
00:27:10rate that is actually from coming from the Tampa Bay organization now to the Mets organization it's
00:27:14right around the same at 10.4 percent it's right there and so I love that about him you're not
00:27:19seeing any change on that there seems to be a lot of good discipline at the plate so yeah Petra
00:27:23is on
00:27:23my list too he was absolutely on my list warty I'm assuming that he is on yours too he's he's
00:27:29the player
00:27:29that I've been looking forward to talking about much he's in a class of his own like I feel like
00:27:34there's like a million Petrie fan club going on for the Mets right now I'm like right at the top
00:27:38of that
00:27:38list okay I'm obsessed with this kid and the big reason for it is not only did we see him
00:27:43last year
00:27:43um strike out 107 times and I've been 120 games and the big reason for that was is because they
00:27:48made him change his hit tools they were saying hey let's try to have you hit for a bit more
00:27:52power
00:27:52not part of his game and that's why he was having the swing and miss eight and that was a
00:27:56factor
00:27:56as why he fell so low into like the mid-20s or so in the Rays deep farm in the
00:28:01prospect ranking so
00:28:02the Mets acquire him MLB pipeline hadn't figured out yet how good he's been this season
00:28:06he struck out 44 times in 100 games this year mind you in 10 games in double A he's batting
00:28:12375
00:28:13with a 385 on base just under 800 OPS triple A his first game two for four because of course
00:28:19he is
00:28:19uh Petrie is undoubtedly the most polished hitter that the Mets have in the minor leagues right now
00:28:24I'm so confident in saying that and uh Ernest said it beautifully when he mentioned Jake Mangum
00:28:29because if we want to stay on the topic of former Mets turn Tampa Bay Rays or vice versa however
00:28:34you want
00:28:34to go it I would say that Mangum is very similar to the profile of floor of what Petrie will
00:28:39be
00:28:39at the major league level a guy that's going to hit for high contact north of 300 might not provide
00:28:44the power for you which is why he may be more in that 700 to 750 range on the OPS
00:28:48but someone who's
00:28:49just constantly slapping putting the bat on the ball okay when I look at the future of the Mets at
00:28:54second base I see a world where depending on obviously rule five draft eligibility and lockout status
00:29:00because in activating a 40-man player for your roster this season then a lockout happens that
00:29:06player will not be able to participate in a minor league play right away the way that you otherwise
00:29:10would want him to if he's not going to start the year at the big league level so that is
00:29:14a wrench to
00:29:15say hey maybe you shouldn't call up Petrie for September call-ups but my counter is is if you call
00:29:20him up and he shows exactly what we've expected to see from him thus far then he very well could
00:29:24be the
00:29:24second baseman for the Mets next season I mean that's why there's an asterisk for Mitch Voight for me
00:29:28Petrie's a couple years older he's a more polished hitter I think you know exactly what you're getting
00:29:33in a player approach like him he doesn't overthink his plate approach whatsoever either can hit the
00:29:38top of your lineup be a constant plate setter and similarity to Ewing and Benj but also a guy that
00:29:43again steals bags like crazy like Ewing and Benj let's not forget he has over 30 stolen bases this
00:29:48season so talk about a win of a trade for the Mets and the Freddie Peralta deal I really like
00:29:54Gary
00:29:54Gill Hill I think Aiden Smith is upside but a million Petrie really looks like that is going
00:29:59to be the next immediate impact of the Mets from any one of they acquired at the deadline
00:30:04barring changes I am so high in this kid it's not even funny and I hope he doesn't let me
00:30:08down
00:30:08because I've been raving and gassing him up every single day since the Mets landed him over two weeks
00:30:13ago I will say this and look it's all projections he's probably the guy on my list that I am
00:30:21the most
00:30:22confident about helping the Mets next season in some in some form of fashion um just because I
00:30:29you bring up another good point there warty there could be a great opportunity for him at second base
00:30:35depending on what uh the Mets do with Marcus Simeon I'm sure a lot of the fan base are kind
00:30:39of like
00:30:39time to go uh we'll see there but it could be a good opportunity which matters a little bit too
00:30:44okay let me get to my before you go back to Ernest this is my I will say most risky
00:30:54of my picks where I don't feel like this is safe at all um this is a player who I
00:31:02think has the profile
00:31:04to help the Mets next season a lot of things in his development have to hit right he is a
00:31:10newly
00:31:11acquired prospect came to Hwaska Brasbon trade okay that is Zach Franklin the upside and the power
00:31:20with this guy in terms of pitching is there but when you look at the overall numbers not spectacular
00:31:28right it's got ERA is over 4.3 uh the whip is 1.19 and 51 in the third innings
00:31:38the thing that you're gonna like about him when you look at him and I think this is what the
00:31:42Mets
00:31:42are going to try to lean into and say can we refine certain things with this guy he's got 65
00:31:49strikeouts
00:31:50power pitcher can throw the gas has got good stuff but can the Mets get him in the pitching lab
00:31:56and
00:31:57refine it we've seen the Mets have some success doing things like this before he's also got the
00:32:02age profile of somebody who's been through the minors a bit that you feel like okay if he fixes
00:32:08these things tweaks these things he should be then ready to maybe get up and help the club we also
00:32:12have
00:32:12seen David Stearns have the ability to move guys up and down from the minors so I think if he
00:32:19can get
00:32:19some things straightened out and he does have some things clearly to get straightened out just because
00:32:24of the way David Stearns has used arms the way they've believed in their pitching lab I see the
00:32:29opportunity for him now he's got to take the opportunity here in the minors and he has to
00:32:34develop and this is why he's a huge wild card and is the the easily the riskiest player that I'm
00:32:39going
00:32:39to mention in the five here but I just see it with the stuff with the Mets acquiring him with
00:32:45his age
00:32:45profile with everything he has I could see a pathway for him to help out in the pen because he
00:32:51earnest you
00:32:51talked about this um before with Santucci but he's a guy that is a bit of a a two-pitch
00:32:58guy too right
00:32:58and not that he's going to be looked at to be a starter but this is where he should be
00:33:02fine
00:33:02for the Mets in the pen I'm curious as somebody's watching what do you think of Zach Franklin the
00:33:07Mets getting him he's a little bit more of a project but it feels like there could be a pathway
00:33:11for him to the major he uh was not on my list I feel I figured I but I'm going
00:33:19to say this and
00:33:20I'm going to choose my words carefully okay Dexter this is a very interesting choice that you are
00:33:26making because I have some sources in the Mets organization who are specifically thinking of
00:33:35Zach Franklin since the trade so there is some rumblings in the Mets organization about
00:33:43him specifically doesn't mean he has to have a higher ceiling now but it's a very interesting
00:33:50you name a guy that I heard about behind the scenes so the Mets organization like this version
00:33:58of a wild card as much as you do I'm gonna just leave it at that they are also then
00:34:04it's implied
00:34:05to me from hearing it they are excited about the idea of him as well and I'm sure even the
00:34:12ETA gets
00:34:13pushed up I think that they do view him as a valuable major league pitcher going into next year
00:34:18so I'm curious to see how things unfold with player development and everything else but I absolutely
00:34:25love your pick because of what I actually heard within the last two weeks about him specifically I think
00:34:31again this is not me just having any information I think that what the Mets look at him I see
00:34:36it
00:34:37and he's 27 years old that's what I mean with the age profile you look at the strikeout rate I
00:34:42think
00:34:42that's the thing that jumps off to them and they're like okay if we can get the commands it's a
00:34:46little
00:34:46Santucci issue what we're talking about if you can get the command right then some of these things can
00:34:51come together and I could see how there's a path for him I think that's what you're hearing is
00:34:58probably why the Mets targeted him for the value of what they could have gotten for a whole Oscar
00:35:04Brazoban right okay this we can get for a Brazoban who was up there in age and the Mets got
00:35:08good value
00:35:09for him let's take a wild card guy who's shown a great strikeout rate who's got some good stuff can
00:35:15we
00:35:15now refine that I like that I like that I liked it as a gamble because when I looked at
00:35:20his numbers
00:35:20right when the trade was on the wordy eye we're here in the studio we're doing the trade deadline
00:35:24show I'm like okay like it's not that great but when you dig in a little bit deeper this was
00:35:30just
00:35:30my instant reaction when you dug in a little deeper you looked at the strikeout rate with him even
00:35:34though the ERA was a little concerning and the endings pitch that he had you saw you're like okay
00:35:39I could see what the Mets think they could do here now will that pan out I have no idea
00:35:43we all have no
00:35:44idea we'll see but if you're also hearing some rumblings that they are um they're optimistic
00:35:51about what they might be able to do with him or just a chance to have something to do with
00:35:54him
00:35:55I do find that interesting uh coming from the Mets so that that was my sort of super wild card
00:36:00pick here
00:36:01um so Ernest you've given us three we know four before you get to Ernest can I share two cents
00:36:08on
00:36:08Zach of course because not only have the Mets been kind of bullish on Zach a little bit but
00:36:14here's some information in case you guys don't know what they've done with Zach since he's entered
00:36:18the organization they've changed a bit with how he's pitching right now mainly to get more induced
00:36:23vertical break with the fastball okay they have changed the arm angle on degree on about five
00:36:28inches or so going to 51 for him and that's led to you know mixed results so far that we've
00:36:33seen
00:36:33in the organization but the point is is that the Mets had a direct plan as soon as they acquired
00:36:37him in the trade for Hwaska Brosban along with Gabe Davis coming the other way who I'm more excited
00:36:42about between the two of him and Franklin Franklin seven years of age he's not your prototypical
00:36:47prospect he's more of a guy that should he blossom for the Mets next year is kind of in the
00:36:51category
00:36:52like for example a Jeffrey Jeffrey Yon and Nate Lavender you know a Daniel not Daniel Duarte because
00:36:58he's been the biggest before but guys that you know taking a bit to get to the big league level
00:37:02in
00:37:02their later 20s but it doesn't mean that they can't have success and while he's not on my list
00:37:06either Dex I do respect why you picked him the K per nine was looking strong as the Mets initially
00:37:12acquired it's really just by fine-tuning different things about his arsenal so again whether it's for
00:37:17better or for worse we'll find out but the Mets clearly have a plotted plan as to how to utilize
00:37:22Zach and to change up a bit on not only his arm angle his release point but maybe how his
00:37:26arsenal
00:37:26is going to look as we head into 2027 so yeah they're definitely doing things with him right now I
00:37:31forgot to mention that about the arm angle stuff because that was a good point I actually had forgot to
00:37:35mention that too and the fact that he immediately is coming to organization and the Mets were like
00:37:39okay well let's tweak this um very quickly I I like that now will that work mixed results like
00:37:45already said we'll see will that work we will find out uh Ernest who's your fourth guy
00:37:51well I'm doing that thing again where I get overly excited way too fast for a new player but you
00:37:56know
00:37:56what if Wardy can do it I'm gonna go ahead and there you go steal that five so small sample
00:38:02size
00:38:02again I was comparing like hey what if Mitch Voigt has an ascension like AJ Ewing on a different level
00:38:08what if we have the right-handed Zach Thornton who's gonna jump next year to the major leagues out of
00:38:14nowhere I think that the righty Gary Gill Hill yeah sure it is let's go yes in 2027 again what
00:38:24I like
00:38:24about Gary Gill Hill I don't want to undersell things I believe he's a lower ish 90s guy I think
00:38:30he's more
00:38:3193 94 as he sits maybe he can get to 95 I've seen a lot of nice movement on his
00:38:37pitches but the
00:38:39reason why I throw out the Zach Thornton term I think a guy like this who's young by the way
00:38:43he's
00:38:44younger he's like 21 he throws a ton of strikes so he's the right-handed version he's not afraid to
00:38:51throw
00:38:51strikes the ball's going to be put in play against Gary Gill Hill although extreme small sample size his
00:38:58k-rate has gone up in his few starts in the Mets organization so because he doesn't have a high
00:39:04k-rate
00:39:04in pro ball he's going to be a guy the balls in play I like a guy who's had like
00:39:09back-to-back six
00:39:10inning outings which doesn't sound like a lot but in minor league baseball to see a guy like Gary Gill
00:39:16Hill
00:39:17put together two or three six inning starts in a row in minor leagues the only way you're really allowed
00:39:24to
00:39:24do that is if you need to keep your pitch count down because they often pull you in the 80s
00:39:30and 90s
00:39:31and pitch count I like that he's a strike thrower I like he can have a floor of a long
00:39:36man guy some of
00:39:38those guys we've liked even recently in the Mets organization throws a ton of strikes I don't know
00:39:44about sp2345 I think in 2027 when there's a need what do we do I think a guy like Gary
00:39:51Gill Hill you
00:39:53might bring him up and he'll give you Zach Thornton outings maybe he'll go six seven innings
00:39:58two four runs allowed not dominant not ace I think he's going to provide value as soon as next year
00:40:05because I already like what I see and I'm already curious about the small sample size k-rate can he
00:40:11continue to have it go up and what will the Mets do in their lab amongst other things to help
00:40:15that as
00:40:16well man I love that pick so warty based on your reaction because you got hyped like when I saw
00:40:22Amelia Petrae uh his name come up from Ernest did you have Gary Gill Hill uh as well too on
00:40:28your list
00:40:29so this goes back to when I said that I had like a loose like six player list because he's
00:40:34my honorable
00:40:34mention he just missed my cutoff and there's a reason for that that I'll get into but I think I
00:40:40couldn't agree more with what Ernest is saying with how the Mets have been fast tracking pitchers the past
00:40:44couple years and what they're looking for mainly to get to the major league level Gary has those
00:40:49aspects to his game which is exciting it's not just the early length that we've seen it's his ability
00:40:53to command the strike zone okay I think that we've learned rather quickly how the Mets prefer to
00:40:58operate with their starters and the minors is that it really comes down to who's going to have the best
00:41:02command the strike zone even if that does not lead to immediate success what they're looking for is
00:41:08how quick are you working your counts how obviously are you commanding the zone versus working all
00:41:12over the place I think that they care far more about say a starting pitcher with a four and a
00:41:16half
00:41:17year ray that's constantly pounding the strike zone with a walk rate of say three or two and a half
00:41:21or
00:41:21lower versus having a guy with say around a three year ray but he's thrown all over the place you
00:41:27know
00:41:27that feels like something that's going to fast track him to the major leagues and he's a New York
00:41:31native as well so there's a nice little Adam incentive here as someone who's now in the Mets organization
00:41:36as someone who grew up around you know I believe from uh I'm trying to think where he was initially
00:41:42from where he stated he said he was about two hours or so from where he's currently located
00:41:46with the Mets in the minor leagues but either way it's a great story for him and it just further
00:41:51shows you how much sneaky value the Mets landed in a trade for Freddy Peralta that the Rays are working
00:41:56on the fly to try to figure out I mean first they put Freddy Peralta away from going all the
00:42:01way up above
00:42:02his head with his wind up to now they're trying to have a quicker release time to him off the
00:42:07mound
00:42:07pitch by pitch and it's leading to varying levels of success but while the Rays are dabbling and doing
00:42:12it you know 10 things over to get Freddy Peralta right down the stretch for their playoff run
00:42:15the Mets here have three prospects that have varying levels of upside but all of which that I think for
00:42:21what you gave up and for how bad Freddy was for the New York Mets you really can't find yourself
00:42:26complaining I mean I'll go as far as to say that I think a million Petrie is going to be
00:42:30a better
00:42:30talent at the major league level than Jet Williams is that a crazy take time will tell but I'm really
00:42:35happy with a lot of the guys that the Mets are able to bring in here all right a little
00:42:38bit of spice
00:42:39there from from Wardy here at the end uh Wardy since Gary Gilhill was your honorable mention
00:42:44before we get to Ernest's last pick who was your final pick that you had here so my final pick
00:42:51is
00:42:51a player who entering the season there was a great expectation he was going to be immediately
00:42:55impacting the club I think we have the same I think we have the same no I don't know if
00:42:59we do
00:42:59I don't know if we do Dex oh we might not there's a couple guys that could fall in that
00:43:03category so I
00:43:04don't know we might and if we do that's all right it's almost like we're a little like-minded okay
00:43:08so I'm going to go here with my pick a guy who has been dreadful this year up until really
00:43:13the past
00:43:13two months he's finally figuring it out coming back from injury and that's Dylan Ross okay I don't
00:43:18know if that was your pick Dex that was not my pick but that's a good one okay there we
00:43:20go so here we go
00:43:21Dylan Ross the story for those that don't recall was called out by the Mets in the final series last
00:43:27year in Miami was set to make his debut didn't get a chance to and the season was over we
00:43:31begin spring
00:43:32training this year there's two flamethrowers in the Mets farm that we're all locking in on it's Ryan
00:43:36Lambert and it's Dylan Ross both of which have had far from the seasons that they wanted in the farm
00:43:41due to injury and inconsistencies Lambert's been all over the place unfortunately he throws gas but he's
00:43:46been a wild thing as well looking like Vaughn from major league and Ross same thing started the
00:43:51year on ailment started the year on the injured list slow roll had a horrendous month of June
00:43:56absolutely dreadful walking everyone the mother I think 11 walks in 10 innings or so uh the past
00:44:01two months however in both July and now entering August far more polished that we have seen for
00:44:07Dylan Ross in Syracuse six foot five 250 pounder throws absolute gas has the stuff it's just about
00:44:14commanding that strike zone and the Mets can get that walk right to something that they're relatively
00:44:19comfortable with I mean listen and they called up Jeffrey Young with a walk rate of a six K per
00:44:24nine or so because the Sweeney Mets stuff is so good I'm inclined to believe they'll do the same
00:44:28with Dylan Ross as long as he can show a more polished version of himself to round out the
00:44:32year here in Syracuse if he's not called up prior but as we get into next year as long as
00:44:37Ross is still
00:44:37in the organization not a doubt in my mind that he's going to be that next homegrown talent that the
00:44:42Mets call up in the pen and whether he eats 20 30 40 plus innings time will tell on that
00:44:47front but I
00:44:48think Dylan Ross it's not a matter of if but when he's finally impacting the Mets in this bullpen
00:44:53okay I love this Dylan Ross pick I thought about him um I like we really picked some guys where
00:45:00either you might not be thinking about them because their project or the stock could be down a little bit
00:45:04um my what do you well Ernest while we have before you get to your last pick what do you
00:45:10think of
00:45:10warty picking Dylan Ross what do you think of his prospects of helping the Mets in 2027 I mean he's
00:45:17definitely the newest of newest wild cards in the entire Mets farm system because he broke camp
00:45:23on the IL he was slowed up I was reporting on that in the spring that by the way unfortunately
00:45:29I'm hearing Dylan Ross is not going to break camp and then during the season as he was kind of
00:45:34getting his stuff back the velocity was not there and as warty was pointing out his his walk rates
00:45:41were high anyway they were continuing to be high throughout the season but his velocity was also
00:45:47kind of strikingly down from spring and then into the season so hopefully I believe about July
00:45:53he had an unreal run of like not walking anybody for like four or five appearances
00:45:57in August he started to walk guys again but it looks like his velocity checking the game cast and
00:46:04stuff like that it looks like Ross's velocity is getting back to 97 to 99 in August so you got
00:46:11to
00:46:11just come back next year knock on wood stay healthy Dylan Ross if healthy wild card he's one of those
00:46:20guys
00:46:20like not like a dead Neil Nunez but like a dead Neil Nunez he could end up being one of
00:46:26those guys in
00:46:26his mid to late 20s with enough health with enough pitch command per inning inning ish he's a major
00:46:33lead contributor which still has that ceiling of a seventh eighth inning guy I still believe in him a lot
00:46:40again walks in health he's one of those guys you hear about all the time does he have those two
00:46:47with the
00:46:47right combination he's helping the Mets next year I like that there I love I love this pick um here
00:46:53okay
00:46:55I Ernest I want to hear well I want I wonder if we have the same last pick it's going
00:46:59to be very
00:47:00interesting what's your last pick Ernest we do not have the same thing you're sure you're sure
00:47:05I want to I want to see some eye rolls I want to see open eyes uh the fifth guy
00:47:11and I I'll go with
00:47:12Wardy too I'll use a a sixth guy by the way if you want to end it but the other
00:47:17guy I chose as having
00:47:19a high floor as a guy maybe some other versions of a Pintaro you know stuff like that you see
00:47:26these guys
00:47:27like they're all of a sudden helping and being successful I got the guy he's coming out of
00:47:33absolutely nowhere he was barely even drafted they probably weren't even going to get drafted the Mets
00:47:38snuck in at the very end third to last pick I believe in last year's draft 20th round pick
00:47:45reliever Garrett Stratton that's my fifth guy wow he only was starting the season started the season
00:47:53in a ball already who did you just say Ernest Garrett Garrett Stratton last year's 20th round
00:48:01pick by the New York Mets you're a mad man that's that's why Ernest is that's why Ernest is Ernest
00:48:07I'm not picking Garrett Stratton no way that was a good pick good all right this is fun I I
00:48:13interviewed
00:48:13Garrett Stratton he is a human analytics computer and what this young man did he came to the Mets
00:48:21organization barely getting drafted there was a lot of good metrics computer stats in college with bad
00:48:29overall numbers came to the Mets organization one of the Mets minor league coaches dipped in some magic
00:48:38sauce watched him they worked on a new pitch that he calls his death ball and now that pitch has
00:48:45him
00:48:46blowing through a ball here we are in double-a I'll give you the numbers 24 innings pitched at the
00:48:53double-a
00:48:53show-me level he has one walk and that one walk was intentional with 31 k's 24 innings an intentional
00:49:01walk 31 k's at the double-a show-me level for a guy in his first season full season of
00:49:09pro ball
00:49:10I think a guy like this can continue to rock it he's already had 24 innings not a lot but
00:49:16enough of
00:49:16experience at the double-a level I wouldn't be shocked if he breaks camp next year at triple-a if
00:49:23at the very least you leave him back for whatever reason maybe by the way he has three saves he's
00:49:28also closing out games recently a guy like this I think one of those more abito type guys but for
00:49:35pitching I think he's a major league caliber 26th man 13th 12th 13th pitcher as soon as 2027 that's
00:49:44why I snuck him at the bottom of my list so garrett garrett stratton right garrett stratton
00:49:50that's a great pick yeah I'm not going to sit here and act like I'm a garrett's no expert
00:49:54I was not look listen this is why we have you here earnest I was not up on his game
00:49:59you were up on his
00:50:01game the one walking and being intentional whoo that's impressive as you said at the double-a show-me
00:50:09level that is very impressive and now I'm going to go off to look up some highlights of this man
00:50:13pitching I was trying I was googling him as as you spoke and now I'm going to have to go
00:50:18look this
00:50:19has me excited because we got a game we had a name I hadn't heard of that I didn't even
00:50:23think of
00:50:23here at all whatsoever and so I like that he's also a he's also one of those vertical spin rate
00:50:30guys
00:50:31so he's not one of those guys where the pitches are too straight we have to worry I'm talking about
00:50:36an
00:50:36analytical guy with spin rate and movement and there's a downward movement in the new death ball
00:50:42so that's a guy who's not just a pure strike thrower he's just a guy with spin rate and movement
00:50:48who just
00:50:49happens to be in the zone a lot right now in double-a so that's why I was excited about
00:50:55him and I think
00:50:55he'll utilize the lab and the coaching and player development he can continue to get even better because
00:51:00again 20th round pick I think his era in college was four five six it was he was just a
00:51:06guy who had
00:51:07analytics the Mets gave him a shot a minor league coach gave him a pitch I don't know what's next
00:51:13but
00:51:13I'm excited to see if he does make his debut next year definitely patting myself on the back even though
00:51:19I didn't have to do anything he did all the work hey he makes he makes his debut next year
00:51:23we'll
00:51:23remember this conversation we'll bring out the clips and everything uh for you for you on that one
00:51:27so okay my last pick at earnest you helped me in a video essay we did on this guy at
00:51:36the top of the
00:51:36year and I am a little surprised that nobody brought him up which shows you how much has changed between
00:51:442025 and 2026 because a lot has changed for the Mets between 2025 and 2026 and that is jonathan
00:51:55what's good with jonathan have we forgotten about him do we not believe in the ability anymore I still
00:52:00believe I still believe kind of like I believed in my boy kodai sender this year but sorry yeah you
00:52:07have to laugh it broke me for a second kodai the closer baby he's great he's awesome here's the thing
00:52:13okay earnest you know this well because you and I talked about this at the beginning of the year and
00:52:18like what he what he could do this year and I don't think this year let's just keep it a
00:52:21buck
00:52:22has it not gone the way that we thought it would for jonathan because when you look at the numbers
00:52:26last year what he had the 1.43 era 179 strikeouts and just over 113 innings right amazing gear in
00:52:35the
00:52:36minors and you thought he's going to take the next level now earnest knows this where do you know this
00:52:41we all know this development is not always linear although we would like it to be it doesn't always work
00:52:47like that here's the thing with jonathan this year the record three and six whatever I don't care
00:52:52I don't care about that some people their eyes may pop out of their head when you look at his
00:52:56era
00:52:56it's over five right that's not the thing for me this year it's the 55 walks in the 22 home
00:53:05runs
00:53:05that he's allowed that has 22 homers right that in 94 innings okay that's what's got me concerned
00:53:15however the reason I still have him on this list
00:53:19I still think and I know earnest you told me this in the video we did you still believe that
00:53:23he could figure some of the control stuff out and then there's also the part of him can he develop
00:53:27a third pitch right still very fastball slider reliant can he develop that can he develop that third pitch
00:53:34I still believe in the talent I still think he's really good I still think the Mets are going to
00:53:39believe in his strikeout ability which is clearly still there the walks you have every right to be
00:53:44concerned about the walks you have every right to be concerned about the homers I remember when we
00:53:47did this video early in the season earnest we talked about the fact that he'd have these these
00:53:52games where he was cruising along four innings and he's just throwing gas and getting strikeouts
00:53:56and then it just be one inning and he just give up a bomb right and they give up another
00:54:00bomb and
00:54:01that's where you were a little bit concerned about him I think what this all comes down to is
00:54:06maybe in all the people we've talked about when you look at his stuff he's got the widest range of
00:54:12an outcome here and we've seen it at a really good level but the key for me now is what
00:54:16does he learn
00:54:17from this year because it's a mental part for me with a lot of a lot of players what does
00:54:21he learn
00:54:21from this year yeah 2025 was dope and he was cruising along and pitching well this year it's
00:54:26been a little bit more of an adventure he didn't come up to the majors and have an impact on
00:54:30his 2026
00:54:31team in a way that I think a lot of us thought he would coming out of 2025 so what
00:54:35does he learn from
00:54:36this year where's the mental toughness the stuff is there can he make the adjustments can he do that
00:54:40I still believe in it but maybe I'm saying with him getting late a little early and we're going to
00:54:47know a lot about him whether we see him in September or we see him early next year through
00:54:52camp I'm still going to believe in Jonathan I still think there's a way he could impact his rotation
00:54:56I do find it fascinating and I don't think any of us would have said this that if we were
00:55:02doing this
00:55:02video a year ago that we wouldn't have none of you guys didn't mention his name Jonathan didn't even
00:55:06come up and I can't blame you based on the performance of what you've seen this year
00:55:11I guess I'm still believing the talent am I crazy should I still believe in the talent that
00:55:15Jonah Tong can still have an impact on the Mets in 2027 what do you guys say I don't think
00:55:21you're
00:55:21crazy at all and Ernest I know you have a lot to say on Jonah because you you've been on
00:55:25top of him
00:55:25literally since a ball for the most part so I'll let you run within a second the only thing I
00:55:29really
00:55:29have to say about Ton is I think that this is honestly something that is becoming maybe a little
00:55:34bit bigger than what it needs to be okay Jonah made his major league debut at a very fast-tracked
00:55:41rate
00:55:41in 2025 the Mets having been obviously buyers of the deadline and desperate need to some
00:55:48help with their rotation hence the McLean and Ton call-ups and we saw Jonah find an ability to have
00:55:53success at the major league level all while being far from a polished starter right in double-a he was
00:55:58so magnificent working that strikeout rate to what it was and not really giving up what felt like an
00:56:03run almost every single outing out there I mean he had a sub one year right for basically north of
00:56:07100
00:56:08innings um in double-a it was crazy the run he was on uh last summer for the rumble ponies
00:56:13that
00:56:13helped them lead to their success but this year as Ernest knows as well it's a bit on the arsenal
00:56:18change right that cutter usage is a key factor behind this and the inconsistencies with the success
00:56:24utilizing that arsenal in the ways that it didn't look at calendar year ago the Mets are fine-tuning
00:56:28things by him him continuing to adjust to that ball at the triple-a level let's not forget Brandon
00:56:33Sprout had his fair share of hiccups at the triple-a level after dominating in the previous
00:56:38levels it took him a bit obviously to find his footing there uh previous Mets prospect in the
00:56:43organile with the Brewers obviously as part of the Freddy Peralta trade Ton I look at that home run rate
00:56:48and that sticks out like a sore thumb obviously right because he is pounding a lot in the strike
00:56:52zone his walk rates are a little high this year but even when he is patting the strike zone he's
00:56:57just
00:56:57leaving a lot over the plate and the question for me is and I'll leave this to you Ernest is
00:57:01how much of this is Jonah having a set game plan that he's going to utilize his cutter say a
00:57:06lot
00:57:06this day versus utilizing more of his foreseen this day like how much of it is it more so about
00:57:12arsenal feel versus actual results like what is the game plan that the Mets are saying to Jonah
00:57:17this is what we're trying to work on here it's not as much about going out and being the most
00:57:21dominant every time as it is well let's fine-tune your arsenal and get it to a comfortable level
00:57:26hiccups and all because we're purposely working on this this year to make you a more polished product
00:57:31for 2027 I'm curious to know your thoughts and even with that before I get into it what I find
00:57:38really interesting is that I am noticing that one way or another he did it in spring regardless of
00:57:44getting hit or not he's been doing it in triple-a he's throwing the cutter at a pretty high percentage
00:57:50so he's still meanwhile I just talked about earlier in this show like a Jonathan Santucci
00:57:56still seems to be very heavy fastball slider even in his outings recently but not with Jonah Tong the
00:58:04Mets organization are saying we want you to learn something he's learning it on the go in the field
00:58:09of play he's throwing the cutter every single game a lot at a high percentage but I guess my concerns
00:58:16would be some of the talk who's to blame or not blame too strong of a word there's been reports
00:58:22that somebody be it the organization or Tong himself has naturally changed his arm angle and arm slot
00:58:28to try to figure out the movement on the stuff like the cutter trying to get certain different movements
00:58:35and then my concern would be when you're doing that you're changing your arsenal he lowered his delivery
00:58:40a little bit he doesn't have the the true lynchcomb kind of leg kick anymore so he changed the end
00:58:46of
00:58:46his delivery he changed a little bit of his arm angle and then now he's trying to throw things like
00:58:52the
00:58:52fastball and that version of a cutter sometimes in games it looks like the location isn't there
00:58:58be it the cutter or the fastball should be high rising cutter not as so much all of a sudden
00:59:04some of those
00:59:05pitches are hitting middle middle and they're getting tagged at the triple-a level so I love
00:59:10that he's practicing all of these pitches and I don't know what what do you do for the offseason
00:59:15a lab what's the lab gonna do do they change his kind of arsenal again do they get him to
00:59:21pitch more
00:59:22of the other stuff what happened to the Vulcan change how often is he throwing it does the slider
00:59:28still exist the good news about Jonah Tong I believe is fastball velocity for a little while now
00:59:33it's still 95 to 97 depending on the inning in the game so the velocity is there the potential remains
00:59:41there the floor of a reliever remains there and I understand everybody but the starting potential
00:59:48still for a guy who put up those video game numbers like Wardy said you definitely give a guy like
00:59:53this
00:59:53all of 2027 as a starting rotation pitcher every week including in the majors as called upon that's my
01:00:01opinion because the the stuff is still there but who is gonna re-change the arsenal re-change the arm
01:00:07angle and re-change the percentages of his pitches that's gonna be a lot to figure out in the offseason
01:00:13in my opinion it is you always worried with the development of the kid are you trying to change too
01:00:18much does that affect impact his mentality does he get in his head a little bit about it either way
01:00:24he's got to got to be development I'm with you though Ernest you got to give him the entirety of
01:00:29next season still as a starter and I agree the floor is still as a reliever but I still believe
01:00:34he can impact the Mets in some way it's starting to get crowded in the starting pitching rotation
01:00:38of things as we're talking about with guys but that's a good problem for the big club maybe not great
01:00:43for
01:00:43Jonah Tom but it's a good problem for the big club um to have interesting list for all of us
01:00:48there was a
01:00:48lot I mean there was some commonality that we had here but uh hey Garrett Stratton that's the name
01:00:54to remember from this this one here nobody had it on the list that I actually really like that
01:01:00that is a great pick by Ernest we we love it that's why Ernest is so good at what he
01:01:04does this was fun
01:01:05guys now we're gonna have to keep keep our list I wrote it all down we are gonna have to
01:01:10look back
01:01:10next year and we'll just check it off if uh every time somebody contributes to the Mets or if they
01:01:16don't
01:01:16we just have no checks next to the name at all go ahead Wardy uh the one thing that I
01:01:21thought of
01:01:21right away when Garrett Stratton was brought up was I understand he's a reliever profile and I can't
01:01:26recount too many guys last year in the minor leagues that I feel like we were glued on from
01:01:31a reliever profile standpoint there was a point in time where I was really gearing towards someone
01:01:36like Felipe de la Cruz when he was dominant in double-a and then when he moved to triple-a
01:01:40that
01:01:41transition didn't work well as they were either going from him I believe they were going from him
01:01:45from a reliever to a starter or the other way around and it wasn't connecting as a two-pitch
01:01:49pitcher even though he threw gas outside of that there aren't too many other guys that pop in my
01:01:53mind but pitchers that were not on my radar heading into last year and I thought skyrocketing the farm
01:01:59both of which have fluctuated this year with levels of success some have taken more steps back than
01:02:04others I think of guys like Will Watson I think of guys like RJ Gordon you know guys that really
01:02:08were
01:02:08not as on the map until the season developed and Stratton is a great example of exactly that now this
01:02:14time
01:02:14around a year later you know every year we have seen Mets pitchers kind of come out of the woodwork
01:02:19out of nowhere that are either just lab successes or guys that always had good profiles but knowing
01:02:24how deep a lab can be at times for the Mets you don't really have them on your radar unless
01:02:29you're
01:02:29going out of your way to be like Ernest deep diving every single level of the farm pretty much on
01:02:33the
01:02:33daily so I'm excited more than anything to see not only Stratton how he looks if there is a spring
01:02:39training there probably won't be but if there is one if he's invited there what would he entail for the
01:02:43New York
01:02:44Mets as well as this time next year who are going to be the Mets pitchers that break out in
01:02:49the lab
01:02:50then because again this has been a common theme with their hitters they've done this more recently
01:02:54Jacob Reimer was their big breakout along with AJ you know AJ Ewing last year who is going to kind
01:02:59of fill in those shoes this time around for 2027 it's exciting but I thought that was a cool pick
01:03:04by
01:03:04Ernest great picks by everyone around and before we wrap it up I guess are there any other players that
01:03:11either you were really debating and just had off your list the way that I had with Gary Gilhell if
01:03:16so who is that and why Ernest let's start with you um I mean I wanted to take him badly
01:03:22uh but and
01:03:23it's going to be considered a wild card but hey I'll get into this premise a lot of people now
01:03:28are arguing
01:03:29Francisco Alvarez they want him to give up catching he can't do it he needs to be more of a
01:03:33dh
01:03:34I got the answer and I know he's had a slow start this season he just got hot recently he
01:03:40would be
01:03:41the bell of the ball in Queens with his attitude his smile his energy he's a physical specimen
01:03:49I think why not complete wild card it would open up the door and floor for Alvarez let's go with
01:03:56a
01:03:56third catcher as an option next year I would go Chris Suero damn right as a potential guy now
01:04:03listen if anyone starts googling it and gets mad at me he has been on the Mendoza line all season
01:04:09he's been a 200 hitter most of the year my understanding with Chris Suero there's been a
01:04:15lot of changes to his plate approach plate discipline uh some of the stat lines savant fan graphs whatever
01:04:22you use I think he's seeing more pitches deeper he's having more power from last year to this year
01:04:28he's added power the k rate has gone up while he takes and sees more pitches his walk rate is
01:04:36up
01:04:36his k rate is up his power is up the guy has over 30 stolen bases as a catcher who
01:04:44can also by the way
01:04:45recently because of the Mets double a all-star team he's been playing center field is he another
01:04:51Varsho in the making of sorts I don't know because again the hit tool has to eventually speak for
01:04:58itself he's hot for a few games not enough dove I want to see what he does the rest of
01:05:04the season
01:05:04I could easily see him having to repeat double a while they try to straighten out certain things
01:05:10in that discipline power k rate maybe pick a position uh he was catching all the time until the
01:05:17deadline and then once the all-star team showed up everybody's moving around and Parada randomly got
01:05:22hot again I think Chris Suero would be the guy you're gonna buy the jersey of if he's in the
01:05:29Mets
01:05:29organization because he is an absolute leader clubhouse guy I had pitchers tell me a couple of
01:05:35years ago he will literally die for us on the mound he will scream he will fight he'll get at
01:05:41the umpires
01:05:42he'll be the first guy out of the dugout if there's a come a pitcher looking at a hitter he's
01:05:48that guy
01:05:49so it would be fun as a New York born guy as well that all of that combined he will
01:05:55be the the light
01:05:56of queens if he were to make it so it has to be a wild card choice even beyond my
01:06:02five I like that
01:06:03I love it I don't know if I really had uh a wild card because a lot of guys was
01:06:09like oh what's the pass I
01:06:10guess the guy you kind of Mets fans will think about because of how things have played out at
01:06:16first base this year with Wardy's boy Polanco you're going to hear the Ryan Clifford talk the
01:06:22thing for me with Ryan Clifford is when you look at everything with him you know still striking out
01:06:27a ton right and then that hasn't that hasn't been cut down you wonder what that's going to be at
01:06:31the
01:06:32next level I think there was maybe some thought that this could have been the season that he came
01:06:37up and impacted the Mets but he feels it feels like he still has work to do um the power
01:06:41is still
01:06:41there uh you'd like that to be there but the strikeout ability is still way too high for personally for
01:06:47my
01:06:48liking now the he when you talk about him he might have one of the cleanest pass just because there's
01:06:53such a on the right side of the infield there's going to be such a need right there's such a
01:06:57need a
01:06:58second base I think everybody's done with Simeon Polanco I think everybody's done with with him as well
01:07:02too I don't know what the Mets going to do they're going to put two young players there probably not
01:07:06it feels like there should have been an easier pass for Clifford but the production isn't this
01:07:11they're right and the strikeouts are deaf the strikeout rate excuse me is definitely a very
01:07:16concerning thing for me with him so I thought about him because of path and I that was sort of
01:07:21a factor
01:07:21in a lot of my decisions here but I couldn't get myself to to put him in top five yeah
01:07:27I uh I Chris
01:07:29Swero's awesome um I don't really have much to add on top of that Bronx native uh first got into
01:07:34him last year um with his breakout that we saw especially in high a it was really entertaining
01:07:39to watch what he's doing in Brooklyn and just the fact that he's sober athletic again he plays
01:07:43catcher he plays first base he's making robberies at the wall and center I mean you're not going to
01:07:47find that from any player profiles and that pure athleticism alone is what's going to fast track him to
01:07:53the major leagues and Serenis's point yeah he's been batting the Mendoza line like all year but
01:07:57the power's been there too you know he's very feast or famine with his approach he's finally
01:08:02back above the Mendoza line because he's hitting really well with just under an 800 OPS so Swero is
01:08:07someone that I think is on the outside looking and yeah but when I think of future catching options
01:08:12internally there's no one that sticks out greater in my opinion than Swero um he's obviously had a
01:08:16Parada who had a really bizarre hot streak in Syracuse earlier this year then fell off a cliff now
01:08:22he's hot again as Ernest stated in double-a I don't know what's going on with Parada but I don't
01:08:27really see much of a future with him at the major league level for the Mets sparring changes uh
01:08:31Swero has a similar personality to Alvarez too where you know he's a guy that becomes a quick
01:08:35fan favorite and I'm all for him so yeah no that was a great pick Ernest and Dex uh appreciate
01:08:40the
01:08:41opinions as well like I said this was an awesome discussion uh I'm I'm way too giddy about prospects
01:08:46on August 19th right now but here we are so it's it's been a fun one well that's what happens
01:08:50when
01:08:50the Mets don't have a season the way you thought it would this this is what we have to do
01:08:54uh
01:08:54that we gotta call up Ernest uh that's gonna do it for this edition of Straight Outta Flushing
01:08:59please check out the work of the great Ernest Dove the man in the middle the Dove Report check out
01:09:04his YouTube channel does a fantastic job if you're into deep dives of Mets prospects and what's going
01:09:09on all the news all the rumblings you've got to check out Ernest and the work he does Ernest we
01:09:13appreciate you coming through and uh talking with us about some prospects and like I said we got to
01:09:17make sure we make all these check marks on our list and see if this all works out appreciate you
01:09:22man
01:09:24yeah I don't know about the working out part but hopefully the information part is still uh
01:09:29beneficial and again sometimes I try to pat myself on the back I'm I would I had Zach Thornton
01:09:35ranked as my 10th ranked prospect in spring and I think a lot of people were looking at me funny
01:09:41calling him a reliever hey I'll take the the wins as I can get them now that he's shining in
01:09:47a rotation
01:09:48for people that thought he could like be more of a reliever guy so I get them once in a
01:09:54while I was
01:09:54the Guillaume guy years ago I know it didn't work out years later but they didn't know about him even
01:10:00like a Jeff McNeil and these guys make it to the majors I'm always excited there's other guys that are
01:10:05on their way some exciting talent even younger guys in the pipeline if you are nice enough to follow my
01:10:11channel you're gonna start hearing about a lot of younger guys as well there's a couple of lefties that are
01:10:17pretty fire so but again these guys will take a while maybe I'll be on a future show when they
01:10:23really get talked about more like guys like Davi El Hurtado Nicholas Carreño my little baby DeGrom with
01:10:31the delivery he models the delivery Jose Chirinos if he ever makes it to the majors and you stare at
01:10:36that kind of delivery and it's like Gary Cohen is saying something about the delivery about the Grom
01:10:41maybe you'll remember you heard it here there's a lot going on in the mess farm system and it got
01:10:46very competitive after that deadline as you said with Ryan Clifford there's other first basemen now
01:10:53there's another 30 home run bat right now named Billy Amick and there's a Cole Mathis and then
01:10:59there's my pick that I said online don't be shocked I don't know if 2027 might be too soon there's
01:11:05a
01:11:05potential first base regular in Corey Collins who I was told by the Mets organization and even he said it
01:11:12they value his eye on a Juan Soto level for eye at the plate not as a player
01:11:19not overhyping your Hall of Famer Corey Collins his eye at the plate mimics on the level of Juan Soto
01:11:27if he can get enough of a hit tool with good health Corey Collins could also be a first baseman
01:11:33for a
01:11:34long time as a possible possible option for the New York Mets all right another good name there by
01:11:39Ernest Duff as I said check out the great Ernest Duff the Duff Report on his YouTube channel
01:11:42fantastic job there that's going to do it for this edition of Straight Outta Flushing for the
01:11:46great Tyler Ward I'm Dexter Henry we will catch you next time on another edition of Straight Outta Flushing
01:11:52Peace
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