Mets top prospect dominating Triple-A
Amed Rosario, the Mets shortstop prospect, is stoking the hype with a sizzling start at Triple-A Las Vegas. ESPN this week ranked Rosario as the No. 1 minor league prospect in all of baseball, but the expectations don’t appear to be getting to the 21-year-old.
In his first eight games, Rosario went 11-for-32 (.344) with two stolen bases and four RBIs. His power has yet to come — he has no home runs after swatting five all of last season — but Rosario’s growing ability to lay off pitches is what has most impressed manager Pedro Lopez.
Rosario walked once and struck out four times in his f irst 34 plate appearances.
“Everything about his game [has impressed me],” Lopez said Thursday over the phone. “He’s off to a good start here. It’s exciting.
“He’s managing the strike zone better.”
The only thing Rosario lacks, Lopez said, is games played. He raved about his talent, but cautioned about the inexperience of a player the Mets signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012.
“He can probably go out there and get a few more games under his belt,” Lopez said. “Our front office has done a good job of calling guys when they’re ready.”
Right behind Rosario in the lineup, in the cleanup spot, is f irst baseman Dominic Smith, who is making an early case the Mets already have Lucas Duda insurance.
Smith, 21, the No. 11 overall selection of the 2013 draft, slashed .406/.441/.594 in his first eight games, including a homer and three doubles.
Jorge Mateo had nine steals in his first eight games at Single-A Tampa, and he doesn’t seem to want to slow down.
The Yankees’ top prospect, a shortstop until Gleyber Torres’ arrival and now playing some center field, appeared to publicly speculate about how many steals he could rack up.
On Twitter, Mateo posted a screenshot of a Wikipedia entry on the minor-league single-season record — 155 by Billy Hamilton of Cincinnati in 2012 — with the telling ad of, “interesting.”
Mateo’s season high was 82 in 117 games in 2015.
Chance Adams, a highly touted starter in the Yankees system, no-hit opponents for his f irst 9 2/3 innings this season with Double-A Trenton.
In 11 ¹/3 innings, he has allowed one earned run and walked six while striking out 13.
Last season, the 2015 fifthround pick went 13-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 25 combined appearances at Single-A Tampa and Trenton.