Top prospects sent back to minor league camp
PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets made their first cuts of spring training, sending many of their top prospects over to the minor league side of the Clover Field complex. Outfielder Drew Gilbert, infielder Jett Williams, catcher Kevin Parada, righthanders Eric Orze, Cam Robinson, Christian Scott and Mike Vasil, Dominic Hamel and lefthander Danny Young were assigned to minor league camp.
Infielder Luisangel Acuña and left-hander Kolten Ingram were optioned to Triple-a. Players can come back and play in Grapefruit League games as extras after being sent to minor league camp, but not if they were optioned. Acuña, the Mets’ top overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, played his final Grapefruit League game of spring Sunday against the Houston Astros.
“It was a really good opportunity to get to know a lot of these kids,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “Watching them go about their business on and off the field or the interactions in the clubhouse with some of our established players watching, watching them go about their routines and their preparation, it was really good.”
Mendoza spoke to the group Sunday, trying to impress on them the value of big league clubhouse experience.
“The relationships, their connections, watching the veteran guys go about their business, how they prepare, their routines, how they develop those routines,” Mendoza said. “Basically, the biggest takeaway is how to lead by example, not only by what you say, but by your actions. Those were some of the messages I sent to them.”
The Mets believe this group is impressive on the field and off of it. Williams is only 20 and already very polished. He garnered praise from the veterans for his work ethic and his ability to take a joke (at 5-foot-6, he was at the center of many).
The Mets decided early on that Vasil, Scott and Dominic Hamel would start the season in Triple-a, so sending them to the minor league side makes sense. They can still come back to the big league side to throw in Grapefruit League games and face some tougher lineups over the next few weeks while using the morning workout to prepare for the season with their likely Syracuse teammates. Hamel, who pitched Sunday against the Houston Astros, will likely be sent back to the minor league side soon as well.
The message from Mendoza was well received.
“The first time I was in big league camp, I think I was just naive,” Orze told the Daily News. “I didn’t understand what this really was like. I was still the college kid trying to prove that I’m good enough. I was thinking that I’ve got to outperform people to make the team and this and that. It’s like, that’s not the point.”
The point, Orze said, is to learn about how the veterans became successful and how to carry yourself as a pro.
“That’s the biggest thing,” Orze said. “You watch all these guys that have had a ton of time here and see how they go about their work. It’s not trying to prove anything to anybody because they don’t need to. [The mindset is], I do this really well, I’m going to continue to do it, I’m going to be a good human being, I’m going to be fun to be around, I’m going to stay positive in the clubhouse and we’re going to make these 200 or so days that we’re going to be together enjoyable.”