Today is Fireflies Opening Day for the second time ever! Not quite the excitement of last year, as the Fireflies already have one season under their belt. I stopped posting on here late last season, but will try to add a few new posts a week this season. There is obviously a lot to talk about this year's roster, so let's get into it.
Preseason Fireflies Rankings
1.Milton Ramos, SS
2016: Batted .220 with no home runs and 35 RBIs and OPS of .564 for the Fireflies
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' third round pick in 2014 out of high school
Age: 21
My preseason #1 Firefly last year was Ivan Wilson. That turned out to be a terrible pick. But most "experts" had Ramos as their top Firefly, and that turned out to be a bad pick as well. Ramos had a terrible OPS all season, and was even inconsistent defensively which is his strength, As a result, he never got promoted last year or even in Spring Training this year and he remains a Firefly. There really should be no reason for putting him this high. But he is still younger than most of this year's roster, nearly all of which of which have never played over 100 professional games in a single season like Ramos did last year (or even in a league that plays 100+ games). And there still is a reason the Mets drafted him high enough for him to get a good signing bonus to go pro out of high school. He has the potential, and now he has the experience. It's up to him to deliver this year.
2. Dash Winningham, 1B
2016: Batted .234 with 12 home runs and 69 RBIs and OPS of .671 for the Fireflies
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' eighth round pick in 2014 out of high school
Age: 21
Like Ramos, Winningham was drafted out of a Florida high school three years ago. And like Ramos, he will be a Firefly for the second straight year. That's not a good thing, as in baseball player development being assigned to the same team a second year in a row is like getting held back in school. Winningham in the first half of last season was a solid contact hitter, but didn't bring the power that the Mets drafted him for. His power numbers improved late in the season, but at the expense of making contact much of the time. He's a better hitter than Ramos by far, but he doesn't have the value Ramos does of being an athletic shortstop. I've seen lots of guys who are decent hitters in the minors, but not great and don't bring any other tools to the table. That is my fear with Winningham, but like Ramos he is young and has plenty of time to improve against guys who are the same age or older and did not play in full season Class A last year.
3. Desmond Lindsay, CF
2016: Batted .303 with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs and OPS of .884 for Low A Brooklyn and Low Rookie GCL Mets
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' second round pick in 2015 out of high school
Age: 20
Lindsay is a five tool outfielder and the "expert" pick for this year's top Firefly. But can he avoid being this year's Milton Ramos? Everything suggests he will be a great player, but his experience above high school ball is behind most of the team (except for you know who that will be covered at the end of these rankings). He only played in 37 games last year, 5 of which were in the complex-based Gulf Coast League. He's the hope of the team this year, but it may take time for him to be able to produce and get promoted as the first two guys on this list showed last year.
4. Merandy Gonzalez, P
2016: 6-3 with 2.87 ERA for Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Dominican Republic
International Free Agent
Age: 21
While Merandy, one of two starting pitchers named Gonzalez on this year's team, didn't play for the Fireflies at age 20 like Ramos and Winningham did, he was able to have a solid season for Short Season Brooklyn last year. It's hard to project the international free agents, but he has put up solid stats at a young age in his professional career. We'll see how far that gets him this year and beyond.
5. Harol Gonzalez, P
2016: 7-3 with 2.01 ERA for Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Dominican Republic
International Free Agent
Age: 22
Harol is the other Gonzalez on this year's team, and will begin the season as the #1 starter in the Fireflies' rotation. He had a better season than Merandy last year, but is a year older so he doesn't project as well. But anytime you have an ERA just over 2 in 13 starts you're doing something right. He needs another really great season with the Fireflies, and might emerge as a late blooming prospect if he can deliver. Hope his profile picture with the Fireflies is as good as it was at Brooklyn last year.
6. Gabriel Llanes, P
2016: 4-8 with 3.94 ERA for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: California
Draft: Mets' 15th round pick in 2014 out of high school
Age: 21
Llanes had a bad 4-8 record last year, but that probably should be ignored as Brooklyn had little hitting behind him last year. The 3.94 ERA is solid, but only just okay considering the level of competition he was at last year. He only walked one batters per 10 innings pitched last year, a very good stat for a young pitcher. He's going to have to improve from his short season appearances out of high school, but he's still younger than most of the team and has shown potential already.
7. Jordan Humphreys, P
2016: 3-6 with 3.58 ERA for High Rookie Kingsport and Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' 18th round pick in 2015 out of high school
Age: 20
Humphreys like Llanes had a decent ERA but bad record last year. Humphreys however pitched most of the season one level below Llanes in Kingsport of the Appalachian League. But Humphreys is also a year younger than Llanes, and now are at the same level. It seems surprising that Humphreys was able to make full professional season baseball at age 20 after only being an 18th round pick, a slot where many players head off to college instead. I expect that he may turn out like Chase Ingram did last year, a solid starter but one who is prone to struggling at times as the Mets' try to transition him to higher professional baseball a bit too soon.
8. Blake Tiberi, 3B
2016: Batted .235 with 2 home runs and 24 RBIs and an OPS of .632 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Kentucky
Draft: Mets' third round pick in 2016 out of Louisville
Age: 22
Tiberi was a standout ACC 3rd baseman before struggling making the transition to pro baseball with Louisville last year. That sounds a lot like David Thompson, who was an excellent Firefly last year before getting promoted midseason. Definitely hope Tiberi can have a good season for the Fireflies, and as a prospect out of college I expect him to get promoted quickly if he can produce early.
9. Blake Taylor, P
2016: 1 save, no decisions and ERA of 4.15 for High Rookie Kingsport
Home State: California
Draft: Pirates' second round pick in 2013 out of high school
Age: 21
No, not the Blake Taylor who was USC's closer about 15 years ago. This Blake Taylor was drafted as a lively arm by the Pirates out of high school 4 years ago before getting traded to the Mets. So far Taylor has not met expectations. After struggling as a starter out of high school, the Mets decided to transition him into becoming a reliever. He often overpowers hitters, but is not consistent in getting outs and is prone to becoming wild. The potential is there for him to become a lockdown reliever if Mets' coaches get him to maintain control. But there have been many guys that professional teams take a chance on because they can throw hard but not accurately, and I am worried that Taylor could be one of those. Of the Fireflies from last year, he reminds me most of Christian Montgomery and he did not end up panning out.
10. Ali Sanchez, C
2016: Batted .216 with no home runs and 11 RBIs and an OPS of .535 for Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 20
Sanchez struggled last yer with Brooklyn, but must be a decent enough catcher as he got promoted to Columbia for 2017. Plus, he is very young for this level. It's tough to project international free agents as said before. He could finally step up and have a big season, or he could be like Jose Garcia before he got injured. Once again the Fireflies are crowded with catching options, so a good chance he will have to wait to get regular playing time early.
11. Jacob Zanon, CF
2016: Batted .197 with 2 home runs and 18 RBIs and an OPS of .571 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Oregon
Draft: Mets' 15th round pick in 2016 out of Lewis & Clark State
Age: 21
Zanon is fairly young for a college prospect, coming out of Lewis & Clark State, which is a NAIA school but one known for baseball. Zanon put up amazing baserunning stats last year, stealing 20 bases and only caught twice while scoring 19 runs. If he gets on base, he can do damage. The big problem for him is that getting on base is often an issue, as he batted below the Mendoza line for Brooklyn. As said, he's still young so he still has time to work his hitting out. If he can't, he can always be a pinch runner.
12. Michael Paez, 2B
2016: Batted .190 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs and an OPS of .555 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' 4th round pick in 2016 out of Coastal Carolina
Age: 22
Paez should have a lot of appeal to Firefly fans this year, as he won a national title a year ago for Coastal Carolina on the eastern end of the state. Outside of a local product as well as a PR stunt (both of who I will mention later) Paez has the most appeal to fans of any 2017 Firefly. Only problem was that Paez was very bad in his first summer of pro ball last year. Perhaps the rush and excitement of a run to a national title wore down Paez, and he will be better this year. But Paez also struggled in Omaha last year and was mostly carried by his often lesser regarded Chanticleer teammates. If Paez can get back to his form just before the CWS when the Mets drafted him, the SAL better look out. College infielders aren't usually hit or miss as pitchers and high school guys often are, but Paez could be one. Let's hope he's a hit.
13. Joseph Zanghi, P
2016: 1-0 with 8 saves and an ERA of 1.23 ERA for Low A Brooklyn.
Home State: Connecticut
Draft: Reds' 24th round pick in 2015 out of Cumberland County College
Age: 22
Zanghi was excellent as Brooklyn's closer last year, and should serve the same role for the Fireflies this year. He wasn't highly regarded out of college though, starting at Southern New Hampshire before going the JUCO route and not signing after being drafted low in 2015 before signing with the Mets in 2016. It's possible that the Mets found a sleeper pick who has finally emerged as a great pitcher late. Most likely Zanghi will be a solid minor league bullpen guy who doesn't catch they eye of scouts and doesn't advance much in the system. He is very similar to Tyler Bashlor of last year who turned out alright.
14. Luis Carpio, DH
2016: Batted .203 with no home runs and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .584 with the GCL Mets and Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 19
International free agents are tough to project and Carpio may be the toughest to project. He was a solid player in Rookie League but did extremely poorly with Short Season A Brooklyn. But he's on the Fireflies before turning 20, the only player on the team who can say that. And he is officially listed as a DH, not good considering the Mets' don't have one if you move up. Carpio may be a good pro player someday, but I doubt that will be in 2017 as he will probably be behind other guys on the depth chart and be mostly used as a pinch hitter. He could possibly see another stint in Brooklyn this summer.
15. Colin Holderman, P
2016: 1-0 with 3 saves and an ERA of 3.86 for High Rookie Kingsport
Home State: Illinois
Draft: Mets' ninth round pick in 2016 out of Heartland Community College
Age: 21
Holderman had a bad freshman year at SIU of the Missouri Valley, then went to a JUCO and excelled and got drafted fairly high. He had an okay year at Kingsport last year, and figures to be the Fireflies' setup pitcher this year. And he has the perfect name for a setup man, who are going for the "hold". He certainly has the potential for a breakout season, but I'm still a bit skeptical as he was just okay two levels below the SAL in the Appy League a year ago and struggled against mid-major batters who are not of professional quality two years ago.
16. Austin McGeorge, P
2016: 0-1 with a save and an ERA of 2.84 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: California
Draft: Mets' seventh round pick in 2016 out of Long Beach State
Age: 22
If any Firefly bullpen pitcher exceeds my expectations for this season, it might be McGeorge. He's not that high on this list because he had a good but not great year for Brooklyn in limited action coming off the college season with the Dirtbags of Long Beach State. I suspect he will be a solid pitcher, but not quite a lockdown guy. Best case scenario is that he will be like Alex Palsha of last year, worst case scenario is that he will be like Johnny Magliozzi. Not a bad range, but not a major prospect either.
17. Gene Cone, RF
2016: Batted .227 with a home run and 17 RBIs with an OPS of .587 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: South Carolina
Draft: Mets' 10th round pick in 2016 out of South Carolina
Age: 22
Cone grew up and played high school ball at Spring Valley, only about 15 miles NE of Spirit Communications Park where the Fireflies play. And then he played for USC which is just across downtown from SCP as well. And of course USC is a very popular college team, drawing over 7K fans per game, twice what the Fireflies draw. To have one of the better Gamecock hitters playing in Columbia should be a huge boost for the Fireflies. But no, the Fireflies instead had to pressure the Mets' to send them their PR stunt signing who has gotten all the publicity. Cone over 3 years eventually emerged as a solid hitter in a Gamecock lineup which lacked one. But USC has certainly produced better players before, and Cone struggled in Brooklyn. I doubt Cone will reach the majors, but he has the potential to be a solid minor leaguer. And most importantly, he will be a local favorite everybody can root for. Let's hope he will be the outfielder Fireflies fans talk about rather than T@#!w.
18. Witt Haggard, P
2016: 3-4 with an ERA of 3.58 for the Fireflies
Home State: Texas
Draft: Mets' 10th round pick in 2015 out of Delta State
Age: 25
Like Ramos and Winningham, Haggard is coming back for a second year as a Firefly. Haggard however is four years older than those two and has more of a ceiling. It's possible he would be released by now if it weren't for that he initially went to college to play football before turning his attention to baseball (at least he made the change earlier than you know who that will be rounding out this list). And it's also possible that he would be at St. Lucie if not for a bad start in 2016 that saw him miss a lot of time due to injury. Haggard in the second half of the season was solid if not spectacular. I suspect that the pressure will be on Haggard early, and he will either be released or promoted early in the season.
19. Taylor Henry, P
2016: 2-1, 4 saves with an ERA of 1.93 for Low A Brooklyn and High A St. Lucie
Home State: Louisiana
Draft: Mets' 21st round pick in 2015 out of Centenary
Age: 23
Henry has been a solid reliever his career, and figures to be the Fireflies' go-to-guy in middle relief this season. He has come in under the radar, having played for a D3 school in college and was drafted low. As an older Class A guy, he needs to come through this season. I suspect he will be a good guy to have in the bullpen, but it might be difficult for him to break through as a prospect as the Mets have plenty of guys who have come through lately as bullpen prospects. He reminds me most of Seth Davis from last year's team.
20. Seth Davis, P
2016: 2-3, 1 save with an ERA of 2.31 for the Fireflies
Home State: Colorado
Draft: Mets' 29th round pick in 2015 out of Augustana (IL)
Age: 23
Speaking of Seth Davis, here he is. He had a solid season as an under-the-radar middle reliever last year for the Fireflies. So why is she still here? Because out of Spring Training he is injured. Once he gets healthy he presumable will return here, and will need to have the same stuff as last year. If he does, he should head to St. Lucie soon. But he wasn't a big prospect to begin with, so if he doesn't look as good he might be on his way out soon as well. That said, there is always a need for a lefty reliever which helps his chances.
21. Cameron Griffin, P
2016: Did not play due to injury, was 2-0 with 7 saves in 2015 and an ERA of 1.67 for Savannah
Home State: Georgia
Draft: Mets' 34th round pick in 2013 out of Columbus State
Age: 25
Griffin wasn't a highly regarded prospect, but emerged as a solid reliever out of D2 Columbus State. Unfortunately, he got hurt as the Savannah's closer in 2015 and missed all of 2016. He is the last Sand Gnat still standing in Class A's middle tier. If he can regain the form he had in 2015 as the Gnats' closer, he might get promoted if he can first challenge Zanghi for the closer role. Griffin's success is why the Mets have hung on to a guy barely drafted out of college four years ago. Griffin's age is what is working against him the most at this point.
22. Brandon Brosher, C
2016: Batted .183 with 6 home runs and 19 RBIs with an OPS of .611 for Low A Brooklyn, the Fireflies, and High A St. Lucie
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' 36th round pick in 2013 out of high school
Age: 22
Brosher spent some time with the Fireflies' last year, but was held back with injuries and didn't do well hitting for contact last year. If Brosher can boost his batting average, he might emerge as the starter in a crowded situation behind the plate for the Fireflies. He doesn't have to worry about being behind Patrick Mazeika this year for playing time. But he was barely drafted out of high school, and his stats show that he perhaps should have gone to college to get better for the professional ranks. Now that he is the age of a college graduate, it will be interesting to see how he does this go-around.
23. Anthony Dimino, C
2016: Batted .333 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs with an OPS of .858 for High Rookie Kingsport and Low A Brooklyn
Home State: North Carolina
Draft: Mets' 28th round pick in 2015 out of Belmont Abbey
Age: 23
Dimino is Brosher's main competition for catching time early in the season, with Sanchez likely to emerge later in the season. Dimino was an outstanding hitter last season, just as good if not better than any 2017 Firefly last year. However, most of last year Dimino was a 22 year old hitting in the Appalachian League. This will be a big step up for him after playing in the lower levels of the minor leagues and Division II in college. Dimino is the kind of player who would excel in the Coastal Plain League, as he did for the Gatsonia Grizzlies. But contrary to what casual fans may think the SAL is a big step up from that and he may struggle with little margin to do so as a 23 year old.
24. Adonis Uceta, P
2016: 3-6 with a 4.99 ERA for High Rookie Kingsport
Home Country: Dominican Republic
International Free Agent
Age: 22
Uceta struggled in the Appalachian League last year, but got promoted two levels as the Mets want to see if their IFA signing can pan out as he is now 22 and will turn 23 in a month. Unlike the Gonzalezs, Uceta will not likely be one of the better guys in the rotation out of the Dominican. If he is going to break out, now is the time to do it.
25. Matt Blackham, P
2016: Did not play due to injury, in 2015 was 2-2 with an ERA of 3.82 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Tennessee
Draft: Mets' 29th round pick in 2014 out of Middle Tennessee State
Age: 24
Like Griffin, Blackham missed 2016 and is looking to rebound in 2017. Blackham is a year younger and slightly higher regarded out of college than Griffin, but not by much and Griffin had a better 2015 at a level higher than Blackham. I'm skeptical if Blackham can get it going after a missing a year at a higher level than he has ever been, but he deserves the same chance Tyler Bashlor excelled with last year.
26. Max Kuhns, P
2016: No Decisions, 1 save with an ERA of 6.28 for High Rookie Kingsport
Home State: Colorado
Draft: Mets' 21st round pick in 2016 out of Santa Clara
Age: 22
Kuhns had a middling draft pick last year out of college, got sent to a league of mostly 19 and 20 year olds and did poorly. That doesn't sound like your typical player who makes it to Class A a year after getting drafted. The hope is that he wasn't fully recovered last summer coming off of pitching in the competitive West Coast Conference, and he'll be fully ready this year.
27. Jose Garcia, C
2016: Batted .200 with no home runs and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .511 for the Fireflies
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 22
Garcia looked like he could be promising as a defensive catcher early last year, but couldn't hit and got hurt and is still hurt. IFAs are tough to predict but it's hard to see him bouncing back strong, but hopefully he'll get healthy and get a chance.
28. Natanael Ramos, C
2016: Batted .289 with no home runs and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .767 for the Fireflies and Low Rookie GCL Mets
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 23
Ramos did better than Garcia when he played, but was also frequently injured. The Mets might be less patient with Ramos though because of his age. If Garcia and Ramos both get healthy, that could add an interesting twist to the battle for catcher. Right now I'm hopeful yet pessimistic for the chances that Garcia or Ramos could come back strong and become prospects again.
29. Tim Tebow, OF
2016: Never played professional baseball prior to September signing with Mets
Home State: Florida
Undrafted Free Agent out of Florida (did not play baseball in college)
Age: 29
Prior to signing with the Mets this past September and playing instructional league followed by the Arizona Fall League and Spring Training, Tebow had not played baseball in over a decade, last playing as a junior for Nease High School in Florida. Like Witt Haggard, Tebow also tried to be a SEC quarterback. Unlike Haggard at Ole Miss, Tebow was successful at Florida, hence why he wasn't playing baseball. At Florida Tebow won both a Heisman Trophy and and a national title, making him a hyped prospect going into the NFL. Tebow eventually got a chance in the NFL and led the Denver Broncos to a first play OT victory, the first NFL game with the current NFL OT rules. But after that despite significant media attention Tebow could not make another NFL team after a shot with the Jets and tryouts with the Patriots and Eagles. Then Tebow decided to play baseball, and is now a Firefly at age 29, four years older than the next oldest players and 7 years older than the team average. Tebow actually didn't attend Nease, the high school he played for in Florida. Instead he was given a Christian home school education, and prompted other states to possibly allow home school athletes into public school. Tebow's Christian background is pretty strong compared to even most athletes, and was in a controversial pro-life Super Bowl Ad for Focus on the Family. Tebow's praying even led to a meme called Tebowing, and Tebow has 3.76 million Twitter followers. By comparison, the Fireflies only have 11.7 thousand Twitter followers and his Fireflies' teammate Dash Winningham has just over two thousand followers.
Okay, obviously Tebow is not making the major leagues as all experts have said. And in the Twitter war between the Greenville Drive and the Fireflies over Tebow, sadly I have to side with our Upstate rivals. Minor League Baseball needs to be about seeing which players can develop in to major leaguers, not just the next PR stunt. And Tebow is the biggest PR stunt of them all since the 1994 Birmingham Barons with Michael Jordan. When Tebow first announced he was considering pro baseball, my first thought was, "Oh God, I hope the Mets don't sign him". And then in September I drowsily looked at ESPN.com, and saw the sub-headline that Mets had signed him. Gradually it came to me, "Oh wait, they did???". I wanted the Fireflies to become big time last year. THIS is not what I had in mind. One concern I had was that Tebow's presence would turn Fireflies games into some sort of religious revival. I still have that concern, but my biggest is that the Fireflies will turn out to be a joke to the public. This year's roster appears to be weaker than last year's which probably means even more losing. And even fewer prospects moving on to greatness. I blame the Mets as they have the responsibility over roster decisions, but I think the Fireflies deserve some blame as well, starting when they photoshopped a Fireflies' jersey onto Tebow's Eagles profile pic. Team president John Katz kept talking up all offseason about the possibility of Tebow coming here, which makes me think that the team lobbied for it. And the Fireflies need the fans, but will they stay when Tebow is promoted to St. Lucie or released by midseason? In the short term, Tebow will bring a weird excitement and buzz. In the long term.......... well, we need the Commons at BullStreet to finish up construction.
But the Fireflies are bigger than Tebow, and that's what I'm trying to cover here. I might not post a lot this season, but I will write when I can. By Memorial Day I'm guessing in some manner Tebow will be gone, released or moving on if he does even slightly okay here. And then Gene Cone will be the draw, as he should be. We have 140 games, starting with today. Let's make it a great season and Go Fireflies.
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