New York Mets

Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Matt Harvey

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After declining to sign with the Los Angeles Angels after the 2007 MLB Draft, the Mets took him with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft. Harvey rose through the ranks of the Mets minor league system, earning a call up to the big leagues after a year and a half in the minors.

Harvey quickly excelled at the big league level finishing the 2012 season with a 2.73 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Harvey earned the “Dark Knight” nickname and was already drawing comparisons to Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden heading into the 2013 season. Harvey delivered in a big way, he went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA, started the All-Star Game at Citi Field, finished fourth in Cy Young voting and went pitch for pitch with Clayton Kershaw all season. Of course, his season was cut short after finding out he needed to get the dreaded Tommy John Surgery.

Harvey missed the entire 2014 season but after the last game that year he told Terry Collins “We’re going to do it next year,” and Harvey almost delivered on that promise. Harvey returned to form in 2015 by going 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA and throwing 189.1 innings one year removed from the surgery. Harvey was also dominant in leading the team to the World Series but the wear and tear in Harvey’s arm caught up to him in 2016.

Harvey was one of many injuries plagued Mets in 2016 and it resulted in a 4-10 record with a 4.86 ERA and did not pitch like the “Dark Knight” Mets fans remembered. Harvey had his season cut short again with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in his right shoulder. The team hoped a full season of rest would return him to form in 2017.

2017 was the worst year of his career with a 6.70 ERA and a staggering 21 home runs allowed in less than 100 innings. Harvey had been suspended by the team for no-showing a game at Citi Field and was suspected of partying the night before. He then missed about two and a half months after recovering from a stress fracture in his right shoulder. Upon his return in September he was absolutely awful with an 11.25 ERA in the 22.1 innings he pitched. He looked defeated, had no confidence in himself and was just wanted his hellacious year to end.

Harvey agreed to a one year, $5.63 million contract in the offseason to avoid arbitration with the Mets. He has felt stronger and looks a lot more confident in the two starts he has made this spring. He has pitched five innings, only allowing one run and showing the same sharpness his pitches had when he was on top of his game. With his performance so far this spring he figures to be in the rotation this season but with a little over three weeks left in Spring Training there is time for plenty of things to change.

Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Robert Gsellman

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The 24-year old Robert Gsellman looks to regain his 2016 form and a spot in the New York Mets rotation after a disappointing 2017 campaign.

Gsellman was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round of the 2011 MLB Draft from Westchester HS in Los Angeles, CA. In 2011, Gsellman got his feet wet pitching 13 innings for the Gulf Coast Mets and gave up six runs in those 13 innings. He remained there in the 2012 season where he split time in the bullpen and the rotation where he had a 3.92 ERA and quickly showed his good control.

2013 had Gsellman spend time at all three levels of Single-A as a starter where he had a sparkling 2.58 ERA and earned an All-Star selection with the Brooklyn Cyclones. In 2014, he spent the full season with the Savannah Sand Gnats and continued to impress with a 10-6 record and a 2.55 ERA in 116 innings. This earned him the #16 spot on the Mets top prospects list.

2015 was more of the same for Gsellman as he was showing how consistent he could be for the Mets. He split time with the St. Lucie and Binghamton Mets where he went 10-7 and had a 2.89 ERA, which earned him All-Star selections from MILB.com and the Florida State League. Gsellman established himself as the #9 Mets prospect as well.

2016 was a big year for Gsellman but he was not too hot out of the gate. He went 4-9 with a 3.99 ERA between stints with Binghamton and the Las Vegas 51s, but when the injury filled Mets pitching staff needed an arm Gsellman got the call-up in late August. Gsellman made his MLB debut against the St. Louis Cardinals after Jon Niese exited with an injury after facing only four batters and allowing three runs in the bottom of the first. Gsellman stepped up to throw 3.2 shutout innings to allow the Mets to win a game that sparked their Wild Card chase in 2016.

Gsellman finished 2016 strong, going 4-2 with a 2.42 ERA and was one of the big reasons the Mets clinched the second Wild Card spot. He came into 2017 with high expectations as the Mets fifth starter and was unable to pitch anywhere near what he was expected. He went 8-7 with a 5.19 ERA and missed a significant amount of time after pulling his hamstring trying to beat out a hit. Gsellman also said “I don’t care” when GM Sandy Alderson said he needed to “pitch better” which led to Aaron Judge hitting a tape measure shot off of him the same night.

Gsellman has allowed three runs in five innings this spring and had one good start and a below average start the last time out against the Houston Astros. Gsellman will likely head up north with the Mets at the end of March and definitely has a chance to be in the Mets rotation. With Syndergaard, Vargas and deGrom locks, if healthy, the other cast of starters the Mets have will either be relievers get one of those last three spots. But, Gsellman is likely heading towards a bullpen role with the Mets in 2018.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Drew Gagnon

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The 27-year old, career minor leaguer looks to make an impact on the 2018 New York Mets roster. Gagnon was signed as a free agent by the Mets in December 2017 after the Los Angeles Angels released him a month earlier.

Need To Know: Gagnon

Originally a starter, Gagnon had an ERA over eight in 2011 which was his first professional season at rookie ball in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system.

In 2012, he showed promise at A/A+ with a 2.83 ERA in 149.2 innings which earned him the #23 spot on the Brewers prospect list and an all-star selection.

Gagnon regressed in 2013 with a 7-13 record with a 5.43 ERA between A+ and AA ball, but still pitched 129.1 innings. Gagnon continued his inconsistent seasons with a 3.96 ERA in 154.2 innings at the AA level leading to another all-star selection. 2015 was his worst season in the minors where he posted an ERA of 6.67 and could not find a way to keep the opposing team off base whether he was in AA or AAA.

Gagnon was converted to a reliever going into the 2016 season and at age 26 his time with the Brewers was running out. In a make or break year for him he posted a 4.48 ERA between AA and AAA along with seeing his strikeout numbers increase. After the season the Brewers shipped him along with catcher Martin Maldonado to the Angels for catcher Jett Bandy.

His lone season in AAA was an unsuccessful one in which he had a 6.25 ERA, 1.5 WHIP and the organization had him start a few games as well. This led to his release in November and eventual signing by the Mets.

Going into his age-28 season, there is no more time to wait on Gagnon to develop. He had a scoreless inning to start his Spring Training but will need to be almost untouchable to make the opening day roster. The Mets have a pitcher in Anthony Swarzak who took longer than expected to be a good reliever and the team is hoping to strike gold with Gagnon.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Chris Flexen

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The 23-year old and number 14 prospect in the New York Mets’ organization, Chris Flexen is up next on the New York Mets player overview.

Flexen’s Journey:

In 2012 the Mets took Flexen in the 14th round in the MLB Draft out of Memorial High School in Newark, California. Flexen spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons in rookie ball and his ERA went from 5.62 to 2.09. Flexen also earned Topps APP Player of the Year and Short-Season/Rookie All-Star honors.

In 2014, Flexen spend the year in regular A ball and posted a 4.83 ERA in 13 starts. After spending parts of 2015 in the Rookie, Low-A, and Single-A leagues, he had a 2.42 ERA and was moving up the ranks in the Mets farm system. Flexen continued his success in 2016 in High-A, pitching 134 innings and having aa 3.56 ERA.

2017 became a year of highs and lows for Flexen. It started in spectacular fashion by having a 1.76 ERA in 61.1 innings between High-A and Double-A. Flexen earned a call-up in late July to help a decimated Mets rotation but showed he was not ready to pitch at the big league level.

There was no number that could be used as a positive for him. From a 7.88 ERA to a .321 average against to a K/BB ratio of 36/35, he could not catch a break. Flexen is heading into his age 23 season and still has another year to develop in to the pitcher he has been in the minor leagues.

His body language showed defeat and a lack of confidence in September. The Mets will look for him to regain his confidence in the minors and learn from the minds of manager Mickey Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland in Spring Training. Flexen has good stuff but was still a raw prospect and would not have seen big league action if the Mets were not out of the playoff race. It will be a long shot for Flexen to make the team out of Spring Training, but a successful 2018 in the minors will give Flexen a good opportunity to come back to the Mets.

Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Gerson Bautista

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New York Mets’ Gerson Bautista features a mid-90s fastball, which can get into the high-90s, a slider and a splitter that evolved from a change up. Bautista has had command issues and his injury history makes him a high risk/high reward prospect for the Mets.

Bautista Suspension:

After signing with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2013 he was suspended that year after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol.

In 2014, Bautista debuted with the Red Sox Dominican Summer League team where he posted an ERA of 1.03 in 63 innings. In ’15, Bautista went to the Guld Coast League where he had a 2.77 ERA in 52 innings.

After being used as a starting pitcher in 2014 and 2015, the Red Sox decided to permanently move Bautista to the bullpen in 2016.

He continued to progress nicely as he put up a 2.55 ERA in 35.1 innings in Low-A and Mid-A ball. In the first half 2017, Bautista regressed in High-A ball, he had a 5.16 ERA in 45.1 innings and walked 28 batters. When Bautista arrived to the St. Lucie Mets he found his was again and only gave up 2 earned runs in 14.1 innings.

He expects to spend another year in St. Lucie and will move up to the Double-A Rumble Ponies if he continues to improve his command and limit his walks. Spending time around Jeurys Familia and A.J. Ramos will be a good influence on the 22-year-old prospect.

Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Jamie Callahan

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Callahan got some brief experience with the Mets in 2017 where he pitched 6.2 innings and had a 4.05 ERA. Callahan has a good frame at 6’ 2” and 230 pounds. He can throw up to four pitches (fastball, splitter, cutter, curve) and his fastball can get into the high 90s.
He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft and pitched in five games for the Gulf Coast Red Sox that same year. Callahan spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as a starting pitcher in Low-A and Regular-A ball as starter but was not successful and moved to the bullpen in 2015.
In 2015, Callahan remained in Regular-A ball and saw better results as his ERA fell from 6.96 to 4.53. 2016 was a breakout year for Callahan, posting a 3.29 ERA at High-A ball and earned himself a spot on the Red Sox Double-A team in 2017. He had a nice 1.08 ERA in 10 games before his quick call-up to Triple-A in May where he had a 4.03 ERA before being traded to the Mets.
After the trade Callahan had a 1.80 ERA with the Las Vegas 51s and then joined the Mets as a September call-up. Callahan figures to be in the mix for a bullpen spot in Spring Training, but the Mets may want him to spend more time in the minors. He is currently ranked #28 on the Mets top 30 prospects and can potentially be an important middle reliever for the Mets.

 

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Jeurys Familia

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New York Mets, Jeurys Familia

In 2007 the Mets signed him out of the Dominican Republic for $100,000. After spending five years in the minor leagues as a starter the Mets moved him to the bullpen to be a reliever after the 2012 season. In 2013, Familia had an opportunity with the Mets in April but only pitched in eight games before a bicep injury in his throwing arm sidelined him for all but one game he pitched in September.

Familia broke out in 2014 as the Mets set-up man to another starter converted to a reliever in Jenrry Mejia and had a 2.21 ERA. The Mets thought their bullpen was set in 2015 but an opening day injury to Mejia and a suspension led to Familia becoming the Mets closer. He had 43 saves en route to a terrific postseason that led the Mets to the World Series. An Alex Gordon home run and fielding blunders put a damper on his brilliant season in the World Series.

Familia was an all-star in 2016 and led the MLB with 51 saves but once again a home run in the Wild Card game against the Giants was a tragic end to his season. In the offseason a domestic violence case led to a 15-game suspension to start the 2017 season and it was beginning to a season where Familia never found his footing.

Familia was sidelined with an arterial clot in his right shoulder and underwent surgery to remove the blockage. Familia returned on August 25 and struggled to regain the success he had but finished the season on a good note with three saves and a win to end his season.

Read about Jamie Callahan in our last overview here
Manager Mickey Callaway had talked about not having a set closer and pitching the best pitcher at the given situation but all signs point to the closer job being Familia’s to lose. Using the offseason to rest and clear his mind going to Spring Training should allow him to return to the dominant closer he was and if the Mets want to contend he will need to return to his all-star form.