Which Top Prospects Do the Mets NEED to Protect This Winter? | Syracuse Mets Push for AAA Playoffs

0:00This is the Lockdown podcast network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. Hey sports fans, it's JD, the host of Lockdown Cardinals. And did you know with the Discover Cashback card? It's payback time when you earn cash back on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5% cash back in different categories each quarter on up to $1,500 in purchases. That's 5% cash back at different places each quarter like grocery stores on gas and at restaurants. It pays to discover terms apply. See Discover dot com slash five four to tails. On September 25th. No one's coming for us. It's just you and me boy 58 miles. Part of the beast is the must see adventure of the year. An incredible story of survival. I got you one of the most extraordinary on-screen

1:00bond you'll ever see. Only the greatest dog ever walked the earth. Brad Pitt. I'll get you home. Part of the beast. Lean theaters September 25th. Ready PG 13. Maybe inappropriate for children under 13. Which Matt's prospects need to be protected from the rule five draft this winter and also can this air cues. Matt's make the playoffs. We're talking prospects on today's show. You are locked on met your daily New York Metz podcast part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Hello to all you amazing. That's fans. You were listening to locked on that's I'm Rose Ryan fickle signing on today's show. We're talking prospects in the first segment on a breakdown. Which prospects the Metz have that need to be added to the Fortiment roster this winter. Who will they protect? Who won't they protect? In the second segment we'll talk about which of those players

2:01we're going to be added to the 40 wild the biggest impact next season. And then we're going to close that the show talking about the Syracuse Metz top prospect Jefferson Ross has been added to the roster for this final week of the season is to make a playoff push. What is the road ahead for Syracuse to make it to the post season? Before we get to any of that though today's episode is brought to you by game time down the game time app. Creating account. Use the code lock darn and get $20 off your first. Purchase and if you are curious where my comments are about pedalanzos return to city field. If you missed it, I did a live stream as soon as that game ended last night. So you can check things out and see what I thought about all the ovation's the cheering against the New York Metz for pedalanzo and also touched on some birthday memories I've had here with locked on Metz as yesterday was my birthday. And I've been doing this show since 2019 and a lot of significant moments in Metz history have fallen on September 14. So as a fun show, make sure you

3:02check that out. Now for those of you who are unaware of what the rule five draft is and why prospects need to be added to the Fornament roster to protect them from the rule five. This is a draft that prevents teams from essentially hoarding prospects and preventing guys who are big league ready from getting those opportunities. So players who were signed at 18 or younger need to be added to their clubs 40 men are on so within five seasons. Or they are eligible for the rule five draft. So you have five years after you sign a player internationally before they are subject to the rule five. If the player is signed at 19 or older, so guys who are typically drafted in the MLB draft is four seasons that they need to be protected within and essential with the rule five draft is is teams have an opportunity to select players who are not protected who are not on 40 men rosters and they will then have to add that player not only to their 40 but to their active roster at the start

4:03of the season and they have to remain on the active roster or if they get injured, that's fine as well, but they have to remain on the big league club. They cannot be sent to the minors until after the season. If they do make it to the end of the year, they then belong to that new club. If they don't, they have to be handed back to their original parent club. So that's how the rule five draft works and what we're doing today is going through the prospects who are eligible to be selected and that's actually have a lot of names this year. So there's three that are obvious ads to me. No doubt about it. These are prospects that will be ads of the four men monster this winter and actually one more caveat I should add. We might not have a rule five draft this year because of the lockout. I don't think we did back in 21 going to 22. Don't quote me on that. I could be incorrect, but I think I got canceled because typically the rule five draft happens during the winter meetings. There will be no winter meetings this year because of the lock out that we all know is coming on December 1st.

5:03And so because of that, it'll be really interesting to see if teams try to snake some guys through that they might not have in previous years. But the three non-negotiables guys that have to be added Jefferson Rojas. He's your top prospect. You don't leave your top overall prospect unprotected. So that's just a pretty much enough said. I don't have to say anything more about it. Then you have Jack Wengar and Gary Gilhill that I think are pretty obvious ads as well because they're starting pictures in triple A for Wengar. He spent the entire year in triple A has been an up analysis and 24 years old, but he has a deep arsenal of pitches and he opened the year on a lot of top 100 prospect lists. I just think that's a guy if you don't protect them. And there is a rule five draft. I believe he'd be good as gone just because of his proximity to the big leagues and the upside that he still possesses. Gary Gilhill doesn't have the same upside. He has never received that top 100 prospect love at the same time. He throws strikes more than anyone pretty much in my

6:04league baseball. And that's such an easy guy for a team to draft someone that you just feel good that can eat innings at the big league level. Sticking about the end of your bullpen as a long man, put them in your rotation if you're a bad team and you can, you know, have your fist starter spot kind of learning on the job. I think it'd be very hard to sneak Gary Gilhill through a rule five draft. The next guy is really interesting, though, because I don't know what the Mets do here. I don't almost call this one a coin flip really talented prospect has been on the top 100 before had a rough season. It dealt a lot of injuries, but Jacob Rimer is eligible for the rule five draft. He was selected in the fourth round by the Mets back in 2022. Got second round money, though. And he's been up and down, but he had a really good season in 25 and a really good season in 2023. This year's OPS is down to 761 in double A after running an 853 OPS and 61 games played at double A last year. That is a big drop off the

7:04powerful off a little bit. But again, there was injuries this season. He's still only 22 years old. And he has the chance to be a third baseman of the future or maybe your first baseman of the future. But that's a tough guy to not add the reason why the Mets might try to snake him through is because I also think he's a little bit of a tough guy to select. It's not as clear cut of a, you know, top 100 prospect as Jefferson Ross, where a team would find a way to make that work on the big league roster. And it's not a prospect who has a clear big league fit in 2027, like close to big leagues, starting pictures and Jack Weninger and Gary Gilhill. I mean, it would be a really tough, tough pass for Jacob Rimer to get selected and to play the big leagues in Medley next year to stay on a roster because it's also easier if you have somebody that has a little more bench

8:06functionality to stash on your roster than Jacob Rimer. Perfect example. I think Chris Swerro is the type of prospect who doesn't get protected, but ends up getting claimed. And the reason I say that is because Chris Swerro is a catcher, but he's also a guy who down the stretch was playing some center field in Bigumton, one of the more athletic prospects in the Met system who had 18 home runs this year 114 games played still 37 bags on 46 attempts. And he walks 16% of the time. So that walk rate makes him a real three true outcome hitter, but it kept his on base percentage close to 350 despite hitting barely over the Mendoza lines of 201 batting average for Chris Swerro. So I don't think they protect Swerro, but that's a guy could see get claimed. And again, because of that role that makes more sense for a team in 2027, I think that's an easier selection for a team to make than Jacob Rimer, who definitely has higher upside, but a tougher guy to roster for a full year. Another one that I think

9:06would be an interesting rule five draft candidate is Marco Vargas. He's 21 years old, very injured prone since it came to the Mets and the David Robertson trade. But he finished his year very strong in double A had a 768 OPS and also stole 29 bads on 30 attempts and not that many games. So when you think about a versatile defender who's very good in the infield, the ability to have a guy like that, but you tell the man who breaks speed off your bench, that's a guy that theoretically could get claimed. I don't think he would. But again, that's where I think Jacob Rimer does not get protected and they try to sneak him through. He's not that close to the big leagues. Yeah, season double A, but he might go right back and start in double A again next season. And so I just think that's a guy that you can probably slide through the rule five. So the three guys that I think will get added Jefferson Rojas, Jack Weniger and Gary Gilhill. There's another name you consider that we'll talk about in the next segment. And then two more who are notable prospects that I just

10:07can't see getting claimed. So we'll talk about those guys next. And then I also want to get into which of the guys who is added ends up serving the biggest role for the Matt's next season. Today's episode is brought to you by Aura Cyber Security. Most people don't realize how much of their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers collect details about you from public records and the internet and package and sell them information often without your consent. This can lead to more spam targeted at the even scammers getting access to your information or helps protect your personal information by actively removing your data from data broker sites in keeping it off. And Aura doesn't stop at data removal and bring several layers of digital protection together in one app, making it easier to protect your information and identity. Changing a password is one thing, but protecting a personal information. That's a much bigger job and Aura can remove your information from data broker sites and alert you if your information appears in a breach or on the dark web. Start your free trial

11:08today at Aura.com slash aware and protect yourself now at Aura.com. Flash aware. Hey sports fans, it's JD, the host of locked on Cardinals. And did you know with the Discover Cashback card, it's payback time when you earn cash back on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5% cash back in different categories each quarter on up to $1,500 in purchases. That's 5% cash back at different places each quarter, like grocery stores on gas and at restaurants. It pays to discover terms apply. See Discover dot com slash five four to tails. Watch on YouTube today, Jimmy favorite and hit that subscribe button. I was get closer to her next goal of 18,000 subscribers. I would love to get there

12:08by the end of the year. Now one prospect going into this season that you would have thought would be a sure thing at to the 49 roster is Ryan Clifford. But Ryan Clifford just had an absolutely abysmal season. He struck out 170 times in 398 at bat. That's encountering because he is telling Syracuse with one leak left to play. But there is nothing he could do to salvage this season. He batted 178. He got on base at a 273 clip. He only selected a 357 clip and he struck out 37.4% of the time. It is an easy decision to not add Ryan Clifford to the 40 man roster. I'm sure he'll still remain in the organization. But that's one that at one point time would have been a no brainer in the other direction. Now after the season he had it's a pretty easy guy to hang on to do the rule five. I went to the shout out Nick Laruso as well as a guy who is 40 man dropped eligible 84 games played in double a this year had a nice season hit 243 3 3 19

13:10on base 495 slug 19 home runs in those 84 games. But since he got the triple A he has struggled to a 651 OPS. The last guy wanted to know Zach Franklin was adds to the mats in the wasca brazebond trade. He's 28 years old. Actually 27 will be 28 next year and 13 or third eightings with the mats. Here's a 2.03 ERA. But the strikeouts have fallen off the cliff for whatever reason to good fastball split or combination. I just don't think he gets protected though. It's type of guy that theoretically could get claimed if another team likes them and wants to slot him into their bullpen and then you know, that the hold on to him all year and I think there's a good chance that he might get passed back to the mats. If he did get selected, but I don't think they will add him to the roster. Now when it comes to who has the biggest impact between Jefferson Rohan scary Gilhill and Jack wheninger. It's pretty tough because Rohan's is the best player. Wheninger has the most time spent triple A, but Gary Gilhill might have

14:11the most projectible skill for the 2027 message, the guy that you can call on to make spot starts. You know, he's going to throw strikes. So that could be very attractive and he could end up serving in a swingman role or just a guy that makes the occasional spot start for you. I think it's it's very tough to decide who would have a better chance at impacting the mats rotation next season just because of how much winning your struggled this year and also how many guys are ahead of him on, you know, the mats depth chart now, Jordan Tong is pitching pretty well in the big leagues, reclaiming some of his top prospect status. You know, he is a guy that's definitely ahead of both on the depth chart. You know, Jonathan said to choose and triple A right now. He's arguably the best pitching prospect in your system. Unless you still are a tall believer, which I am, but second best and a guy that struck out more batters than most in mind of Lee baseball this season. You also won the mats, mind only picture of the year award. So you have a lot of competition for Gil Hill and Wenninger and

15:12that could lead you to say, Oh, well, Jefferson Rojas by default wound up having the biggest role. But I could say a world where Jefferson Rojas does not come up next season. They spend the entire year in Syracuse. You hope that he would force his way up. But the mats might have a crowded infield. If Boba shut ops in, you have the Shetland door on the left side. So that's pretty much locked in to everyday players. At first base, you have Jared Young likely. I think there is a world where we see Marcus Emion. Get a little time at first base next year. Don't be surprised that that happens opening up second base for the kids. But I look at a million Petry who's been up in triple A. And even though he does not have to be added to the front of man this winter and will just be you know, a non roster invite to spring training. He's the highest floor bat I feel in the system right now that's close. And so if you just talk about a guy that's going to give you good defense at second and give you a solid a bat from the left side, a million Petry makes a lot of sense to be

16:13on the match roster at some point next season. You know, it's going to require a good spring training and probably good start to the year in triple A. But he's having a really nice year altogether. And it's just a guy that I feel like is a little more ready for the opportunity than real Houses. He's going to be 24 and at the beginning of October. He had three years of really competitive baseball and college put it in Tucky. I just think he's a little bit further along going to a little bit more ready. I think Rojas is not a guy that you want to kind of force up when it's too soon. He could you want him to force his way up, right? And is there a chance to Jefferson Rojas might just hit so well at the match to the side to call him up at some point next season? Absolutely. But I look at a million Petry and even Billy Amick, who is two home runs away from 40 on his season. And obviously the match picked him up in the AJ Mintertree, the deadline. But you know, Amick could factor into the D. H. Rural or the first base next season. So there's a lot of things that you have to do. You have these guys that aren't going to be added to the 40 that could still force the action.

17:13Just like AJ Ewing did this past year. He was not on the 40 man roster. Did not need to be protective from the Rural 5 draft last winter. But he was great in spring training. He hit the ground running once the minor league season started. And when the Mets had an opening because Luis Robert Jr was on the I. L. AJ Ewing fill that opening and now probably has that job instead of fill it for the Mets for the next six, seven years. So you never know what's going to happen. You know, there's every chance that an a million petri could be the you know, AJ Ewing of this next year as far as just a guy that is not necessarily on the radar going into spring training that much, but ends up grabbing a role early in the season. It could be the Carson Bench against the break camp. Roas could be another guy that can kind of force the Mets in. And also Mitch Voit talked about about it to the media yesterday because he was the Mets minor league player of the year. How he wants to meet with the Mets trainers in Port St. Lucie set a course of action. And the goal is to be in the big

18:13leagues next season. So you have a lot of different guys that could end up contributing next year. My money on the guy who makes the biggest impact from that's farm system, as I've said previously, is peat tree of the guys that are going to get added to the front of man roster this winter. I'd probably lean Gary Gilhill because I just don't know how much Roas plays. And I think Gary Gilhill could end up kind of pitching himself past when and girl as far as big league opportunity next year. And he could get some spot starts and who knows what happens. But I think the Mets will add these guys and I don't know if any of them will end up settling into major roles on the big league roster next season. And last to either have another breakout where they force their hand or if injuries open the door to these guys to get some opportunities. But the Mets system has gotten a lot better. Is it littered with top 100 prospects? No, but you have a lot of guys in double A and triple A that could absolutely help you in the not too distant future. The final segment today, though, I want to talk about the Syracuse

19:14Mets who have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs can Jefferson Roas be the piece that pushes them over the top this week. There's episode is brought to you by game time. There's nothing like watching a Mets game live and you still got two more days if you want to give Pete Alonzo your love. You can do so by heading out to city field the next couple nights and game time is the best place to get those tickets the game time guarantee. But you're going to get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price. And the best part these are included in the price you see. So what you see is what you pay period. You can also view or see before you buy so know exactly what to expect when you arrive. You can buy tickets in a matter of seconds, couple taps, you're all done, you're all set, no stress, no hidden fees, just great seats in minutes tend to guesswork at a buying M will be tickets with game time down the game time app created account and use the code locked on for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account, redeem the code locked on that's

20:15loc K E D O and locked on for $20 off down the game time app today. There's episodes also brought to you by Cal sheet on Cal sheet America's number one prediction market platform. You could trade on every single game on Cal sheet or trading against Pearson and live market as the probability changes you can buy in and out of your position. The arrow rookie of the air, something we've been monitoring over on Cal sheet south steward, not sitting with an 88% chance of winning that award. No one McLean after getting knocked around at Yankee Stadium, his odds dropped out. You only 2%. JJ Weatherhole now is going to be returning from injury soon back up to to 6% so he apparently is the one guy that has a chance to knock steward off that mount top. But a lot of these words this year are pretty much decided you can still down the Cal sheet app though, use the code locked on to get $10 when you trade 10. That's Cal sheet KAL S H I Cal sheet trade on anything must be it's years or older

21:15restriction eligibility requirements apply event contract trading of all risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Cal sheet products are not available in all jurisdictions, prices, values and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, go to Cal sheet.com slash regulatory. I'm David. Thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. If you look at the standings right now for the Syracuse Metch, you'll see there are two and a half games back from first place in their division. But Rochester are the nationals affiliate one first place in the first half as well. The minor leagues work. There's a first half season and a second half of the season and whoever wins the division in each half advances to the playoffs.

22:17Now Rochester has obviously been the best team in that division all year, but because they already dig clinch their spot for the first half, the second half winner will be whoever comes in second. And right now the Syracuse Metch only a half game back from Scranton, which is the Yankees affiliate for grabbing that spot. Now Scranton has played one last game in the Syracuse Metch and they will not make up that game. So basically the Syracuse Metch had to finish one win better and Scranton this week. They got to go six and I was Scranton goes five and one, five and one of Scranton goes four and two or they got to go four and two of Scranton goes three and three. So every game matters right now for the Syracuse Metch and we'll see how they can finish this thing off Jefferson Rohast, though, it's coming up to help them in their playoff push Rohast was outstanding and I think it was 29 games played with the Bigumton rumble ponies after getting traded to the Metch from the Cubs at the deadline for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor trade that's worked out very well so far

23:17for the Cubs, but this trade has also worked out really nicely for the Metch in 29 games. He had nine home runs bad 280 had a 336 on base and a 593 slug had a 137 WRC plus machine means he was 37 percent better than the league average hitter there in the Eastern league in double A. Now get a chance to see if you hit the ground running in triple A and help the team make a playoff push and if they do that'll extend his season a little bit further. Be very curious at the Met's end up sending Rohast to the Arizona Follley to continue to get playing time. But this is a nice little test for him this week. We'll definitely be keeping tabs on where he plays how much he plays and how he plays. But it'll be interesting to see where they slot him in because obviously he can go anywhere. He could play shortstop. He could play second. He could play third. I think the bell brew on though is going to stick it short this week funny enough. He's been 361 over the last couple weeks with a 477 on base and a 583 slug. He scored 10 runs with trails only MJ Melendez.

24:19So I think brew on sticks at short. I said the guy's playing time should get cut into his Ronnie Mauricio. Sounds crazy. Mauricio in the last two weeks is bad at a buck 56 298 on base 289 slug. That's a 497 OPS. He has 15 strikeouts at 45 at bats. So really the infield should probably be Jefferson Ross at third, Brohan at short and a million Petri at second with Billy Amick over at first. You could D H Ronnie, but you also still have Ryan Clifford that you got to find at bats for potentially. I put a little bit better since coming back. So I think they'll likely get him in the line up some way. Somehow you have MJ Melendez. He's been the best player for the Syracuse mats all season, particularly the last couple weeks. Five home runs 11 RBI 12 runs scored leading the team in all three departments. A 1.333 OPS. He's been awesome. Deandra Smith has been very good as well as bark plug as a top of the line up. He scored 15 runs in 26 games. Played a triple I with a 930 OPS. So that's your starting lineup

25:20for the most part for the Syracuse mats. You got Jack Weninger and Jonathan Santucci who each makes starts this week. Xavier on Curry will likely make a start as well. Just in Hagenman, could certainly factor in found out today. Gary Gilhill quietly was added to the seven day IL. So unlikely that he will pitch this week his season. I imagine it's over because they're just not that much time if he's heard at all. You probably just shut it down. But you still will get a couple starts that'll be pretty intriguing with Weninger and Santucci. And we'll see what this lineup can do. They got again six games to try to make the playoffs. I think five and one does it. You know, four and two absolutely could do it. But that's what I would guess. I think they got to have a really great week. But they're capable doing so. And so it's going to be fun to kind of monitor how it all shakes out for them if they can pull this thing off and make it to the playoffs. And you know, that would just give Weninger and Santucci the opportunity to make some big starts that feel like they had some stakes attached to it.

26:20And it just doesn't hurt to have a winning attitude and a winning culture that you're trying to foster. You know, Andy Green is preached that since taking over as the Mets manager just that they want to win. That's the main focus every day. And that that rubs off all the way down. So I think this is going to be a fun week to close out the minor league season. I know I had mentioned doing minor league awards. But I want to spend more time on that. I want to just kind of rush and just pick a couple guys who are the best at each level, especially because it's really tough to look at these guys that spent time at different levels and pick. Oh, you're the bigumton player of the year. But then you were so good in your first month and a half in bigumton that you got called up to Syracuse. So I was grappling with that when trying to do an award show. And so I think what I want to do coming up here at some point once we had some time to talk more prospects is maybe dive into most improved other things like that. So, you know, kind of change up the awards instead of just making a player of the year. But again, if you missed it earlier in the show, as I mentioned, Jonathan said to

27:20you was the Mets minor league picture of the year. Mitch Floyd was the player of the year. And I think that those guys certainly deserve those honors. They had really nice seasons that could be a big part of the Mets future. So we'll see how that shakes out. So for the Syracuse Mets this week, how they can finish off their season. And we'll also see how the Mets continue to fair against the Baltimore Orioles. The two to one loss on Monday night. Couple more games here with a chance to make that tragic number approach a lot sooner for the Orioles. I know it was at eight going into this series. I didn't see who else may have one in that log hard race, but they definitely are keeping their hopes alive with each win. And so it'd be nice to see the Mets get back to spoiling some things and win the last two games of this series. But with Sean and I on Robert Stock of the mound, that might be easier said than done. But I appreciate all of you for tuning into it to two today's show. Thank you for making a lot of dementia first listening first watch every day. And thank you for making a lot on the number one sports podcast network.

28:22The locked on podcast network is brought to you by Fandall baseball fans. If you think you know who's hitting a Homer today, Fandall is giving you a free chance to call your shot with daily dingers. It's easy to play. Just make your free pick for who you think will hit a home run in their game. If you're right, you'll receive a profit boost to use on your next bet for a chance at extra winnix. Best of all, you can make a free pick every day throughout the MLBCs. So are you ready to play your game today? Join all the action at Fandall.com. That's Fandall.com to play daily dingers and make your free pick on who's hitting a Homer. Play ball and swing for the fences on Fandall an official partner of the MLB. Remember enjoying those iconic red, white and blue freezer pops in the summer? Now imagine that flavor reinvented as an energy shot, introducing the firework freeze, five hour energy shot, a flavor explosion of sweet cherry, zesty line and electric blue raspberry that all come blasting together for a seriously refreshing shot. Ignite your taste buds with the flavor of the summer. Get a firework freeze, five hour energy shot today for more information. Visit five hour energy

29:23dot com. Instagram teen accounts have automatic protections for what teen see and who can contact them. Plus time management tools and Instagram will continue adding built in safety features to help create age appropriate experiences. Learn more about teen accounts and Instagram's ongoing work to protect teens online at Instagram dot com slash teen accounts. On September 25th. No one's coming for us. It's just you and me, boy. 58 miles. Part of the beast is the must see adventure of the year. An incredible story of survival. I got you one of the most extraordinary on-screen bond you'll ever see. Only the greatest dog ever locked the earth. Brad Pitt. I'll give you a little part of the beast.

30:23Lean theaters September 25th ready PG 13, maybe inappropriate for children under 13. Thank you for making locked on your first listen every day. For your second listen, find the all night locked on MLB game night. Every game every night until a world series champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB game night on locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.