2024 Season Preview: Syracuse Mets
The 2024 baseball season is here, and for the Syracuse Mets, they’re hoping to improve upon last year’s 61-85 record, which marked their third losing campaign in a row. Dick Scott is returning for his second year as manager and will lead a squad with a solid mix of young players and veterans.
Now, let’s preview the 2024 season for the Syracuse Mets.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Starting Pitchers
The Triple-A rotation features pitchers with major league experience alongside arms who are top-30 prospects in the system. Butto is the only guy among the group who falls into both categories, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s back in the big leagues before long. Lucchesi is the other name with major league experience, and he did really well in 2023 with a 4-0 record and a 2.89 ERA across nine starts.
The other three arms in the rotation are really intriguing. Hamel, Scott, and Vasil are all top-5 pitching prospects within the Mets’ system and they all have potential through the roof. Vasil is the only one that has Triple-A experience, as he recorded a 5.30 ERA in 16 starts in Syracuse last season. Hamel and Scott both pitched succeeded with Double-A Binghamton in 2023 and are now one stop away from the majors as they round out what should be a great rotation.
It should be noted that Triple-A is very offense-heavy, so the pitchers’ stats are more skewed at this level than they would be at any other. If, say, Christian Scott has a 5.50 ERA midway through the year, it’s not as much of a reason for alarm as it would be if he produced that number in Double-A or in the majors. That’s something to keep in mind while watching or scrolling through the box scores this season.
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Bullpen
- Jon Duplantier
- Shintaro Fujinami
- Reed Garrett
- Grant Hartwig
- Nate Lavender
- Dedniel Núñez
- Eric Orze
- Yacksel Ríos
- Cole Sulser
- Josh Walker
Syracuse’s bullpen features names like Duplantier, Fujinami, Garrett, Ríos and Sulser, all of whom have major league experience. Out of this bunch, Fujinami is the most exciting player. After an up-and-down (mostly down) rookie season spent between the Oakland A’s and Baltimore Orioles where he posted a 7.18 ERA across 79 innings, Fujinami will start out the year in Syracuse and have the opportunity to work on his command while also displaying his filthy pitches.
The rest of the arms in this group are Hartwig, Lavender, Núñez, Orze and Walker. They’re all homegrown talents who are younger prospects or arms with limited major league experience. Out of this group, Hartwig and Walker are the only ones with major league experience, though they both struggled in their first go-arounds in 2023.
Even with them, Lavender is the name to watch amongst this group. He was fantastic in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A, recording a 2.98 ERA, and threw three perfect innings with seven strikeouts this spring. He’s knocking on the doorstep of the majors and should be there before long.
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Catchers
Nido and Allen are both veterans with major league experience, but they likely won’t see the majors this year unless an injury occurs. Nido is a lifelong Met who recorded a .278 OPS in the bigs and a .716 OPS in Triple-A last year, whereas Allen recorded an .802 OPS in Triple-A with the Miami Marlins. O’Neill was a 20th round pick of the Mets in 2019 and he recorded a measly .578 OPS in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A. Nido and Allen figure to see the bulk of the playing time, though neither of them are favorable options.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Infielders
The infielders are a really fascinating bunch. The name that stands out right away is Luisangel Acuña, who will be seeing his first Triple-A action and may very well reach the majors in 2024. The 22-year-old struggled a bit with the Mets after coming over in a trade with the Texas Rangers midseason but is a top-100 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline with a good hit tool, great defense and elite speed.
Vientos is another name that stands out, as he was seen as likely to make the Opening Day roster but was sent down following the signing of J.D. Martinez. Vientos notoriously crushes Triple-A, slashing .306/.387/.612 with Syracuse in 2023, so he should continue to do so as long as he’s there.
Joining Acuña and Vientos on the infield are an interesting group of veterans. Choi, Iglesias, Sánchez, and Bannon all have major league experience, although Bannon only has 21 career plate appearances. Choi, Iglesias, and Sánchez, however, all have multiple seasons under their belt at that level and are solid depth pieces. They’ll be able to serve as sources of information for the younger players and will also be ready in case injuries present the need for one of them to be called up.
Finally, Luke Ritter will be a fun player to watch. The offensive-minded second baseman crushed baseballs in 2023, hitting 27 home runs with an .868 OPS in 369 at-bats between Double-A and Triple-A. He also walked a ton, earning a solid on-base percentage (.372) considering his batting average (.244). He rounds out a unit that should have no problem producing offensively.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Outfielders
Like the infield, there’s a name that stands out among the rest in the outfield, and that’s Drew Gilbert. The former Astros prospect was acquired at the 2023 trade deadline and crushed it in Double-A Binghamton following his acquisition as he hit .325/.423/561. He’s a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball and one of the best in the Mets’ system. An electric player, he could absolutely find himself in the majors this year, though not being on the 40-man roster currently serves as a roadblock.
Joining him are two veterans with ample big-league experience in Gamel and Thompson. Gamel spent most of 2023 in Triple-A between the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays organizations and recorded a .900 OPS in the minors while Thompson struggled in both the majors and minors between time spent with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. Still, their experience and the offensive nature of Triple-A makes them valuable assets and they should definitely assist Gilbert on his journey.
Rounding out the group are Cortes and Kohlwey. Cortes is a homegrown Mets prospect, although he has struggled at the plate the past few seasons. The Mets will be hoping he can turn it around. Kohlwey was a career minor leaguer before debuting with the Padres last year and serves as solid depth.
Conclusion
All in all, the Syracuse Mets should be a much better team in 2024. The mix of young, top prospects with seasoned, accomplished veterans gives Dick Scott a really solid squad to lead.
The rotation is arguably the strongest group on the entire team, with three of the organization’s five top pitching prospects while Buttó and Lucchesi join them after shining in the major leagues in 2023. The ERAs might not always reflect it, but this group should pitch really well this season.
The bullpen is a bit of a weaker group, but the upside is certainly there. Lavender and Fujinami are the names to watch, and the Mets will also be hoping Hartwig and Walker can settle in following rough major league debuts last year.
As for the position players, it’s a group that should have no problem producing offensively. Between Acuña, Gilbert, Vientos and the plethora of veterans on the roster, they should be frequently running up the score. And with a rotation that looks bound for success, that will translate to winning games. Expect Syracuse to reverse their fortunes and have a winning season in 2024.
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