The New York Mets have had a solid record of picking potential contributors high in the draft under General Manager Sandy Alderson’s watch. Three of Alderson’s first four first round draft picks (Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini, and Michael Conforto) have already reached the big leagues, with Conforto earning his first All Star appearance yesterday. The last player in that group, first baseman Dominic Smith, could be with the Mets as soon as the second half. Alderson’s last few drafts have brought a few intriguing draft prospects to the system as well, including former University of Florida first baseman Peter Alonso. Alonso, the Mets’ second round pick a year ago, is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
After tearing up the New York Penn-League by hitting .321 with five homers and 21 RBI’s last summer, the Mets chose to have Alonso skip Columbia and put him into High-A St. Lucie to start this season. Alonso’s season got off to a rocky start after he broke his hand in early April, costing him six weeks of action. The Mets activated Alonso from the disabled list in late May, and after a few rough games Alonso began to tear the cover off the ball again. Alonso was red hot in June, batting .275 with three homers and 17 RBI’s in 80 at bats. Overall, Alonso is hitting .220 with six homers and 25 RBI’s in 127 at bats.
The big difference between this season and 2016 for Alonso is in the batting average category, as he is hitting more than 100 points below his 2016 average. The jump in competition factors into this as Alonso is facing more advanced pitchers than he did last season, but part of the problem is with Alonso’s plate discipline. Alonso has struck out 31 times and drawn only 10 walks this season, a ratio that will need to improve if he hopes to be a big league contributor. The power potential remains intriguing for Alonso, who was a hitting machine for the Gators in college, but his plate discipline will need to improve as he moves through the farm system.
The Mets can afford to slow play Alonso’s development since Smith is a highly regarded prospect who plays the same position. Alonso will likely spend the rest of this year with St. Lucie, putting him in position to begin 2018 with AA Binghamton. Smith’s development will likely impact Alonso’s future with the Mets, which could involve a position change if the team likes his progress. Alonso could also become a trade chip in the future if Smith turns into a solid big league first baseman, but for now the Mets just want to see Alonso keep hitting while working on his plate discipline.
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