As the Mets look toward 2015 and beyond, a seismic shift could be occurring within their farm system.
After several years of pitchers — specifically right-handed, power arms — dominating the organization’s landscape, the Mets finally have a crop of position players who could become the focal point of the conversation.
“On our top 10 list, I’m going to guess you’re going to see the hitters outnumber the pitchers this year because of the progress some of these guys have made,” Paul DePodesta, the Mets’ vice president of player development and amateur scouting, told The Post.
DePodesta listed catcher Kevin Plawecki, shortstop Matt Reynolds, outfielder Brandon Nimmo, outfielder Michael Conforto, second baseman Dilson Herrera, third baseman Jhoan Urena, shortstop Amed Rosario, first baseman Dominic Smith and shortstop Gavin Cecchini as the position players who made the biggest splash within the minor league system this season.
The 20-year-old Herrera was a September call-up to the Mets from Double-A Binghamton, and Plawecki, Reynolds and Nimmo could be in position to make their major league debuts at some point in 2015, according to DePodesta.
Maybe the biggest strides were made by the 21-year-old Nimmo, who was the organization’s top draft pick in 2011. Nimmo was promoted to Double-A Binghamton at midseason after hitting .322 with four homers and 25 RBIs in 62 games for Single-A St. Lucie. For Binghamton, the lefty-swinging Nimmo hit .238 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 65 games.
“He turned 21 at the end of spring training and started to come into his man-strength a little bit,” DePodesta said. “I think the other thing that happened was he really started making a nice adjustment against left-handed pitching.
“Quality left-handed pitching isn’t something he saw a lot of as an amateur. He’s gotten better against it each and every year.”
Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and Rafael Montero are the young power arms who have arrived for the Mets over the last three seasons, and the organization’s top pitching prospect, Noah Syndergaard, likely will make his major league debut in 2015.
The race to become the first position player drafted during general manager Sandy Alderson’s regime to reach the major leagues is probably between Plawecki and Reynolds (with the edge going to the latter because the Mets already have Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate).
“In the case of Reynolds and Plawecki, they are knocking on the door in Triple-A and they don’t even need to be protected on the 40-man [roster] yet, so they have done it awfully quickly,” DePodesta said.
Conforto, the Mets’ top draft pick in 2014, had a .403 on-base percentage in 42 games for short-season Single-A Brooklyn and might be the best pure hitter of the group. The Mets are expecting him to move fast within their minor league system.
Urena hit .300 with five homers and 47 RBIs in 75 games for Brooklyn.
“He’s a switch-hitter with power who plays a good third base,” DePodesta said. “And at age 19, to produce the way he’s produced is exciting.”
The Mets will have representatives in the Dominican Republic on Sunday to watch Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas’ showcase, according to an industry source. But early projections suggest Tomas might land a deal worth upward of $100 million, and that could leave the Mets as merely interested observers.
DePodesta, speaking in general terms, indicated the Cuban market has been difficult for the Mets to penetrate, partly because of the prices.
“The dollars to this point have been beyond our reach or beyond our appetite,” DePodesta said. “But we’re going to continue to do what we’ve done, which is sort of be prepared proactively, and when these guys do become available, we’ll be there and see whether or not it’s something that makes sense for us.”
Mets’ top prospects
After ushering a bumper crop of pitchers through the minor league system recently, the Mets now are turning their attention to a group of solid position players, led by these five:
Michael Conforto, OF
Age: 21
Stats: Batted .331 with a .403 on-base percentage, three homers and 19 RBIs in 42 games for short-season Single-A Brooklyn.
Skinny: The Mets expect their top draft pick in 2014 to move quickly through the system.
Kevin Plawecki, C
Age: 23
Stats: Batted .283 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 43 games for Triple-A Las Vegas after his midseason promotion from Double-A Binghamton.
Skinny: Plawecki is regarded as among the game’s top catching prospects, but has his path to the Mets blocked by Travis d’Arnaud.
Brandon Nimmo, OF
Age: 21
Stats: Batted .238 with six homers and 26 RBIs in 65 games for Double-A Binghamton after receiving a promotion from Single-A St. Lucie.
Skinny: Nimmo has begun to have success against left-handed pitching and could be a possibility for a September call-up in 2015.
Matt Reynolds, SS/2B
Age: 23
Stats: Batted .333 with five homers and 40 RBIs in 68 games for Triple-A Las Vegas after receiving a promotion from Binghamton.
Skinny: Team officials like Reynolds’ work ethic and believe he can potentially be part of the Mets’ solution at shortstop.
Jhoan Urena, 3B
Age: 19
Stats: Batted .300 with five homers and 47 RBIs in 75 games for short-season Single-A Brooklyn.
Skinny: Urena, a switch hitter, might be the heir apparent to David Wright at third. Wright has six years left on his contract, at which time Urena will be only 25.