Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
The 2018 Kingsport Mets were the best team in the Mets system this season, and their lineup was loaded with potential stars.
Mark Vientos, Shervyen Newton, Luis Santana, Ronny Mauricio, Jarred Kelenic, Simeon Woods Richardson, six of MLB Pipeline‘s top 30 Mets prospects, would play for Kingsport at some point this season.
Arguably the most impressive aspect of the team completely flew under the radar: the outfield. They had five outfielders all with solid seasons: Jarred Kelenic, Ranfy Adon, Yoel Romero, Guillermo Granadillo, and Raul Beracierta.
Mark Vientos led the team with 11 home runs, and no one else put out more than five. Collectively, the team hit 52 long balls, good for fourth best in the league.
They also ran all over the bases when they got on, which they did a lot. Posting a team OBP of .369, which was the best in the Appalachian League. They stole 87 bases, which was good for second in the league.
The pitching for the Mets tended to be a problem, they posted a 4.96 ERA which placed them sixth in the league. They walked the most batters in the league, and struck out the second least. They owned a team WHIP of 1.58.
Despite overall shortcomings, Willy Taveras and Jose Butto both had strong seasons.
As the season began to wind down, the Mets were assigned a few of the organizations top prospects, infielder Ronny Mauricio and starter Simeon Woods-Richardson.
The Mets would finish at 33-35, the second best record in the Western Division. They wound up being eliminated by the Twins 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Mark Vientos/Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
Batting Leaders (Minimum of 100 At Bats)
G- Mark Vientos 60
AB- Mark Vientos 223
R- Shervyen Newton 50
H- Luis Santana 71
2B- Shervyen Newton 16
3B- Ranfy Adon 6
HR- Mark Vientos 11
RBI- Mark Vientos 52
BB- Shervyen Newton 46
SO- Shervyen Newton 84
SB- Guillermo Granadillo 21
AVG- Luis Santana .348
OBP- Luis Santana .446
SLG- Ranfy Adon .521
OPS- Luis Santana .917
Pitching Leaders (Minimum Of 20.0 Innings Pitched)
GP- Nelson Leon 21
GS- Nate Peden, Matt Cleveland 10
W- Willy Taveras 5
L- Nate Peden, Daison Acosta 5
SV- Mitch Hickey, Andrew Mitchell 2
IP- Nate Peden 50.0
SO- Garrison Bryant 54
BB- Matt Cleveland 40
ER- Nate Peden 36
ERA- Jose Butto 1.93
WHIP- Willy Taveras 1.00
