Dark Horse Met 2021

[Centerfield]

Hey guys. It's that time of year where we pick our out-of-the-blue hero for the upcoming season.



The official rules, for everyone's reference:

1. It must be someone who is not on anyone's reasonable radar for this year. So "I think this is the year Michael Conforto puts it all together" is not an acceptable answer. Neither are top prospects on the doorstep that we expect/hope will contribute. So Peter Alonso, get the fuck outta here. The more obscure the better. 2. Contributions must be made at the Major League level. It's fine if you think Simeon Woods-Richardson will catapult to the top of Keith Law's list, but unless he makes contributions in 2019 as a Met, it doesn't count. Feel free to start your own "Dark Horse Prospect" thread. 3. I'm ok with former top prospects who have fallen from grace. So, if a few years ago, you said Dominic Smith, you would have been disqualified. But with all the 1B options now, and Dom basically an afterthought, he's an ok pick. So is former top prospect Bill Pulsipher, if you're inclined to go that route.

We don't really have anyone knocking at the doorstep, so unless anyone thinks otherwise, I'm good to allow any rookie. I think Szapucki is the only one reasonably expected to contribute, and expectations are modest.



Remember, the more obscure the better. Past winners include:



1977: Lenny Randle



1987: Terry Leach



2006: Jose Valentin



2011: RA Dickey



2012: Scott Hairston



2013: Marlon Byrd



2014: Jacob deGrom



2016: Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo (co-DHMs)



2018: Jeff McNeil



2019: JD Davis



2020: Andres Gimenez

[MFS62]

Thomas Szapucki

You heard it here first.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'll say... Jose Martinez.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Ready set, make a bet

On who'll be this year's Dark Horse Met

A player we have not met yet

A future that is not yet set



Could it be Franklyn Kilome?

Yennsy Diaz? Sean Reid-Foley?

Thomas Szapuki? Patrick Mazeika?

Who are these Dark Horse Mets that you speak of?



I scanned the spring roster, saw names in italics

Fargas, Peraza, Barmes, Mallex

Yamamoto was tempting, his curveball is brilliance

But it can'r be denied -- my choice is McWilliams



Sam is the man you will all come to know

All seven feet of him and his afro

A reliever whose track record totally sucks

Will leave young fans and old thunderstruck



He'll emerge from Syracuse in April or May

By July fans will pay just to see him play

He'll tear up the track like Secretariat

Sam McWilliams, the Dark Horse Met

[MFS62]

Nice.

I almost picked Mc Williams too.

But Mazeika was signed away by the Cubs, so if he makes an impression this year it won't be for the Mets.

Later

[smg58]

I'm going to go with Franklin Kilome inheriting a bullpen spot by default and running with it.

[Lefty Specialist]

Luis Guillorme. His hitting will catch up to his fielding.

[Centerfield]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Ready set, make a bet On who'll be this year's Dark Horse Met A player we have not met yet A future that is not yet set Could it be Franklyn Kilome? Yennsy Diaz? Sean Reid-Foley? Thomas Szapuki? Patrick Mazeika? Who are these Dark Horse Mets that you speak of? I scanned the spring roster, saw names in italics Fargas, Peraza, Barmes, Mallex Yamamoto was tempting, his curveball is brilliance But it can'r be denied -- my choice is McWilliams Sam is the man you will all come to know All seven feet of him and his afro A reliever whose track record totally sucks Will leave young fans and old thunderstruck He'll emerge from Syracuse in April or May By July fans will pay just to see him play He'll tear up the track like Secretariat Sam McWilliams, the Dark Horse Met

Wow. Terrific!

[Edgy MD]

=MFS62 post_id=56318 time=1613605812 user_id=60]But Mazeika was signed away by the Cubs, so if he makes an impression this year it won't be for the Mets.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: =MFS62 post_id=56318 time=1613605812 user_id=60]But Mazeika was signed away by the Cubs, so if he makes an impression this year it won't be for the Mets.

This is the first we've heard about Mazeika, who as far as I know is still on the roster. Are you thinking about Jake Marisnick?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

The guy who went to the cubs was marisnick

[seawolf17]

I'm going to go with Jordan Yamamoto. Ooh, lordy, he was terrible in four appearances last year, but hey, you take out the game where he gave up thirteen runs, his ERA was only 11.42. (!)



He's young, strikes guys out, and I don't think anyone's expecting much of anything from him this year. But he'll be needed, and he'll get 12-15 starts over the summer and surprise all of us.

[MFS62]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: The guy who went to the cubs was marisnick

Yes. The ex-Mets catcher the Cubs signed was Jose Lobaton.

Sorry, Patrick. You're still with us.

Later

[Centerfield]

=seawolf17 post_id=56347 time=1613654201 user_id=91]
I'm going to go with Jordan Yamamoto. Ooh, lordy, he was terrible in four appearances last year, but hey, you take out the game where he gave up thirteen runs, his ERA was only 11.42. (!)



He's young, strikes guys out, and I don't think anyone's expecting much of anything from him this year. But he'll be needed, and he'll get 12-15 starts over the summer and surprise all of us.

[Centerfield]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Luis Guillorme. His hitting will catch up to his fielding.

Sorry Lefty. The judges have ruled that Luis Guillorme and his .865 OPS in 2020 disqualifies him from this contest.

[MFS62]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Luis Guillorme. His hitting will catch up to his fielding. Sorry Lefty. The judges have ruled that Luis Guillorme and his .865 OPS in 2020 disqualifies him from this contest.

And if that is his hitting, then he must be Rey Ordonez in the field.

Later

[metsmarathon]

wanted to go with yamamoto, too... instead, i'll pick.... uh. jacob barnes. because why not. high strikeouts, had a low FIP last year. needs to keep the walks and homers down. and i think its easier to crack into the 'pen than the rotation, and i don't want to root for a dark horse to emerge in the rotation because that means we'll need a dark horse to emerge in the rotation.

[ashie62]

Jordan Yamamoto. Throws hard, good stuff, young.

[Edgy MD]

I'd like us to go through past years and nominate candidates for the years Centerfield hasn't yet designated a winner.



Final honoree is his call, of course.





For 2017, I'll nominate ... T.J. Rivera

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was thinking the same thing. Not about TJ, but about backfilling previous years. Would Yoenis Cespedes qualify for 2015?

[Centerfield]

Edgy MD wrote: I'd like us to go through past years and nominate candidates for the years Centerfield hasn't yet designated a winner. Final honoree is his call, of course. For 2017, I'll nominate ... T.J. Rivera

Don't just nominate, make your case!



Also, I don't make the final call on the honoree. Everyone knows those kinds of decisions are made in Stockholm.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, Rivera's real breakthrough was in 2016 anywutz.

[Fman99]

So Dom Smith wasn't last year's dark horse Met hero? Interesting.



I'm going with Joey "Lucky" Lucchesi, why, well, because, no one else has yet.

[batmagadanleadoff]

\

Edited February 18, 2021 by Guest

[batmagadanleadoff]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I was thinking the same thing. Not about TJ, but about backfilling previous years. Would Yoenis Cespedes qualify for 2015?

Too prominent, even before he got to New York. A dark horse isn't only about exceeding expectations. A dark horse comes out of nowhere. A true dark horse barely registers on the radar before his/her rise to prominence.



____________



What does dark horse mean in slang?



The saying dark horse usually means an unexpected winner. ... You might talk about a dark horse in politics or sports (there is usually some kind of competition involved), and the dark horse is the little-known competitor who unexpectedly wins. The idiom comes from horse racing, not surprisingly.



https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=whats+a+dark+horsehttps://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=whats+a+dark+horse



A dark horse is a previously less known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals,[1] or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_horsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_horse

[bmfc1]

I'll go with Kevin Pillar. I can see a scenario where he gets more playing time in CF than expected as he regains his defensive brilliance, hits 15 HRs, steals 15 bases, attends a few NY-area Bar Mitzvah's via Zoom and, as a result, is a big part of a winning team.

[Edgy MD]

I don't know. I defer to Semper Fi, but what's more out-of-nowhere than picking a guy from outside the organization?



Who is more likely to put up wins for the 2021 Mets right now? Jordan Yamamoto or Shane Bieber?



If I nominate Bieber and win, I might contend that this pick was more out-the-fuck in February than Jo-Yams.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I'm going to confidently nominate Sean Reid-Foley as DHM 2021. 2nd round pick, former top prospect, still only 25. His velo ticked up a bit last year, too. He'll stay healthy and be a surprisingly reliable arm as a reliever and spot-starter. By the end of the season, he'll leapfrog Henn, Gilmartin and Green (who?) to be the best "Sean" in Mets history.



Sorry I just jinxed the shit out of you, Sean Reid-Foley.

[Edgy MD]

The second he enters a game, he'll be the top Guamanian-born player in team history.



As for being the top Sean, his wife Caroline Olivia Reid-Foley, as far as I've been able to suss out, has no affiliation with either Fox News or the Trump administration, so he's already passed Sean Gilmartin in my book.



[fimg=600]https://www.worldtop2.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Sean-Reid-Foley-with-his-wife-1024x576.jpg[/fimg]

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm going to officially nominate Yoenis Cespedes for 2015, and Centerfield can determine (in consultation with the home office in Stockholm, of course) whether or not he's eligible.