Mets Arizona Fall League Week in Review: Cole Mathis Getting Hot, Ryan Lambert Can't Be Stopped

With one week left to go in the Arizona Fall League, the Surprise Saguaros, the team that is home to the eight New York Mets prospects, is currently tied for the league's best record at 16-10.

The Saguaros won four of their five this past week, getting good offensive performances in all of their win this week. That slate began with a convincing 18-8 win over the Mesa Solar Sox, including some solid pitching performances from Ryan Lambert and Brendan Girton.

The week ended in a tight game where the Saguaros narrowly defeated the Salt River Rafters 8-7, a contest in which six of the eight Mets made an appearance.

Let's review how each of the team's prospects fared in the AFL over the past seven days.

Bruin Agbayani 2B/SS/3B

Agbayani saw three games of action this week after not appearing in Monday or Tuesday’s games. He accumulated a hit and two walks while striking out twice. Agbayani’s hit came in Wednesday’s game, where he smoked a 107.5 MPH ground rule double in the 5th inning.

The infielder has now drawn 12 walks in the AFL and has struck out 18 times.

Boston Baro SS/3B/2B

Baro saw two games of play this week and his best performance on Friday. In the bottom of the sixth, Baro hit an RBI single to right field and then later came around to score.

Baro was a non-factor in his other game of work, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Wednesday’s game. He has been far and away the best of the three Mets hitters throughout the AFL but in a vacuum, it still hasn't been a perfect showing.

Cole Mathis 1B/DH

Mathis had a pretty positive week in three games of play. On Monday, he went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, three walks and two runs scored. His two RBIs came on an RBI single off of Red Sox prospect Tanner O’Donnell that scored top prospects Zion Rose and Aiden Miller.

Mathis had two walks in each of his games on Thursday and Friday and recorded a hit. His 16 walks are tied for second on the Saguaros and he has only struck out eight times so far. If he keeps up this momentum in the final week of the season, Mathis could surpass Baro as the Mets' best position player prospect in the AFL.

RHP Irving Cota

After receiving Fall Star honors this past week, Cota’s lone inning of work came Wednesday in the 2-0 loss to the Glendale Desert Dogs. He pitched one inning, allowing a run and three hits.

Cota’s All-Star selection was no doubt due to his masterful pitching performances in the first couple weeks of play, but he has not had a scoreless outing since then.

Cota is one of the many Mets prospects that could potentially have to face the Rule 5 draft, should it happen, later this offseason. How he finishes in the AFL could determine whether or not he gets protected on the 40-man roster.

RHP Brendan Girton

Girton’s scoreless streak came to an end on Monday when he pitched 1⅔ innings, allowing a run and two hits. He also recorded two strikeouts, coming on his slider and sweeper.

On Saturday, Girton allowed two hits and two earned runs in one inning of work. Girton’s ERA started this week at a flat zero and will end at 3.86.

RHP Ryan Lambert

Lambert joined Cota in receiving Fall Star honors and continued his scoreless streak in a dominant outing to close out a 18-8 win on Monday against the Solar Sox. He allowed a walk but recorded three strikeouts to close the door.

This fall could not be going any better for Lambert, who seems to have put himself on the map again.

RHP Peyton Prescott

Prescott started Friday’s game, recording two strikeouts and allowing a run and two hits in two innings of work. His earned run came on a home run from Twins prospect Kyle DeBarge. You might be wondering, "why do I know that name?" Well, if you read our AFL week in reviews, you would know that DeBarge took Prescott deep last week as well. This time around, Prescott’s first-pitch fastball was ambushed by DeBarge and taken 394 feet over the left field fence.

The right-hander still recorded the win, bringing his record to 3-1with a 0.92 WHIP.

RHP Calvin Ziegler

Ziegler has desperately needed a good outing to get himself back on track after a rough couple weeks in Arizona, and he got himself two good showings this week. Ziegler’s outings came on Tuesday and Friday, going a combined 1⅔ innings of work while recording one strikeout.

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