Promotion Didn’t Slow Amed Rosario’s Roll

Best Player: Shortstop Amed Rosario did not miss a beat when he earned a promotion from high Class A St. Lucie to Double-A Binghamton in June. The 20-year-old hit a combined .324/.374/.459 in 120 games between the two levels. He also represented the Mets in the Futures Game and earned best defensive shortstop honors in both the Florida State and Eastern leagues.

The Mets signed Rosario for a franchise-record $1.75 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. He bulked up last winter and now checks in at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds.

“Long term I see myself playing shortstop,” Rosario said through a translator earlier this year. “I’m working out to make sure I maintain my agility.”

Best Pitcher: With the Mets graduating so many high-end starters to the majors in recent years and Michael Fulmer traded to the Tigers for Yoenis Cespedes in 2015, righthander Robert Gsellman ascended to the status of the organization’s top, upper-level pitching prospect.

Gsellman opened the season with a 2.71 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 11 starts at Binghamton, then hit a speed bump after a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he recorded a 5.73 ERA in nine starts.

Gsellman nonetheless made his major league debut with 3.2 scoreless innings of long relief in St. Louis on Aug. 23. The 23-year-old ranges from 92-94 mph with his sinking fastball and recorded a 2-to-1 groundout-to-airout ratio in the minors. He also possesses a 12-to-6 curveball and changeup.

Keep An Eye On: Rookie-level Kingsport lefthander Thomas Szapucki opened the season with a 0.62 ERA and 47 strikeouts—both of which led the Appalachian League—through 29 innings. That earned the 20-year-old a promotion to short-season Brooklyn.

Szapucki sits at 93-97 mph and also throws a curveball as well as a changeup that has come a long way since the Mets made him a 2015 fifth-round pick out of high school in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“I worked with all the pitching coordinators and coaches with different grips that would work for me,” Szapucki said about his changeup. “Once we got a grip that started to work, (my changeup) started to become like a plus pitch.”

The Mets shut Szapucki down after nine starts with back stiffness.