The #19 prospect on BA’s list is a player you probably heard of since he was on the major league roster for a large chunk of time (although went through periods of limited use) – Tyler Bashlor.
The Mets drafted Bashlor in 2013 and have been anxiously awaiting his debut which happened this past year (at age 25). After playing rookie ball in Kingsport putting up a 5.74 ERA over 15.2 innings, Tyler had Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2014 and 2015 season.
Bashlor returned in 2016 cruising through the South Atlantic league posting a 2.50 ERA over 50.1 innings (and spent some time with St. Lucie as well) but he didn’t make the jump to “on people’s radars” until 2017. He posted a 4.89 ERA in St. Lucie over 35 innings followed by not allowing any runs over 14.2 innings in Binghamton. BA notes that when he made the jump, his fastball jumped in velocity and he ended up leading the minor leagues with 15.2 K/9.
That last stat is what made him intriguing coming into the 2018 season. He was missing bats and throwing around 100 mph. He picked up right where he left off with Binghamton posting a low 2.63 ERA over 24.0 innings and getting the call to the majors.
He wasn’t lights out, dominate, right away in the majors but showed enough to give us a sign that he is developing (especially considering he never went to Las Vegas and was facing a jump in hitter quality). He ended the season pitching 32.0 innings with a 4.22 ERA, 5.44 FIP, 1.188 WHIP and 88 ERA+. The WHIP is the standout stat for him as his control was a problem in the minors. If he can keep striking players out while limiting his WHIP, the rest of his stats will come around.
Earlier in the article it was hinted that he had several points of time of “major rest”. Bashlor pitched in his second game on June 29th, then didn’t come back to the mound until July 8th, this happened again on July 15th through the 27th. From August 29th to the end of the season, he was pitching about every three days, got into 9 games logging 8.1 innings. He struck out 12 batters and posted a 2.16 ERA. It’s the end of the season, with Tyler on regular rest which makes me believe he’s a key part of the bullpen next year, especially if the Wilpons are frugal this off-season.
