Guillorme among prospects thriving in AFL
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NEW YORK -- It was only a year ago that daily Tim Tebow updates brought the Arizona Fall League to life for Mets fans. Tebow may not be hanging around the Phoenix area this autumn, but don't let that detract from an even more encouraging development for an oft-criticized farm system: the Mets are crushing the AFL.
Exactly one month into baseball's annual six-week prospect showcase, the Mets can lay claim to three of the AFL's most productive offensive players in Kevin Kaczmarski, Luis Guillorme and David Thompson.
• Arizona Fall League offensive stats
Kaczmarski, the Mets' ninth-round Draft pick in 2015, has spent most of November perched near the top of the AFL batting leaderboard. His .349 average ranks seventh in the league, though lofty totals are nothing new for Kaczmarski. The NCAA's Division 1 batting champion his senior year at the University of Evansville, Kaczmarski hit .355 in his first professional season and has continued to progress as he's moved up the ladder, logging a .274 average with five home runs in 128 games this year for Double-A Binghamton.
The Mets' most highly touted AFL player is Guillorme, their 11th-ranked prospect according to MLBPipeline.com. Widely considered the best defender in the Mets' farm system -- remember that stone-cold bat catch he made during Spring Training? -- Guillorme has recently come on strong at the plate, hitting .308 in AFL play. That comes on the heels of a season that saw Guillorme hit .283 in 128 games at Binghamton, walking more than he struck out to reach base at a .376 clip. There's a strong chance Guillorme could make his Major League debut next season.
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Thompson is also over the .300 mark for the Scottsdale Scorpions, the AFL home of all Mets prospects. The NCAA's RBI leader and the Mets' fourth-round Draft pick in 2015, Thompson is their 24th-ranked prospect. He hit .263 with 16 homers this year in 133 games for Binghamton.
Other Mets AFL participants include catcher Tomás Nido, who made a cameo for the big club late in September, and Mickey Jannis, a former 44th-round Draft pick of the Rays who holds a 0.53 ERA in four starts for the Scorpions.