3 Mets prospects on the verge of becoming irrelevant

3) NY Mets prospect Eric Orze is on the verge of becoming irrelevant

Less known and talked about compared to Allan and Lee, we find pitcher Eric Orze who seems to have hit a brick wall. A fifth-rounder taken in 2020, Orze jumped through the minors quickly in 2021 during his first professional season. He went from High-A Brooklyn all the way to Syracuse. His ERA dropped at each level he reached, too.

Pitching exclusively in relief since joining the Mets, there was plenty of reason to think he could become a bullpen option for the big league club in the future. Unfortunately, a 5.13 ERA in 47.1 innings at the Triple-A level last year wasn’t what we had hoped to see. He has gotten knocked around in his first 4 appearances in Triple-A again this year. Orze is quickly becoming an afterthought in the farm system.

Other pitchers like Josh Walker who has converted to a reliever and found some success and Grant Hartwig look much more ready for MLB action than Orze. If there is one good thing Orze has going for him it’s that even through his struggles he can strike batters out at a high rate.

Home runs were what hurt Orze most last season. He allowed them at a rate of 2.1 per 9 innings of work which made his respectable 1.18 WHIP useless. 

Orze turns 26 this August. It’s an age where you usually like to see a guy up in the big leagues. He’ll need to show the Mets a little more in the minors before he gets the call.