Jacob Reimer
Week: 5 G, 17 AB, .471/.571/1.059, 8 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 4 K, 1/1 SB (Double-A)
2025 Season: 61 G, 229 AB, .284/.384/.469, 65 H, 18 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 32 BB, 52 K, 11/13 SB, .335 BABIP (High-A) / 46 G, 161 AB, .267/.373/.484, 43 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 20 BB, 47 K, 3/4 SB, .321 BABIP (Double-A)
This is Jacob Reimer’s second consecutive Player of the Week win, and the infielder’s first real sustained amount of success since being promoted to Double-A Binghamton back in late June. In the past two weeks,
Reimer is hitting .462/.543/.897 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 4 homers, and in the month of August (technically, I am looking back to July 29, since the Rumble Ponies began their series against the Harrisburg Senators and played half that series in the month of July), he is hitting .296/.414/.549.
An astute commenter highlighted last week that Reimer’s strikeout rate increase from 19.4% in High-A Brooklyn to a (then) 25% rate was more problematic than I was making it out to be. As a counter, I highlighted that the sample size we were discussing was still fairly small, 172 Double-A plate appearances in total, and a handful of strikeouts or the lack thereof would increase or decrease by large chunks of a percentage point. Lo and behold, Reimer struck out 4 times over the course of his 21 plate appearances last week, dropping his strikeout rate to 24.4%. Since July 29th, Reimer has 15 strikeouts, a 17.2% strikeout percentage much more in line with his 19.4% rate in Brooklyn prior to his promotion, and the 20% he posted in 2023 with the FCL and St. Lucie Mets combined.
With the win this week, the McNeil Rule is being invoked and Jacob Reimer is ineligible to win Player of the Week for the remainder of the season. This is the third time this season that the rule has been invoked, with Zach Thornton and Jonah Tong both being declared ineligible based on their strong runs of success in 2025. Reimer is the first hitter since 2023, when Ronny Mauricio won his fourth Player of the Week nod roughly around the same time of the year and was ineligible for the remainder of that season.
Joel Diaz
Week: 1 G (1 GS), 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (High-A)
2025 Season: 23 G (16 GS), 97.0 IP, 96 H, 43 R, 40 ER (3.71 ERA), 19 BB, 93 K, .319 BABIP (High-A)
Signed by the Mets on January 15, 2021, the first day of the 2021-2022 international free agent signing period, right-hander Joel Diaz had a phenomenal debut season. Assigned to Dominican Summer League, the 17-year-old posted a 0.54 ERA in 50.1 innings, allowing 29 hits, walking 9, and striking out 63. Since 2010, only Sixto Sanchez has posted a lower qualified ERA in his age-17 season, posting a 0.50 ERA in 54.0 innings with the GCL Phillies in 2016. The young hurler gained a massive amount of helium that winter as a result, and while he did not make the Amazin’ Avenue Top 25 prospect list, he tallied enough of a vote share to be ranked 32 had the list gone that far and found himself ranked on other lists from other respected publications and organizations.
The 18-year-old Diaz was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets in 2022, completely skipping the Florida Complex League, but the Mets may have jumped the gun, as he did not really have the best season. Appearing in 16 games, starting 10, the right-hander posted a 5.86 ERA in 55.1 inning, allowing 62 hits, walking 25, and striking out 51. Despite the poor overall results, there were many things to like about his season, and as such, Amazin’ Avenue ranked Diaz the Mets’ 15 top prospect going into the 2023 season. The right-hander unfortunately did not pitch in 2023, as he underwent Tommy John surgery just prior to the start of the season. He returned to the mound at the beginning of 2024, appearing in a handful of FCL Mets games and then getting assigned to the St. Lucie Mets for the rest of the season. In total, the 20-year-old right-hander appeared in 17 games for them, starting 14, and posted a 4.92 ERA in 67.2 innings, allowing 69 hits, walking 28, and striking out 62. He was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones to start the 2025 season and has remained there all year. Appearing in 23 games and making 16 starts, Diaz has posted a 3.71 ERA in 97.0 innings with the Cyclones, allowing 96 hits, walking 19, and striking out 93.
The 6’, 210-pound right-hander throws from a three-quarters arm slot, dropping and driving off the mound and lowering his fairly low release point even further. Like many other pitchers before him, and many more in the future, Diaz has been better at run prevention at home at Maimonides Park than he has been on the road, with an OPS Against nearly .100 points lower and an ERA nearly a run-and-a-half lower. That does not mean that he has been poor on the road, but at home, his numbers are well-above-average, whereas on the road, his numbers are roughly league average.
His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, sitting 91-94 MPH, topping out at 95 MPH. While Diaz has a 13.6% Swinging Strike Rate on his season as a whole, it is not because of his fastball; while it has average velocity, the pitch does not have much movement on it and rarely fools batters. Diaz complements it with a slider and a changeup. His slider sits in the mid-80s and features gyroscopic break. His changeup, a circle change, sits in the low-to-mid-80s. Both pitches tunnel well with his fastball and have synergy with each other, his slider breaking to his glove-side and his changeup breaking arm-side. While he was an amateur being scouted, Diaz utilized a big 11-5 curveball in lieu of a slider, but since being signed professionally, he has all but scrapped the pitch altogether.
While his walk rate is impressively small, Diaz’ command can get spotty. While still below average, his First Strike Rate has improved to nearly 50%, putting him in better counts more often and letting him dictate the terms of more at-bats this season.
