PORT ST. LUCIE — A lot of excitement left Mets camp Sunday.
There were no surprises but plenty of prospects in the first round of cuts at Mets spring training, with infielders Jett Williams and Luisangel Acuña, outfielder Drew Gilbert and starting pitchers Christian Scott and Mike Vasil sent off to minor league camp.
In all, 10 were either reassigned or optioned, with catcher Kevin Parada, righties Eric Orze and Cam Robinson and lefties Kolton Ingram and Danny Young the others.
The Mets, whose farm system has become a top priority since last year’s trade deadline that netted Acuña and Gilbert, were pleased with what they hope will be the future of the club.
“It was great,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of his impression of the prospects. “Really good opportunity to get to know a lot of these kids. Just watching them go about their business on and off the fields. The interactions in the clubhouse with some of our established players. Watching them go about the routines and their preparation, it was really good.
“Obviously the game, the actions, being able to watch some of the tools that they bring to the table — it was fun.”
Williams, a natural shortstop who will see time at center field this season, showed off his wheels with a pair of infield hits and a steal in six at-bats.
The 20-year-old last season reached Double-A Binghamton, where he figures to begin this year.
Gilbert, a center fielder, thrived in 95 games at Double-A last season split between the Astros and Mets.
The main prize obtained in the Justin Verlander deal, Gilbert has gone 1-for-9 with a walk in 10 spring plate appearances and shown off a solid arm in the outfield.
Acuña, the brother of the Braves superstar, played all of his season at Double-A and could begin this year at Triple-A Syracuse.
About to turn 22, Acuña went 3-for-8, including a pair of hard-hit singles stroked to the opposite field, in a solid showing in the Grapefruit League.
Scott and Vasil, two of the organization’s best starting pitching prospects, pitched successful one-inning outings Sunday before the demotion.
In the hours after the demotion, Acuña was in the major league clubhouse shooting hoops with a group of teammates.
“The relationships, the connections,” Mendoza said of what he hoped prospects would take from this experience. “Watching the veteran guys go about their business, how they prepare the routine, how they develop those routines.”
Acuña and Ingram, who were technically optioned because of their 40-man status, may not be called back up for Grapefruit League games, while the other eight (technically reassigned) can still pop up in spring games.