David Lennon: Yankees top prospects not at Futures game but Ben Grable shows promise as does Mets slugger Ryan Clifford

PHILADELPHIA — From a New York perspective, one of the most notable things about Sunday’s Futures Game involved the prospects who were not at Citizens Bank Park.

The Yankees initially planned to send Carlos Lagrange, the 103-mph throwing righthander, and shortstop phenom George Lombard Jr., but both are nursing injuries over the All-Star break. In their stead was Ben Grable, an impressive Double-A reliever drafted a year ago in the 11th round out of Indiana University.

On the Mets’ side, Ryan Clifford was the lone rep, both a reflection on the threadbare farm system and his struggles that keep him at Triple-A Syracuse despite the Flushing first-base job being essentially wide open. Last season at this time, the Mets sent Jonah Tong and Carson Benge to the Futures Game. Six weeks later, Tong made his major-league debut. And this March, Benge became the Mets’ permanent rightfielder.

We’ll start with Clifford, because his prodigious power would fill an obvious void in the lineup, at a position that has been a revolving door since president of baseball operations David Stearns let Pete Alonso walk during the winter. Clifford, who turns 23 next week, always loomed as a lefty-swinging Alonso in waiting, even though he was pushed further to the back of the line with the signing of Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million deal.

But those first-base plans unraveled almost immediately in mid-April when Polanco was lost to Achilles bursitis and Jared Young also was sidelined with a meniscus tear in his left knee. Mark Vientos had played the most games (73) at the position, but now is gone for 6-8 weeks after a pitch fractured his hand Thursday.

Both Polanco and Young are back, but the job could not be more available. The Mets’ combined .680 OPS at the position ranks 25th in the majors and the minus-0.6 WAR is the second-worst overall. Problem is, Clifford looks nowhere near ready for a promotion.

Clifford still is flexing some muscle, with 16 homers in 86 games at Syracuse, but the other plate indicators don’t point to success at the next level. He’s slashing .196/.283/.395 with a staggering 40% strikeout rate. In June, Clifford batted .099 (8-for-81) but has since pulled out of that funk to some degree by hitting .241 (7-for-29) with an .816 OPS so far in July. He’s hoping those adjustments stick.

“There were swing changes I made last year, that I had mental cues for that just don’t work for me anymore,” said Clifford, who walked Sunday in his only plate appearance. “So just trying to find new things that work. Took a little bit longer than I would have liked, but looking to build and continue to have a good July.”

A strong bounce-back should get Clifford a Flushing invite at some point in the second half. He’s the last remaining piece from the Justin Verlander/Max Scherzer fire sale at the 2023 deadline — Drew Gilbert was traded to the Giants a year ago, Luisangel Acuna dealt to the White Sox in the Luis Robert Jr. swap — and the only one not to see the majors yet.

As far as the Yankees go, Grable was a late addition to the AL Futures roster given the Lombard and Lagrange injuries, but his performance isn’t surprising anyone at Double-A Somerset, where recent upgrades to his fastball and slider have transformed his repertoire. Grable said his fastball averaged 92 mph last year with a 19-inch vertical break and is now up to 96.1 and 20.5, respectively, the latter being in the elite category.

“I didn’t really know how good it was until I got to New York,” said Grable, who has a 12.3 K/9 rate and a 4.00 strikeout/walk ratio in 22 appearances for Somerset this season. “And they said, you know there’s no guys in the big leagues that average above 95 and 20.”

As for polishing his slider, which is now “a little harder, a little tighter,” Grable consulted YouTube — specifically watching videos of Reds’ ace Chase Burns and borrowing his grip. Grable said he worked it into his touch-and-feel drill about 1 1/2 months ago, then used it the same night and struck out three that inning.

“Figured he’s got a pretty good slider, similar heater shape [to me], so he stuck out,” Grable said.

On Sunday, Grable entered with one out in the seventh and retired his lone batter, Brewers prospect Luis Pena, on two pitches — swing-and-miss at the opening fastball, then fly out to centerfield on the slider. “Good little boost of adrenaline,” Grable said.

Lombard skipped the Futures Game due to a sprained finger, but he’s fast approaching on the Yankees’ radar. He jumped to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after just 20 games at Somerset this season, and was hitting .306 (15-for-49) with two homers and .998 OPS over 14 games in June before getting hurt.

“Special defender, and his baseball IQ is through the roof,” said Somerset manager James Cooper, who was on the AL Futures coaching staff. “Great person off the field, great captain on the field. I think he’s a Gold Glove defender in the big leagues one day. I’ve been blessed enough to tell him about his promotion. Hopefully he can get another one here pretty soon.”

Notes & quotes: Dodgers’ prospect Mike Sirota, born in Mineola and raised in Queens, has reached base in 72 straight games to tie the minor-league record. Sirota extended his streak Friday when he was hit on a nerve in his shoulder with a pitch, then later came out after his arm went numb. Sirota is the great-nephew of Yankees’ Hall of Famer Whitey Ford and was a teammate of Cam Schlittler at Northeastern.