2009 MPH Midseason Report!

The 2009 MetsProspectHub Midseason Report!

The Mets farm system has been much maligned lately, with some people insinuating that the individual teams records actually has something to do with the quality of prospects on those teams. That might be the most laughable notion I've ever heard (right up there with trading Reyes because his .355 OBP = immaturity, and trading Beltran for someone with more "grit" - boy we've had some gems this season, huh?).

As of this writing, the Sand Gnats record is 51-46, good for 3rd in their division, 1.5 games behind Greeneville (Red Sox) for first place. They may have the strongest prospect core in the Mets system, with top prospects Wilmer Flores (he who looks like a teenager because...coincidently, he is a teenager), Jefry Marte (he's also a teenager) headlining a pretty good offense, along with lessor prospects Jordany Valdespin (injured; hammy), Raul Reyes, and Eric Campbell. Kyle Allen (teenager), Robert Carson, Elvin Ramirez (injured; tendon), Eric Beaulac and Jeurys Familia (teenager) form one of the best prospect/pitching rotations in the minor leagues.

The ringer laden Cyclones lead their division by 3 games over Staten Island with a 22-11 record, but very few actual prospects exist here. Sam Honeck, an 11th round pick out of Tulane (where Jamie Bruno is going, incidently), is off to a rip roaring start, hitting .320/.373 over his first 25 games (albeit with just 3 doubles). Nick Santomauro, a 10th rounder out of Dartmouth, is hitting .260/.403/.400 in 18 games. All other quasi-prospects are all floundering, with Ralph Henriquez (.208), Nick Giarraputo (.185), Juan Centeno (.179), Luis Nieves (.167) struggling to hit at or over the Mendoza line. Through 28 ABs, 3rd rounder Robbie Shields is hitting a lusty .107. The pitching staff is led by 23 year old Brandon Moore with a 1.32 era. Again, very few prospects exist, with Mark Cohoon being one of the few (2.48 era).

Down in Kingsport, the Mets are 10-19, all due to allowing 7.24 runs per game on average (210 runs in 29 games). Offensively, the Mets are a dynamic power laden team, with 2b Alonzo Harris having 7 HR, leading the team. Darrell Ceciliani (4th round, Columbia Basin) is off to a very good start, hitting .301/.393/.452 in 73 ABs. Kingsport is laden with good hitting prospects, most of them being actually age/level appropriate. Pedro Zapata is a speed burner who is hitting .339, with 5 steals in 6 tries (17 games). Harris is 20, Ceciliani 19. Cesar Puello is 17, hitting .263, though with a fugly 1/25 BB/K ratio. Pitching wise, it is largely an older staff, though they have gotten younger with the additions of Jhonathan Torres and Yohan Almonte from the GCL team. They've largely been ineffective, but there are people to keep an eye on. Besides the aforementioned, Eduardo Aldama is just 19, and shows good GB tendencies (1.82). Angel Cuan, who dominated the VSL last summer, is finding life stateside much more difficult, but his last outing was his best of the season.

So the conclusion? The Mets have several very very intriguing prospects in the lower levels of the farm system, going simply by record and dismissing all else is a very dubious, very poor way of judging a farm system.


Tejesh's Top 15:

1. Fernando Martinez
2. Wilmer Flores
3. Jenrry Mejia
4. Brad Holt
5. Brant Rustich
6. Jon Niese
7. Josh Thole
8. Reese Havens
9. Robert Carson
10. Kyle Allen
11. Jeurys Familia
12. Ike Davis
13. Ruben Tejada
14. Nick Carr
15. Dillon Gee

David's Top 11:

1. Fernando Martinez
2. Jenrry Mejia
3. Brad Holt
4. Wilmer Flores
5. Jon Niese
6. Ike Davis
7. Jeurys Familia
8. Reese Havens
9. Jefry Marte
10. Robert Carson
11. Ruben Tejada

The Man's Top 11:
1. Fernando Martinez
2. Jenrry Mejia
3. Wilmer Flores
4. Brad Holt
5. Ike Davis
6. Jon Niese
7. Robert Carson
8. Jeurys Familia
9. Ruben Tejada.
10. Josh Thole
11. Eric Beaulac

MPH Mid-Season Awards

*Note: I (Tejesh) wanted to stay away from the sexy buzzword prospects, which both David and The Man have covered very well in this section, so my choices for these categories will be a bit off the beaten track.


1. Most Improved Prospect:

Tejesh: Josh Thole
David: Jenrry Mejia and Ike Davis(tie)
The Man: Ruben Tejada

2. Biggest Disappointment:

Tejesh: Brahiam Maldonado
David: Michael Antonini
The Man: Reese Havens

3. Most Impressive:

Tejesh: Alonzo Harris
David: Jenrry Mejia
The Man: Jenrry Mejia

4. Don't sleep on..

Tejesh: Stefan Welch
David: Zach Lutz, and Aderlin Rodriguez
The Man: Eric Beaulac

5. I'd Never Heard of Him Before:

Tejesh: Jordany Valdespin (and may never again, lol)
David: Yohan Almonte
The Man: Jeurys Familia

6. To early to call a bust?

Tejesh: Francisco Pena (as much as I personally dislike him)
David: Jefry Marte and Francisco Pena(tie)
The Man: Fransisco Pena