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
Showing posts with label The Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Man. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, November 14, 2008
My Top 20 Prospect List
Wow, I struggled big time ranking these prospects. It not that they aren't good, because they are, it's just that they are all basically around the same level--prospect wise. For me, this list will probably change 5 times from now until the beginning of next year, but, for fun, I'll post my top 20 list as of now.
NOTE: I included Daniel Murphy (1 AB over) and Nick Evans (service time) on the list, just to see where they would rank
1. Fernando Martinez
Not ready to give Flores the #1 spot yet. Fernando hasn't exactly broken out like I hoped, but he has continued, when healthy, to put up "solid" stats.
2. Wilmer Flores
What can I say? A hitting sensation. Amazing. Lets hope he keeps it up!
3. Daniel Murphy
To me, he looks like a sure thing hitting wise, and that's good enough in my opinion to rank him 3rd.
4. Jon Niese
Some have soured (or just didn't like him to begin with) but I still have faith in him. I feel that if he can develop a harder curveball and develop his cutter a bit more, he can still be a #3 starter with #2 upside.
5. Brad Holt
Electric fastball combined with the fact that he dominated the NYPL jumps him all the way up to #5. It was a good to see him make progress with his breaking pitches as that will basically determine if he's a starter or relief pitcher at the MLB level.
6. Reese Havens
Reese was thought of as a great pick for the Mets at 22 but he just could not stay healthy in his pro debut. I still have high praise for the kid, and here's to hoping he stays healthy in 09.
7. Nick Evans
This is where the flip flopping began... I like Nick Evans, and I think he can be a solid role player for a team, however I'm not sold on the fact of him becoming an everyday player. But, you cannot, and I won't, ignore the fact that he destroyed AA.
8. Bobby Parnell
Yeah, I'm probably overrating him a bit, but he's a personal favorite, and I like to play favorites. The way I see it is that anytime you have a guy who can maintain high velocity late in games, you have to at least give him a chance. I've heard positive reports about his slider out of the AFL.
9. Jenrry Mejia ***
An 18 year old kid (just turned 19 last month) who can already throw 95-96 MPH with an at times plus curveball and changeup has to be in my top 10. Scouts have already said that they expect Mejia to be able to reach the upper 90's into the 100 range when he is fully developed.
10. Mike Carp
Ugh, where do I stand on Carp? He had a pretty darn good season in AA but I didn't like the reports I heard about him. Scouts said that he didn't look good against left handed pitchers and pitchers in general who threw hard. This added with the fact that Carp is slow of foot and a bad defensive 1B, doesn't give me much faith in him.
11. Jefry Marte
Jefry Marte turned 17 years old age this past June. And if there was no Wilmer Flores you better believe all the talk/hype would be around this kid. Playing in the GCL for his pro-debut Marte hit .324/.393/.528/.921. Pretty Fluffing impressive. The kid has HUGE upside offensively. He'll probably start the year in Savannah on the left side of the infield with Flores next season. They'll be an infield to watch.
12. Ike Davis
Getting back to short recaps.. Davis had a putrid start to his pro career but showed positive signs late in the year. He's still got big power potential and the arm/defense to play RF along with 1B.
13. Eddie Kunz
A bad start to his MLB career combined with the fact that he's getting torn apart in the AFL has made me concerned about Kunz. I know I ranked him 13th, but I still have faith in him. However, he really needs to develop his slider and change if he wants to be anything more than a ROOGY.
14. Josh Thole (SLEEPER ALERT)
Thole caught for the entire season for the first time in his pro career, and though he has some work to do on defense, his great patience at the plate has caught more than my eye. A high average/high OBP catcher should not be overlooked.
15. Dillon Gee
What did I think of Gee coming into this year? Not much, a product of the NYPL, who would get exposed at the higher levels. But Gee posted a 3.25 ERA in St. Lucie and a 1.33 ERA in 4 starts in Binghamton and he's starting to make me believe. Also helping, is the fact that his fastball velocity (91-93) is higher than I originally thought. Still, lucky to be a 4th starter in the majors.
16. Maikel Cleto
Another young, hard throwing, right hander from the lower level of the system. According to the Mets pitching coordinator, Cleto sat 95-96 this year and touched 100 "regularly"
17. Scott Moviel
Huge right hander who really figured things out after struggling early this season. Keep an eye on him.
18. Brant Rustich
Guy who supposivley had one of the best arms in the system coming into this year, switched into a starter, and battled multiple arm injures. A stress fracture in your pitching arms isn't a good thing.
19. Ezequiel Carrera
Not sure what to think of this kid, but a guy with a high OBP + great speed, is a special talent. It was nice to see him hit a couple of homeruns this year.
20. Francisco Pena
Ok, maybe he doesn't belong this low, but I just don't know how to rank him. He's still pretty young, and had a better year this year repeating A ball, but I haven't seen enough out of him to put him above the guys ranked ahead of him.
IN THE DISCUSSION (no particular order):
Nathan Vineyard, Cesar Puello, Micheal Antonini, Dylan Owen, Ruben Tejada, Javier Rodriguez, Greg Veloz.. NOT MATT BOUCHARD.
NOTE: I included Daniel Murphy (1 AB over) and Nick Evans (service time) on the list, just to see where they would rank
1. Fernando Martinez
Not ready to give Flores the #1 spot yet. Fernando hasn't exactly broken out like I hoped, but he has continued, when healthy, to put up "solid" stats.
2. Wilmer Flores
What can I say? A hitting sensation. Amazing. Lets hope he keeps it up!
3. Daniel Murphy
To me, he looks like a sure thing hitting wise, and that's good enough in my opinion to rank him 3rd.
4. Jon Niese
Some have soured (or just didn't like him to begin with) but I still have faith in him. I feel that if he can develop a harder curveball and develop his cutter a bit more, he can still be a #3 starter with #2 upside.
5. Brad Holt
Electric fastball combined with the fact that he dominated the NYPL jumps him all the way up to #5. It was a good to see him make progress with his breaking pitches as that will basically determine if he's a starter or relief pitcher at the MLB level.
6. Reese Havens
Reese was thought of as a great pick for the Mets at 22 but he just could not stay healthy in his pro debut. I still have high praise for the kid, and here's to hoping he stays healthy in 09.
7. Nick Evans
This is where the flip flopping began... I like Nick Evans, and I think he can be a solid role player for a team, however I'm not sold on the fact of him becoming an everyday player. But, you cannot, and I won't, ignore the fact that he destroyed AA.
8. Bobby Parnell
Yeah, I'm probably overrating him a bit, but he's a personal favorite, and I like to play favorites. The way I see it is that anytime you have a guy who can maintain high velocity late in games, you have to at least give him a chance. I've heard positive reports about his slider out of the AFL.
9. Jenrry Mejia ***
An 18 year old kid (just turned 19 last month) who can already throw 95-96 MPH with an at times plus curveball and changeup has to be in my top 10. Scouts have already said that they expect Mejia to be able to reach the upper 90's into the 100 range when he is fully developed.
10. Mike Carp
Ugh, where do I stand on Carp? He had a pretty darn good season in AA but I didn't like the reports I heard about him. Scouts said that he didn't look good against left handed pitchers and pitchers in general who threw hard. This added with the fact that Carp is slow of foot and a bad defensive 1B, doesn't give me much faith in him.
11. Jefry Marte
Jefry Marte turned 17 years old age this past June. And if there was no Wilmer Flores you better believe all the talk/hype would be around this kid. Playing in the GCL for his pro-debut Marte hit .324/.393/.528/.921. Pretty Fluffing impressive. The kid has HUGE upside offensively. He'll probably start the year in Savannah on the left side of the infield with Flores next season. They'll be an infield to watch.
12. Ike Davis
Getting back to short recaps.. Davis had a putrid start to his pro career but showed positive signs late in the year. He's still got big power potential and the arm/defense to play RF along with 1B.
13. Eddie Kunz
A bad start to his MLB career combined with the fact that he's getting torn apart in the AFL has made me concerned about Kunz. I know I ranked him 13th, but I still have faith in him. However, he really needs to develop his slider and change if he wants to be anything more than a ROOGY.
14. Josh Thole (SLEEPER ALERT)
Thole caught for the entire season for the first time in his pro career, and though he has some work to do on defense, his great patience at the plate has caught more than my eye. A high average/high OBP catcher should not be overlooked.
15. Dillon Gee
What did I think of Gee coming into this year? Not much, a product of the NYPL, who would get exposed at the higher levels. But Gee posted a 3.25 ERA in St. Lucie and a 1.33 ERA in 4 starts in Binghamton and he's starting to make me believe. Also helping, is the fact that his fastball velocity (91-93) is higher than I originally thought. Still, lucky to be a 4th starter in the majors.
16. Maikel Cleto
Another young, hard throwing, right hander from the lower level of the system. According to the Mets pitching coordinator, Cleto sat 95-96 this year and touched 100 "regularly"
17. Scott Moviel
Huge right hander who really figured things out after struggling early this season. Keep an eye on him.
18. Brant Rustich
Guy who supposivley had one of the best arms in the system coming into this year, switched into a starter, and battled multiple arm injures. A stress fracture in your pitching arms isn't a good thing.
19. Ezequiel Carrera
Not sure what to think of this kid, but a guy with a high OBP + great speed, is a special talent. It was nice to see him hit a couple of homeruns this year.
20. Francisco Pena
Ok, maybe he doesn't belong this low, but I just don't know how to rank him. He's still pretty young, and had a better year this year repeating A ball, but I haven't seen enough out of him to put him above the guys ranked ahead of him.
IN THE DISCUSSION (no particular order):
Nathan Vineyard, Cesar Puello, Micheal Antonini, Dylan Owen, Ruben Tejada, Javier Rodriguez, Greg Veloz.. NOT MATT BOUCHARD.
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