Q and A with Kevin Anderson and... Positional Players

Kevin S. Anderson asked:

I think that the Mets' minor league depth clearly favors pitching with the layers of pitching depth that they have accumulated: Top layer of back end starters; Gee, Owen, McHugh, Cohoon, Schwinden; the next layer: the big four, the next layer: Gorski, Peavey, Leathersich, Mazzoni, Goeddel, and the bottom layer: Morris, Urbina, Tapia, Fulmer; and this doesn't include the relief guys. I know that the Mets have a couple of position players in the system with high upside but do you think that their focus in the next draft and the international market will be to find a couple serious position player prospects?

Mack:

That’s funny. I was just about to start writing a post on this subject.

The combination of efforts, by the teams of Omar Minaya and Sandy Alderson, have built quite the impressive organization foundation.

We spend so much time talking about the “big 4” of Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, and Jenrry Mejia, we tend to forget all the other talented pitchers in the organization. It’s easy to keep talking about power starters, but we need to remember that up to 13 members of the 25-man are pitchers. Everybody is saying these days that the Mets need at least two more pen members in 2012, but we’re getting very close to the time period where the organization will punch out plenty of major league caliber pitchers.

Let’s first project the current system:

1. Pitchers like Dillon Gee and Chris Schwinden have already proven they can pitch in Queens.

2. Dylan Owen (currently leading his fall league in ERA) and Collin McHugh are ready to prove that also in 2012.

3. Juan Urbina, Domingo Tapia, Michael Fulmer, and Akeel Morris are legitimate future rotational prospects.

4. Darin Gorski, Greg Peavey, Erik Goeddel, and Angel Cuan are all showing early signs of major league projectable talent.

5. And, Tyler Pill, Alex Panteliodis, Jack Leathersich, Cory Mazzoni, and Logan Verrett have barely gotten started yet.

That being said, the first rule of every draft is to go with the best player still available when your turn comes up, regardless of position.

J.P. said tonight that the Mets will continue what they started in the 2011 draft. They will select the highest of high end players until they run out of money. That’s the Sandy and Company way.

Would I like that to be different? Would I have been happier with C Yazmani Grandal and OF Bryce Brentz in the last two drafts. Yes, I would, but you know that ole saying about hindsight.

I’d like to think that the… wait for the Howard Cosell word… wait for it… plethora of pitching talent listed above can also produce the positional players needed in the future.

Let’s say Wheeler and Harvey are the real deal and join Johan Santana, Jon Niese, and Chris Young (hint) in the 2012 rotation.

It’s a proven fact that Cincinnati has too many catcher prospects, and Boston could use a couple of young pitchers. Why not put the names of the other 19 Mets pitchers I mentioned above on a piece of paper and let each team pick three for the services of Grandal and Brentz.

You now have your 2013-2018 starting catcher and a future 2014 outfield of Brentz, Brandon Nimmo, and Gilbert Gomez.