Mack Ade – Morning Report – 6-13-13

 

SP Luis Mateo spent yesterday in NYC having his arm examined.
 

I spent some time Wednesday with one of my ‘baseball people’. He’s not a member of the New York Mets, but knows the team and its inner parts well. I love talking to people who aren’t paid by the Mets to say things and share with me how the baseball world is looking on them. In no particular order, he said:
 

-This is one of the most talented system in baseball for young starters. He said there is potentially four ‘SP1-2’ candidates and an additional 10 more ‘SP4-5’’s in the system, not counting anyone that may arrive in this past draft.
 

- He said that this is no big secret to any of the other teams, who will want to get their hands on some of these guys down the road. His expectation is Rafael Montero will join Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, and Dillon Gee as the 2014 rotation, but he thinks it will not reach its full potential until both Noah Syndergaard and Domingo Tapia comes of age. Either way, there will be two starters available there for trades in the next 18 month.
 

- The thing he found so amazing is that Travis d’Arnaud is the only true potential major league bat right now in the entire system. He said that Wilmer Flores ‘doesn’t play the game properly’ (?) and it’s too early to forecast players like Gavin Cecchini and Brandon Nimmo. When I asked him who was the second best bat in the system past d’Arnaud, he smiled and said ‘Ike Davis’.

-He wasn’t that high on RP Jack Leathersich. He said his success at striking out people was due to his hiding the ball rather than velocity and that he really does have trouble pounding the zone.
 

Susana ‏@SusiMJK - @John Mackin Ade “The Mets drafted the second-most players from BA's Top 500 (19). Only Colorado (21) picked more (BO picked 19).”

                Another good sign that the Mets had a good draft. Now, they have to sign all these guys
 

Carson Cistulli -
 

Rafael Montero, RHP, New York NL (Profile) - The author feels compelled to admit that he’s not entirely smitten with Montero. While both his changeup and overall command are generally great, the right-handed Mets prospect doesn’t feature plus velocity, nor does his slider appear to be anything that would threaten major-league hitters at the moment. That said, it’s difficult to ignore Montero’s results so far: a 77:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, for example, in 73.1 innings at Double-A (and one start at Triple-A Las Vegas). Nor, it should be said, is Montero what anyone would classify as a soft-tosser; he frequently sits in the 92-93 mph range. Since the most recent edition of the Five, Montero has made one start, during which he posted this rather impressive line (box): 7.0 IP, 24 TBF, 6 K, 1 BB, 0 HR, 2 H, 0 R. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-fringe-five-baseballs-most-compelling-fringe-prospects-7/
 

                                -Yeah, why be ‘smitten’ by a 77:11 K/BB ratio…
 

John Sickles –
 

                New York Mets -
 

1-11) Dominic Smith, 1B, Serra HS, Gardena, CA

2-48) Andrew Church, RHP, Basic HS, Henderson, NV

3-76) Ivan Wilson, OF, Ruston HS, LA

3-84) Casey Meisner, RHP, Cypress Woods HS, Cypress, TX

4-116) L.J. Mazzilli, 2B, Connecticut

5-146) Jared King, OF, Kansas State
 

Others of interest: 7) Matt Oberste, 1B, Oklahoma; 8) Ricky Knapp, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast; 9) Patric Biondi, OF, Michigan; 10) Luis Guillorme, SS, Florida HS; 15) Colton Plaia, C, Loyola Marymount
 

COMMENT: Another mixed class, with upside early then shifting gears to more polished college guys. Smith has the bat for first base and could win gold gloves too. Church and Meisner are athletic, projectable types who will need patient development; Wilson is a strong athlete who will need similar perseverance. Bloodlined Mazzilli, switch-hitting King, power hitter Oberste, strike-throwing Knapp, and speedy Biondi are all solid college choices in their rounds who provide depth to the system; all have a chance to exceed expectations. There is risk at the top but balance as well.

                This is a positive review, right?