Updated Mack's Mets Top 25 Prospect List - 11/26/2013

     Good Morning fellow readers. We have updated our prospect rankings on the right hand side of our website and some noticeable moves have been made.

A) Graduations

• Matt den Dekker has graduated off the list due to age. It is very tough to claim that a player is still a prospect when he turns 27 this upcoming season. This coupled with the fact that he is now part of this team's planned roster right now as the 4th OF/defensive replacement led us to remove him.
• Travis d'Arnaud has graduated off the list due to his promotion to a starting spot on the team. 
• Wilmer Flores has also graduated due to his promotion however he reserves the right to be re-added if the team sends him to AAA to start the 2014 season.

B) Drops

• Aderlin Rodriguez's inability to stay healthy and the fact that he's been stuck in either Savannah or St. Lucie for 4 seasons now has lost him his spot on the list. It also doesn't help that the emergence of a new power hitter within the system has passed him in terms of development.
• Vicente Lupo did not live up to the hype that followed him from the Dominican Summer Leagues. He hit only .220 and struck out in almost 50% of his ABs. He's young though and will certainly get another chance to crack the list.
• Last year's second round pick Ivan Wilson has also lost his spot after a poor season for the GCL Mets. However even though he hit only .219 with 65 K's he did steal 13 bags. His speed will get him back in at some point as well.

C) Biggest Movers

• Kevin Plawecki moved up 5 spots from #9 to #4. His strong performances in both Savannah and St. Lucie have put him in line to begin 2014 in Binghamton and have caused some in the organization to question whether or not he has a higher ceiling than Travis d'Arnaud.
• Gabriel Ynoa also moved up 5 spots from #11 to #6. In 22 starts with Savannah, Ynoa went 15-4 with a 2.72 ERA and lead the South Atlantic League in wins and lowest walk rate amongst qualified starters. He threw a lot of innings last year so we may see an aggressive assignment to Binghamton.
• Stephen Matz is the 3rd guy to gain 5 spots moving from #12 to #7. While there has never been a question of talent in his left arm, many wondered if he would ever be healthy. Well he made it through 2013 unscathed and managed to sling a 2.62 ERA while doing it. Combine that with an elite 10.2 K/9 rate from the left side and you have yourself a very solid pitcher.
• Rainy Lara makes it a trio of arms making 5 spot moves from #16 to #11. Everything Ynoa did Lara also achieved. Only difference is Lara did it with a much healthier 9.1 K/9 rate and even received a promotion to St. Lucie along the way.
• Unfortunately there is bad news. Domingo Tapia finds himself falling 6 spots from #13 to #19. Not only was he wildly ineffective to begin the year but the major flaw that find with him has not been resolved yet. A guy who throws 100 mph with a 95 mph slider should have a K/9 rate well above 10.0 and yet he's possesses only and average 7.9 K/9 rate. 

D) Additions

• Dilson Herrera was one of Pittsburgh's Top 15 prospects and he looked good in his 7 games with Savannah so lets start him at #15 and see where how he performs in St. Lucie before I make a serious assessment.
• Dustin Lawley earns his way onto the list at #16 after smashing 25 HRs for Port St. Lucie and even skipping Binghamton for 6 games in Las Vegas. I think he'll begin the year with Binghamton though which will be a good indicator for whether his power is for real or not.
• Juan Centeno (#21) and Jeff Walters (#22) both find themselves at the back end of the list after excellent respective seasons in Las Vegas and Binghamton. Both are viable options to compete for a 25 roster spot during spring training.
• Lastly the duo of Robert Whalen (#24) and Chris Flexen (#25) round out the Top 25 thanks to excellent performances in Kingsport. They were #3 and #6 respectively in ERA rankings in the Appalachian league and Baseball America even ranked Whalen as the holder of the best curveball in the minor league organization.