1.) Vicente Lupo- OF
What I'm looking for: Can Lupo find his stroke, tap into his power, and return to being a patient power threat in the middle of a lineup?
2.) Steven Matz- LHP
Can Matz increase his innings and pitch effectively in a tougher league and ballpark to pitch in? Can he stay healthy?
3.) Domingo Tapia- RHP
Can Tapia find his command, miss more bats, and let his arm strength take him to the next level? Will he be converted to a reliever?
4.) Luis Guillorme- SS
Will he hit? How many highlight reel plays will we see from him?
5.) Gavin Cecchini- SS
Some scouts say he looks overmatched at short. Other say he will stick there. I don't care if he's a shortstop or a second baseman if he hits and steals. I want to see both.
6.) Hansel Robles- RHP
The last time I saw Robles pitch, he was touching 94 MPH and took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. He is under six feet tall, old for a prospect with his level of experience, but is very talented. Who is he? A reliever? An undersized starter a la Rafael Montero?
7.) Matt Bowman- RHP
Will Bowman be able to handle the upper minors? Will he simplify his repertoire to focus on his stronger pitches? Or will he keep throwing five and keep hitters guessing? What will his velocity be like late in the year? Will he make it to Vegas? Is this another reliever or a starter?
8.) Chris Flexen- RHP
Can he repeat his success in 2014 at higher levels?
9.) Robert Whalen- RHP
Can he repeat his success in 2014 at higher levels?
10.) Kevin Plawecki- C
If Plawecki has another season like last year, makes it to Las Vegas and continues to hit at 2013 levels while playing solid defense, he is a top 100 prospect in the game. Perhaps top 50. If the bat regresses, he does not offer significant enough defense to force the Mets to make a decision about the future at the catcher position. My other big question about Plawecki this year is: Will he be traded?
9 comments:
Excellent 10 - let me expand it by 5, and I will ignore AAA except for my first one:
11. Puello - will he struggle or explode as he did last year, and move into Mets' OF?
12. Nimmo - bulked up, healthy again, and off to a great start - how fast will he progress, and when will the homers start to fly?
13. Akeel the "real deal" Morris: Lethal since last year - how fast will he fly up the chain?
14. Jared King - hey, Mack really likes him, so I will start to pay more attention to him - let's see some power there, buddy.
15. Luis Mateo - I am guessing that currently, Luis is perhaps 2 months from Tommy John return...can he return to the form that made him look like either a power pen guy or mid-to-high rotation starter?
Honorable mention - Taijeron - can he turn into a big league power bat? More than half his hits last year were extra bases. Ynoa - next Montero? And Ivan Wilson - hey, if you include Vicente, I'll include his partner in mega-strikeouts from last year, Ivan, who seemed to be turning the corner the last week of 2013.
Does it even matter? When the Mets have a need they always turn to the proven mediocrity rather than giving someone new a chance. Reports are Kirk Nieuwenheis is on his way to Phoenix for the presumably DL'd Juan Lagares. You'd think Eric Campbell would be the smarter move due to defensive versatility and the fact you have a "real" centerfielder coming back on Friday in Chris Young.
We've all seen this movie before from KN -- fast start and even faster plummet. We get him just in time for the freefall to begin. Ugh!
I'd hate to be a prospect in the Mets system. Now, even when injuries force their hand they don't go with the right choices. Then again, I suppose I should be thankful that it's not Abreu who wasn't exactly Roberto Clemente 10 years ago.
Reese, Kirk's "fast start" is right...a one game fast start, when he went 4 for 4. Since then, 9 for 38 and 2 walks...so he is going to hit major league pitching? Campbell is the right choice, not Ankiel clone Kirk.
Similarly, last year with Mets, Kirk was 18 for 95 - which looks bad, except when you realize he had a 4 for 4, 5 RBI game in there. All the other games? 14 for 91, or .154. If it is him, as it appears,what a stupid choice.
Kirk's on the 40-man whereas Campbell is not. The other options would have been den Dekker or Puello, neither of whom are off to even the start Nieuwenhuis is. They could have gone another way and used Lutz as part of the 1B platoon as he's off to a solid .325, but that would force Duda to the OF and I don't think they want to tamper with his fragile psyche when he's finally producing.
That being said, with 4 hits last night I fully expect him benched today :)
you've got 40-man problems
1. Let Andrew Brown start in RF - he deserves the first shot
2. Don't even let Lucas Duda walk on the left side of the field
3. Promote Kirk as 4th outfielder and spot start him against some righties
I'm not sure Travis D can hit over 215 in the majors so we can't move Plawecki.
Nobody gets moved in April and May unless there are injuries.
Put Brown out there...if he does well, George W Bush, that former baseball team owner who once had another job doing something else that I can't recall, can tell him "great job, Brownie"
Jokes aside, I let the creme rise to the top. The players I watch are the ones that can help the team THIS YEAR...
SP - Noah Syndergaard - off to a slower start that expected
SP Rafael Montero - ready to go to the Mets pen June 1
SP Jacob deGrom - could also be converted to the Mets pen for the second half of the season
RP Vic Black - he'll be back as soon as he settles down
RF Cesar Puello - any extended OF injury in Queens could get him called up earlier than the Aug-Set schedule he's on
SS Wilmer Flores - You have to give this guy a 30-day trial run at short in Queens if Tejada stays below .200, don't you?
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