Stephen Guilbert - Future Major Leaguers- Rookie League Ball

Last week, I completed a four-part series that examined which minor leaguers look poised to become major league regulars once they mature. I shied away from the lowest of minor leagues because I do not think you can project a major leaguer at those levels. Or, if you do, it is because the player is special, will move quickly, and has a high floor. Regardless, I think there is quite a bit of talent in our three rookie leagues. Plus, I had to profile Michael Conforto and he will be in Brooklyn to start his professional career. I will not assign categories, but these are the players I think have the best chance right now:

Brooklyn 

OF Michael Conforto

I do not quite understand the starting a college junior draftee in short season ball. Unless it is for just half a dozen games to get him into the swing of things while remaining close to team doctors and instructors, Brooklyn is three levels too low for Conforto. Whenever they do this sort of thing, I cannot help but think it is under direction from ownership who want to see their new million+ dollar prize in game action, despite his development being held back to do so. I could understand a start in St. Lucie but his skills and playing level should be right around Double-A. If I were running things, he would flank Nimmo in the outfield in Binghamton now. The point of drafting this guy specifically was to add a power bat that could help soon. Well, you gotta be aggressive if Conforto's to help soon.

As far as Conforto goes as a hitter, he provides a nice and balanced swing that has good loft. He has quick hands but the swing is long and he will strike out and probably a lot. Nice stance at the plate and he is built for power--a bit surprising as he never clubbed double digit homers in any of his three collegiate years. He hit for a high average, though, but I suspect those two skills will swap as a professional. He is not a good defensive outfielder. Lagares to his right will help, but this is a left fielder who will play for his bat. Not his glove or speed.

RHP Marcos Molina

Jason Parks sent a bit of a shock wave through Mets minor league followers when he named Molina the #10 prospect for the Mets going into 2014. He praised his athleticism above all else and dubbed Molina a sleeper. Parks, as he often does, looks like a genius as Molina has thrown four dominant starts and impressed with his fastball, command, and poise for a 19-year-old.

I have no idea what to make of Molina. I have yet to see him in person but all of the reports are overwhelmingly positive. The Mets have a lot of pitchers like this in the low minors...late teens, good fastball, good command, high ceiling. This is an odds game--if just two of the ten turn into major league average or better, it is a success.

3B Jhoan Urena

Urena has gotten a lot of attention recently from a hot start in Brooklyn. Still a teenager, Urena is a strong 6'1 and 200 lbs., makes strong contact and has hit well throughout the DSL leagues and low minors. Ignore the "watch your back, David Wright" comments and articles. This is a guy who might have to move off of the position and, even if he doesn't, is still at least three or four years away from the big leagues. It is still nice to have a corner infield power bat in the minors.

SS Amed Rosario

Unlike fellow million dollar bonus baby Wuilmer Beccera (we'll get to him in a second), I do think this is a future major leaguer. Enough so that I would put "Cat 1" next to this kid. Rosario may not be able to stay at short and he certainly has a lot of work to do defensively to stay on the infield in any position but we are still talking about a kid barely the age of a high school senior. He is long, lean, has a good power stroke, speed, and at times exhibits incredible plate awareness and bat control. If he can find a way to put it all together: hit for the power and contact he shows glimpses of doing from time to time and learn the game on the defensive side enough to be a plus defender, this is not just one of the better prospects in the Mets system...but one of the better prospects in all of baseball. The floor/ceiling range is enormous still, but the talent is there.

RHP Casey Meisner

6'7" tall, still figuring out how to use all of that height to gain velocity, still learning how to pitch, but a high-ceiling arm who could rocket through the system and up prospect lists if he does. Or, he does not learn the body control necessary for someone with his length, never gains the MPH on his fastball, and doesn't make it out of Double-A. That's why I cannot assign categories to players this young and raw. The potential for things to go wrong is still too big. That being said, Meisner has enough things going for him to keep an eye on.

....
Two more guys I like: RHP Corey Oswalt and C Thomas Nido. Both still very raw but both still have a ton of potential and are young enough to keep following to see if they put it together. Nido was a bonus later-round theft who has not been able to get it going with the stick. Oswalt is a Harvey-sized righty with good stuff but missed most of last year with injury.


Kingsport

LHP Blake Taylor

Somehow this young lefty the Mets acquired for Ike Davis is still 18 years of age, despite being in his second professional season. Taylor is just about as confident as I can be with a player this low in the minors. He has really good stuff and I am really excited about him. A theft from the Bucs.

LHP Andrew Church

Still not striking many batters out, still in Kingsport and still not getting the results you want from an early-round draft pick, but this is still a guy the Mets liked enough to take early on day 2 in a draft, he still is 19 years old and he still has good stuff. He will be a long-term project but I could see him making it to a bullpen some day.

OF Wuilmer Beccera

Above I mentioned I do not see a major leaguer here. That is unfair of me, because I can't really say that about any of these kids. Beccera still makes scouts drool. He's 6'4". He has a strong arm. He has that thing they call "raw power". I do not see the same talent as I see in Rosario and Beccera, like Ivan Wilson, has a lot to do before becoming a top prospect. This is another 4-5 year project and maybe even longer.

SS Luis Guillorme

The glove is still far beyond the bat but I am less worried about the stick than literally every other scout and expert out there. Guillorme can hit. Sure, I mean that more in the way I say, "Ruben Tejada can hit" than I do "David Wright can hit", but when you have Guillorme's glove--which might be the best in the system--a contact/OBP approach is just fine. Guillorme's defensive ability is one of the top individual skills any one player possesses in the entire Mets farm system. It's that good. Guillorme will be a major leaguer. Whether he is a defensive replacement or a starting shortstop will depend on how his bat progresses. Nice kid, good sense of humor, and a strong work ethic.

CF Ivan Wilson

Has not done much either professional season but he was advertised as an extremely raw player. He strikes out a ton but the tools suggest he could be a very good baseball player once he taps into all of his ability. Speed, power, defensive skills all grade out to above average in the future. Very young, very promising. Another guy who we could never hear of again or could make an all-star team.


GCL Mets

SS Milton Ramos

Much the same way I regard Guillorme as a future major leaguer because of his glove, I see Ramos as a Guillorme 2.0. The Mets are collecting strong defenders at short and I like that a lot. Ramos has more power than Guillorme and might end up being a much better hitter as well. I am very interested to see their progression through the Mets system.


That is all I have for the GCL. Some of the '14 draftees are interesting but I do not know enough about them to make a call. Winningham and Manoah are certainly intriguing.