Tom Brennan - MAJORING ON THE MINORS - 2014 METS' DRAFT - HOW ARE THEY DOING?

Tom Brennan – MAJORING ON THE MINORS - 2014 METS DRAFT - HOW ARE THEY DOING?

Trying to see how the 2014 Mets draft has panned out so far, and how the guys in it might project out as (or as not) future Mets would be hard to do – unless you operate in a level of superior forensic intellect like – well, Sherlock Holmes, or someone even smarter like Mack Ade.

I, as amateur detective more of the Inspector Clouseau caliber, have sifted through the clues and here’s my takes, ladies and gentlemen:

Thinking about prospects like the following makes me want to run to Mickey Ds to get a Happy Meal:

 

Slugging Michael Conforto

Milton Ramos

Eudor Garcia

Brad Wieck

Kelly Secrest and

Dash Winningham

Garcia and Dash were a little slow out of the gate offensively, but both are young and I’ll bet they break out in 2015. 

Other guys I’d also want to keep the magnifying glass out for are Josh Prevost, Tyler Moore, Eric Manoah and David Roseboom.  But several other guys used in relief had really impressive 2014 seasons, so not being listed above is no slight on my part.   Collectively the pitchers in this draft that were used as relievers collectively had a super season.

 

Name	Pos	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB	Rd	Rating	Comments
Michael Conforto	OF	L / R	6' 1"	211	03/01/1993	1	1	Dude can hit: 42 gms in Bklyn, .331/.403/.448; 3 hits and 2 doubles in Gnats’ playoffs. Hopefully starts 2015 in Lucie.  Citifield 2016 or 2017.
Milton Ramos	SS	R / R	5' 11"	158	10/26/1995	3	2	Was 18 in 2014. In his “getting feet wet” season, .241/.299/.355 in 51 games.  29 RBI. Mets already have him #11 prospect.
Eudor Garcia	3B	R / R	6' 1"	215	05/17/1994	4	2-3	K Port: .262/.327/.347 in 55 gms Reputed bat; let’s see 2015.
Josh Prevost	RHP	R / R	6' 8"	225	01/15/1992	5	3	Fine Bklyn season for tall lad: 20 inn, just 14 K, 1.83, 1.17 WHIP.
Tyler Moore	C	L / R	6' 2"	213	08/08/1993	6	3	64 Bklyn gms, .240/.323/.333.  Another Cam Maron?
Brad Wieck	LHP	L / L	6' 9"	255	10/14/1991	7	2	Superb Bklyn season, and seems sky is the limit for the huge fella: 26 inn, 39 K, 1.40, 0.90 WHIP.
Dash Winningham	1B	L / L	6' 2"	230	10/11/1995	8	3	Fine season at 18 for slugger. .231/.322/.391, 39 RBI in 52 gm.  Another Duda?
Michael Katz	OF	R / R	6' 3"	235	08/06/1992	9	3	Everyday player for 42 games, then hurt.  .275/.323/.34, 45 Ks.
Kelly Secrest	LHP	L / L	6' 0"	215	09/13/1991	10	2-3	Fine Bklyn season for lefty: 25 inn, 30 K, 1.82, 1.30 WHIP.
Connor Buchmann	RHP	R / R	6' 1"	190	07/11/1993	11	TETT	7 innings, 8 earned runs, can’t even start to conclude from that.
Alex Durham	RHP	R / R	6' 4"	185	09/16/1996	12	TETT	6 innings, 4 earned runs, can’t even start to conclude from that. Just 17 during 2014 season.
Erik Manoah	RHP	R / R	6' 2"	215	12/22/1995	13	3-4	Just 18, 3-0, 2.63 in 24 GCL innings.  Let’s see in 2015.
Darryl Knight	C	R / R	6' 2"	220	02/26/1993	14	4-5	Nivc, but sparse play in GCL.  A long way up: .273/.340/.432 in just 14 games
Gabriel Llanes	RHP	R / R	6' 3"	185	01/15/1996	15	TETT	Just 18, 13 inn, 2-0, 4.85.
Joel Huertas	LHP	S / L	6' 3"	210	02/14/1996	16	TETT	Just 18, only 11 innings, 12 BB, 14 Ks.  Let’s see in 2015.
David Roseboom	LHP	L / L	6' 3"	215	05/17/1992	17	3	K Port: great season: 23 inn, 1,59, 1.15 WHIP, 30 Ks
Raphael Ramirez	CF	L / L	5' 11"	175	12/15/1995	18	3-4	.259/.309/.352 in 41 GCL games.18 of 21 steals at age 18!
Bryce Beeler	RHP	L / R	6' 2"	180	03/09/1993	19	3-4	K Port: solid – 4-2,.3.13, 23 inn, 18 K, 1.00 WHIP.
Jimmy Duff	RHP	R / R	6' 6"	200	11/15/1993	20	3-4	K Port: fine year, 3-1, 1.83, 0.99 WHIP, 34 inn, 24 K.
William Fulmer	2B	R / R	5' 10"	185	01/08/1992	22	5	Bklyn: 28 gm, .221/.292/.291
Tyler Badamo	RHP	R / R	6' 2"	190	08/08/1992	24	3-4	Fine short season. 31 inn, 1.74, 1.00 WHIP, 26 Ks.  Hopefully, he gets to Savannah in 2015, more likely Bklyn.
Nicco Blank	RHP	R / R	5' 9"	165	10/29/1992	25	5	11.57 ERA in 9 K Port innings
Alex Palsha	RHP	R / R	6' 1"	195	05/10/1992	27	3-4	11 of 12 saves, 1.04 ERA including brief promo to Bklyn
Matt Blackham	RHP	R / R	5' 11"	150	01/07/1993	29	3-4	Fine in K Port: 2-0, 1.42, 19 inn, 25 K, 1.00 WHIP
Tucker Tharp	OF	R / R	5' 10"	195	11/26/1991	30	5	66 Bklyn gm: .213/.263/.248
Kurtis Horne		L / L	6' 5"	190	08/05/1996	31	TETT	Just 18, 8 inn, 1-0, 1.08.
Arnaldo Berrios	CF	S / R	5' 9"	175	01/15/1996	39	TETT	.272/.324/.340 in GCL in 31 games.  Young dude.
Dale Burdick	SS	R / R	6' 0"	175	10/12/1995	40	5	Just 18 in 2014, struggled with stick: .170/.336/.223

RATING LEVELS:

1 – future impact major leaguer and performing at a high level

2 – future major leaguer – unclear if he will be an impact player

3 – decent shot at making it to the big enchilada in some capacity

4 – long shot to make the majors

5 – extremely long shot to make the majors

TETT – too early to tell – dude has not played enough, or is very young.

So I’ve covered five years of very solid drafts now. (2010 – 2014). I like what I see from those years.  A WHOLE lot.  I believe that the Mets’ 7 minor league squads combined won 56% of their games – highly impressive and highly indicative of strong drafting.

That said, it is the guys who actually get to the bigs in a big way, as did Harvey and deGrom from the Class of 2010, that ultimately represent the success of the team’s drafting.

Onward to 2015: while the Mets in Queens should have their most exciting season in several years in 2015, make sure to keep an eye on the minors too – I’d be shocked if at least the top 4 teams did not have superior seasons once again.