MAJORING ON THE
MINORS: TOP 30 PROSPECTS – # 15 ROBERT WHELAN - VOL.16 – Tom Brennan
I’m doing my Top 30 Prospects articles
a bit differently – in 2 lists:
- A top 10 list of lower minors guys who likely won’t show up until 2017 or later. Already completed. See list at end of this article.
- Followed by my top 20 list of guys who are closing in on the big leagues. Guys who could help in the near future or be trade bait.
Here is the list so
far:
20.
Daniel Muno
|
19.
Michael Fulmer
|
18.
Miller Diaz
|
17.
Dario Alvarez
|
16.
Jayce Boyd
|
Today, selection #15:
ROBERT WHELAN
Whelan is a 6’2" 200 righty
throwing in the low 90s and a nice breaking ball. So what has he done with his talent so far?
How about 12-4, 1.89and a 0.96 WHIP in 143 innings. 2 homers allowed. 9-1 in Savannah in 2014,
with a 2.01 ERA. But only 70 innings in
2014 due to a hand infection, of all things.
So he’s real good. Maybe he adds a few MPH and we have another
Jake deGrom with this 20 year old. If he is not that high end, he should
still be a good starter or pen guy in the bigs, maybe by late 2016.
Only issue is, where would he fit on
the Mets' squad which will mostly be bursting with great pitchers throughout?
He had to be thought of very highly,
since the Mets sent him straight from mid-A Savannah to the much tougher
Arizona Fall League. He took some lumps but also had some fine short
outings there.
Robert Whelan will truly be one to
watch in 2015. St Lucie and Binghamton (and Mets minors fans) should be treated
to watching him fine tune his craft this year.
May the continued great pitching be
coupled with a minimum of 120 innings this year.
MY
TOP 10 LOWER MINORS LIST:
# 1 - Marcos Molina
#2 – Michael Conforto
#3 – Amed Rosario
#4 – Dominic Smith
#5 - Jhoan Urena
#6 – Vicente Lupo
#7 – Wuilmer Becerra
#8 – Luis Guillorme
#9 - Casey Meisner
#10 - Milton Ramos
7 comments:
To help the reader with my overall rating, while I slotted Whelan as #15 in my closer-to-the-bigs list, he was my #20 overall prospect in the organization.
Tom,
Me and you are very close in our assessment of Whelan. #20 is a perfect spot.
Thomas -
I don't know if you have ever seen this kid pitch but, when you do, you are going to love him.
I look forward to doing that, Mack. How would you compare him to Dylan Gee in terms of ceiling? Any feel? I realize he still needs to get above Savannah, but my sense is he has a higher ceiling.
My only concern is that his K-rate could be higher - although it seems he must be a big sinker type pitcher given his miniscule HR allowed rate!
This kid could make some serious noise this year and take a leap up rankings.
Not sure where he goes in two years though - what a great problem to have
Thomas -
Well, let's first go back and remember that Gee had very little of a ceiling. The 'other Dylan' that year (Dylan Owen) was supposed to be the hot shit.
Gee just quietly did his job, affiliate to affiliate.
Gee got to Queens because other pitchers were injured... but he impressed with his 4-pitch approach that always kept the batters guessing, especially the first two of three times around their lineup. (almost a Tom Glavine approach to the game).
What I don't like about his game is what seems to be his inability to pitch into the eighth inning, though that could have been a TC decision too.
Whalen touches 94-95 and has three effective pitches. He is showing the early ability to produce higher K/9 numbers than Gee ever produced.
Gee deserves enormous credit for being in the right place at the right time, andnot squandering his chance. If, let's say , he were about to reach AAA, in this talented, overcrowded field he'd likely have never gotten the chance - at least with the Mets
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