A man
named John Sickles use to have a great series of top 30 prospects for all the
major league teams. For some reason, the feature was discontinued.
John
would rate the players with the A through F system, using A as a can’t miss
prospect, B a probable, C a possible, and F… well, you can figure out what F
means. The last top Mets prospect list he had led with a sub-headline of “ if
you love C+ prospects than you are going to love the Mets."
Nothing
much has changed. We have a couple of A/A- guys, a handful of B+/B/B- players
and the rest are C+.
Was John
right? Well, he did not have Jeff McNeil’s name come up until he ended the
series with players in one paragraph entitled ‘honorable mention’.
Here’s my
last ranking of the series.
#1-5:
5. SP
Matt Allen – Allen, along with Josh Wolf, are
the two starting pitchers the Mets stole in the last draft. Both flashed huge
high school stats before turning pro. It’s too early to judge them stat wise,
but an early peek plus their pedigree resume can’t help but rank them high in a
system starved for A level prospects.
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| PC - Ed Delany |
4. SP
Thomas Szapucki – No one has ever questioned the
ability for Szapucki to miss bats. The only concern has been his heath. The
baby steps taken last season seems to be working and I look for him to end 2020
in Syracuse.
3. 3B
Brett Baty – Like Allen, Baty is one last year’s
arrival in a remarkable Mets draft. He’s easily our top third base prospect,
but there is no reason to rush the youngster. Mark Vientos will get to Queens a
year earlier than Baty is ready, making for an interesting situation three
years from now.
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| PC - Ed Delany |
2. SS
Ronny Mauricio – Forget Andres Gimenez. This is
the kid that will make Amed Rosario either go away or play a different
position. There hasn’t been a scout say anything wrong about this kid. Ever.
Will be an A+ player.
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| PC - Ed Delany |
1. C Francisco
Alvarez – Alvarez replaced Mauricio as the top Mets prospect in the chain. Sure, Mauricio
and most of the other guys listed in this series will get their opportunity to
reach the majors ahead of Alvarez, but, in my opinion, no one will have the impact
of this guy when he gets his shot around three seasons from now. Will be our
starting catcher for many years to come.
13 comments:
Mack, your top 5 are in my top 6, so we both agree these are the Mets’ top dawgs.
Let’s see it there is a Jeff McNeil type who can surprise us both and jump past them all in 2020.
The Jeff McNeil type is Wilmer Reyes. Maybe, just maybe, he can advance to AA in late 2020 and be added to the 40 man next winter before he is eligible for the rule 5 draft in December 2020. He hit in the mid 300's last year, plays excellent defense at 1st, 2nd, SS, and third and steal bases - running very aggressive on the base paths. Extremely fun to watch. Please send to Binghamton next season so us upstaters can see him play before they take Binghamton away from us.
John, if Wilmer Reyes can go from his listed 6’0” 161 up to 175-180 for 2020, he could jump quick. Needs to up his BBs , too.
John, Wilmer was my#16. For every two to three pounds of muscle he adds, he can jump a point in my rankings.
Tom
My prediction as 2020's pleasant surprise of the season is Franklyn Kilome.
Tom - You are typically correct and most likely correct in regards to Wilmer bulking up.
I think either way, Wilmer will be a major leaguer some day. If not the Mets some place else. His versatility will give him that MLB chance. He may get relegated to a bench role at which time he would have to prove he can hit as a part timer. That is not easy for a young rookie to do.
I hope you are correct Mack.
The next McNeil type player for the Mets will be OF Wagner Lagrange.
I do not follow the minor league prospects closely enough to have an intelligent opinion on who might or might not succeed. Hell, I once thought Brock Pemberton would be a star.
Thought he would be too Reese as well as Lute Barnes and Billy Baldwin. Liked Rick Baldwin as well.
Maybe Kilome will be the next Familia coming out of the minors as a reliever.
LaGrange needs to add power - lots of it. My comp for him was Kevin Kaczmarski, who hit reasonably well in the minors but never added power and has now retired.
Familia's last starting year in the minors: 2012 AAA Buffalo, 9-9, 4.73, an ugly 1.59 WHIP.
Surgery, recovery, and then the bullpen ignited his career - maybe Kilome too.
I saw Wilmer Reyes when the Cyclones came to upstate and played the Valley Cats this year. I had never heard of him before but he just gave off the impression he was a star player or at least better than the other guys he was playing with. He was the one guy I had to Google while watching them because he was exciting to watch.
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