11/24/19

Mack – Top 25 2020 Mets Prospects - #1-5




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.

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.

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.

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:

Tom Brennan said...

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.

John From Albany said...

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.

Tom Brennan said...

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.

Tom Brennan said...

John, Wilmer was my#16. For every two to three pounds of muscle he adds, he can jump a point in my rankings.

Mack Ade said...

Tom

My prediction as 2020's pleasant surprise of the season is Franklyn Kilome.

John From Albany said...

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.

John From Albany said...

I hope you are correct Mack.

Unknown said...

The next McNeil type player for the Mets will be OF Wagner Lagrange.

Reese Kaplan said...

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.

John From Albany said...

Thought he would be too Reese as well as Lute Barnes and Billy Baldwin. Liked Rick Baldwin as well.

Tom Brennan said...

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.

Tom Brennan said...

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.

Dallas said...

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.