MM's Top 25: The Best of the Rest

#30 C Ali Sanchez (LR: N/A)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 0" Weight: 175 lb

Age: 17
Acquired: 2013 International Signing, Venezuela

2014: (DSL1) .305/.411/.414, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 5 SB (55%), 20 BB, 21 K

     Every year we have a tendency to highlight at least 1 potential big name player in the Mets DSL affiliate. Sometimes we hit, sometimes we miss. In 2012 we highlighted Victor Cruzado, Last year it was Vicente Lupo, this year its Ali Sanchez.

     Sanchez was given a $690k bonus to sign with the team last year and was considered the 2nd best international catching prospect behind Jose Herrera. According to Baseball America's Ben Badler, Sanchez "an intelligent, high-energy player who has good hands and is a good receiver. He has a solid arm that plays up due to his quick transfer and accuracy.....scouts have seen him hit a lot against live pitching, showing a consistent approach and a contact-oriented swing."

     So far Sanchez is living up to Badler's analysis. Defensively, Sanchez is beyond his years only allowing 8 passed balls so far, which is fewer than 27 other teams in the DSL. He's also thrown out over 52% of would be base stealers. Offensively he's posted a .300+ batting average, a .825 OPS and a 1:1 K to BB ratio. If the bat can continue developing as he progresses, the Mets may have a 3rd big time catching prospect in the system.

Ceiling: Way Too Early to tell, but a Salvador Perez comp is pretty solid.
Floor: Comes stateside and bat disappears in Rookie Ball.

#29 LHSP Blake Taylor (LR: N/A)
Bats: L Throws: L
Height: 6' 3" Weight: 220 lb

Age: 18
Acquired: Trade from Pittsburgh w/Zack Thornton for Ike Davis

2014: (R) 2-0, 2.77 ERA, 13.0 IP, 9.7 K/9, 6.2 BB/9, 1.231 WHIP
2013: (R) 0-2, 2.57 ERA, 21.0 IP, 5.6 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.762 WHIP

     First, the disclaimer, we do not have a large enough sample size yet to really determine where Taylor fits among the Top 25. That is why he's here.

     On the surface it seems as though Sandy must've had some dirt on Neal Huntington cause getting Taylor in return for Ike Davis looks like a steal. The young left hander was a 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft with a strong, mature build, and two plus breaking pitches in his curveball and slider. However according to various scouting reports, Taylor is gonna be a project for the organization.

     His velocity is inconsistent as it has reportedly been as high as 94 but as low as 83. He also has trouble locating his pitches which leads to his high BB rate. Despite these 2 things, the highest risk factor when it comes to Taylor is actually his motion. According to Amazin Avenue's Alex Nelson, Taylor  "vertically loads his scapula, which is putting stress on his shoulder." This could make Taylor a potential injury risk going forward.

Ceiling: #3 Lefty SP
Floor: An injury waiting to happen, flames out before hitting St. Lucie.

#28 OF Wuilmer Becerra (LR: #30)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 4" Weight: 190 lb

Age: 19
Acquired: Trade from Toronto w/Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud for R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas

2014: (R) .333/.371/.528, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 0 SB (0%), 5 BB, 27 K
2013: (R) .243/.351/.295, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 5 SB (45%), 20 BB, 60 K
2012: (R) .250/.359/.375, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB (0%), 4 BB, 7 K 

    We finally get to see the real throw in fruit of the R.A. Dickey trade and boy does it look appetizing. After playing in his 1st short season year with the GCL last year, Becerra has been tearing it up with the higher level Kingsport team this year. 

     He is displaying good power to the opposite field as well as the ability to put the bat on the ball. He is still having some trouble with strike zone recognition as his 23.3% K rate is not going to survive at the upper levels.

Defensively, he's showing more than capable abilities to handle the corner OF positions. In addition he's displaying a strong enough arm to stay in RF with 12 OF assists in 79 career Rookie level games with the Mets. This will jump his value a bit but the bat will have to develop with the arm to jump him up into the Top 25.

Ceiling: Average Bat, Strong defender in RF.

Floor: Stalls at Port St. Lucie.

#27 3B Jhoan Urena (LR: N/A)
Bats: S Throws: R
Height: 6' 1" Weight: 200 lb

Age: 19
Acquired: 2011 international signing, Dominican Republic

2014: (SS-A) .304/.367/.435, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB (44%), 17 BB, 36 K
2013: (R) .299/.351/.376, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 4 SB (80%), 13 BB, 34 K
2012: (DSL2) .279/.330/.405, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 12 SB (80%), 20 BB, 46 K 

     One of Sandy Alderson's 1st year bonus babies, Urena signed for $425,000 at age 16. After a strong 2012 campaign in the Dominican Summer League, Urena was brought stateside and performed well enough to catch Baseball America's eye on their GCL sleeper prospects list. Now in Brooklyn, Urena has excelled as a middle of order bat for the Cyclones.

     While he is listed as a switch hitter, Urena carries significant righty/lefty splits. In 2013, he hit .346 with a .813 OPS when hitting lefty but .200 with a .541 OPS when he hit righty. In 2014, he's hit .304 with a .793 OPS as a lefty but only .238 with a .689 OPS as a righty. With that in mind, the organization should probably just force him to hit left handed for the remainder of his career.

     Defensively, Urena has more than enough arm strength to stick at 3B. He also has good reactions and soft hands. His only downside is that he isn't fluid with his movements and is not the fleetest of foot so his range is a tad limited. Overall, he looks like a good bet to remain at 3B for the rest of his career.

Ceiling: Platoon 3B for a second tier MLB team.

Floor: Enough bat for lower minors but struggles in AA.

#26 RHSP John Gant (LR: N/A)

Bats: R Throws: R

Height: 6' 3" Weight: 175 lb

Age: 21

Acquired: 2011 Rule 4 Draft, 21st round, Wiregrass Ranch HS (Wesley Chapel, FL)

2014: (A) 10-5, 2.72 ERA, 106 IP, 8.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.283 WHIP
2013: (SS-A) 6-4, 2.89 ERA, 71.2 IP, 10.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.130 WHIP
2012: (R/A) 3-4, 4.98 ERA, 59.2 IP, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.525 WHIP
2011: (R) 0-1, 6.48 ERA, 8.1 IP, 5.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.320 WHIP

     When it comes to pitching prospects, I look for four things. A) A strong K/9 rate that's at least above 8.0 aka the "Domingo Tapia Rule", B) at least 1 plus secondary pitch, C) good body size and D) strong results at a proper age to level comparison. Gant fits the bill for all of these criteria despite having below average velocity.

     Despite adding about 20 lbs and about 3 ticks to his Fastball velocity, Gant still only tops out at 92mph and usually sits between 88-90mph. Usually for right handed arms that's well below average, but for Gant, its played up thanks to his deceptive motion. He has a very funky wind-up and hides the ball incredibly well which allows his fastball to sneak up on batters. In addition he has an advanced change-up that sits between 77-78mph and has wicked splitter like downward movement.

     Gant's control still needs refinement as he generally hovers in the low 3's for BB's per 9 innings. In addition he currently has trouble hitting the lower 1/3 of the strike zone with regularity. Once he learns to use his height to generate downward movement on his fastball his ceiling could increase.

Ceiling: Back-end rotation piece. #4/#5 SP
Floor: Hitters begin feasting on his low velocity fastball in AA.

Stuff – Cory Vaughn, Melky Cabrera, Jorge Rivero, John Gant, Updated Mack’s Top 15

Cory Vaughn

Cory Vaughn has his 20th homer of the season. It’s probably too late to expect his BA to become respectable this season, but 20 home runs is 20 home runs. He and Aderlin Rodriguez currently represent the two big bats in the system. Both will test AA next season and possibly ETA for 2014.

My string is still out on Cory. We all remember my initial thoughts on this pick which were both wrong and uncalled for. The talent is there, but the game seems to be attached to his head instead of his ability. What I hope is he adds around 6-8 pounds of muscle in the off season balanced off with another year of maturity. We all know the path to the Mets outfield is wide open and Cory will play 2013 at 24-years old. It’s time. 

Melky Cabrera

I remember going to a press dinner years ago when I managed WNEW radio, and Coach Parcells spoke to the crown in the dining room. “People don’t change,” said Parcells, “they may look like they do for a while, but they really don’t.”

At what point during a great season do you decide to shoot your ass with this stuff? It can’t be something you’ve done all your career because, if it was, you would failed other tests, right?

All of baseball knew this happened, but no one reported it awaiting the appeal process. And what’s with that? You can still play shot up while you’re trying to prove what, the needle was wrong?

Here’s what baseball will do. He supposedly was worth a minimal $50mil contract that would have been signed in the upcoming off-season. He’s miss the first week and someone will sign him for, oh, around $50mil. Nobody cares anymore.

                         “This is the business we've chosen.”

                                                         Hyman Roth 

Jorge Rivero

We wrote about Vincente Lupo earlier this week. There’s another kid in the system that I know little about, but we may want to keep an eye on.

Jorge Rivero is a 23-year old playing Kingsport, which could make him the oldest player in the league. The 6-0 converted shortstop (now that’s always a good first step in this organization) comes out of La Habana, Cuba and is currently hitting .351, which would qualify him for the 2^nd highest BA in the league if he had around 40 more at-bats

Here’s something I wrote in 2011:

8-1-11: - I don’t know much about this kid, but his output in 2011 is worth nothing. This is his first season in the Mets system and the 22-yr. old batted .292 for the DSL Mets in 120-AB. He was transferred stateside and is now matting leadoff for the GCL Mets. So far, after 45-Abs, he’s .289. That combines to .291 which is just fine for a young second baseman.

Rivero will play 2013 as a 24-year old, so he has to move quickly. I hope the Mets recognize the talent here and send him all the way to St. Lucie next spring. 

John Gant

Gant is an intriguing find that has silently creeped close to the ‘blue’ list lately.

The 19-year old 6-4, 198 righty was drafted by the Mets in the 21st round of the 2011 draft and chose to sign rather than attend LIU. His limited GCL-Mets stats that year didn’t jump out at you (4-G, 6.48), but it was a start of a professional career.

In 2012, he was assigned to Kingsport and immediately went out to the mound and stunk up the joint (an important thing to note here about the 2012 K-Port team… talent wise, you are basically on your own out there).

John gave up 20 runs in 17.1-IP in four of his first five starts and, if the Mets still had a GCL team, he would have been sent back there.

But, things have settled down since then and his numbers in his last four starts are impressive: 22.1-IP, 4-ER, 21-H, 19-K, 7-BB (trust me, he’s working on the BBs).

PG wrote before draft day:

John Michael Gant is a 2011 RHP/1B with a 6-4 180 lb. frame from Wesley Chapel, FL who attends Wiregrass Ranch HS. Nice projectable pitcher's build, long arms and legs, should be able to gain strength. Drop and drive pitching style, long extended arm action, 3/4's release, whippy loose arm action. Steady 85-87 mph fastball, gets nice sink/run on fastball, short mid 70's curveball with some depth, developing change up. Projects to add velocity. Signed with Long Island University.

Where do we project Gant. Well, we now know he’s capable of producing stellar professional numbers regardless of what he does the rest of the year. His youth will probably send him to Brooklyn if for no other reason Savannah will be filled up with the likes of Rainy Lara, Luis Cessa, Luis Mateo, Gabriel Ynoa, and Hansel Robles. His chance to jump the Clones is dependent upon whether Mateo or fellow K-Port hurler, Steve Matz are moved that fast. My guess today is Brooklyn.  

Updated Mack’s Top 15

1.      RHSP Zack Wheeler –  ETA: mid-2013 – A – Starts season as SP1 in AAA

2.      RHSP Rafael Montero – ETA: 2015 - B+ - no rush… back to St. Lucie

3.      RH?P – Jenrry Mejia – ETA: 2012 – B+ - back on prospect relief list

4.      3B-1B Wilmer Flores –  ETA: Sept-2013 – B+ - Starts season as 3B in AAA

5.      CF Brandon Nimmo –  ETA: 2015 – B+ - should jump two levels to A+

6.      RHSP Michael Fulmer – ETA: 2015 – B+  St. Lucie bound

7.      LHRP Jack Leathersich – ETA – Sept-2013 – B - 106-K/66.1-IP – B-Mets

8.      RHSP Domingo Tapia – ETA: 2015 Closer – B – Star studded Lucy rotation

9.      RHRP Jeurys Familia – ETA: 2012 – B - will open in Mets 2012 pen

10.  OF Cory Vaughn – ETA: 2014 – B - has now reached 20 home runs

11.  3B Aderlin Rodriguez – ETA: 2016 - powerful bat will get him to B-Mets

12. RHSP – Luis Mateo – ETA: 2016 – the old man will jump to St. Lucie

13.    CF Gilbert Gomez – ETA: 2015 –   will take time, St. Lucie bound

14.  RHRP Marcos Camarena – ETA: 2016 – blocked from starting in Lucy

15.      OF -  Vincente Lupo – ETA:  2017  - DSL sensation

(it’s important to note that 10 out of the 15 picks were NOT draft picks)

Mets: Juan Urbina, John Gant, Johan Santana, Kevin Mulvey

2-10-12 - http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/02/10/s2s-2012-team-prospect-lists-new-york-mets/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter   - Starting Pitcher #5: Juan Urbina. Urbina would’ve been young for a high school draftee in 2011, and he already has over 100 innings of US professional experience. He’s already shown good command and has a more developed three-pitch arsenal than most pitchers his age, headlined by a changeup that already flashes plus. He also has a projectable frame and could grow into more velocity. He’s a potential breakout player as he heads into full-season ball, and doesn’t even turn 19 until May 31. Grade: B

2-17-12 - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/2/17/2803960/2011-draft-sleepers-part-two-round-21 - John Gant, RHP, New York Mets: A 21st round pick from high school in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Gant is originally from New York and signed for a reasonable $185,000 bonus. Lanky at 6-4, 190, Gant has an average fastball that should/could get faster along with a curveball and changeup. Like Trent Higginbotham and Joey Maher (see below), he didn't cost an enormous sum to sign, but has considerable upside.

They all could laugh in those cautious moments before Johan Santana toed the rubber, and they all would rave after his 27-pitch bullpen session ended without incident. All optimistic declarations, of course, must be tempered by this knowledge: Santana still has to prove his surgically repaired left shoulder can handle the strain of pitching every five days. There is no guarantee this is possible. So a lively bullpen session, one which left his manager giddy, means only so much. The biggest tests for Santana occur today, the day after he throws, when he discovers how his arm feels and decides whether he can complete his usual work. http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2012/02/mets_johan_santana_watch_is_on.html

2nd Round (62nd overall): Kevin Mulvey, RHP – Villanova - Mulvey was considered a steal this late in the draft. Baseball America had said about him, “Mulvey doesn’t figure to last past the Phillies at No. 37 overall and could go before that”. He was a college workhorse, with good command three average to slightly above-average pitches, and could reach the majors quickly. For the 2006 and 2007 Mulvey looked like the real deal. He was already in Triple-A by the end of his first full season and looked like he was only a few months away from contributing at the big league level. The Mets sold high on Mulvey and used him as a piece in the Johan Santana deal that summer. http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/02/grading-the-omar-regime-the-2006-draft.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=grading-the-omar-regime-the-2006-draft