Ten Things I'm Thinking About The Mets

1. I would rather have Fareed Zakaria be my closer than to ever see Angel Pagan bunt again, with Jose Reyes on first base, and no outs.



2. I think having Jenrry Mejia pitch the pen in Queens this year actually has helped him develop as a starter. He had little control before this and his whole handle was his velocity on one pitch. Now, he seems to be concentrating more, inning by inning, and there is definitely some additional movement on his fastball.



3. By my count, 17 of today’s roster is the future of the 2011 team. You have five infielders (Davis, Tejada, Reyes, Wright, Thole), four outfielders, (Pagan, Beltran, Martinez, Bay), four starters (Santana, Dickey, Pelfrey, Niese), and four relievers (K-Rod, Takahashi, Acosta, Parnell). Add to that Mejia and Murphy, and you have six openings… a catcher… two utility players… and three more relief pitchers. You be the judge whether this is enough talent to win a pennant.

4. I think Mets fans have seen a tremendous amount of prospects promoted in the past few years, but that just might be done until 2013. There’s very little ready after a Mejia promotion, and the only other kids I can see getting a chance in Queens next season would be Dillon Gee in the pen and Kirk Nieuwenhuis as a utlility outfielder.



5. The Mets high-level rotational pitchers have almost uniformly not panned out. Dylan Owens and Eric Niesen are already in the pen. Jeuryrs Familia, Robert Carson, and Brad Holt have all taken a step back. Kyle Allen, Chris Schwinden, and Eric Beaulac have all struggled at new levels. Only projectable MLB SP currently in system is Mejia.

6. You’re going to start hearing the name Jordany Valdespin more often. Anyone that has scouted him says he’s the highest ceiling they have seen from a Mets infielder since  Reyes. The problem is you will also hear more about him because he’s a royal pain in the ass. He already has been suspended by the manager last year in Savannah, followed by Fonzie suspending him at St. Lucie. Valdespin got promoted to Binghamton yesterday, which may be a combination of recognized talent and a desire to not have him around anymore. Potentially could make Lastings Milledge look like a choir boy.



7. The Mets do not have one single developed relief pitcher in their system. Sure, there are some kids at the lower levels that are impressing us, but we’ve fell for the before. Pitchers like Carlos Muniz, Eddie Kunz, and Roy Merritt have all digressed. Closest think to a major league pitcher would be either Jose De La Torre, or Edgar Ramirez.

8. So far, the 2010 draft picks are producing a tremendous amount more than the motley 2009 crew. One exception to this would be OF Darrell Ceciliani, who’s easily been the best player this year in the NY-Penn League. There’s little pop here, but he’s only 20-years old and could be one of those community college steals that come around once in awhile.

9. The Mets will begin to move some of their secondary level prospects to other positions in winter ball this year. Don’t be surprised if Wilmer Flores doesn’t start playing in the outfield while Reese Havens plays exclusively at second. Most of the Mets brass drools over Havens’ talent, but bristle at his propensity to getting injured. He also heals slower than F-Mart. The Mets have quietly shut him down for the rest of this season.



10. Don’t expect the Mets to go after much in free agency. Any attempt to sign Carl Crawford depends a lot on what F-Mart does in Queens for the rest of the season.