The Mack Report – AFL, Stocking Teams in 2012 – Prospects #21-25

The Mack Report – AFL, Stocking Teams in 2012 – Prospects #21-25



AFL: - SB Leaders: Ben Revere 11; Jeremy Moore 8; Adron Chambers 8; Eric Farris 7; Jordany Valdespin 7; Trayvon Robinson 6; A J Pollock 6


Hired: Scouts Roy Smith and Jim D’Aloia from Toronto.


We continue building our minor league teams by going down “The Keepers” list, assigning those 100+ players to the current level team they should be playing in 2011, based on where we would want them to be in 2012.


Here’s prospect # 21-25:

21. LF – Vincente Lupo – 17-yrs. old - Lupo is a 16-year old signee out of Venezuela… played in the World Youth Championship in Taiwan… plus-plus raw power, good bat speed, and excellent strength. Plays left field. Last year, I would have told you that the Mets would probably ship him off to the GCL Mets next spring, but we have no idea how the new guys are going to operate with 16-year olds. My guess at this point”

2011: DSL Mets

2012: Kingsport

22. 3B – Elvis Sanchez – 17-yrs.old - Sanchez is a 16-year old Dominican that was signed last month by the Mets. He’s 6-2, 195, Baseball America says he has a plus, plus bat, and is known for his power and arm strength, That’s good enough for me. Like Lupo, my guess is he’ll play one year for the DSL Mets.
2011: DSL Mets
2012: Brooklyn

23. SP – Domingo Tapia – 19/yrs. old – The Mets don’t usually send someone from the DSL team to the States in the middle of the season, but Tapia was the exception in 2010. The 6-4 righty went 4-3, 3.45, in 10 starts for DSL, followed by 0-1, 3.09, in three starts for the GCL Mets. The conservative thing to do would be to return him to the GCL team in 2011, but, this isn’t a 16-year old. Watch for him to hop the plane to Coney Island.

2011: Brooklyn

2012: St. Lucie
 Notes on Tapia:



9-15-10: - GULF COAST METS (R) OF THE GULF COAST LEAGUE: DOMINGO TAPIA (RHP) - Height: 6-4 Weight: 186 Bats: Right Throws: Right - Born: 12/16/91 Resides: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - Obtained: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2008 - Signing Scout: Rafael Perez, Ismael Cruz, Jose Rosario - Righthanded pitcher Domingo Tapia went 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 10 games, all starts, allowing 25 runs, 18 earned, and 49 hits over 47.0 innings while walking 10 and striking out 29. The 18-year-old hurler did not allow more than two earned runs over his final seven starts of the season, pitching to a 1.96 ERA (eight earned runs / 36.2 innings) over this span dating to July 15th.

24. RP- Brant Rustich -  I have had Rustich basically off the radar this past year because it looked like he just couldn't find the magic the Mets though he had when they drafted him.

Well, it turned out that he needed surgery , which I wrote about in October:

10-10: - I talked to Brant Rustich, who let me know that he is scheduled for TOS surgery on October 28th, in Dallas, Texas. As you know, Brant has had two years of bad road regarding hand and arm problems, which resulted in his diagnosis of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, defined as a compression of nerves and artery in the thoracic outlet which is above the first rib and collarbone. Doctors feel he will be 100% recover by the beginning of the 2011 season, and, with a little luck coming my way, maybe they’ll rehab him back in Savannah. To refresh, Rustich was a 2nd-round beast (6-6, 220) with three above-average pitches in his 93-96 mph fastball, power slider (at times touching 87 mph) and split-finger fastball. He wants you all to know that he’s thrilled that there will finally be an end to his pain and he looks forward to pitching next year at whatever level the Mets place him.

I'm going to give the big guy the benefit of doubt here and base this ranking on a healthy outcome. Rustich could some day be a fixture in the Mets pen.


2011:  Binghamton's pen, after extended cam, and rehab time
2012:  Queens

25. OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis


Recent notes on the Captain:



4-28-10: - Kirk Nieuwenhuis – OF – AA – Binghamton – Kirk is off to another of his typical productive years: .313.360/.475/.835. I happen to think that he’s the top Mets outfield prospect and will get to Queens ahead of Fernando “Day-To-Day” Martinez, who I understand is once again dinged up.



5-22-10: - OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Most of the outfield prospect press has fallen on Fernando Martinez; however, Nieuwenhuis has very quietly become the top Mets prospect for that position. Kirk hit 16-HR and 71-RBI for St. Lucie last year and is hitting .301/.337/.470/.807 so far this season for Binghamton. He needs to learn some plate discipline (only 8-BB this season), but as of right now, he’s on top of the list to become a future Mets center fielder. Keep an eye on this kid. Big trade bait.



5-27-10 - Stock up: Nieuwenhuis has quietly been putting together a decent year in AA, but there just wasn’t that home run pop we got used to last season at St. Lucie. Well, that’s not true anymore. Kirk hit #7 of the young year last night, which is his third in the past five games. His slugging percentage is up to .500 and his OPS is .837. It will be interesting to see what the Mets do with him next season. They gave him a taste over Fernando Martinez at ST and I can speak firsthand about how much he enjoyed being part of the Mets locker room with the Queens boys. Martinez will obviously not be ready to play centerfield at Citi Field, but Nieuwenhuis is earning playing CF in Buffalo, over F-Mart. As I said, interesting decision coming up for the Mets.

6-11-10: - CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his 9th home run of the season in the opening game of a twin bill Thursday. Don’t look for him to be heading to Buffalo any time soon. Pedro Feliciano will be returning there as soon as Carlos Beltran is activated. Still, Captain Kirk is on pace for a 20+ HR season at AA.

7-3-10: - Nieuwenhuis continues to strengthen up after his short stint on the disabled list. He hit his 11th home run of the season in the first game of a Friday night doubleheader and it’s interesting that the team management continues to have him lead off. Right now, he is the top Mets’ outfield prospect in the system.



7-7-10: - Binghamton’s Kirk Nieuwenhuis is on fire… he led off Wednesday’s game with a double for the third game in a row and followed that with another double in his second at bat. At that point in the game he had nine doubles, a home run, and four singles in his last 20 at-bats.

2011:  Centerfield in Buffalo
2012:  The Mets bench or fulltime on another team


So… here’s what our rosters look like so far for the 2011 season, based on 2012 need:



Buffalo: Rotation: (1) - SP Jenrry Mejia

Relievers: (1) – Manny Alvarez

Catchers: (0) -
Infielders: (3) – 2B Josh Satin, SS Reese Havens, Jordany Valdespin
Outfielders: (2) – Fernando Martinez, Kirk Nieuwenhuis


Binghamton: Rotation: (1) – Jeurys Familia
Relievers: (2) – Nick Carr, Brant Rustich
Catchers: (0) -
Infielders (1) – 3B, Wilmer Flores
Outfielders (0) -


St. Lucie: Rotation (2) – Matt Harvey, Yohan Almonte
Relievers (1) – Eric Goeddel
Catchers (0) –
Infielders (0) –
Outfielders (1) – Cesar Puello

Savannah: Rotation: (1) – Greg Peavey
Relievers: (0) –
Catchers: (0) -
Infielders: (1) – 3B Aderlin Rodriquez
Outfielders: (2) – Darrell Ceciliani, Javier Rodriguez