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| Photo by Michael G. Baron |
Niese was voted Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year for two straight years. The Mets drafted him in the 7th round in 2005, and Niese got his feet wet at the GCL Mets, going 1-0 in 7 games, posting a 3.65 ERA and throwing 24 Ks in 24.2 IP.
Scouting report at the time: This then-19 year old lefty shows promise, but he's not a fastball pitcher and a portrait of a young Tom Glavine comes to mind. He has an excellent curve, and needs to work on the placement of his fastball and change before he can be declared a major league prospect. 2006 started strong at Low-A, where he posted a 3.93 ERA, but faded by the end of the year at St. Lucie (High-A), where his ERA went up to 4.50. Niese averaged more than a strikeout per inning thanks to his 88-91 mph fastball, which Mets officials feel will go higher as he matures. On the down side, his mechanics need refinement. He also consistently loses snap on his curveball.
OnDeck has Niese listed as the 18th Mets prospect. John Sickles pre-season rating of Niese was a C and was ranked the 19th Mets prospect. Possesses an 88-92 mph fastball that’s described as “sneaky fast.”
Gotham Baseball updated their Mets prospect list in August 2006 and Niese was ranked 6th. The Mets named Niese as co-MVP (along with Fernando Martinez) of the 2006 Hagerstown Suns (A) of the South Atlantic League. InsidePitch lists him as the 8th top Mets prospect.
In December 2006 Scout.com listed Niese as one of the top 10 Mets prospects going into 2007 and the 133rd best pitching prospect in all of baseball. Baseball Prospectus updated their top Mets prospect list in December 2006 and listed Niese as #6, with the tag of “average prospect”. John Sickles has him as the 5th top 2007 Mets prospect, with a B- rating, and the comment: “projectable lefty is a personal favorite”.
In Janaury 2007, Rotoworld ranked Niese as the 9th top Mets prospect in 2007, stating “he should be able to avoid a trip to the bullpen, but at least he does have a fallback after limiting left-handed hitters to a .317 slugging percentage last year. “
Niese is ranked high on the list of most strikeouts per batters and delivering the most ground balls per batters.
In February 2007, Scout.com ranked Niese as the 7th top Mets propect, his highest ranking to date.
In March 2007, ‘Met Heads” broke out their Top 6 Mets Pitching Prospects… Their #6 was: “Jon Niese rounds out the list at #6. Jon is another young pitcher in the Mets farm system. At age 19 Jon had a solid season in A ball. In 123 innings he had a 9.6 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 3.93 ERA, 3.11 to mature and improve in the minor leagues.”
Niese played the entire 2007 season for St. Lucie and posted stats of 11-7, 4.29, 1.35 in 27 starts. He also had 110 Ks in 134.1 IP.
In September 2007, Baseball America ranked Niese the 21st best Florida State League pitcher in “strikeout percentage”, 24th in ‘groundout-to-flyout ratio, 5th in “top command”, and 5th in “big seasons”.
In November 2007, both BA and Scouts.com named Niese as the 8th top Mets prospect.
In December, Jonathan Mayo/MLB.com wrote:
To be fair, he was probably on the radar after leading the organization in strikeouts in 2006, his first full season, but he jumped on it a little more firmly with in 2007. His overall numbers may not look all that exciting -- a 4.29 ERA and .285 opponents' batting average -- but it's how he responded to his struggles that was impressive. After a first half that saw the then-21-year-old post a 5.31 ERA, Niese improved to 3.52 in the second half -- and 2.62 in six August starts.
In late January 2007, Baseball America ranked Niese as the 8th overall Mets prospect.
In February 2008, Baseball Prospectus named Niese a 3-star prospect and the #2 Mets prospect overall.
Also in February 2008, Rotoworld ranked Niese as the #5 Mets prospect, saying:
Niese struggled initially in the Florida State League, but he finished up with a 3.52 ERA and a 66/16 K/BB ratio in 76 2/3 innings after the All-Star break. His command has already come a long way, and improved conditioning allowed him to maintain his stamina deep into the season. It's important that Niese keep hitting his spots with his 88-90 mph fastball, as his big curve isn't likely to result in as many strikeouts at higher levels. He also needs to perfect his changeup. A future as a No. 4 starter could be possible.
ProjectProspect also came out, in February 2008, with their revised Top 150 Prospect List, and Niese made his first national prospect list, coming in at #142, adding: “substantial BB% improvement from '06 to '07, though he couldn't sustain K%; No. 4-5?”.
In March 2008, BA wrote an article on the top 10 prospects to watch out for in 2008:
Jonathan Niese, LHP - Niese showed up to Spring Training a year ago about 30 pounds overweight and paid the price for much of the season in St. Lucie as he tried to get in shape and then readjust to his body. He took better care of himself as the season wore on and had the results to show for it (a 2.62 ERA in six August starts). Now taking conditioning and, more importantly, nutrition seriously, Niese was in tip-top shape this spring and has looked very sharp. He's got a very smooth delivery and repeats his mechanics well. That enables him to throw his fastball, changeup and his best pitch, a 12-to-6 curve, for strikes at any point in the count. With the lesson learned, Niese could step up and help fill the void left by the departures of Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. He'll begin the year in Binghamton's rotation.
In June 2008, BA did a post-draft adjustment of their top 10 Mets prospects and Niese was ranked #4, with the comments: “4. Jon Niese, lhp Quietly having success in Double-A at age 21, he owns three solid pitches. “
In late July, Rotoworld’s came out with their mid-season adjusted Top 150 Prospect List and Niese was ranked 98th , with a June 2009 ETA.
In late July 2008, ProjectProspect.com updated their top 10 Mets prospect list and he was ranked #4
ScoutingBook updated their Top 200 2009 Prospect List in late July 2008:
Up to #129 - Jon Niese - A wiry left-hander with a deadly curve, Jon Niese is a dark-horse pitching prospect who has a shot at the Mets rotation in 2009. A graduate of the same high school as Chad Billingsley, Niese will start 2008 at AA, but he has the maturity and guile to move up quickly. He has a nice fastball and a heavy sinker, but he needs another year or two to refine his other pitches. If he can do that, he might be a front-of-rotation starter, though he could help out in the bullpen or back-end long before that.
Niese will have to be added to the 40-man roster by 11-20-09, or he will become eligible for the 2010 Rule V draft.
Jon was a late call-up by the Mets in 2008 after posting a combined 11-8,3.13 record in Binghamton and New Orleans.
Niese won the 2008 Sterling Award as the the top Met pitcher in the system.
February 2009:
Sporting News Top 50 baseball prospects: - #43. Jonathon Niese, SP, New York Mets. The Mets' rotation could have at least one open slot and Niese is the best internal candidate for the job. While he's not overpowering, Niese has three effective pitches and is learning how to mix his offerings and set up hitters.
February 2009:
From Fanhouse:
Jon Niese, LHP: With the Mets' rotation seemingly set, Niese will most likely start the season at Triple-A Buffalo, but if Tim Redding struggles, or if John Maine's injury woes from last season continue, Niese will be the guy to fill in. His cup of coffee with the Mets last season should prove to be beneficial to pitcher and team alike. He had three starts in September of '08, which included two stinkers wrapped around an impressive eight inning gem in a 5-0 win against Atlanta. What you can expect from Niese is a guy who will rely on his curveball rather than his fastball, and a guy who has a competitive streak a mile long. His issue going forward will be keeping his pitch counts down. In his two starts which only lasted into the fourth inning, he approached the 80-pitch mark.
February 2009:
Toby Hyde wrote: An organizational favorite, Niese combines near-MLB readiness with the potential to be a rotation regular for a winning team. Niese’s best offering is a plus, big looping curveball. His fastball has average velocity from a lefty, in the 89-91 range, although it can straighten out at times. In the first inning, Niese will crank up the velocity a little more, but it dropped as he worked deeper into starts in 2008. Niese’s changeup is a distant third in his arsenal. Niese made three big league starts in 2008, in his first and final starts, he yielded five and six runs respectively in three innings each. In between, he shut out the Braves for eight innings on September 13th. In his one good start, Gameday counted Niese as throwing a mere four changeups among his 116 pitches. Three were balls and one resulted in a base hit. With the help of former AA pitching coach Ricky Bones, Niese claimed he added a cutter to his arsenal to attack righties. Niese deserves credit for getting serious about his conditioning recently, which allowed him to make 32 starts across three levels in 2008. 2008: Niese conquered AA on his way to AAA and then the big leagues when the Mets were searching for a few good starts in September. In his final ten starts at AA, Niese put together a 2.64 ERA over 64.2 innings with 60 strikeouts against just 21 walks. Promoted to AAA on July 30th, Niese allowed two runs or fewer in five of his seven starts. Niese’s three big league starts included two three-inning outings and a brilliant eight-inning blanking of the Braves. Projected 2009 Start: The Mets have brought lots of competition to Spring Training for the fifth starter’s job and it appears as though Jon Niese is headed to Buffalo for a little more seasoning to begin 2009. Given the up-and-down nature of his brief big league time in 2008, this is reasonable enough.
In March 2009, Rotoworld ranked the Mets Top 10 Prospect:
3. Jon Niese - LHP - DOB: 10/27/86 - ETA: June 2009
6-7, 3.04 ERA, 118 H, 112/44 K/BB in 124 1/3 IP (AA Binghamton)
5-1, 3.40 ERA, 34 H, 32/14 K/BB in 39 2/3 IP (AAA New Orleans)
1-1, 7.07 ERA, 20 H, 11/8 K/BB in 14 IP (NL New York)
Niese's ceiling seems higher than it did a year ago, as his curve has remained a strikeout pitch at higher levels and he's hitting 91-92 mph on the gun more often than before. His changeup still needs work, but he does pretty well against right-handed hitters anyway. It looked like the Mets were going to commit to him at the back of the rotation this season, but they brought in three veterans after Jan. 1, suggesting that he will return to the minors for a couple of months. He looks like a future No. 3.
Project Prospect updated their top 200 prospect list in March 2009:
#74 Jon Niese LHP Good combo of GB% (52), K% (21.5), BB% (8.4) in AA; Ks declined 2.3% in AAA (4.42 FIP)
New York Mets Top 5 - by Brett Sullivan - March 26, 2009
Jon Niese – Niese showed breakout potential in 2007 when he posted a 3.41 FIP and 19.1 K% in High-A as a 20-year-old. And breakout is what Niese did in 2008, as he climbed two minor league levels and wound up getting 14.0 major league innings to boot. The 6-foot-3 lefthander has shown that he could eventually be a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter in the majors. Niese began 2008 in Double-A where he was one of the Eastern League’s best (8.4 BB%, 21.5 K%, 52 GB% 3.08 FIP, 521 TBF). He moved to Triple-A late in the season where his numbers took a slight hit (19.2 K%, 4.42 FIP) -- identical walk rate. He had a 5.11 FIP in the majors (69 TBF). Niese will be 22 for most of the 2009 season. Even if he doesn’t crack the Mets rotation before the All-Star Break, he is likely to get more than a handful of starts prior to the end of the year.
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