Mack's Mets: Top 25 Prospects

Showing posts with label Top 25 Prospects. Show all posts

11/26/13

Updated Mack's Mets Top 25 Prospect List - 11/26/2013

Good Morning fellow readers. We have updated our prospect rankings on the right hand side of our website and some noticeable moves have been made.

A) Graduations

Matt den Dekker has graduated off the list due to age. It is very tough to claim that a player is still a prospect when he turns 27 this upcoming season. This coupled with the fact that he is now part of this team's planned roster right now as the 4th OF/defensive replacement led us to remove him.
Travis d'Arnaud has graduated off the list due to his promotion to a starting spot on the team.
Wilmer Flores has also graduated due to his promotion however he reserves the right to be re-added if the team sends him to AAA to start the 2014 season.

B) Drops

Aderlin Rodriguez's inability to stay healthy and the fact that he's been stuck in either Savannah or St. Lucie for 4 seasons now has lost him his spot on the list. It also doesn't help that the emergence of a new power hitter within the system has passed him in terms of development.
Vicente Lupo did not live up to the hype that followed him from the Dominican Summer Leagues. He hit only .220 and struck out in almost 50% of his ABs. He's young though and will certainly get another chance to crack the list.
Last year's second round pick Ivan Wilson has also lost his spot after a poor season for the GCL Mets. However even though he hit only .219 with 65 K's he did steal 13 bags. His speed will get him back in at some point as well.

C) Biggest Movers

Kevin Plawecki moved up 5 spots from #9 to #4. His strong performances in both Savannah and St. Lucie have put him in line to begin 2014 in Binghamton and have caused some in the organization to question whether or not he has a higher ceiling than Travis d'Arnaud.
Gabriel Ynoa also moved up 5 spots from #11 to #6. In 22 starts with Savannah, Ynoa went 15-4 with a 2.72 ERA and lead the South Atlantic League in wins and lowest walk rate amongst qualified starters. He threw a lot of innings last year so we may see an aggressive assignment to Binghamton.
Stephen Matz is the 3rd guy to gain 5 spots moving from #12 to #7. While there has never been a question of talent in his left arm, many wondered if he would ever be healthy. Well he made it through 2013 unscathed and managed to sling a 2.62 ERA while doing it. Combine that with an elite 10.2 K/9 rate from the left side and you have yourself a very solid pitcher.
Rainy Lara makes it a trio of arms making 5 spot moves from #16 to #11. Everything Ynoa did Lara also achieved. Only difference is Lara did it with a much healthier 9.1 K/9 rate and even received a promotion to St. Lucie along the way.
Unfortunately there is bad news. Domingo Tapia finds himself falling 6 spots from #13 to #19. Not only was he wildly ineffective to begin the year but the major flaw that find with him has not been resolved yet. A guy who throws 100 mph with a 95 mph slider should have a K/9 rate well above 10.0 and yet he's possesses only and average 7.9 K/9 rate.

D) Additions

Dilson Herrera was one of Pittsburgh's Top 15 prospects and he looked good in his 7 games with Savannah so lets start him at #15 and see where how he performs in St. Lucie before I make a serious assessment.
Dustin Lawley earns his way onto the list at #16 after smashing 25 HRs for Port St. Lucie and even skipping Binghamton for 6 games in Las Vegas. I think he'll begin the year with Binghamton though which will be a good indicator for whether his power is for real or not.
Juan Centeno (#21) and Jeff Walters (#22) both find themselves at the back end of the list after excellent respective seasons in Las Vegas and Binghamton. Both are viable options to compete for a 25 roster spot during spring training.
Lastly the duo of Robert Whalen (#24) and Chris Flexen (#25) round out the Top 25 thanks to excellent performances in Kingsport. They were #3 and #6 respectively in ERA rankings in the Appalachian league and Baseball America even ranked Whalen as the holder of the best curveball in the minor league organization.

8/19/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #1 RHP Noah Syndergaard

Now that the draft is over, Mack’s Mets will be reviewing the performances of our organizational Top 25 prospects and re-ranking them based on their individual performances, perceived place on the depth chart, and recent draft signings.

Look to the top of our page to find the current rankings that we have done already

Mack’s Mets top organizational prospect is……

#1 RHP Noah Syndergaard (LR: #3)
Bats: L Throws: R
Height: 6' 6″ Weight: 240 lb
Acquired: from Toronto Blue Jays via Trade w/Travis d'Arnaud, John Buck, and Wuilmer Becerra for R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas

2013: (A+/AA) 9-3, 2.43 ERA, 2.0 BB/9, 10.0 K/9, 1.081 WHIP
2012: (A) 8-5, 2.60 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 10.6 K/9, 1.080 WHIP
2011: (R/SS-A/A) 5-2, 1.83 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 10.4 K/9, 1.085 WHIP
2010: (R) 0-1, 2.70 ERA, 4.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.125 WHIP

That R.A. Dickey trade is looking better and better each day. d'Arnaud is now in the majors, Buck has been a decent contributor this season and will now become d'Arnaud's mentor, Becerra has looked good in Rookie League Ball, and last but certainly not least Syndergaard has been flat out dominant in every start he has made in 2013.

Our newly anointed #1 prospect has something that Harvey and Wheeler can never possess that gives him a distinct advantage over the competition, SIZE. At 6' 6", 240 lbs, he has 2 inches on both Harvey and Wheeler, he also weighs 20 lbs heavier than Harvey and 55 lbs heavier than Wheeler. His size, strength, and intimidating Norse frame will prove extremely durable over the course of a season and a career. Having seen him in person in Binghamton, he is basically all legs. This allows him to get a strong push off the mound and to a batter the ball is coming towards you from a distance of perhaps 53' rather than the actual length of 60'. That lesser amount gives the batter less reaction time to respond to a breaking ball or an exploding fastball thus creating weak contact. There's a reason he's never been above a 2.70 ERA yet in his minor league career.

As if the size wasn't tough enough for hitters, Thor's pitching repertoire is deadly as well. He has a fastball that sits between 96-99 MPH and if he takes a bit off it becomes a heavy 94-96 MPH sinker for when he needs a DP. He also has a plus curveball that has actually gotten better according to scouting reports out of Binghamton and a change-up that, even though could be average at best in terms of movement, could be deadly against LHB looking to keep up with his fastball.

Noah earned a mid-season promotion to AA Binghamton and has only gone 6-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 64 K's in 51 innings.....No Big Deal. He's likely earned a promotion to AAA next season which bumps his anticipated debut from September 2014 to July in order to avoid Super 2 status. Guys, this rotation is going to be excited for many years to come and as good as Harvey is, Syndergaard could be just as good, dare i say, even better. Makes me drool just thinking about it.

8/13/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #2 C Travis d'Arnaud

#2 C Travis d'Arnaud (LR:#2)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 195 lb
Acquired: from Toronto Blue Jays via Trade w/Noah Syndergaard, John Buck, and Wuilmer Becerra for R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas

2013: (AAA) .296/.412/.541, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 0 SB (0%), 20 BB, 20 K
2012: (AAA) .333/.380/.595, 16 HR, 52 RBI, 1 SB (50%), 19 BB, 59 K
2011: (AA) .311/.371/.542, 21 HR, 78 RBI, 4 SB (67%), 33 BB, 100 K
2010: (A+) .259/.315/.411, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 3 SB (75%), 20 BB, 63 K
2009: (A) .255/.319/.419, 13 HR, 71 RBI, 8 SB (67%), 41 BB, 75 K

The long awaited debut of Travis d'Arnaud may finally be upon us. Mets fans around the country are on #BabyBuckWatch as it will not only signal the beginning of fatherhood for Buck, but also the beginning of what is hoped to be a long and productive career for d'Arnaud. Travis is one of the few premier catching prospects in the MLB and is widely considered the 2nd best catching prospect in all of baseball being only behind Seattle's Mike Zunino.

d'Arnaud brings excellent hitting abilities and above average power to an organization that has been starving for C production since Mike Piazza left. He is also widely regarded as an above average and athletic defender that has the ability to block balls in the dirt extremely well and he possesses a strong arm. His two main problems so far have been A) his throwing accuracy/footwork when popping up to make a throw, and B) his injury history. d'Arnaud has missed time in 2010 with lower back problems, 2012 with a torn PCL, and in 2013 with a broken foot and anybody who has caught before can tell you that its not for the faint of heart and your ALWAYS playing hurt.

While his injury history is troublesome when it comes to career longevity, he has been MLB ready for quite some time now. His gaudy power numbers should slot in perfectly in the middle of the line-up especially if surrounded by a healthy David Wright, a normal Ike Davis, and .280-.300 hitters in Daniel Murphy and Wilmer Flores. Enjoy watching him when he comes up within the next 3-5 days.

8/12/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #3 IF Wilmer Flores

#3 IF Wilmer Flores (LR:#4)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 3" Weight: 190 lb
Acquired: 2007 International Signing, Venezuela

2013: (AAA) .321/.357/.531, 15 HR, 86 RBI, 1 SB (25%), 25 BB, 63 K
2012: (A+/AA) .300/.349/.479, 18 HR, 75 RBI, 3 SB (60%), 38 BB, 60 K
2011: (A+) .269/.309/.380, 9 HR, 81 RBI, 2 SB (50%), 27 BB, 68 K
2010: (A/A+) .289/.333/.424, 11 HR, 84 RBI, 4 SB (44%), 32 BB, 77 K
2009: (A) .264/.305/.332, 3 HR, 36 RBI, 3 SB (50%), 22 BB, 72 K

Hey would you look at that! One of Omar Minaya's bonus babies has actually reached the majors! Flores has been with the Mets organization for what seems like forever as he entered his 6th season with the club. There has never been any doubts about his ability to hit as he was usually at the tops of the RBI Leaders list at each level he played at. His K rate has also never been above 13.6% in the minors and was at one point as low as 10.9%. He's also expected to add more power once he fills out his 6' 3" frame with another 10-15 pounds of muscle. Flores could very well become a 20-25 HR, 100 RBI threat that the organization has so desperately needed.

On the flip side the knock on Flores has always been his defense. Flores was naturally a 3B but organizational needs slotted him in at SS to begin his career where, although showing off an above average arm, he struggled mightly committing 80 errors over the course of 3 1/2 minor league seasons. In 2012 the club then moved him back to his natural position but began spotting him at 2B in another attempt to convert him into a position of need. While his play at 3B was uninspiring (10 errors in 87 games), he showed that he possibly could handle 2B as he only committed 1 error in his 27 games there. The organization finally moved him there full time this season and he's been a below average defender, but holding his own to a point where his bat can make up the deficiencies.

This is Flores last time on the prospect list as he earned a call-up to the big league club last week to replace the injured David Wright at 3B. He had a huge first week with the club batting .261 with a HR, 9 RBI's, and only 1 K. This kid definitely has the bat to stay in the big leagues.....now its all about finding him a position.

8/8/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #4 RHP Rafael Quezada Montero

#4 RHP Rafael Quezada Montero (LR: #6)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 0″ Weight: 170 lb
Acquired: 2011 international signing, Dominican Republic

2013: (AA/AAA) 10-6, 3.10 ERA, 2.1 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.139 WHIP
2012: (A/A+) 11-5, 2.36 ERA, 1.4 BB/9, 8.1 K/9, 0.943 WHIP
2011: (DSL/R/SS-A) 5-4, 2.15 ERA, 1.6 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 0.958 WHIP

The "Quezada" has had one of the more impressive rises in farm system I have seen in a long time. It was only 30 months when he was pitching in the Dominican Summer League, fresh off a newly signed contract with the Mets, and now he's only a few weeks away from possibly being called up to the big league club. His calling card has always been combining the impeccable control of his 92-94 fastball with a good change-up and a usable slider and he has ridden that bus all the way to Las Vegas this season never seeing his BB rates spike.

He has dominated every level of the minor league system up until now but is have a little more difficulty with Pacific Coast League hitters. However, as we have said with previous AAA pitchers on this list, the PCL is a very difficult place to pitch. The lack of humidity screws with the grip on your breaking pitches (thus reducing K/9 and increasing BB/9) and the thin air increases offense overall. Montero has suffered a bit from this, but he is still maintaining a 3.88 ERA and has actually held opponents to a .232 batting average since the All-Star.

Now that being said Montero will not be Rule 5 eligible this off-season so the club is not inclined to use a 40 man roster spot on him just yet. In addition, Las Vegas is only 1 GB 1st place in the PCL Pacific South so they are deep in the playoff hunt which will cause prospects to stay down past the September 1st roster expansion. In the end, I still believe Montero only has a ceiling of a #3 pitcher; he's just not ace caliber without a wipeout breaking pitch. However, he is surely someone I can see slotting into the Mets rotation as a #4 guy in late 2014 as an innings eater who will give you 7 quality innings every time out and give the team an opportunity to win.

As a side note, I feel Montero's future goes hand in hand with Mejia's. Mejia has been stellar since being called up and now looks like he's destined to be the #4 guy in the future All-Star caliber rotation behind Harvey, Wheeler, and Syndergaard. If Mejia continues to show that he's put his injury history behind him and can hold down his spot in the rotation, Montero is going to become a highly attractable trade piece that can be packaged to get a guy like Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Giancarlo Stanton, Xander Bogaerts, etc. Keep your eyes and ears open people. If the organization starts hyping him up over the winter there is an underlying reason why.

8/7/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #5 OF Cesar Puello

#5 OF Cesar Puello (LR:#23)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 195 lb
Acquired: 2007 International Signing, Dominican Republic

2013: (AA) .328/.405/.550, 16 HR, 73 RBI, 24 SB (77%), 28 BB, 82 K
2012: (A+) .260/.328/.423, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 19 SB (90%), 7 BB, 58 K
2011: (A+) .259/.313/.397, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 19 SB (68%), 18 BB, 103 K
2010: (A) .292/.375/.359, 1 HR, 34 RBI, 45 SB (82%), 32 BB, 82 K
2009: (R) .296/.373/.423, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 15 SB (75%), 10 BB, 51 K

Many of us had left Cesar Puello for dead before this season began. Scouts all around baseball felt that, despite his excellent tools, his hitting abilities were good but not good enough to absorb a 23% K rate with a 3% BB rate. Well we were all proven wrong. Puello has resurrected his prospect status in Binghamton blasting a career high 16 HR and drawing career highs in BB rate (7.5%) as well as Isolated Power (.222). Puello's season is now over with the issuance of a 50 game suspension for his involved in BioGenesis last season, but the results, post PED's mind you, are more than enough to get re-excited about him again.

An often overlooked quality when writers talk about On Base Percentages, is the ability to induce HBP's. Yes folks, this is a tool and a quality tool at that. Puello's 7.5% BB rate may not look impressive but when you add in his 16 HBP's this season that rate jumps up to a much more appealing 11.7%. For those of you who believe that its just luck, Puello's has been hit a total of 94 times in just under 2,000 PA's (4.7%) which is actually almost equal to his amount of BBs (100 or 5%). We'll see Puello in Spring Training next season but he'll most likely be assigned to Las Vegas to continue working on his plate vision.

7/31/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #6 LHP Jack Leathersich

#6 LHP Jack Leathersich (LR: #14)
Bats: R Throws: L
Height: 5' 11″ Weight: 205 lb
Acquired: 2011 Rule 5 Draft, 5th round, University of Massasschusetts- Lowell

2013: (AA/AAA) 4-0, 2.83 ERA, 6.0 BB/9, 15.9 K/9, 1.385 WHIP
2012: (A/A+) 2-6, 3.00 ERA, 4.0 BB/9, 14.1 K/9, 1.153 WHIP
2011: (SS-A) 0-0, 0.71 ERA, 2.1 BB/9, 18.5 K/9, 0.711 WHIP

The Leather Express just keeps on rolling. After starting the year in Binghamton and absolutely dominating the Eastern League to the tune of a 1.53 ERA, 16.9 K/9 rate, and a 5.8 H/9 rate, The "Leather Rocket" earned a promotion to the extremely tough AAA Pacific Coast League. His basic stats have not looked as good since his promotion with a 4.91 ERA but in this League you really need to read in depth on the peripherals in order to get the sense of a player's ACTUAL performance.

His BB/9 rate has jumped from career norms of around 4.5 to an astounding 7.9 per 9 innings. But as Zack Wheeler eluded to in his interview with John Harper of the New York Daily News, the lack of humidity makes it extremely tough to grip baseballs which in turn leads to wild control bouts which will adversely effect all other pitching statistics. A lengthy adjustment period is usually needed in order to combat this issue and 18.1 innings is surely not enough time. For now we'll just have to assume that Leathersich will be able to bring that rate back to career norm levels.

A very encouraging sign however is the fact that his K/9 rate is still sitting at an unbelievable 14.2 K/9 innings in Vegas. Some of you here know that when it comes to relief pitchers, I want to see K's, and Leather fits the bill to a tee. His combination of a motion that causes the baseball to be difficult to pick up out of his hands and good fastball/slider movement gives him a ceiling of a shutdown 8th inning reliever who will put up sub 2.00 ERA's each season. Frankly, I'm still not convinced that he wouldn't make a successful closer despite only average velocity for a LHP. What I do know is that, like DeGrom, it's only a matter of weeks before Leathersich is pitching in Queens with the only difference being I think Leathersich has a long Mets career in front of him.

7/30/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #7 RHP Jacob DeGrom

#7 RHP Jacob DeGrom (LR: #13)
Bats: L Throws: R
Height: 6′ 4″ Weight: 185 lb
Acquired: 2010 Rule 5 Draft, 9th round, Stetson University

2013: (A+/AA/AAA) 6-6, 4.44 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 1.461 WHIP
2012: (A/A+) 9-3, 2.43 ERA, 1.6 BB/9, 7.8 K/9, 0.997 WHIP
2011: Tommy John Surgery
2010: (R) 1-1, 5.19 ERA, 2.1 BB/9, 7.6 K/9, 1.577 WHIP

Here we all though we were heavily drinking the Kool-Aid when we ranked DeGrom 13th in our last prospect listing. Turns out not only were we right, but we obviously weren't drinking enough! DeGrom has sped through the middle levels of the organization making spots in St. Lucie and Binghamton before finally settling into Las Vegas. During his 10 starts for Binghamton, DeGrom wasn't great as he saw his K/9 rate drop by almost 3 and his BB rate double. However he did show flashes of potential like in his 5/27 start against the Portland Sea Dogs when he lasted 6 innings and struck out 9 while giving up only 2 earned.

Roster shortages in Las Vegas forced the Mets hand into offering DeGrom a promotion he seemingly wasn't ready for, but he took the opportunity to go on a 3 start good performance streak giving the Mets confidence that perhaps he could become a contributor in the near future. Lets begin to curbed our enthusiasm though as he still only has a ceiling of at best a #4 starter, but, at least his floor has been upgraded from AAA cannon fodder to serviceable middle reliever. That, combined with his near MLB readiness, earns him this spot on the prospect list. DeGrom is Rule 5 eligible this winter so look for the Mets to add him to the 40 man roster and call him up September 1st when roster expand.

7/29/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #8 RHP Michael Fulmer

#8 RHP Michael Fulmer (LR: #5)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6′ 3″ Weight: 200 lb
Acquired: 2011 Rule 5 Draft, 1st round supplemental, Deer Creek High School (Oklahoma)

2013: (A+) 0-2, 4.34 ERA, 3.9 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 1.339 WHIP
2012: (A) 7-6, 2.74 ERA, 3.2 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.200 WHIP
2011: (R) 0-1, 10.12 ERA, 6.8 BB/9, 16.9 K/9, 2.438 WHIP

I was really excited to see Fulmer pitch this season and was someone that I thought could breeze through the Florida State League and be in Binghamton by now. Unfortunately I was dissappointed when it was announced that Fulmer needed surgery to repair a torn meniscus but he is finally back now and has gotten back on the horse. His stats in the FSL are not ideal but he's probably still shaking the rust off so we'll give him some time before we jump our expectations back up. I do expect that he will repeat the FSL next season no matter what he does this year because of the lost development time, plus the fact that he is still only 20 years old.

Just as a refresher for those of you who have forgotten who Michael Fulmer is, he possesses a mid 90's fastball that has touched 97 at times and a very hard, sharp mid 80's slider that has the potential to be a plus plus major league offering. He also has a change-up but the pitch is currently far behind the development of his other two pitches and is only projected to be a back-pocket show me pitch at this time. Still the fastball-slider combo was good enough to dominate the South Atlantic League against batters 2-3 years his senior. He may have hit a bump in the road but his future is still very bright.

7/26/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #9 C Kevin Plawecki

Mack's Mets #9 organizational prospect is......

#9 C Kevin Plawecki (LR:#25)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 215 lb
Acquired: 2012 Rule 5 Draft, 1st Round Supplemental, Purdue University

2013: (A/A+) .317/.394/.473, 7 HR, 63 RBI, 1 SB (100%), 31 BB, 43 K
2012: (SS-A) .250/.345/.384, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 0 SB (0%), 25 BB, 24 K

This is an all blue-collar jump in the ranking. An organization that was so thin at the catching throughout the entire system suddenly has the number #2 catching prospect in baseball (d'Arnaud) and now a guy who is making a case to break into the Top 5. Plawecki, aka "the Pummeling Pole" on Amazin Avenue, has been outstanding this season. Sporting above .300 averages in both Savannah and St. Lucie, near or above .400 OBP%, and creating an ISO of .180 in the cavern that is Grayson Stadium. Forget the offensive stats for moment; an interview between Paul DePodesta and MILB.com shows that the Mets brass has been extremely pleased with both his offensive AND defensive developments in Savannah.

Enough that he earned himself a promotion to Port St. Lucie thus putting himself in line for a possible AA-Binghamton assignment in 2014. In fact scouts so far have only 2 knacks on Plawecki. A) "the SAL has been able to run on him," and B) "...his game-calling...The specific criticism is that pitchers and Plawecki have been falling into patterns that are too predictable." This shows me that he needs to continue working on his footwork and arm strength and the rest is just game planning and mental learning. These are very easy things to do. d'Arnaud is still our prime C prospect and possesses a long future for us but, in the off case that he flops, having Plawecki in the system gives us some wonderful re-assurance about the position in the future.

7/25/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #10 OF Brandon Nimmo

#10 OF Brandon Nimmo (LR:#7)
Bats: L Throws: R
Height: 6' 3" Weight: 185 lb
Acquired: 2011 Rule 5 Draft, 1st Round, East High School (Wyoming)

2013: (A) .263/.369/.351, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 4 SB (57%), 37 BB, 92 K
2012: (SS-A) .248/.372/.406, 6 HR, 40 RBI, 1 SB (17%), 46 BB, 78 K
2011: (R) .211/.318/.368, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB (0%), 6 BB, 14 K

Nimmo this season has been battling a strained wrist which, coupled with hitting in Grayson Stadium, has sapped his gap to gap power that he showed in Brooklyn. In a recent interview with Toby Hyde of metsminorleagueblog.com, Nimmo sounded as if he was still uncomfortable with the risk and rusty having never dealt with this kind of injury. His rise in K's, of which a flurry of them came during the first 2 weeks he had returned, can possibly be attributed to the wrist as well so for now we'll only penalize him a small bit. If you look at his 1st half numbers before the injury, Nimmo was showing excellent progress hitting over .320 and even legging out 3 triples in the process.

His wrist injury probably cost him an early trip to Port St. Lucie this season but he'll be there next season and still be below the league average age. Patience is the name of the game here with Nimmo. If he can put together a strong month of August going towards the end of the season then our small worries about him will vanish. Besides he is not Rule 5 eligible until the end of 2015 which is when he is on pace to finish in Binghamton. So until then there is no reason to rush him through the system.

7/24/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #11 RHP Gabriel Ynoa

#11 RHP Gabriel Ynoa (LR: #17)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 158 lb
Acquired: 2009 International Signing, Dominican Republic

2013: (A) 10-4, 2.82 ERA, 1.2 BB/9, 7.8 K/9, 1.030 WHIP
2012: (SS-A) 5-2, 2.23 ERA, 1.2 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 0.926 WHIP
2011: (R) 2-3, 3.21 ERA, 0.6 BB/9, 4.3 K/9, 1.089 WHIP

I'll admit that I may be over-ranking Ynoa here but the facts don't lie. This kid has been mightly impressive over the past 18 months both dominating the NY-Penn League and the South Atlantic League with ease. He probably should be pitching in Port St. Lucie but there are so many good young pitchers in the organization that it's hard to find someone a spot to move up. His BB rate is good, the K rate is suitable, and WHIP is nice and low. The only thing I can honestly quibble about right now is that he's giving up way too many HR's, especially since he plays his home games in Grayson Stadium which is historically one of, if not, the most difficult place to hit for power in the entire United States. I'll say this though....He WILL NOT crack my Top 10 until I either see a crank up in his K rate or he dominates the Eastern League (AA). The former is still possible as he could probably add 3-4 ticks to fastball if he truly is a measly 158 lbs.

7/19/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #12 LHP Stephen Matz

#12 LHP Steven Matz (LR: #NR)
Bats: R Throws: L
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 192 lb
Acquired: 2009 Rule 5 draft, 2nd Round, Ward Melville HS (New York)

2013: (A) 3-4, 2.25 ERA, 3.0 BB/9, 9.8 K/9, 1.092 WHIP
2012: (R) 2-1, 1.55 ERA, 5.3 BB/9, 10.6 K/9, 1.138 WHIP
2011: DNP (Tommy John Surgery Set-back)
2010: DNP (Tommy John Surgery Recovery)
2009: DNP (Tommy John Surgery)

Boy oh Boy has this guy teased us during his career. The former 2nd round pick was suppose to be a can't miss left handed pitching prospect who would anchor the staff for years. A 94-97 mph fastball from the left side, a hard slurve that breaks so perfectly that coaches prefer he keep it rather than change it to a curve or a slide, and a change-up that was top notch for a player coming out of HS. But Matz needed Tommy John Surgery immediately after he signed which delayed his debut. After 15 months of healing Matz tried to crank it back up but suffered a set-back which cost him the 2011 season. He finally got on the mound in 2012 and showed why he has so much potential with 6 great starts in Kingsport, but after 27 months of no pitching Matz got sore and had to be shut down early. He finally seems healthy this season finishing his 15th start of the season last night and the results in Savannah are excellent. The only knock on him so far is that the BB rate is a touch too high but with him giving up less that 7 hits/9 innings and combining that with his K/9 rate the organization is very happy.

Now there is still a bit of concern though non-health wise. Matz IS eligible for the Rule 5 this offseason. One would not think that a team would claim a guy with only 105 total inning pitched in his career. However I don't trust the Marlins or the Astros, two teams who are in heavy re-building stages and feel that, if left unprotected, one of those two might claim him and bring him up right away. It's highly unlikely but the Marlins have done crazier (aka rookie RHP Jose Fernandez)

7/17/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #13 RHP Domingo Tapia

#13 RHP Domingo Tapia (LR: #12)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 4" Weight: 186 lb
Acquired: 2009 international signing, Dominican Republic

2013: (A+) 2-5, 3.82 ERA, 4.8 BB/9, 8.1 K/9, 1.397 WHIP
2012: (A) 6-5, 3.98 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.141 WHIP
2011: (R) 5-5, 3.78 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 5.4 K/9, 1.320 WHIP
2010: (R) 4-3, 3.45 ERA, 1.9 BB/9, 5.6 K/9, 1.255 WHIP

I'm going to admit this right away and upfront. I personally am not a huge fan of Tapia. A prospect who possesses a 98-100 mph fastball and a slider that clocks in at 95-97 mph should be striking out way more guys in the lower levels in my opinion. Plus I'm still worried that the lack of speed differential between his fastball and his slider could hurt him going forward. Despite all this he's still performing pretty well in the tough Florida State League. In 16 starts he's only given up 3 HR's and has a stellar 7.8 H/9 rate. There is a big concern with the control though as his BB/9 rate has ballooned to 4.8 and he's already thrown more wild pitches this season (6) than he did all of last year (5). The stats are quite skewed though by an awful month of May and June where he compiled an ERA of 5.40 and a BB rate of 5.7/9. He'll need to get more consistent between each start before the Mets send him to Binghamton.

7/16/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #14 SS Gavin Cecchini

#14 SS Gavin Cecchini (LR:#10)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 180 lb
Acquired: 2012 Rule 5 Draft, 1st Round, Alfred M. Barbe High School (Louisiana)

2013: (SS-A) .259/.305/.315, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB (50%), 4 BB, 9 K
2012: (R/SS-A) .240/.307/.321, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 5 SB (56 %), 18 BB, 44 K

Sandy Alderson's 2012 1st round draft pick is with the Brooklyn Cyclones and quite frankly it hasn't gone much better than his time with Kingsport. In 15 games so far his batting average is still sub .260 with little power. To be fair though that's a very small sample size. A 5 game hit streak can quickly skew the numbers the other way. The kid is still very young so we won't exactly know if he was worth the 1st round pick or not for at least another 2-3 years but at least there are some encouraging signs. His K rate in Brooklyn is now below 15% and he is showing that he has the quickness and range to stick at SS long term. He'll finish the season with Brooklyn and continue progressing slowly through the system.

7/15/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #15 OF Cory Vaughn

Look at the top of our page and click on the "Top 25 Prospects" link to find the rest of the current rankings that we have done already.

Mack's Mets #15 organizational prospect is......

#15 OF Cory Vaughn (LR:#20)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 3" Weight: 225 lb
Acquired: 2010 Rule 5 Draft, 4th Round, San Diego State University

2013: (AA) .288/.370/.447, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 8 SB (89%), 19 BB, 48 K
2012: (A+) .243/.351/.463, 23 HR, 69 RBI, 21 SB (84%), 65 BB, 114 K
2011: (A/A+) .255/.362/.402, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 10 SB (56%), 59 BB, 117 K
2010: (SS-A) .307/.396/.557, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 12 SB (71%), 34 BB, 63 K

Much like Cesar Puello, Cory Vaughn has had a resurgence this season playing for the Binghamton Mets. After back to back seasons of sub .260 batting averages, Vaughn has consistently hit well at the much tougher AA level. On the flip side however, the power is down. After posting a .220 ISO power rate last season, Vaughn is down to a still decent .159 ISO rate. Even worse is that his BB rate has dropped from 12% last season to 9.9% this season and his K rate is up from 21.3% last year to 25% this year. All of this results in a slightly unsustainable .370 BABIP that tells us that maybe his batting average is due for some regression back to his career norms.

Vaughn is currently on a rehab assignment with the GCL Mets but once he's done he will have to prove to the brass that he can maintain that average and improve on his K/BB rates if he wants to be a piece of the solution at the major league level.

7/12/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #16 RHP Rainy Lara

#16 RHP Rainy Lara (LR: #19)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 4" Weight: 180 lb
Acquired: 2009 international signing, Dominican Republic

2013: (A/A+) 6-5, 1.99 ERA, 1.8 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.059 WHIP
2012: (SS-A) 8-3, 2.91 ERA, 1.6 BB/9, 10.2 K/9, 0.956 WHIP
2011: (R) 1-2, 2.22 ERA, 2.6 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, 1.233 WHIP

Rainy Lara has been excellent this year and is making good progress through the organization's minor leagues levels. While his numbers are made better by his excellent starts in Savannah, his performances in the much tougher Florida State League are nothing to sneeze at either. A 2.70 ERA along with an almost 3:1 K:BB ratio are darn good stats. As we've said in previous posts about him, there is still room for projectability as he grows older and fills out his nice pitcher's frame. I don't anticipate him going anywhere else though as he seems destined for a stint in Binghamton next year if he continues to rack up the innings in St. Lucie.

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #17 1B Dominic Smith

Look to the right of our page to find the current rankings that we have done already

Mack's Mets #17 organizational prospect is......

#17 1B Dominic Smith
Bats: L Throws: L
Height: 6' 0" Weight: 185 lb
Acquired: 2013 Rule 5 Draft, 1st Round, Serra High School (California)

2013: (R) .204/.298/.327, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB (0%), 7 BB, 10 K

This year's 1st round pick will slot in nicely at #17. Poor kid is still mesmerized by the fact that he's even in professional baseball. Eventually the first time jitters will pass and Smith will be begin to show us what he is really capable of. One very encouraging sign already, albeit a small sample size, is his K:BB ratio after the first two weeks with the GCL Mets. Also 4 of his 10 hits so far have been of the extra base variety. This kid has a long way to go and a lot to grow before we consider him for Top 10 consideration. Let him bask in the moment for the rest of the year before we really start to judge him a bit more when he gets assigned to Brooklyn next year.

7/11/13

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #18 1B/3B Aderlin Rodriguez

Now that the draft is over, Mack's Mets will be reviewing the performances of our organizational Top 25 prospects and re-ranking them based on their individual performances, perceived place on the depth chart, and recent draft signings.

Look to the right of our page to find the current rankings that we have done already

Mack's Mets #18 organizational prospect is......

#18 1B/3B Aderlin Rodriguez (LR: #16)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 3" Weight: 210 lb
Acquired: 2008 international signing, Dominican Republic

2013: (A+) .260/.295/.427, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 1 SB (50%), 11 BB, 43 K
2012: (A/A+) .263/.321/.476, 24 HR, 83 RBI, 2 SB (100%), 37 BB, 101 K
2011: (A) .221/.265/.372, 17 HR, 78 RBI, 2 SB (66%), 29 BB, 109 K
2010: (R/A) .300/.50/.532, 14 HR, 59 RBI, 3 SB (75%), 21 BB, 53 K
2009: (R) .290/.389/.387, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB (50%), 9 BB, 15 K

The development of the top power bat in our system has been painfully SLOW. It's made worse by the fact that Aderlin has been on the disabled list since June 25th with an undisclosed injury. The story is still the same with Rodriguez though prospect wise. He continues to show unbelievable power but has a weak hit tool and strikes out far too much with it. He also is awful defensively at 3B which has pushed him to 1B though he is still not getting most of his playing time there. If he can stick it at 1B then maybe there's a chance of him becoming a MLB starter but IMO his ceiling is a DH for an American League team and realistically he may end up being AAA fodder. This off-season will be interesting as he is Rule 5 eligible for the second time in his career.

Post Draft: MM's Top 25- #19 CF Matt Den Dekker

2013: (AAA) .139/.238/.306, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB (50%), 5 BB, 13 K
2012: (AA/AAA) .274/.321/.458, 17 HR, 76 RBI, 21 SB (70%), 34 BB, 154 K
2011: (A+/AA) .265/.337/.460, 17 HR, 68 RBI, 24 SB (71%), 51 BB, 156 K
2010: (R/A) .336/.396/.459, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 3 SB (100%), 11 BB, 33 K

After spending 2 months in a cast and developing atrophy, which delayed his comeback an additional month an allowed Juan Lagares to pass him on the OF depth chart, Den Dekker is back and playing with Las Vegas. This is going to be Den Dekker's last appearance on a prospect list as he turns 26 next month and has probably reached the peak of his potential. While the hit tool will probably only produce at best a .240-.250 batting average, his Gold Glove caliber defense and power against right handers will at least guarantee him a spot as the team's 4th outfielder next year.

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