Notes On Baseball America's Top 10 Mets Prospects
by Sam Page on Nov 7, 2009 6:00 AM EST
0 comments
As you undoubtedly saw in the fanshots or somewhere else yesterday, Baseball America released its top 10 prospects list for the Mets, with Adam Rubin reprising as the author of the write-up and subsequent chat. Rubin's article didn't provide much insight into the ranking, but the chat cleared a few things up. Here are the things I found most interesting about the list with relevant quotes:
- Fernando Martinez, the incumbent #1 prospect for two years, drops to #3 after his best season in the minors (.877 OPS in AAA at age 20). He continued to be chronically injured, tearing his meniscus, as mentioned in the article. Rubin said in the chat, "Fernando Martinez has fallen far enough that the Mets talk about going outside for a left fielder for 2010." That makes me worry the Mets are putting stock into his worthless sample-size major-league audition, because I find it hard to believe an injury could hurt his stock so much in a season where he had a break out. I know it was his fourth straight season with an injury, but on the other hand, that means he's gone from injury prone, projectable, with no results to injury prone, projectable, with good results. Rubin later said, when asked about Martinez no longer being untouchable, " His value is so diminished right now. He's certainly not untouchable, but teams are very concerned because he's been unable to stay healthy for four straight years."
- Mejia taking the #1 spot is not surprising, but his being ranked four spots ahead of Holt kind of is. Rubin said this of Holt: "I know a fair amount of the scouts who watch Binghamton regularly during the season. The consensus seems to be that he will be a No. 3 starter in the majors. Here's a report one person gave me on Holt: Good four-seam fastball (88-93 mph, peak 95), curveball (75-78) and changeup (79-81). Command needs work. Wasn't quite the same after missing three weeks with an ankle injury. Has to learn to maintain a consistent release point. He'll add some weight as well which will improve his durability and stamina. Needs to improve from a mental perspective. Often allows situations to get out of hand by compounding problems due to overthrowing. Has to eliminate obsession with strikeouts." Holt supposedly was throwing in the lows 90s peak 98 on his fastball in 2008. When a reader questioned the change in perception later in the chat, Rubin insisted that Holt tops out at 95.
- They still love Wilmer Flores, and put him in rightfield on the "Projected 2013 lineup." I wouldn't read into that much, since they basically just throw whatever prospects they can into these projected lineups; they likely will never happen. Take, for instance, the projected lineup for next year according to the 2006 version of this list:
Catcher Francisco Pena First Base Carlos Delgado Second Base Anderson Hernandez Third Base David Wright Shortstop Jose Reyes Left Field Lastings Milledge Center Field Carlos Beltran Right Field Fernando Martinez No. 1 Starter Mike Pelfrey No. 2 Starter Philip Humber No. 3 Starter John Maine No. 4 Starter Deolis Guerra No. 5 Starter Kevin Mulvey Closer Billy Wagner
Reflects something of a past optimism, as opposed to the 2011 projected lineup, which reflects something of a past delusion:
Catcher Francisco Pena First Base Fernando Martinez Second Base Greg Veloz Third Base David Wright Shortstop Jose Reyes Left Field Lastings Milledge Center Field Carlos Gomez Right Field Carlos Beltran No. 1 Starter John Maine No. 2 Starter Oliver Perez No. 3 Starter Mike Pelfrey No. 4 Starter Deolis Guerra No. 5 Starter Kevin Mulvey Closer Eddie Kunz
That outfield is awesome, but that pitching staff might be the worst-conceived in history. Also note them sticking Fernando Martinez somewhere, a la Wilmer. I also find it interesting that they projected a healthy Carlos Beltran to be in right field by 2011, but they this year, they put Carlos Beltran with irreparable bone-on-bone knee injuries in CF in 2013.
- Speaking of Francisco Pena, apparently he will be left off the top 30 prospects list, per Rubin. Not even Mark and I did that in our ongoing top-26, and I really dislike Francisco Pena as a prospect.
- Kirk Niewenhuis got ranked best defensive outfielder, which is encouraging, since the biggest question about his abilities are related to his fielding, not his hitting. Rubin passed along this scouting report: "He will garner comparisons to Curtis Granderson in terms of his position and ability to fill up the stat sheet in many offensive categories. Good opposite field power and a plus overall hitter. Great contact guy. Batted in the leadoff spot at the end of the season with St. Lucie and Binghamton and produced many multi-hit games. Figures to be a 20-20 guy. Good range in center and an average to slightly above average major-league arm." He also cited a scout that compared his mentality to Kirk Gibson's. That's high praise, for a guy that didn't crack the top 10.
- Nate Vineyard retired.
- Juan Urbina made the top-10 without throwing a professional pitch. Rubin justified ranking him ahead of the more established Jeurys Familia and Kyle Allen, thusly: The Mets spent $1.2 million on Urbina because they believe he's a top-10-caliber prospect. His fastball averages 88-89 mph, with a peak of 91 mph, but he has a clean delivery. Team officials believe the velocity will climb a little as he gets instruction, but that's fine for a lefthander. Familia throws from the opposite side and considerably harder and doesn't have a clean delivery. Allen also is righthanded." I nominate "Allen also is righthanded" to be the go-to non-sequitur at Amazin' Avenue.
- The Mets won't push prospects anymore with Tony B gone.
- Robbie Shields has grission. Rubin called him the baseball equivalent of a "gym rat," which is a new one.
- Jordany Valdespin was named best athlete. He put up good numbers last year in Savannah, but didn't get promoted, so I assumed he must be a bad athlete or something. Guess not.
0 comments | 0 recs |
2009 Mets Gangsta and Grission Awards
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Nov 7, 2009 1:02 AM EST
9 comments
(bumped from fanposts. --eric)
With the 2009 season done and over, it's time to start handing out hardware. I present to you the first annual Gangsta and Grission Awards. Some of the categories had very tight races, while others were as one-sided as the Imperfect Game. The votes are in, however, and all winners receive as a way to remember their achievements, a Golden Jerry.
9 comments | 13 recs |
White Sox Buy Out Dye's Contract
Cue AA's one Jermaine Dye fanatic . . .
about 17 hours ago
Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright
21 comments
0 recs
Type B Applesauce - Met free agents given B status, Putz option declined, Hermida to Boston
by Joe Budd on Nov 6, 2009 8:11 AM EST
in Link Dump
26 comments
Have a good weekend everyone. I'm taking a little off-season weekend break. Enjoy the links.
26 comments | 0 recs |
Joe Posnanski On The Yankees' Glut And Baseball's Illusion Of Parity
by Eric Simon on Nov 6, 2009 12:54 AM EST
67 comments
I know it's already linked in the FanShots, but if you've had any sort of argument with a Yankees fan in the past twenty-four hours and found your "They spend more money than anyone!" justification quickly rebuffed, go read Joe Posnanski's latest blog entry and arm yourself for the next encounter.
Here are a few excerpts.
There’s something else that people say: They talk about how money doesn’t guarantee wins. And they point out that other teams (the Mets, the Cubs, the Astros, etc.) spend a lot of money and don’t win.
/.../
But the Yankees are a whole different argument. They are their own argument. The Yankees are not a big market team. They DWARF big market teams. They are quantitatively different from every other team in baseball and every other team in American sports. They don’t just spend more money than every other team. They spend A LOT more money than every other team.
/.../
Don’t like it? Don’t watch. Some people have stopped watching, I suppose. But many of us keep on because we love baseball and there’s enough randomness in the game itself and enough volatility in the playoffs to distract us from the lunacy of having the game so ridiculously tilted toward one team.
/.../
And then: That team that spent $50 million more than any other team, that team with three sure Hall of Famers and as many as four others, that team that bought Milwaukee’s best pitcher and Anaheim’s best hitter and Toronto’s No. 2 starter and Boston’s favorite Idiot and the most expensive player in the history of baseball and so on, that team will win the World Series, and spray champagne on each other, and they will tell you that they won because they came together as a group and kept pulling themselves off the ground and didn’t listen to the doubters.
And then, if you are a not a Yankees fan, you will want to throw up. If you are not a Yankees fan, you are left hoping that next year the randomness of a short playoff series will get the Yankees and allow some other team to win so we can celebrate the hope of Opening Day. And that’s baseball.
67 comments | 0 recs |
It's Finally Over Applesauce - SNY Met promos, Rollins unbelieving, Phils undecided on Lee
by Joe Budd on Nov 5, 2009 9:25 AM EST
in Link Dump
88 comments
I thought that with the end of the Met season, the pain would stop. I was so wrong. Now, finally, I can be at peace for at least a few months.
88 comments | 0 recs |
Talking With Nelfi Zapata From Instructional League
by Sam Page on Nov 5, 2009 6:15 AM EST
in Interviews
11 comments
I recently chatted with Nelfi Zapata, the Mets 19th Round pick out of English High School (MA), who is working at the Mets Instructional League in the Dominican Republic. We talked about the instructional league, catching Billy Wagner, and the name of his fanclub, among other things. Check here for the full instructional league rosters.
Sam Page: So, how's it going?
Nelfi Zapata: It's going good so far, just working hard. You know the deal.
SP: Most fans don't know what instructional league actually is. What is the typical day like for you, as a catcher specifically?
NZ: Well, instructional league is where they send the guys, who did their job during the regular season and who they think could become a player at the next level. The typical day for me as a catcher is pretty average. You stay hot all the time, which gets you tired, but it's all about having fun and enjoying the baseball weather down here.
SP: Has anyone there particularly impressed you?
NZ: Yeah, a couple of my teammates. Everybody has gotten better in their particular ways.
SP: Any names?
NZ: [Amauris] Valdez, the catcher. We are very friendly, talk a lot, and help each other out on what we need to work on to get better.
SP: He was your teammate in the gulf coast league, right? How was the transition from high school to the GCL, specifically catching pro pitchers?
NZ: Hey, man, it's incredible. At first, it's tough to fall into track really quickly; it's tough to catch them. When you are normally used to catching pitchers at 85 to 86 mph and you come up and catch the pitchers throwing 96 mph, it's just incredible. It's all about making adjustments and everything falls into track. Catching Billy Wagner for a couple of innings before he went to the Red Sox was a good experience. I learned a lot from it and I hope I can go to the majors and catch those guys and get to play with them. It's my dream and one day it will come true; I have faith.
SP: Did you talk with Billy Wagner at all? Did he have any advice for you?
NZ: Yeah, a lot. He gave some tips on how to be smart behind the plate, what kind of pitches to ask for, and how to be mentally prepared.
SP: Did anyone else at GCL throw as hard as Wagner?
NZ: Our closer, [Luis] Rojas threw 96 mph.
SP: Nice. One last question before you go: What do you think about your fans calling themselves the Zapatistas?
NZ: I think it will be great. [laughs] That's a good one.
Thanks again to Nelfi for taking the time to talk with me.
11 comments | 1 recs |
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NL East Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia
|
93 | 69 | .574 | 0 | Lost 1 |
|
Florida
|
87 | 75 | .537 | 6 | Lost 1 |
|
Atlanta
|
86 | 76 | .530 | 7 | Lost 6 |
|
New York
|
70 | 92 | .432 | 23 | Won 3 |
|
Washington
|
59 | 103 | .364 | 34 | Won 7 |
(updated 11.7.2009 at 5:43 AM EST)
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
