Mets Community Prospect List: #7

by Meddler on Jul 1, 2009 2:54 PM EDT Comment 33 comments

With 52% of the vote, the winner of the round six runoff is: Reese Havens

Welcome to the Amazin' Avenue Mets Community Prospect List, where you get to vote on who the Mets best prospects are. Every poll will include eight candidates for the next spot on the list, as well as a separate group of testers. Testers will be rotated into polls with each update, replacing each poll's winner and any name that's not getting enough votes. For this poll, if someone is getting 0% of the votes I will consider swapping them out for a tester, assuming the votes seem to be getting a bit more spread around. If there's a particular tester you'd like to see added to the poll, or a name not on the testers list that you feel belongs there, voice your support in the comments section and it will be duly noted.

The list so far:

Fernando Martinez
Jenrry Meija
Brad Holt
Wilmer Flores
Jonathon Niese
Reese Havens

To replace Reese Havens, Jeurys Familia (all you Mr. Newman) has been added to the candidates. Since only four candidates received votes in the previous poll, this will be the only tester added in this round. In no particular order, here are the candidates for the Community's #7 Mets prospect:

Testers - Scott Moviel, Robert Carson, Jeurys Familia, Kyle Allen, Eddie Kunz, Francisco Pena, Eric Beaulac, Michael Antonini, Zach Lutz, Nick Carr

Poll

Who is the Mets #7 prospect?

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

0 votes

Brant Rustich

0 votes

Ruben Tejada

4 votes

Jeurys Familia

0 votes

Jefry Marte

2 votes

Dillon Gee

2 votes

Josh Thole

33 votes

Ike Davis

13 votes

54 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 33 comments

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Comments

The next one should be interesting

3 months ago Tejada v. Marte wouldve been interesting, but now with Ike Davis’s turnaround this year he’s an interesting choice at 8.

by mets81 on Jul 1, 2009 4:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

whoa

I wish I hadnt just written interesting 3 times.

by mets81 on Jul 1, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

also

Marte has a 75/11 K/BB ratio in A ball. His biggest excuse is that it’s A ball and he’s 14 months younger than me (side note: holy fuck).

Tejada isn’t exactly tearing stuff up in AA. Again good tools. Has hit better in Bing than he did last year in the FSL, but still has a .712 OPS. He’s not especially fast and I don’t know where power could ever come from with him.

Davis in my mind is quite superior to both of them right now.

David Eckstein: so gritty they would eat him in the south for breakfast with some butter and sprinkle cheese.

by wrightHOF on Jul 1, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I voted Ike

and Tejada has slumped back down a bit. Still, he is your age and holding his own at ss in AA. He’s 19. You wonder what he would do at 21 in AA. Granted, no power, but he could add just a little as he grows up.

by wobatus on Jul 1, 2009 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm voting Ike for 8.

Thole goes here, but I like Ike®

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 1, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I knew that was gonna be Ike's thing

Every time he hits a homer everyone will say “I Like Ike”

"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."

by Evan_S on Jul 1, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Isn't that scary

He’s 15 months younger than me and he’s getting paid to play pro ball. Meanwhile, I’m at home sending out transfer applications deciding on what college I want to got to next year.

At least when I was following F!, he was two years older than me. I’m really starting to feel like I’m old and already wasted my life. Damn you baseball.

And yeah, Davis is better than Tejada and Marte, and Tejada is better than Marte. I think Jeurys Familia may even have more upside than Marte. We’ll see how Marte plays. If he gets hot over the next few days, it’s gonna influence the voting here.

"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."

by Evan_S on Jul 1, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

just wait

until you are 324 months older than guys like Marte.

by wobatus on Jul 1, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are 3 stages in life

1. Everyone in baseball is older than you
2. You’re the same age as people playing baseball
3. Everyone in baseball is younger than you.

It feels significant when you realize that you’ve entered a new stage.

by TheBigStapler on Jul 2, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Hah

Jamie Moyer and randy Johnson have to retire first before I hit stage 3. maybe Julio Franco will make a comeback before I exit this mortal coil.

by wobatus on Jul 2, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I totally agree

Im voting Ike 8, but he was pretty under the radar when the season started after a fairly poor NY-Penn League last year.

by mets81 on Jul 2, 2009 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ok, at this point, I think you have to vote for Thole.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 1, 2009 5:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

no you don't

Ike, Tejada and Rustich are all better prospects, imo.

by T Pac on Jul 1, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ok, if you really think so.

But you can’t ignore the fact that Thole has been producing in AA all year, plays catcher, and does it all well. Tejada is young, but how much has he really produced? Rustich is a nice prospect and I like him quite a bit, but he really hasn’t done anything too great thus far. He’s been good when he pitches, but he’s been injury prone and hasn’t started consistently yet. Ike has been good the past two months, but Thole’s been good all year and extending back. Plus, again, premium defensive position. There’s a very good chance Thole has the lowest ceiling of those guys. But I think at this point, Thole is significantly closer and the most likely to actually be productive as an average or above average major league player. There’s a difference between liking and disliking players and just plain old disregarding them, which is kinda what you’re doing now.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 1, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not ignoring anything

Thole has had a fine year, but his Iso and IsoD aren’t particularly impressive. And his luck-neutral OPS (per minorleaguesplits) is only .758. And no, he does not play catcher well. His D is far better than it was last year, but he’s still is not an MLB-level catcher on defense. A good prospect, but one with a lot more question marks than it seems like many realize.

What does Rustich have? The best stuff in the organization. And he’s dominated A+ this year (his tRA is about 1.50). Like I’ve always maintained, I think he’s a fairly similar prospect to Holt with health being the main reason he isn’t Holt’s equal.

by T Pac on Jul 1, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Health is a pretty big deal.

And I would actually disagree with him not playing catcher well. I went to see a Binghamton game two weeks ago (visiting my brother in New York State) and everything I saw looked great. But whatever.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 1, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And the fact that he's two years older

And his progress has been a snails pace.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Meddler on Jul 1, 2009 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

true

It’s a bit of a odd situation. I give him the benefit of the doubt about his age because he’s missed so much time, but at the same time it’s hard to give a pass to someone who’s been moving along so slowly.

Still, you can’t ignore his raw stuff, and it’s not as if he hasn’t pitched well throughout his pro career. I just love his upside.

FWIW, I have Ike here, Rustich 8th, Tejada 9th and Thole 10th on my personal list.

by T Pac on Jul 1, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting

I love his upside too, but I just think its too tough to read into what he’s done so far. Its tempting to get excited, but I’m hedging my bets. Its the FSL, he’s old for the league, and its only 120 innings. Its also only 120 innings for Holt, but that’s 120 innings with 150 strikeouts, which is just a different level of domination than Rustich has shown, even if the command hasn’t been as good for Holt and Rustich’s tRAs have been better. Plus, Rustich has only averaged about 10 batters faced per appearance. Holt has averaged about 20 batters faced per appearance. Thats a huge difference, especially when you consider the length of their respective careers and league switches. Rustich has rarely had to face the same hitters twice in a season, while Holt usually faces the same hitters three or four times per game.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Meddler on Jul 1, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and not that Toby Hyde’s word is the gospel, but he had this to say about Thole today:

“I had the 22-year old Thole ranked as the 16th best prospect in the Mets system coming into this year. He’s risen up those ranks, but not as much as some fans might think.”

And I (obviously) agree with him.

by T Pac on Jul 1, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought of you when I read that :)

I think this is where Thole belongs, though Ike and Tejada both have a case, and I wouldn’t argue with you on it nearly as vehemently as I did with Holt over Niese. Rustich is behind. I don’t care how good his tRA is. He’s pitched mostly in relief, but the Mets keep trying to work him into the rotation. So either he’s a solid relief prospect, borderline awesome (tough to be a great relief prospect against guys 2 and 3 years younger than you), or he’s a total question mark as a SP prospect, with excellent raw talent albiet.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Meddler on Jul 1, 2009 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why doesn't Thole get this by default?

Seeing as he was in the runoff last round.

by Zwill on Jul 1, 2009 6:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Because there seems to be a conspiracy against poor Josh.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 1, 2009 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He shoulda won last round but meh...it is what it is.

"We have to find a way to play better, there's no doubt. Overall. I'm not pointing fingers at anybody. Offense, defense, pitching -- we have to find a way to play better. The reality of this is, coming here to Pittsburgh and being swept -- personally, I feel embarrassed." -- Carlos Beltran

by EMSfan9 on Jul 1, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just translated the rules from Sickels site

A one vote difference is going to be a runoff every time, I promise. If the votes are really spread around, a two vote difference might do it too, just as a heads up.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Meddler on Jul 1, 2009 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sickel's rules

I think that is just the rules said up by the community members who run the poll, including KingBillyRoyal. Not that it isn’t a bad way to do it. It happened last year where someone would lose a runoff, and then next poll there’d be a huge run for someone else altogether. less likely here where it is just one organizations pospects and less chances of ballot stuffing. I also know Michale taylor ended up “winning”: the poll in the 90s, but only due to ballots cast after the poll ws closed, and in the event he didn’t make it on until 120 or something.

Man, taylor is having one sick year in the eastern league now though.

Anyway since nothing is really riding on it, run it as you see fit. :) Thanks for taking the lead.

by wobatus on Jul 2, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

set up

not said up.

by wobatus on Jul 2, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's right

I was trying to remember that dude’s name, I haven’t seen him post much lately, though I’m only semi active over there myself.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Meddler on Jul 2, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

to be fair

I voted for Havens over both Flores and Niese, and I obviously would have voted for him over Thole, but I just moved on Tuesday and haven’t had internet since Monday, so I missed that entire vote. Had I been around (and I think everyone can attest that when I have internet, I AM around a lot), it would have been a tie in the initial thread.

by cjmulrain on Jul 3, 2009 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope Earl Warren's not involved

by Zwill on Jul 1, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wanted to see how Ike did :)

But I was pretty sure Thole would win.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Meddler on Jul 1, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Familia

I’m not ready to vote him just yet, but if he was in this year’s draft, he would have been a VERY high pick. I would take his upside as the 3rd best power arm in the org. over anybody on that list except for Ike Davis.

I like the Thole story, but Top 7? Yeesh.

Mike Newman

by ScoutingTheSally on Jul 3, 2009 8:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs