MLB.com released its top-50 prospect list yesterday, with the Mets being one of only 4 teams not represented. While the Mets system receives some unfair criticism from writers attempting to counter the hype surrounding New York prospects, this omission is pretty odd, considering the players Jonathan Mayo ranked ahead of Jenrry Mejia. Jenrry Mejia has durability and control concerns, but at age 19, dominated AA hitters and has top-tier "stuff." He got passed over for the following pitchers:
- 51. Tyler Maztek, who has yet to throw a pro pitch
- 49. Ethan Martin, good stuff but control problems kept him in Lo-A. One year older than Mejia
- 47. Phillipe Aumont, a reliever who couldn't throw strikes in AA. One year older than Mejia
- 44. Jhoulys Chacin, a starter who had a good, not great year in AA and got promoted to the majors as a September call up. Two years older than Mejia
- 43. Mike Montgomery, a starter who pitched between Rookie and A-Ball. A few months older than Mejia, Montgomery was successful by allowing no homeruns at a level where Mejia was successful by blowing everyone away.
- 42. Jacob Turner, a high school draft pick with no pro experience. Oh, his fastball sits at 92. How projectable
- 41. Aaron Crow, who is 3 years older than Mejia and has thrown all of 18 minor league innings due to two contract holdouts
- 40. Drew Storen, a reliever, who is two years older than Mejia
- 39. Tanner Scheppers, who is also 3 years older than Mejia and has not pitched yet due to a contract holdout. I think he pitched in some indy league last season.
- 34. Julio Teheran, an 18-year-old with success in rookie league (Jenrry Mejia a season ago)
- 28. Casey Kelly, a pitcher/short stop, who had success pitching in A-ball at Mejia's age
Yes, I'm biased and, no, these lists don't determine which propects end up succeeding. But c'mon...