What if?: What would the 2011 Mets look like if they kept their prospects?

We will make up for it when we trade Reyes and others, we will get some promising prospects.

I’m not sure he can really be considered a “Mets prospect.” He was quite literally a member of the organization for five minutes, acquired at trade deadline gunpoint because the Pirates wanted him back (the Orioles had plucked him in the Rule 5 draft the previous offseason) and demanded the Mets find a way to get him from the Royals before Pittsburgh would consent to trading Kris Benson.

that constructed all 30 MLB teams by the players who were originally SIGNED by each MLB team. Like David Ortiz was originally signed by the Mariners, Jose Bautista by the Royals, Johan Santana by the Astros, etc…it put players back with they’re very first, original MLB franchise. Here is the Mets team if they had kept all they’re drafted / international FA signings:

20. Mets

The second third of the rankings kicks off with the Mets, a team with two superstars and a cast of mediocrity. At least they do still have the superstars on their current squad. Most of the other quality players signed by the team were shipped off long before without ever having a chance to make a mark.

Rotation
A.J. Burnett
Scott Kazmir
Brian Bannister
Mike Pelfrey
Jon Niese

Bullpen
Heath Bell
Octavio Dotel
Matt Lindstrom
Bobby Parnell
Aaron Heilman
Guillermo Mota
Joe Smith

Of the 12 pitchers above, Pelfrey has the most wins as a Met, with 26. Heilman is next with 22. No one else is in double figures. Mota, who was originally signed as a position player in 1990, won five games for the team between 2006 and ’07.

The top three starters were traded for Al Leiter, Victor Zambrano and Ambiorix Burgos.

It is a pretty solid pitching staff, though. Obviously, it’d be better if Kazmir still had the same stuff he did a couple of years ago, but Bannister is more than holding his own in the AL and Niese appeared to be on the verge of becoming a possible No. 3 starter before getting hurt earlier this month. The bullpen has some big-time arms, but it is missing a lefty. The best options there are Billy Traber and Lenny DiNardo. Fortunately, Heilman and Mota have usually been pretty good at retiring southpaws.

Lineup
SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
RF Nelson Cruz
1B Mike Jacobs
C Jesus Flores
2B Kaz Matsui
CF Carlos Gomez
LF Daniel Murphy

Bench
INF Ty Wigginton
OF Angel Pagan
OF Jay Payton
OF Lastings Milledge
C Raul Casanova

If you want, you can stick one of those lesser hitters in between Reyes and Wright in the order. I wouldn’t. Also, if the team absolutely has to include a true utilityman, it’s going to have to be Double-A shortstop Ruben Tejada. Reyes isn’t going to get any days off either way.

The lineup is definitely OBP challenged apart from Reyes and Wright, but there’s still some nice power in the middle and speed at the end. Wigginton and Payton should start over Jacobs and Murphy against left-handers. If Milledge ever comes around, then Jacobs and Murphy can battle for playing time at first base.

Summary

The Mets’ lack of patience with prospects has been a problem, but as one can plainly see, the team hasn’t produced a whole lot of talent through the years. Part of the problem is that the team has given away first-round picks recently, but even after accounting for that, GM Omar Minaya’s drafts have been disappointing. A recent influx of Latin American talent should help — players like Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores, Jenrry Mejia and Tejada could all play key roles in a couple of years — but it remains to be seen whether Minaya will be around to see it happen.

people become good when they leave the mets. examples: scott kazmir, a.j burnett, nelson cruz, mike jacobs, heath bell, jermey burnitz, jeff kent,, jason isringhausen, melvin mora, marco scutaro, kevin mitchel, nolan ryan, amos otis, greg jeffries exc…

is that sometimes it’s a good idea to trade prospects and sometimes it’s not, but it’s never a good idea to trade Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano