But if we’re #22 than there is a ton of stacked systems out there. Maybe it’s because our top prospects are all pitchers with not too many position guys?

Can only mean spring training grows closer! Keith Law can suck it, he said Rick Vaughn would never play past the penal leagues!! Vaughn’s response, look at me now – BITCH!

who actually pays to read this insider shit?

Overall, I believe the systems are much closer than the rankings would indicate.
For example the top 2 teams, SD & TB – besides LHP Matt Moore for the Rays – don´t feature a single “automatic future star” caliber prospect but in general are impressive for a deep talent pool and significant enough prospects that run well into the 30s.
The Mets also have a pretty deep system – though the higher upside depth is generally at the A-ball level and below beyond the top pitching prospects. What seperates the Rays & Padres from the Mets group is that they are already more advanced and especially the hitting prospects are already more refined.

It´s kind of tough getting a good read on the Mets higher upside hitting prospects like Nimmo, Evans, Puello, Ad.Rodriguez or Flores who are all ages 20 or younger and haven´t really hit with authority at a meaningful level. So, the current lack of advanced hitting prospects with high upside limits the Mets to middle of the pack. And middle of the pack means that you can easily justify ranking a system at # 11 or # 20 at this time.

The Mets system has been somewhat underrated – maybe due to the perception that the Mets have been a poorly managed and / or disfunctional organization in recent years, at least till the current FO took over. In mid 2009, a lot of “experts” considered it as one of the worst if not worst system in Baseball. That barren system already has produced several pretty solid players like Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada, Josh Thole, Jon Niese or Dillon Gee since then. We may see others like Nieuwenhuis, Havens, Valdespin, Lagares, Lutz, Familia, Mejia and Carson reach the majors by the end of the 2012 season from that supposedly talentless group of prospects as well.
Of course, barring Ike Davis or Jon Niese breaking out or Jeurys Familia / Jenry Mejia improving their secondary pitches, time will tell if there´s a real star in that group.

Still, since 2010, the Mets have added a lot of upside to the system via the draft & the Beltran trade. Most of all, the Mets haven´t traded a single prospect since the JJ Putz deal in December 2008. That also helps.

Pretty sure, the Mets will rank in the top 10 by this time next year, assuming some of the raw hitters take a step forward and DePodesta & Co. do a solid job in the 2012 draft with 4 picks in the top 60.

Let’s face it, we’re waiting for a top farm system so the Mets can have some low cost upside. Post Madoff, there is no other upside.

It really is unfortunate that MLB slammed the door on overslot one year after the Mets were willing to step inside.

I hope Doob is right and this will be rectified in a year or two, so it is possible to at least see better times over the horizon.