At Tri-CitiesSports.com, Steve Wilmoth profiles the talented trio of teenage hurlers that reside at the top of the 2011 Rookie League Kingsport Mets rotation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kingsport will make their 2011 season debut tonight against the Johnson City Cardinals with heralded young lefty Juan Urbina on the hill. Urbina -- who is still just 18 -- showed tremendous potential in his first pro season, pushing his fastball up to 94 mph with an advanced change, all while exhibiting impressive poise for a kid who would otherwise be preparing for the junior prom.
Behind Urbina is another 18-year old, 2010 tenth round steal Akeel Morris. He slipped thanks to concerns about competition in his native Virgin Islands, but the Mets knew they were onto something when right out of the gate the slender right-hander was tossing 95+ mph heat. He posted a .148 average against in the GCL in 2010.
And finally, the least well known but perhaps the most primed to jump into mainstream prospect circles, 19-year old Domingo Tapia. The powerful righty is a man-child, listed at 6'4", 186 lbs and reports had him hitting 100 mph during instructs. He is Mejia-esque, working in the mid-90's with a two-seamer and what's more, he throws a ton of strikes. Big time sleeper candidate.
Should be an interesting year in Kingsport.
