Mets Top Prospects Performance Meter - May

Another month, another heat check on some of the Mets top minor leaguers. Although, this time instead of adhering to the preseason Top 25 we're going to just look at 25 guys that I find interesting, for one reason or another. These are listed alphabetically and are not meant to be rankings.

Also, do you know what's exciting about this? By the next one of these we'll not only have a whole new crop of top prospects to fawn over but we may even have a few of them on the field.

Player	Level	This Month	Comment
RHP Nick Carr	Hi-A		Seems to have come back from TJ stronger, posting career high K-rates with his lowest BB-rates in years. If this command is for real, expect his high 90's velo to carry him upward and fast.
LHP Robert Carson	Double-A		4+ May ERA and declined K-rate is not ideal but return of his trademark groundball tendencies is a welcome sight
OF Darrell Ceciliani	Lo-A		Struggling since he returned from hamstring injury, batting .229 in May. .269 BABIP doesn't help but after ranking third in the NYPL in XBH's for 2010, we're not yet seeing the same hitter that starred in Brooklyn.
LHP Mark Cohoon	Triple-A		Funny, the arrow is pointing down yet he was sent in the opposite direction -- from Binghamton up to Buffalo -- despite a 6.55 ERA over his last few starts. He had had uncharacteristic struggles with command but the Bisons' rotation was desperate.
C Albert Cordero	Lo-A		One of the bigger disappointments in the system in 2011. Batted .182 in May with just two XBH's. But hey at least he drew his first walk! (1:27 BB-to-K)
OF Matt den Dekker	Lo-A		After a torrid April, the K's finally caught up to den Dekker as he slogged through May and continues to struggle, going 1 for his last 11. Recently tweeted, "Back to the drawing board...Gonna figure it out no question!!"
OF Lucas Duda	Triple-A		Missed most of the month with back woes but in ten May games batted .355 with three homers. Latest hot streak paired with offensive drought in Queens has him pushing for another shot.
LHP Josh Edgin	Lo-A		Like Carr, Edgin is dominating in relief. He did not allow an earned run over 11 appearances in the month of May. (great, now I have Arcade Fire stuck in my head...)
RHP Jeurys Familia	Triple-A		After the promotion, posted a 2.25 ERA in four May starts with Bingo. Ratios have -- not surprisingly -- waned a bit against better competition but reports also suggest he's working in-game on improving his slider.
SS Wilmer Flores	Hi-A		After showing a lack of secondary skills in April, he knocked three homers in May but didn't do much else, batting .214 with a sub-300 OBP.
RHP Gonzalez Germen	Lo-A		This underrated Dominican was solid in April but really cranked it up come May, posting nearly a K/IP and a .237 average against.
RHP Erik Goeddel	Lo-A		Having allowed just three runs over his last 25 IP, Goeddel was performing like the steal of the 2010 draft. That's when he went down with a shoulder strain; no word yet on severity but not a great sign for a kid who has struggled with injuries in the past.
LHP Darin Gorksi	Hi-A		The most pleasant surprise in the system in 2011 has been nothing short of masterful, posting a 1.35 ERA in May. Still, questions remain about lack of stuff; Goldstein recently stated, 'Huge numbers, but scouts still project a relief role.'
2B Reese Havens	Double-A		Back in Binghamton after over a full calendar year, still too early to judge his performance. It's just nice to see him back.
RHP Brad Holt	Double-A		After a heartening April, bad Holt returned walking 22 men in five May starts, versus just 19 K's. The cherry on top was the nine wild pitches over that span. The bullpen is calling.
LHP Chase Huchingson	Lo-A		The second most pleasant surprise is following in Gorski's footsteps: .214 average against with 2+ GB:FB in May. Still not sure how this projectable 6'5" lefty went undrafted last season?
OF Fernando Martinez	Triple-A		Every healthy month is a little victory for Fernando and despite the fact that he spent the bulk of it on the major league bench, he continues to show excellent power when he's played.
3B Jefry Marte	Hi-A		After a stellar April where he showed power and patience, Marte came back to Earth knocking just one homer and walking half as much as he struck out, not to mention making a boatload of errors.
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis	Triple-A		Didn't quite live up to his outstanding first month but an .882 OPS from a CF is nothing to sneeze at. Just returned from shoulder woes after making that highlight reel catch last week.
RHP Greg Peavey	Lo-A		In six May starts the guy walked three batters. Three. Coupled with the fact that batters hit just .209 against him and I'd say he's looking ready for Hi-A, at the very least.
3B Aderlin Rodriguez	Lo-A		Followed a brutal April with an even worse May as his only true skill (power) evaporated into a .345 SLG. Add in nearly a dozen errors on the season and it's been a rough 2011 so far.
MI Robbie Shields	Lo-A		Batted .327 on the month and showed off some exceptional gap power posting a .500 SLG. May marked Shields' best extended period as a pro and affirms his status as a former third rounder. Began the shift to 2B.
SS Wilfredo Tovar	Lo-A		Results haven't been pretty from the 20-yr old but with his K-rate actually down and his BB-rate up from 2010, I'm going to say that the .220 BABIP is the main culprit.
RF Cory Vaughn	Lo-A		Batted .356 with a 1.006 OPS and even manned center with Ceciliani on the mend. He's pretty well cementing his status as a top five prospect in this system.
RHP Taylor Whitenton	Lo-A		Under the radar coming into 2011, all he's done is post a 2.14 ERA overall with 21 K's vs. 7 BB's in 20 May innings. With scouts recently reporting velos of 94 mph, we may be onto something here.