The best Mets pitching prospects I saw this year: #11 Tyler Bashlor

Disclaimer (because someone will ask why a player I didn't see isn't on this list): This is a ranking of the best Mets prospects I saw in person this year. This is not a comprehensive Mets prospect list. I did not see Las Vegas, St. Lucie or the GCL team this year. If a player is not on the list, it is most likely because I did not see him. Otherwise, all rankings are consistent with how I would order the players within the Mets system. Oh yeah, and I am not a scout.

11. Tyler Bashlor, RHP

6', 220 lbs

Bats/Throws: R/R

Age: (as of Opening Day 2014) 21

Acquired: 11th round, 2013

2013: 16.2 IP, 22.6% K, 15.5% BB, 14 H, 1 HR for Kingsport (R)

Date(s) seen: 8/13/13 vs. Princeton Rays: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

The short of it: There were some raised eyebrows when the Mets shelled out a half-million dollars for a college reliever, but teams will always pay for 98 mph.

The long of it: Thick kid, especially in the lower half. Good arm speed, but takes some effort to really lets it fly, leading to command/control issues. Fastball was 95-96, touched 98 out of the windup. Bashlor dropped to 93-94 out of the stretch, though I couldn't spot any glaring mechanical reason. Most likely he has issues generating the same momentum. Slider was a bit soft at 81-82, down to 79 out of the stretch. One pitch at 90 that defied my identification skills, best guess is a rather firm change. Mechanics out of the stretch actually looked more repeatable, but I wonder if he can maintain his top-end velocity without the same torque he gets out of the full windup.

The projection: 7th inning guy

Risk Factor: High. Large gap between Appy League hitters and major league hitters. Breaking ball needs a lot of refinement. Fastball velocity should allow him to mow through the low minors even with command/control issues though.

What’s next: Bashlor will likely be ticketed for full season ball and a spot in the Savannah pen. I expect the stuff will outpace the results for a bit, but I think there's enough fastball here to get him to Double-A pretty quickly.

What I'll be looking for in 2014: Command improvements, and for the numbers to start to match the stuff. (sound familiar?)