Mets Top Five Prospects

I’ve done the Yankees Top prospect list, a list which now needs to be revised with the subtraction of Jesus Montero and the addition of Jose Campos, but I figured I would do a top prospect list for the New York Mets.  For years the Mets farm system has suffered.  Sure, there is David Wright and Jose Reyes and Mike Pelfrey.  However, for every one of those players there is a Fernando Martinez, an Alex Ochoa, and an Alex Escobar.  The same can be said for a lot of teams minor league systems.  Anyway, here is a look at the Mets Top Five Prospects:

1.  Matt Harvey, RHP – Harvey is the closest thing to being a big arm ready for the big leagues.  He made it as far as AA last season, where he should start again this year.  He didn’t have a great year at AA Binghamton.  He walked 23 batters in 59.2 innings at AA compared to walking only 24 in 76 innings at A Port St. Lucie.  He will be 23 in March and should make it to AAA at some point this year.  After watching the Mets rush other prospects to the Majors and stunt their development it is essential that the Mets promote Harvey at his own pace, not the pace the Mets want, like what happened with Fernando Martinez.  Arms are a finicky sort of thing and the Mets would do well to let Harvey develop and not rush him.  He has a very good fastball and a pretty decent slider.  His change-up is still a work in progress.  If he can’t get his change-up to develop or has trouble bringing a third pitch with him to the Majors then the Mets have the makings of a darn good closer.  I project him to be a top of the rotation guy, somewhere around a #2 starter.

2.  Zack Wheeler, RHP – Wheeler was the prize of the Carlos Beltran trade with San Francisco.  He will be 22 in May and features a 93-96 MPH fastball, a very good curveball that sits in the 70’s, and a change-up that needs a lot of work.  His control has been a big issue as he advances.  He walked just under 5 men per nine innings last season (4.7) for his career.  The stuff is there.  He, like Harvey, needs time to develop a third pitch.  He has yet to pitch above A ball but should see time in AA this year if he doesn’t start out there to begin with.  I project him as a #2 type starter.  Not quite ace material, unless his change-up develops and his curveball finds the plate with more consistency.  Personally, I think he needs to learn how to pitch a bit more instead of throw.  If he doesn’t develop a third pitch he will be like Harvey, a closer type pitcher.

3.  Brandon Nimmo, OF – He was the Mets first-round draft pick last season.  He is fresh out of high school and the Mets had to really do their scouting to find him since he didn’t play high school baseball and instead played in American Legion games.  Nimmo is an interesting case because there was a complete lack of a hard-core scouting report on him.  He has the tools though and I think he might be able to finally break the Mets failures with toolsy outfielders like Alex Ochoa, Alex Escobar, and Fernando Martinez.  He will need a lot of time in the minor leagues but that is not a bad thing.  I have him rated so high because I truly believe the Mets have their starting right fielder, or even center fielder of the future in Nimmo.  We will just have to wait and see what this Wyoming kid can do.  I can’t go off of his stats from his first taste of rookie ball last season but he did display some power.  He will need to learn patience at the plate, having struck out 14 times in 44 plate appearances.  If the Mets rush him they should fire the entire team…everyone associated with the Mets would need to be let go.  This kid needs time to develop and you might not see him in Queens for five years.  Sometimes good things are worth waiting for.

4.  Jenrry Mejia, RHP – Mejia was high on most Mets top prospect lists heading into last season.  The Mets should have been jailed for the way they handled him, having him bounce between starting and relieving.  He went down for Tommy John surgery last year and will have a long road to recovery.  The Mets need to stop dicking this kid around and either make him a starter or a reliever and stick to that plan. I would prefer to see him as a starter since good bullpen help is easier to find.  If he flames out as a starter THEN and only then do you make him a reliever and see what he has to offer.  The fact that he was in the Big Leagues at 20 years old in 2010 is more of testament to the Mets not having good enough prospects at the high levels and their impatience when it comes to developing prospects.  I know he pitched well at AAA but there was no reason to take one of your top prospects as a starter and then make him relieve just because you felt he could succeed there.  In 2010, he went from Rookie A ball all the ay to the Majors.  That makes no sense.  No wonder the kid blew his arm out.  He started at every level in the minors and then became a reliever in the Majors.  Once the Mets figure out where he belongs then they need to let him develop.  There was no need to rush this kid to the Majors and yet they did it anyway.  He could be an ace if he develops fully.  Or, he could be a closer.  The Mets starting pitching has been atrocious lately and having a young trio of Mejia, Harvey, and Wheeler anchoring the rotation in 2014 is a good thing. 

5.  Cesar Puello, OF – Stop me if you’ve heard the one about the toolsy Mets outfield prospect.  Puello is another one of these guys.  Does he have the tools?  Yeah, they are there.  He can steal bases, having stolen 45 in 55 attempts at A Savannah in 2010.  He can hit for some power, he hit 10 homers at Port St. Lucie last season in 441 at-bats.  He has been able to hit for average as well, posting a .305 mark in 2008, a .296 mark in 2009, and a .292 mark in 2010.  However, once he got to higher A ball his average plummeted to .259 last season and his strikeouts went through the roof, whiffing 103 times in 441 at-bats.  A lot of scouts like him.  Scouts love tools.  Can he be good?  Certainly, he won't even be 21 until April.  Do the Mets have a track record developing tools guys?  Nope.  If the Mets don’t rush him like Fernando Martinez he might learn to adjust.  Learning to adjust is the one tool no scout marks down on his pad and if he can’t do that then none of the other tools really matter.