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Mets Prospect Rankings

Rotblatt Dec 14 2006 10:38 AM

BP's [url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5763]Kevin Goldstein[/url] weighs in on the Mets' prospects. ]Excellent Prospects 1. Fernando Martinez, cf 2. Philip Humber, rhp 3. Mike Pelfrey, rhp Very Good Prospects 4. Carlos Gomez, of Good Prospects 5. Alay Soler, rhp Average Prospects 6. Jon Niese, lhp 7. Kevin Mulvey, rhp 8. Mike Carp, 1b 9. Deolis Guerra, rhp 10. Joe Smith, rhp He has semi-detailed notes about each of the above, and I believe non-members can read, so I thought I'd keep this short and conclude with the happy recap . . . ]The Big Picture: Rankings Combined With Non-Rookies 25 Years Old Or Younger (As Of Opening Day 2007) 1. Jose Reyes, ss 2. David Wright, 3b 3. Lastings Milledge, cf/lf 4. Fernando Martinez, cf 5. Philip Humber, rhp 6. Mike Pelfrey, rhp 7. Carlos Gomez, of 8. Oliver Perez, rhp 9. John Maine, rhp 10. Ambiorix Burgos, rhp Yes, I just put Reyes ahead of Wright. In order to stem the flow of angry e-mail (somehow, I get the feeling that's not going to happen) let me proclaim up front that Wright is clearly one of the best young players in the game. That said, I think Reyes is a little better. Reyes' game took a giant leap forward in 2006, and many within the industry believe he's capable of a similar level of improvement in the coming year. If that happens, you're talking about a leadoff man who is pushing 350 total bases or so. If you ask me right now who will win the National League East in 2007, I'll say the Mets in another landslide. If you ask me who the MVP in the NL with be, I just might say Jose Reyes. While the Mets have been willing to discuss Milledge in trade talks, that says more about the organization's depth than any negative feelings about his skills. The attitude, on the other hand, could use some work. Perez and Maine will both likely begin 2007 in the rotation, and with Perez, it's still a coin flip situation where he won't surprise many if he wins 15 games, and won't surprise anyone if he's out of a job by May. Maine is solid and no more, but good enough to carve out a Steve Trachsel kind of career. Picked up during the winter meetings, Burgos has struggled so far in the big leagues, but it's hard to ignore such a young power arm. It's a top heavy organization, but the Mets don't need much in the way of talent at the big league level. Many of their top young prospects could be used as valuable chips in the mid-season trade market, with Mets fans hoping for something better than 2004's Scott Kazmir/Victor Zambrano debacle.

Vic Sage Dec 14 2006 10:58 AM

This is the top 10 from my projected list back in an earlier thread (to the extent they are still in the organization): L.Milledge, OF M.Pelfrey, RHP P.Humber, RHP F.Martinez, OF C.Gomez, OF M.Carp, 1B Coles, OF D.Guerra, RHP J.Neise, LHP A.Soler, RHP [u:c066a369b2]compared to their list:[/u:c066a369b2] L.Milledge, of F.Martinez, cf P.Humber, rhp M.Pelfrey, rhp C.Gomez, of A.Soler, rhp J.Niese, lhp K.Mulvey, rhp M.Carp, 1b D.Guerra, rhp i included coles over Mulvey, but otherwise the lists are identical (if not precisely in the same order). I concede their point about Mulvey, who was the next on my list.

Edgy DC Dec 14 2006 11:08 AM

]and many within the industry believe he's capable of a similar level of improvement in the coming year. How about quoting one of those guys, or at least giving a reason why the "many" are thinking this? I think he may have better years ahead of him, but I'm expecting something of a backslide this year. I may just be jaded. ]While the Mets have been willing to discuss Milledge in trade talks, that says more about the organization's depth than any negative feelings about his skills. This organization does not have outfield depth.

seawolf17 Dec 14 2006 11:46 AM

Three of their top ten prospects are outfielders, and one of their major league OF spots is locked up for the forseeable future. I'd say that's reasonably deep.

smg58 Dec 14 2006 11:49 AM

Has anybody else put Humber ahead of Pelfrey?

Edgy DC Dec 14 2006 11:57 AM

With Martinez 21 years away, Gomez having displayed more tools than performance (he's slugged all of .400 in 297 minor league games), and Milledge coming off a mixed debut, I'd look for more redundancy before I'd describe them as organizaiton deep. Ben Johnson helps, but I don't think the organization thinks that Milledge is more dealable because of the relative certainty of getting a player out of Martinez and Gomez.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 14 2006 12:09 PM

And with over-the-hill guys manning two of their outfield positions, the Mets will need all the outfield depth that they can get.

Rotblatt Dec 14 2006 12:40 PM

I think you're right, Edge, but they DID say that we're top-heavy. So while we don't necessarily have redundancy, we DO have high-ceiling type guys. Frankly, I'd rather have the latter than the former. Both, if possible, of course, but hey, you can't have everything. Overall, it sounds like this guy thinks our farm system is in decent shape, even though we're top heavy, which was a little surprising to me.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 14 2006 12:50 PM

He also thinks the Mets are going to run away with the division again, which I consider very unlikely. The 1986 Mets didn't run away two years in a row, and they were a better team. Of course, they also had a strong division rival in the Cardinals; the Mets may or may not have a strong competitor in the East in 2007. But last year's early lead helped the Mets get away with a shakey starting rotation that had a lot of turnover. I can't imagine them being that lucky again this year. They may repeat as division champs, but I think it will be much more of a struggle. I don't anticipate any magic number updates in May.

Frayed Knot Dec 14 2006 01:01 PM

The top-heavy/low-depth label has been the description (knock) for the Met system for years now. Reyes, Wright, Kazmir, Milledge, and, to a lesser extent, Heilman, Huber and the recent college pitchers, have been in among the top half of those 'Top-100' lists over the last half-dozen years, but most find the back half of our Top-10s to be lacking. The good news, I suppose, is that we seem to be good at replacing the top level with new ones as the old ones "graduate" Following along with what Goldstein/BP has done so far (they're going team-by-team alphabetically): they've now rated 10 NL teams and come up with 15 "Excellent" prospects while finding, in true 'Bell Curve' fashion, even more "Very Good" (21), "Good" (30), and "Average" (didn't count 'em). Meanwhile in our system (small sample I know) they find 3, 1 & 1 plus a bunch in the 'Average' pile -- thus the 'Top-Heavy' label.

Frayed Knot Dec 20 2006 08:57 PM

Long-time prospect maven John Sickels [url=http://minorleagueball.com/]weighs in with his rankings[/url] In addition to just listing them (Top 20 in this case) in order he also gives an evaluation of the system as a whole: This system has quality at the top, but the talent level bottoms out very fast. (same as it ever was it seems) as well as gives each a letter grade to each so you get some kind of comparison to prospects elsewhere. 1) Fernando Martinez, OF, A- (tools and youth, just needs refinement) 2) Mike Pelfrey, RHP, Grade A- (I think the breaking pitch problem is overblown. He had a good one in college and I think he'll find it again. I am sticking with my guns on this one) 3) Phil Humber, RHP, B+ (Many prefer him over Pelfrey, I like both) 4) Carlos Gomez, OF, B (great tools, but I'm not sure about his power) 5) Jon Niese, LHP, B- (projectable lefty is a personal favorite) 6) Deolis Guerra, RHP, B- (live arm, a long way away) 7) Kevin Mulvey, RHP, B- (accidently left off first list) 8) Joe Smith, RHP, B- (impressive reliever could advance fast) 9) Mike Carp, 1B, B- (developing power bat to watch) 10) Alay Soler, RHP, C+ (Cuban defector looks better as a reliever to me than a starter) Sickels (to his credit) doesn't tend to fawn all over prospects too easily - unlike others who just want to be the first to say they were yapping about some teenager long before everyone else - and doesn't throw out high grades easily. As a comparison, he's reviewed 10 NL teams so far and has only given out 2 'A' grades (Homer Bailey - RHP Cincy; Tim Lincecum - RHP Giants) and 5 'A-minus' (in addition to our two here).

Frayed Knot Jan 08 2007 09:31 AM

[url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/263075.html]Baseball America[/url] chimes in with their Top-10 list (details to paying customers only) and continue with the now common refrain about good talent up top but little depth. 1. Mike Pelfrey, rhp 2. Fernando Martinez, of 3. Carlos Gomez, of 4. Philip Humber, rhp 5. Deolis Guerra, rhp 6. Kevin Mulvey, rhp 7. Jon Niese, lhp 8. Mike Carp, 1b 9. Joe Smith, rhp 10. Alay Soler, rhp Best Hitter for Average -- Fernando Martinez Best Power Hitter -- Fernando Martinez Best Strike-Zone Discipline -- Corey Coles Fastest Baserunner -- Carlos Gomez Best Athlete -- Carlos Gomez Best Fastball -- Mike Pelfrey Best Curveball -- Philip Humber Best Slider -- Joe Smith Best Changeup -- Deolis Guerra Best Control -- Willie Collazo Best Defensive Catcher -- Drew Butera Best Defensive Infielder -- Jose Coronado Best Infield Arm -- Corey Ragsdale Best Defensive Outfielder -- Carlos Gomez Best Outfield Arm -- Carlos Gomez

Benjamin Grimm Jan 08 2007 09:37 AM

Corey Ragsdale?!?!?!? I read somewhere that he was evil incarnate!

Johnny Dickshot Jan 08 2007 09:43 AM

Corey Ragsdale narrowly defeated Corey Coles in the hotly contested "Best Corey" competition. Other winners: Best Practical Joker: Blake Whealey Most Likely to Score with Local Annies on a Road Trip: Chris Basak

Edgy DC Jan 08 2007 09:45 AM

I guess Francisco Peña isn't yet eligible. Repeat after me. The top Mets catching prospect was born in 1990.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 08 2007 09:48 AM

The top Mets catching prospect was born in 1990.

Gwreck Jan 08 2007 09:53 AM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: He also thinks the Mets are going to run away with the division again, which I consider very unlikely. The 1986 Mets didn't run away two years in a row, and they were a better team. Of course, they also had a strong division rival in the Cardinals; the Mets may or may not have a strong competitor in the East in 2007. I think you mean 87. Regardless, I don't think that's in any way a convincing argument. What happened 20 years ago is irrelevant. ]But last year's early lead helped the Mets get away with a shakey starting rotation that had a lot of turnover. I can't imagine them being that lucky again this year. They may repeat as division champs, but I think it will be much more of a struggle. I don't anticipate any magic number updates in May. I'd tend to agree here, although I think the team could easily hold on to first place wire-to-wire again, although not necessarily with the same lead.

Vic Sage Jan 08 2007 10:08 AM

]What happened 20 years ago is irrelevant. yes, history is always irrelevant, until it repeats itself. The point i think is that, simply because we were dominant last year doesn't mean we're just as likely to go wire-to-wire this year. Invidivual performances fluctuate (especially with young players), teams get old, injuries happen, competition changes. I remember thinking in 86 that we were at the beginning of an age of total dominance. Didn't happen. Nor did the 69 team usher in a decade's worth of division titles. Talent is spread out thinner amongst teams, and small differences distinguish the best and worst teams. Thats why, when you have a chance to go for it late in the season, you go for it. Because that collection of talent may never get that close again, and you could wait a decade (or a century) before you have a serious post-season shot.

Gwreck Jan 08 2007 10:55 AM

Vic Sage wrote: yes, history is always irrelevant, until it repeats itself. Perhaps I should have been more clear. I think drawing comparisons to repeating/not repeating as division champions based on past trends isn't meaningful. Since the 3-division era of play began, there have been 72 division champions (6 divisions, 12 years). We can ignore the most recent 6 since we don't know if they'll repeat yet. That leaves 66. Of those 66 division champion teams, exactly 33 repeated as champions the next season. Exactly 33 did not.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 08 2007 11:08 AM

I wasn't saying anything about "trends." I simply said that just because the Mets ran away in 2006 there's no reason to think it will happen again. Winning the division by 15 to 20 games is a rare thing. How often has that happened two years in a row?

Edgy DC Jan 08 2007 11:11 AM

This isn't looking like a prospect rating thread. Vic Sage wrote: ]What happened 20 years ago is irrelevant. yes, history is always irrelevant, until it repeats itself. Then it's worth noting that all the Mets added in the 85-86 offseason was Bob Ojeda and Tim Teufel. Sometimes restraint is the best path. The only change the Mets made from 1983 to 1984 was in-house, replacing Brian Giles with Wally Backman --- who was fast becoming a minor-league veteran -- but they scored 77 more runs. Sometimes you believe in where you're going and restrain yourself. Vic Sage wrote: The point i think is that, simply because we were dominant last year doesn't mean we're just as likely to go wire-to-wire this year. Invidivual performances fluctuate (especially with young players), teams get old, injuries happen, competition changes. I think that, while young players may (or may not) flucuate more volatilely as individuals than older players, young players establishing themselves tend to get better as a group while older players tend to get worse. ]I remember thinking in 86 that we were at the beginning of an age of total dominance. Didn't happen. I think the lesson of 1986-1987 offseason was overrating the supposed problem of leftfield. Lacking faith in being able to piece the production they got in leftfield from the platoon staffing the job at the end of 1986, they short-sightedly overpaid for Kevin McReynolds. When the problems are few, they tend to get magnified. Then real problems can be created when one over-corrects.

Willets Point Jan 08 2007 11:18 AM

What happened twenty years ago is irrelevant to the Mets top catching prospect because he was born in 1990.

Edgy DC Jan 08 2007 11:34 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 17 2007 07:48 AM

Here's the abstract: (Subscription content.) Just in case you stopped reading in there, let me repeat this note about Kevin Mulvey: "Mulvey’s mother was watching a Dwight Gooden start for the Mets when she went into labor with Kevin...."

Johnny Dickshot Jan 08 2007 11:59 AM

I guess that makes her a MeLF

Nymr83 Jan 08 2007 02:54 PM

]A late-season injury to one of their biggest free-agent signings, Pedro Martinez, undermined New York in October. No, it didn't. While an injury to Pedro would have been a good bet to hurt the Mets in October, luck was on our side and we received good pitching performances from unlikely sources. The only bad performance was turned in by Traschel, and if Pedro were healthy it would have been Perez, not Traschel, taking a seat for him.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 08 2007 03:01 PM

Good point. What undermined the Mets was that Pedro got hurt instead of Trachsel.

Edgy DC Jan 08 2007 07:39 PM

I shouldn't be posting subscription content.

Vic Sage Jan 09 2007 07:43 AM

yup... as much as i appreciated reading it.

Edgy DC Jan 09 2007 07:51 AM

There has to be a way we can turn Mulvey's birth circumstance into a walloping nickname. Where's Valadius when you need him?

Edgy DC Jan 09 2007 07:54 AM

Looks like Gooden took the loss in support of Mrs. Mulvey.

Willets Point Jan 09 2007 12:17 PM

Edgy DC wrote: There has to be a way we can turn Mulvey's birth circumstance into a walloping nickname. Where's Valadius when you need him? Baby Doc.

sharpie Jan 09 2007 12:22 PM

We don't know if she was watching the game to watch Doc or to watch Fernando Valenzuela.

Edgy DC Jan 09 2007 01:03 PM

Baby Doc works for me. And until further notice, I dub Jonathan Niese "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio."

metirish Jan 16 2007 02:00 PM

Keith Law on Fernando Martinez ] Fernando Martinez (Mets): No prospect shone more brightly in the Arizona Fall League; Martinez's ability and demeanor fit in perfectly with players five or more years his senior. Keith Law, formerly the special assistant to the general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays, is the senior baseball analyst for Scouts Inc. I can't wait for opening day 2012

MFS62 Jan 17 2007 07:18 AM

Edgy DC wrote: I shouldn't be posting subscription content. Edgy, I believe the no-no is if you reprint that content with the objective of making money from it. In this case you were performing a public service. Thank you. And if I'm wrong, on your next birthday I hope that Scarlett can plant a file or saw in that birthday cake she generally posts to help you get out of jail. Later

Edgy DC Jan 17 2007 07:34 AM

No. The no-no is doing it without permission. I'm in the business. I know the rules.

MFS62 Jan 17 2007 07:35 AM

Thanks. Later

Frayed Knot Jan 17 2007 07:40 AM

Except that this was content which was specifically in a pay-for-view section of a website. And, even if it wasn't, reprinting things in their entirety may not be kosher even though no one is making any money off it; after all, others can claim that they are losing money because of it. Laws vary depending on juristiction - and I'm certainly not pretending to be an expert here - but, in general, we should try to refrain from simply cut-n-pasting entire articles. Though the odds of this little site doing enough to get legal action brought down upon our heads is very small, using excerpts and links is a better way to go.

MFS62 Jan 17 2007 07:47 AM

Edgy, the Devilish side of me was going to post something like: Posting subscription stuff is a no-no If you do it right to jail you will go-go But as I sit here in the Loser's Lounge, the good side of me realized how much that would have hurt. :) Later

Nymr83 Jan 17 2007 08:11 AM

cutting and pasting an entire article froma free area is unethical (imo) and pretty annoying to have to read/scroll through the whole thing to find the rerlevant part. copy the most relevant couple of lines and provide a link.

Frayed Knot Feb 14 2007 12:45 PM

Baseball Prospectus takes each team's Top-Ten prospects (see first post in this thread) and adds a glance at the rest of each system to comes up with an [url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5870&PHPSESSID=b994c31d5ef72bfc70090bd81568a02c]overall ranking[/url] of minor league talent Mets come out 8th overall (and best in the NL East) with the usual caveat thrown in about good top talent but weak depth. Few teams in baseball have two outfielders to match Fernando Martinez and Carlos Gomez or two righthanders to match the duo of Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey. So they get huge points for top-level talent, but there is little to talk about after that.

Edgy DC Feb 14 2007 10:26 PM

Seeing no interest in the Inside Pitch rankings in their own thread I'll post them here. Milledge has graduated and no longer qualifies as a prospect. So apparently has Soler. Many of the guys listed as NR for 2006 weren't ranked because they hadn't established themselves as pros not because they were ill-considered. All these guys included who weren't ranked last year could be interpreted as a deep new class, but is more likely due to (a) a shallow class last year, (b) a bad job by Inside Pitch last year, or (c) the haphazardness of doing this sort of thing beyond 10 or 20 fellas. 2007 Ranking 2006 Ranking Prospect Pos High 2006 Level Main 2006 Level DOB H W B T 1 2 Carlos Gomez CF Binghamton Binghamton 12/4/85 6'4" 190 R R 2 NR Mike Pelfrey SP New York Binghamton 1/14/84 6'7" 210 R R 3 NR Fernando Martinez CF St. Lucie Hagerstown 10/10/88 6'0" 185 L R 4 4 Philip Humber SP New York St. Lucie 12/21/85 6'4" 210 R R 5 5 Mike Carp 1B St. Lucie St. Lucie 6/30/86 6'2" 195 L R 6 7 Shawn Bowman 3B St. Lucie St. Lucie 12/9/84 6'2" 206 R R 7 NR Jonathon Niese SP St. Lucie Hagerstown 10/27/86 6'3" 190 L L 8 NR Deolis Guerra SP St. Lucie Hagerstown 4/17/89 6'5" 200 R R 9 11 Nick Evans 1B Hagerstown Hagerstown 1/30/86 6'2" 185 R R 10 NR Kevin Mulvey SP Binghamton Binghamton 5/26/85 6'2" 190 R R 11 13 Jose Coronado SS St. Lucie St. Lucie 4/13/86 6'1" 175 S R 12 NR Hector Pellot 2B Hagerstown Hagerstown 2/8/87 5'11" 185 R R 13 6 Ambiorix Concepcion RF Binghamton St. Lucie 10/15/83 6'2" 180 R R 14 NR Michel Abreu 1B Binghamton Binghamton 1/2/79 6'3" 230 R R 15 NR Dustin Martin OF Brooklyn Brooklyn 4/4/84 6'2" 210 L L 16 NR Tobi Stoner SP Brooklyn Brooklyn 12/3/84 6'2" 192 S R 17 10 Anderson Hernandez 2B New York Norfolk 10/30/82 5'9" 170 S R 18 17 Brett Harper 1B Binghamton Binghamton 7/31/81 6'4" 210 L R 19 NR Eric Brown SP Binghamton Brooklyn 2/23/84 6'6" 225 R R 20 NR Joe Smith RP Binghamton Brooklyn 4/22/86 6'2" 205 R R 21 NR Emmanuel Garcia SS St. Lucie Kingsport 4/4/86 6'2" 180 L R 22 NR Sean Henry CF Hagerstown Kingsport 8/18/85 5'10" 160 R R 23 NR Daniel Stegall OF Gulf Coast Gulf Coast 9/24/87 6'3" 180 L R 24 NR John Holdzkom RP Gulf Coast Gulf Coast 10/19/87 6'8" 275 R R 25 NR Sean McCraw CF Brooklyn Kingsport 3/11/86 6'0" 180 L R 26 43 Bobby Parnell SP St. Lucie Hagerstown 9/8/84 6'3" 180 R R 27 30 Robert Paulk SP Norfolk Binghamton 3/14/81 5'11" 170 R R 28 16 Chase Lambin 2B Norfolk Norfolk 7/7/79 6'1" 180 R R 29 NR Eddie Camacho SP Binghamton Binghamton 7/17/82 6'1" 191 L L 30 NR Mike Devaney SP Binghamton Binghamton 7/31/82 6'4" 220 R R 31 NR Jake Ruckle SP St. Lucie Brooklyn 5/27/86 6'1" 180 R R 32 NR German Marte RP Hagerstown Hagerstown 4/29/85 6'1" 180 R R 33 NR Jorge Reyes SP Hagerstown Brooklyn 5/15/84 6'4" 168 R R 34 15 Corey Ragsdale SS Binghamton Binghamton 11/10/82 6'4" 185 R R 35 NR Corey Coles OF St. Lucie St. Lucie 1/30/82 6'0" 180 L L 36 9 Jamar Hill RF St. Lucie St. Lucie 9/20/82 6'4" 200 R R 37 NR Todd Privett SP Brooklyn Brooklyn 4/22/86 6'0" 185 L L 38 NR Daniel Murphy 3B Brooklyn Kingsport 1/4/85 6'1" 210 L R 39 NR Jose De La Torre SP Brooklyn Brooklyn 10/17/85 5'11" 165 R R 40 34 Miguel Pinango SP Binghamton Binghamton 1/20/83 6'1" 160 R R 41 41 Drew Butera C Hagerstown Hagerstown 8/9/83 6'1" 190 R R 42 NR Nick Carr SP Kingsport Kingsport 4/19/87 6'1" 198 R R 43 NR Julio Polanco SP Kingsport Kingsport 11/29/86 6'0" 165 L L 44 NR Josh Stinson SP Hagerstown Gulf Coast 3/14/88 6'4" 195 R R 45 NR Brandon Nall RP Binghamton Hagerstown 9/1/82 6'4" 185 R R 46 50 Joe Holden OF Hagerstown Brooklyn 4/10/84 5'11" 175 L R 47 NR Yasmil Bucce C St. Lucie St. Lucie 4/29/84 6'1" 180 R R 48 NR Bobby Malek OF Norfolk Binghamton 6/6/81 6'3" 205 L R 49 47 Matt Durkin SP Hagerstown Gulf Coast 2/22/83 6'4" 220 R R 50 NR Jonathan Malo 3B St. Lucie St. Lucie 9/9/83 6'1" 185 R R

Frayed Knot Feb 21 2007 08:59 AM

[u:fb164f299a]Baseball Prospectus[/u:fb164f299a] is the first to weigh in with their [url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5892&PHPSESSID=d92076f5200bb1b0b210f4fbc11abc4c]Top 100 Rankings[/url] 1 - Alex Gordon, 3B, Royals, (Age = 23) 2 - Philip Hughes, RHP, Yankees, 21 3 - Delmon Young, OF, Devil Rays, 21 4 - Homer Bailey, RHP, Reds, 21 5 - Brandon Wood, SS, Angels, 22 6 - Tim Lincecum, RHP, Giants, 23 7 - Cameron Maybin, OF, Tigers, 20 8 - Chris Young, OF, Diamondbacks, 23 9 - Jay Bruce, OF, Reds, 20 10 - Evan Longoria, 3B, Devil Rays, 21 .... Home Boys: 18 - Fernando Martinez, OF, 18 26 - Philip Humber, RHP, 24 30 - Mike Pelfrey, RHP, 23 34 - Carlos Gomez, OF, 21

Edgy DC Feb 21 2007 09:08 AM

Gomez confounds me. Inside Pitch has him as the team's top prospect, but Baseball Prospectus has him fourth, but still --- as the 34th overall prospect --- pretty damn high for a guy that's been mostly potential more than performance. That's in part because the Mets have been promoting aggressively, and Carlos gets bumped up as soon as he figures a level out, but Martinez has been promoted more aggressively and still has out-performed Go-Go.

smg58 Feb 21 2007 09:24 AM

Gomez strikes me as the best candidate to deal between him, Milledge, and Martinez, because he's the least likely of the three to put up strong offensive numbers for a corner outfielder. Sure he's probably the best defensive CF of the three, perhaps by a lot given his rep, but the Mets won't need a CF any time soon.

Edgy DC Feb 21 2007 09:28 AM

Most sources, I think, project him as a rightfielder, as his arm is his best trait.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 21 2007 09:28 AM

Well, if Gomez is the real deal, he doesn't have to be dealt. He'll be 26 when Beltran's contract runs out. One scenario is that he could spend a couple of more years in the minors and then a few as a major league fourth outfielder.

Frayed Knot Feb 21 2007 11:38 AM

And who says that Beltran can't be moved to a corner spot by the 6th or 7th year of his deal? Yeah, I know, it's never an easy thing with those big contract guys in glamour positions - although even Griffey is likely moving this year - but I think they view Gomez as the best bet to be a true CFer down the road out of the three young OFers.

Edgy DC Feb 21 2007 11:47 AM

Just to point out. Peeps don't usually climb the Inside Pitch list too rapidly. They tend to debut where they are and either maintain that position or fall as they approach their big-league debuts. A notable exception this year: Bobby Parnell.

Vic Sage Feb 22 2007 01:36 PM

here's the thread where we discussed our top prospects back in November: http://cybermessageboard.ehost.com/getalife/viewtopic.php?t=5101&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=40 with my projected rankings at that time: ]top 15: Pelfrey, RHP Humber, RHP F.Martinez, OF C.Gomez, OF Bannister, RHP Owens, RHRP J.Flores, C Carp, 1B Coles, OF Guerra, RHP Neise, LHP Soler, RHP Mulvey, RHP J.Smith, RHRP M.Abreu, 1B next 20 (in no particular order): Wylie,RHRP B.Harper, 1b Parnell, RHP D.Martin, OF G.Marte, RHRP S.Henry, OF M.Garcia, 2b T.Stoner, RHP N.Evans, 3b J.Holden, OF Nall, RHRP Tomasiewicz, RHRP M.Perez, RHRP Devaney, RHP C.Stewart, of Collazo, RHP Lindstrom, RHRP Cullen, RHRP Privett, LHP Maldonado, RHRP It looks like the Mets prospects are mostly RHPs, OFs and some 1Bs, with very few middle infield or LHP prospects. 20 kids from 2006 draft were signed and played in the Mets system last year, and the productive ones were almost exclusively RHPs. Dustin Martin (of) was the only non-pitcher to show promise, and Duane Privett the only LHP to make progress.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 26 2007 12:04 PM

A sneak preview of what's still behind the curtain at the UMDB: Fernando Martinez Carlos Gomez Mike Nickeas I'll probably open some of this stuff up to the public around Opening Day, although the minor league stats won't be nearly complete by then, if ever.

Edgy DC Feb 26 2007 12:31 PM

Cute. The Nickeas page links to the Victor Diaz page, but the Diaz page doesn't link back. It'll be fun to see if some never-made-it would-be Met (like Shake Moore!) gets memories posted to his page from fans in Jackson, MS, or Little Falls, NY.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 26 2007 12:40 PM

Edgy DC wrote: Cute. The Nickeas page links to the Victor Diaz page, but the Diaz page doesn't link back. So far, no pages (other than this one) link to Mets minor leaguers who haven't played in the big leagues. Once I open things up, Diaz will link back to Nickeas. Edgy DC wrote: It'll be fun to see if some never-made-it would-be Met (like Shake Moore!) gets memories posted to his page from fans in Jackson, MS, or Little Falls, NY. I'm still undecided whether or not I'll open that particular can of worms. It will literally allow for memories of thousands of additional players to be shared, and I don't know whether or not I want to take that on. A memory of Shake Moore would be neat, though.

Edgy DC Feb 26 2007 12:53 PM

What Google tells me about Shake: He was a 31st-round draft choice in 1980. He came out of Long Beach State University (a Dirtbag!). Pressbox personel in the 1970s at The Ballpark Southeast of the Stockyards will never forget longtime local sports scribe LES GILES keeping them in stitches by creating nicknames and quips off players' names long before CHRIS BERMAN was doing it on ESPN. One evening the Texas League's Jackson Mets fielded a team that featured outfielder SHAKE MOORE and third baseman CHAD ROLLE. Giles commented, "If only they had a player named 'Rattle', they'd have 'Shake, Rattle and Rolle'."........ Source: Golden Spread News

Benjamin Grimm Feb 26 2007 01:00 PM

The Golden Spread Region???

Benjamin Grimm Feb 26 2007 01:02 PM

And here's what the UMDB currently has on Shake Moore: http://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=3J88 It ain't much, I'm afraid.

abogdan Feb 28 2007 08:21 AM

Sidd Finch didn't get as much admiration in SI as Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez do in [url=http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6509536]this piece from Ken Rosenthal[/url]. Some highlights: ]None other than Beltran says of Gomez, "He doesn't know how good he is." "He's more talented than I was at his age," Beltran says. "He weighs about 200 pounds. When I was that age, I maybe weighed 175. He's a very strong kid." Reyes, Gomez's winter-workout partner and one of the fastest players in the game, freely admits that Gomez "is faster than me." His arm? "A cannon," Mets outfielder Endy Chavez says. ]Tales of Martinez's hitting prowess already are becoming legend. He worked out with the Mets immediately after signing his contract and hit an opposite-field homer at Shea Stadium. He hit another homer two-thirds up the batter's eye in center early in spring training, prompting owner Fred Wilpon to exclaim, "Wow."

Benjamin Grimm Feb 28 2007 08:49 AM

Beltran? Isn't he the Met with hair?

Frayed Knot Mar 01 2007 02:37 PM

[u:330eea2550]Baseball America[/u:330eea2550] is out with their [url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/263445.html]Top 100 Prospects List[/url] Not a whole lot different from the [u:330eea2550]Baseball Prospectus[/u:330eea2550] list (above) except that BA keeps with their tradition of listing foreign professionals and not only includes 'Dice-K' but puts him right at the top. 1 - Daisuke Matsuzaka - RHP, Boston 2 - Alex Gordon - 3B, Kansas City 3 - Delmon Young - OF, Tampa Bay 4 - Phillip Hughes - RHP, NYY 5 - Homer Bailey - RHP, Cincinnati 6 - Cameron Maybin - OF, Detroit 7 - Evan Longoria - 3B, Tampa Bay 8 - Brandon Wood - SS/3B, Anaheim 9 - Justin Upton - OF, Arizona 10 - Andrew Miller - LHP, Detroit Home Boys: 20 - Mike Pelfrey 22 - Fernando Martinez 60 - Carlos Gomez 73 - Philip Humber They also had an [url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/chat.php?id=2007030101&rnd=10#bottom]on-line Q&A session[/url] with only a few Met-related questions: ** Q: Peter from San Diego asks: I'm assuming that Lasting Milledge's omission is because he had too many major league ABs last year? A: Jim Callis: You are correct. He would have been in the 15-30 range otherwise. ** Q: Mike from Cali asks: Why is Pelfrey listed so much higher than Humber? Is it purely injury concerns? What separates them so much for you? A: Jim Callis: That's part of it. I also just like Pelfrey better. I think he can be a frontline guy, while Humber is more of a No. 3 to me.

Edgy DC Mar 24 2007 09:04 PM

It looks like Jesus Flores is a memory. He's 10-20 this spring so he's certainly got a job with the Nats sewn up. Keeping that job for a year is another story, but it's not like it's unlikely. As far as catching prospects, keep an eye on Yasmil Bucce. He seems to be now considered the top defensive catching prospect in the system. He's going on 23 and he's only had 109 professional at-bats, but he's hit .339 in that span (though with an isolated slugging percentage of only .092). I suspect the Mets will push him hard and see how he responds.

MFS62 Mar 26 2007 06:48 AM

And I thought I was the only one following Flores. I've been checking out the transactions every day ... hoping to see a note about him being returned to the Mets. sigh Later

Benjamin Grimm Mar 26 2007 07:08 AM

I don't expect to see him back. If the Nationals are as awful as everyone seems to expect (something like 155 losses, I hear) they'll be able to afford to carry him on their roster for the entire season. They just have to hope he doesn't get too demoralized playing for a team that loses 161 games.

MFS62 Mar 26 2007 07:21 AM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I don't expect to see him back. If the Nationals are as awful as everyone seems to expect (something like 155 losses, I hear) they'll be able to afford to carry him on their roster for the entire season. They just have to hope he doesn't get too demoralized playing for a team that loses 161 games. So, are you betting the under? Later