Minor League Thread - 2009 Version

[blueNorange]

new year, new players to look foward too, and new prospects. this thread is where all news on either the prospects of the mets or news about them go. we had a good one in 2008, hopefully we have an even better one in 2009

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[blueNorange]

top 20 mets prospects heading into 2009

1) Wilmer Flores, SS-3B, Grade B+: I might take some flack for this, but in this case I think his upside is higher than F-Mart. If I could have just one of them, I’d pick Flores.

2) Fernando Martinez, OF, Grade B+: Still extremely young, though at some point he’s got to produce better than he has. You can flip him with Flores if you prefer the guy closer to the majors.

3) Jon Niese, LHP, Grade B: I’ve liked him since high school. He’s not an ace but should be a fine inning-eater.

4) Brad Holt, RHP, Grade B: Higher ceiling than Niese, but not as refined and command still needs work.

5) Reese Havens, SS, Grade B: Assuming he’s healthy, I think he’s going to be a strong across-the-board player with a high OBP.

6) Jefry Marte, 3B, Grade C+: Could be a star if it all comes together, but still rather raw. Considering B- but for me that’s aggressive for a rookie ball guy.

7) Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Grade C+ Pitching version of Marte: lots of talent, but skills are in the developmental stages and may not pan out.

8) Bobby Parnell, RHP, Grade C+: Stats don’t match scouting reports, but he has a good sinker and could be an effective setup man.

9) Eddie Kunz, RHP, Grade C+: Another bullpen option who gets ground balls.

10) Nick Evans, 1B, Grade C+: Held his own after being rushed, which you have to respect, but he may just be a good platoon bat, not a regular.

11) Ike Davis, 1B-OF, Grade C+: I will cut him some slack for now. If he can’t hit, he could convert to pitching due to his strong arm.

12) Dillon Gee, RHP, Grade C+: Sleeper prospect has a decent arm, good command, and has risen rapidly in a short period of time. Could be better than many more-heralded guys.

13) Scott Moviel, RHP, Grade C+: Young and projectable, but if they rush him they will be sorry.

14) Scott Shaw, RHP, Grade C+: Sleeper prospect from 2008 draft, has above average stuff and showed better command in the pros than he did at Illinois.

15) Eric Beaulac, RHP, Grade C+: Another sleeper college arm, this one with a home state connection at LeMoyne.

16) Ruben Tejada, SS, Grade C+: Gets slack on the grade because he was massively rushed to the Florida State League. Controls the strike zone, has promise with the glove, very young.

17) Greg Veloz, 2B, Grade C+: Another young infielder who has been pushed fast but has some upside.

18) Michael Antonini, LHP, Grade C: I cut him at the last second from the 2008 book, though he still showed up on the grade list in the back of the book. Good changeup.

19) Dylan Owen, RHP, Grade C: Polished pitcher with good command, could be swingman.

20) Kyle Allen, RHP, Grade C: Sleeper high school pick from 2008 draft bears close attention

[blueNorange]

Holt is going to spring training with the Mets as a non-roster player after being selected No. 33 overall in the 2008 draft.

[Manhattan Project]

My main question is what do we plan on doing with Flores, I mean I think we all know that he wont be a 3B or a SS when he gets here. Have they been experimenting with him at any other position?

[blueNorange]

My main question is what do we plan on doing with Flores, I mean I think we all know that he wont be a 3B or a SS when he gets here. Have they been experimenting with him at any other position?

corner outfield ... scouts say he has a rocket arm.

[blueNorange]

f-mart, stoner, holt, gee, antonini, thole, and coronado are all invited to spring training. stoner is the oldest players at 24 years of age!

[blueNorange]

baseball america's top 30 mets prospects

1. Fernando Martinez, cf
2. Wilmer Flores, ss
3. Jon Niese, lhp
4. Brad Holt, rhp
5. Bobby Parnell, rhp
6. Jefry Marte, 3b
7. Jenrry Mejia, rhp
8. Reese Havens, ss
9. Nick Evans, 1b/of
10. Eddie Kunz, rhp
11. Ike Davis, 1b
12. Cesar Puello, of
13. Scott Moviel, rhp
14. Zach Lutz, 3b
15. Mike Antonini, lhp
16. Ruben Tejada, ss
17. Dillon Gee, rhp
18. Scott Shaw, rhp
19. Tobi Stoner, rhp
20. Lucas Duda, 1b
21. Francisco Pena, c
22. Greg Veloz, 2b
23. Josh Thole, c
24. Brant Rustich, rhp
25. Nathan Vineyard, lhp
26. Elvin Ramirez, rhp
27. Darren O'Day, rhp
28. Dylan Owen, rhp
29. Javier Rodriguez, of
30. Aderlin Rodriguez, 3b

[blueNorange]

link

Scott Moviel, the 6-foot-11 righthander who is ranked the No. 13 prospect in the organization, had surgery on Jan. 23 to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his right knee and should be out until May. Moviel, 20, has been at the Mets' complex this week, navigating the territory on crutches. It's the same injury Johan Santana gutted through in September and had surgery to repair after the season.

[nyknicks09]

So who's the next Murphy type of player? F.Martinez?

[blueNorange]

So who's the next Murphy type of player? F.Martinez?

next murphy??

i guess you can say catcher josh thole ... think of him as a paul lo duca type player, makes contact. has more walks than strikeouts in the minors.

and f-mart isn't the best prospect ... it's wilmer flores who for a 17 year old showed great power -- he's being compared to miggy cabrera. 6'3" shortstop but in a few year he'll outgrow the position so he'll be rightfielder with his excellent arm.

a few notes ... dillon gee and fernando martinez will start the year in triple a which is awesome for the both. expect gee to be the guy called up this year over niese since gee throws strikes and is more polished right now.

18 year old ss ruben tejada is gonna start in double a despite him hitting like .230 in single a, mets organization love him ... a few years ago he was in the little league world series and last month was playing for panama in the WBC.

wilmer flores and jefry marte will start in savanah .. both will be one of the younger players out there.

last years 1st round picks brad holt, ike davis, and reese havens will be in st. lucie i believe with holt having the potential to end the year in double a or possibly a september callup.

minor league games start tomorrow and i'll keep you all updated.

[Manhattan Project]

Holt I have to believe will be a September call up, he throws real gas. His curveball looks like its coming all quite nicely.
Ike Davis should be an interesting prospect to watch considering they will probably flirt with Evans at first and Delgado's contract will be up.
I'm not worried about Niese considering the road Pelfrey had to go through to make it here first.

However this is the year that I believe that Martinez either stays healthy and probably eventually gets traded for a real good arm.

[blueNorange]

Holt I have to believe will be a September call up, he throws real gas. His curveball looks like its coming all quite nicely.
Ike Davis should be an interesting prospect to watch considering they will probably flirt with Evans at first and Delgado's contract will be up.
I'm not worried about Niese considering the road Pelfrey had to go through to make it here first.

However this is the year that I believe that Martinez either stays healthy and probably eventually gets traded for a real good arm.

actually i see evans as trade bait with murphy moving to 1b next year to replace delgado. remember, davis can also play the outfield.

or if murphy is somewhat decent in left, they can make davis the 1b which be awesome since lefthanded 1b make it easier when they turn the double play and keep the runners close.

[blueNorange]

aa:

ss - ruben tejada - 2 for 4 | 2 rbi(2) | bb(1) | .500 ba
c - josh thole - 2 for 4 | rbi(1) | bb(1) | .500 ba
3b - shawn bowman - 2 for 5 | rbi(1) | .400 ba
1b - lucas duda - 0 for 4 | .000 ba
sp - michael antonini - 4.2 ip | 7 h | 3 r(3 er) | bb | 4 k | 5.79 rts
rp - roy merritt - 1.0 ip | 2 k | s(1) | 0.00 era

[Manhattan Project]

Holt I have to believe will be a September call up, he throws real gas. His curveball looks like its coming all quite nicely.
Ike Davis should be an interesting prospect to watch considering they will probably flirt with Evans at first and Delgado's contract will be up.
I'm not worried about Niese considering the road Pelfrey had to go through to make it here first.

However this is the year that I believe that Martinez either stays healthy and probably eventually gets traded for a real good arm.

actually i see evans as trade bait with murphy moving to 1b next year to replace delgado. remember, davis can also play the outfield.

or if murphy is somewhat decent in left, they can make davis the 1b which be awesome since lefthanded 1b make it easier when they turn the double play and keep the runners close.

It's funny because me and my father always talked about the future first basemen. For some reason he his dead set on Wright moving to first. I always tell him that's never going to happen. As far as Evans being the bait, if I'm a team why go for Evans if you can get Martinez? Granted Evans has played in the Majors, but still Martinez the potential is there.

Davis, Murphy, Evans all options.
What's the deal with Carp?

[blueNorange]

Holt I have to believe will be a September call up, he throws real gas. His curveball looks like its coming all quite nicely.
Ike Davis should be an interesting prospect to watch considering they will probably flirt with Evans at first and Delgado's contract will be up.
I'm not worried about Niese considering the road Pelfrey had to go through to make it here first.

However this is the year that I believe that Martinez either stays healthy and probably eventually gets traded for a real good arm.

actually i see evans as trade bait with murphy moving to 1b next year to replace delgado. remember, davis can also play the outfield.

or if murphy is somewhat decent in left, they can make davis the 1b which be awesome since lefthanded 1b make it easier when they turn the double play and keep the runners close.

It's funny because me and my father always talked about the future first basemen. For some reason he his dead set on Wright moving to first. I always tell him that's never going to happen. As far as Evans being the bait, if I'm a team why go for Evans if you can get Martinez? Granted Evans has played in the Majors, but still Martinez the potential is there.

Davis, Murphy, Evans all options.
What's the deal with Carp?

carp was part of the putz trade

[Manhattan Project]

carp was part of the putz trade

You know the only thing I remember about that deal was that it was Heilman, Chavez and Smith to go along with three minor leaguers. Always forget to look into who the minor leaguers are until they end up as a Bagwell.

[nykgeneralmanager]

I'm obviously a Yankees fan but I am a huge follower of the minor leagues, and Fernando Martinez is one guy I have followed closely since the day he signed with the Mets. While it is nice that he is starting the year in AAA, I feel that his last two promotions have been unwarranted and was curious if any Met fans felt the same way. Trust me I am not knocking the kid, he has tremendous ability and a very, very sweet swing and I am hoping he can have a great career.

He has had some injury issues and never played over 90 games in a single season. For instance, in 2006 in high A ball he hit .193 but flashed some power, and the Mets sent him to AA in 2007 where he held his own considering his age (.271) but still only played 60 games. And for all the talk about his speed, he had more CS (4) than SB (3). They did the right thing and kept him in AA last season and once again he impressed me considering his age as he hit .287. However, he still couldn't last a full season, still isn't showing a ton of speed, and his OPS was still under .800. Also, his K and BB rates didn't really improve much and he had an abnormally high BABIP.

I don't want to sound like I am ragging on the kid so I'm sorry if it comes off that way (I think he can be a superstar), but I would've liked to see him get to start this season in AA and put up an OPS over .800 with better K and BB rates to show that he has really mastered the level and is ready for a promotion. He is still VERY young even for AA at 20 years old. He can come out and dominate AAA anyway and I can look (Please Use More Appropriate Word), but I figure there is nothing wrong with some good discussion.

What do you guys think?

[Manhattan Project]

Well obviously I'm not that big of a follower but the knocks you have on him are legit. Thus far he has had a hamstring, elbow strain and I'm sure other things. So yeah the injuries do raise a red flag however he still does flash that five tool skill set. Again like you said he is only 20 years old and will have to prove a lot this year to warrant the hype that has followed him around. Off to a good start today, in which if he can stay healthy should make for his first true evaluation year.

[blueNorange]

I'm obviously a Yankees fan but I am a huge follower of the minor leagues, and Fernando Martinez is one guy I have followed closely since the day he signed with the Mets. While it is nice that he is starting the year in AAA, I feel that his last two promotions have been unwarranted and was curious if any Met fans felt the same way. Trust me I am not knocking the kid, he has tremendous ability and a very, very sweet swing and I am hoping he can have a great career.

He has had some injury issues and never played over 90 games in a single season. For instance, in 2006 in high A ball he hit .193 but flashed some power, and the Mets sent him to AA in 2007 where he held his own considering his age (.271) but still only played 60 games. And for all the talk about his speed, he had more CS (4) than SB (3). They did the right thing and kept him in AA last season and once again he impressed me considering his age as he hit .287. However, he still couldn't last a full season, still isn't showing a ton of speed, and his OPS was still under .800. Also, his K and BB rates didn't really improve much and he had an abnormally high BABIP.

I don't want to sound like I am ragging on the kid so I'm sorry if it comes off that way (I think he can be a superstar), but I would've liked to see him get to start this season in AA and put up an OPS over .800 with better K and BB rates to show that he has really mastered the level and is ready for a promotion. He is still VERY young even for AA at 20 years old. He can come out and dominate AAA anyway and I can look (Please Use More Appropriate Word), but I figure there is nothing wrong with some good discussion.

What do you guys think?

you make great points and some think the reason why f-mart is so injury prone is because he was rushed and couldn't handle the schedule that double a had. the mets have also changed his batting stance from crouched to standing up to make him drive the ball with more power and to not put to much pressure on his legs but since 2006 the mets have rushed their prospects. pelfrey only had like 10 minor league starts before his mlb debut, murphy and evans were in double a, 18 year old ruben tejada is in double a, and wilmer flores and jefry marte are playing in a level that's too advance for them.

but the mets don't care about their numbers, they just want to see how they can handle it and make adjustments. IE francisco pena stunked in savanah, the next year he improved his batting average by 50 points ... that i'm sure has caught the mets organizations eye.

[blueNorange]

aaa:

ss - jose coronado - 1 for 4 | rbi(1) | bb(1) | .250 ba
dh - fernando martinez - 2 for 4 | 2b(1) | 3b(1)| .500 ba
1b - nick evans - 0 for 4 | .000 ba
c - omir santos - 1 for 3 | bb(1) | .333 ba
sp - jon niese - 2.0 ip | 5 h | 5 r(5 er) | 3 bb | 2 k | 0-1 | 22.50 era
rp - eddie kunz - 1.1 ip | 3 bb | 0.00 era
rp - conor robertson - 1.0 ip | bb | k | 0.00 era

aa:

ss - ruben tejada - 1 for 6 | .300 ba
c - josh thole - 1 for 6 | .300 ba
3b - shawn bowman - 2 for 6 | 2b(1) | rbi(2) | .364 ba
1b - lucas duda - 2 for 4 | bb(1) | .250 ba
sp - dylan owen - 5.0 ip | 3 h | 2 r(2 er) | 5 bb | 2 k | 3.60 era

a+:

2b - greg veloz - 1 for 4 | .250 ba
ss - reese havens - 1 for 4 | .250 ba
cf - kirk nieuwnhuis - 1 for 4 | .250 ba
1b - ike davis - 1 fof 4 | 2b(1) | .250 ba
3b - zach lutz - 0 for 3 | .000 ba
c - francisco pena - 1 for 3 | .333 ba
sp - brad holt - 3.2 ip | 7 h | 9 r(9 er) | 4 bb | 5 k | 3 hr/all | 0-1 | 22.09 era
rp - nick waechter - 3.1 ip | h | 3 k | 0.00 era
rp - stephen clyne - 2.0 ip | h | 2 k | 0.00 era

a:

2b - jordany valdespin - 1 for 4 | 2b(1) | .250 ba
ss - wilmer flores - 0 for 3 | rbi(1) | .000 ba
cf - sean ratliff - 3 for 4 | 2b(1) | .750 ba
c - kai gronauer - 1 for 3 | .333 ba
1b - eric campbell - 1 for 4 | .250 ba
3b - jefry marte - 1 for 4 | rbi(1) | .250 ba
dh - josh satin - 0 for 2 | rbi(1) | .000 ba
sp - elvin ramirez - 6.0 ip | 3 h | bb | 4 k | 1-0 | 0.00
rp - manuel olivares - 3.0 ip | h | 3 k | s(1) | 0.00 era