Jenrry Mejia Tops Another Mets Prospect List

        

Kevin Goldstein revealed his Top 11 Mets Prospects on Thursday for Baseball Prospectus. Like some of the prospects lists we’ve seen already, the top pick is once again Jenrry Mejia. Here is what Kevin had to say about the 20-year old uber-prospect.

“It’s rare to find a fastball with plus-plus velocity and movement, but Mejia has just that… he needs to find a consistent breaking ball.  He gets around on his slider too often, leading it to sweep across the plate on a single plane. His pitches have so much movement that at times he has trouble controlling them in the strike zone.”

Maybe it’s just the many years of disappointment and the never-ending parade of failed Mets pitching phenoms, but I’m finding it hard to fully embrace all the buzz and hype surrounding Mejia just yet. Especially after he was lit up like a Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween in the Arizona Fall League. What I’ve learned in my evolution as a Mets fan is that just because you have great stuff, it doesn’t mean you’ll be a great pitcher.

Jeesh… It’s been over 25 years since Dwight Gooden met all those expectations, won the Rookie of the Year, and followed it up with a Cy Young award. We haven’t had a Met win either award ever since, so pardon if I’m a little pessimistic when it comes to Mets phenoms.

Here is Goldstein’s full list:

5 STARS
1. Jenrry Mejia – His heater sits at 93-95 mph, touches 98, and features heavy, hard sink.

4 STARS
2. Fernando Martinez – Has star-level offensive potential. A good outfielder with above-average arm.
3. Wilmer Flores – Flores has big offensive potential. His bat speed ranks with anyone in the system.
4. Ike Davis – Has classic 1B tools, with a good feel of strike zone and plus to plus-plus raw power.

3 STARS
5. Jon Niese – The most advanced pitching prospect in the system.
6. Brad Holt – He fills the strike zone with a 91-94 heater that touches 96 mph when he reaches back.
7. Kirk Nieuwenhuis – Nieuwenhuis is a big athlete with solid tools across the board.
8. Josh Thole – Thole is a pure contact hitter who slaps balls to all fields, is difficult to strike out.
9. Kyle Allen – He’s long and projectable, and he flashed a solid slider and changeup last year.
10. Ruben Tejada – Tejada could be a second-division starting infielder or a nice utility player.
11. Reese Havens – He could be a low-average 2B who makes up for it with walks and power.

Jeurys Familia, Cesar Puello, Jefry Marte and Juan Urbina rounded out the Top 15.