Aug
11
2011

Baseball America’s Mets Top 10 List Prior To 2011, Where Are They Now?

An article by Dan Valis

Below is Baseball America’s top 10 list prior to the 2011 season. Where are these players now, and what have they done so far this season?

SP – Jenrry Mejia: Coming in Mejia was the best prospect in the Mets farm system. He pitched out of the bullpen in 2010, which in my opinion was a huge mistake. It happened because Manuel and Minaya were desperate to keep their jobs, and with little no bullpen help he pitched his way onto the roster for opening day. He struggled, and was sent down and eventually lost due to the questionable back and forth decision making from the Minaya regime.
Started 2011: #1 Starter in AAA Currently: lost for the season after Tommy John Surgery

SS – Wilmer Flores: Once again the young prospect has struggled with his overall play. He has sown some flashes of his potential, but has not put together a season that proves is anywhere near major league ready at this point. He also not proven that he is deserving of being ranked at the top of the Mets farm system, hence all of the mid-season lists having him dropped to the bottom of the top 10 now.
Started 2011: Single-A Currently: Single-A

OF – Cesar Puello: Speedster outfielder who has all the tools to progress through the ranks at a quick pace. Like Flores, he has not put up big numbers in the low minors and because of that he has not progressed through the system at the pace team officials had hoped. He has shown some pop this season which has surprised some, but the rest of his game needs more seasoning.
Started 2011: Single-A Currently: Single-A

SP – Matt Harvey: Hes pitched like a potential top of the rotation starter that some project him to be. He dominated the low minors and forced his promotion to Double-A. After initially struggling at the next level, he has returned to dominance his last few starts. Harvey is showing more and more why he is the crown jewel of the system right now.
Started 2011: Single-A Currently: Double-A

OF – Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Kirk was enjoying a fine season in Buffalo before falling to injury. He may have lost a huge opportunity to play every day on the major league roster with the recent trade of Beltran, and injury to Murphy that has moved Duda to first base.
Started 2011: Triple-A Currently: out for season, shoulder surgery

2B – Reese Havens: Another injury riddled season by the second baseman. He has a world of potential, but can not stay on the the field. With the injuries to Murphy, he may have had a shot to be playing in Flushing to finish this season had he not been behind the eight ball already. He is heating up lately, and could prompt a promotion to Triple-A before the year is out.
Started 2011: Double-A Currently: Double-A

1B – Lucas Duda: Duda showed his power in the Triple-A, and as soon as a opportunity arose he got the call and produced. Last season he struggled out of the gate after he made his MLB debut. However, this season he started hitting with power and driving the ball in the gaps from the get go. He has the opportunity to show what he can do over the last two months with the injury to Murphy and the trade of Carlos Beltran.
Started 2011: Triple-A Currently: MLB

OF – Fernando Martinez: What can you say? This guy has not played a full season in his pro career, and because of that he has not been able to show his full potential. Minaya was able to keep him out of the Johan Santana trade because of his 5 tool potential. However, since that time has has been on the shelf as much as he has been on the field.
Started 2011: Triple-A Currently: Triple-A

3B – Aderlin Rodriguez: Terrible defense and a low batting average or lots of home runs and power potential? Aderlin has been sort of an an enigma is his brief pro career. He has been the typical all or nothing player. He bats in the low .200′s, but has the greatest power potential in the system. If he can not sure up his defense and find a way to get on base more, that power potential is going to go to waste.
Started 2011: Low-A Currenlty: Low -A

SP – Brad Holt: Lost his starting job because he could not find the strike zone. He was great in his first few starts, but then came the wildness. He totally lost command of the strike zone and never found it again. He was relegated to the bullpen where he has been much better. It doesn’t look like this former first round pick will ever be more than a reliever at this point.
Started 2011: Double-A Currently: Double-A

I think its safe to say that this list is drastically different then what we currently see as the top 10 right now. Many players on this list have really under-performed, and a lot of them have been hit by injuries. It is really crazy how much a list of this magnitude can change over a couple months. It is going to be very interesting what this list is going to look like going into next season.

Any thoughts on this?

You can follow me on Twitter @BgAppleMetsTalk

About the Author: Dan Valis

I am a staff writer for Mets Merized Online. I am a Mets team analyst with a focus on the minor league system, as well as the major league club. I am a lifelong New Yorker who was born and raised to be a Mets fan. The ups and downs of being a Mets fan is what makes following this team so much fun, but at times so frustrating. You can follow me on Twitter @BgAppleMetsTalk.

14 Comments + Add Comment

martin August 11, 2011 at 9:28 am

well done, good info, thanks.
Metsr1 August 11, 2011 at 9:37 am

Mets have signed 3 from the Domincan leagues. Check it out.

http://www.dplbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=244:3-dpl-players-agree-to-terms-with-the-ny-mets&catid=1:latest-news
Mack Ade August 11, 2011 at 10:16 am

excellent piece
- Dan Valis August 11, 2011 at 11:26 am
  
  thanks Mack
Satish Ram August 11, 2011 at 10:16 am

This surely was depressing. Although it was well researched and straightforward, so thank you. It’s a good thing we have Vaughn, Den Dekker, Familia, Gorski and maybe even Cahoon to keep an eye on in the meantime. I think Vaughn and Familia might break next year’s Mets top 10 (along with Wheeler) and Harvey should be at the top.
- Dan Valis August 11, 2011 at 11:28 am
  
  I know I totally agree. The pre-season top 10 list will definitely have all of the those guys in for sure! Harvey and Wheeler 1-2 and then it’s a mix of Valdespin, Familiga, Vaughn and Den Dekker with whom to pick from to round out the top 5. Gorski has been very nice surprise this season, and Cohoon has been ok as well
  - Satish Ram August 11, 2011 at 2:25 pm
    
    I forgot Valdespin, you’re right. Gorski has come out of nowhere and I’m really happy to see a variety of young arms altogether coming through the system.
- t agee August 11, 2011 at 3:52 pm
  
  The Farm really isn’t in as bad shape as it sounds. Flores (just turned 20) and Puello (20) are following a decent trajectory in a tough pitchers league in A+. Sure injuries have set back Mejia and Kirk but they should have the 2nd half of 2012 in AAA to come back strong. Familia and Valdespin have broke out in AA. Den Dekker and Satin despite being old for AA have too. Havens at least still shows results when he’s on the field. Gorski’s had a major break out, Edgan looks like he could be a light out reliever, Cordero has rebounded from a horrendous first half in Savannah and Lagares looks like a real candidate to take over in LF in 2013.
  
  Add to that Nimmo, Fulmer, Mazzoni, Wheeler, Leathersuch and some others and it looks like we’re going to have a real roster crunch come 2013-2015. Too many guys we like, to protect them all so maybe a front line ace could be on the horizon.
  
  In addition Fern (22), Tejada (21), Duda (25), Murphy (26) and Thole (24) all have their primes in front of them something we haven’t really had around here before and they are bound to improve during the next 2-7 years.
  
  I’d say that as long as we don’t short circuit the progress we’ve made so far and continue to put the future ahead of the present for another three years we’re on track to have a great ten year run complete with multiple Division Titles, multiple World Series appearances and multiple World Series championships…….without crashing.
Des August 11, 2011 at 10:22 am

“2B – Reese Havens: Another injury riddled season by the second baseman. He has a world of potential. He is heating up lately, and could prompt a promotion to Triple-A before the year is out.”

Havens is playing great ball in the past few weeks. Perhaps more importantly is that after last year’s lost season and a slow start this year, he is now playing in every game.

In his last ten games, he is batting .351, with a .429 OBP and a .541 SLG.
- Dan Valis August 11, 2011 at 11:30 am
  
  I know I am very excited about havens potential, I just wish we could have seen him with the Mets this season. If he had been playing all year, he probably would have been at Triple-A by now and with the injuries to Murphy and Reyes he probably would have got the call over Baxter.
OmarFan August 11, 2011 at 11:38 am

Ridiculous premise in regard to Jenrry Mejia. Truth be told (something always amiss regarding Omar) it was OMAR who suggested Mejia be used as a relief pitcher. It eventually is where he’s best suited as was Omar’s words last Spring. The Mets needed help in the pen and decided to use Mejia in that role. The decision to make him a starter in the minors led to his eventual arm problem that struck Jenrry when he returned to the bigs. Blaming Omar and Manuel is silly. What they should have done with Mejia is groom him to be the eventual closer like Darryl Strawberry suggested. Funny how ex-athletes were the ones telling the Mets to put Mejia in the pen. Now in 2011, we’re all to blame Omar and Jerry for a poor decision to keep Mejia as a starter?
- Donal August 11, 2011 at 4:15 pm
  
  I agree that Mejia has the stuff to be a good reliever, but Minaya didn’t develop him for it. He rushed him through the minors, he was a starter almost that entire time except for a few games in the DSL and then stuck him as a reliever last year in Spring Training without letting him get accustomed to it and then Manuel had him throwing one pitch when he did get into a game.
  
  When he was sent back down, he was starting games again. Does that sound like he was being groomed to be a reliever?
  - Dan Valis August 11, 2011 at 5:03 pm
    
    exactly Donal, they messed with him in that regard. He was groomed to be a starter, and then because of the extreme lack of bullpen help they made him a reliever.
    
    Like you said Manuel barely used him, and when he did he mis-used him. He wouldn’t pitch him for 5 day, and then he wanted to throw him out there in the 8th inning a close game. I’m glad they are gone! lol
Derek C. August 11, 2011 at 4:56 pm

Great piece!

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