Drafting and developing is so fickle but some teams have so much better results than we do.

Imagine if we had taken Travis d’Anaurd with the pick we gave up for Alou, Jordan Zimmerman as well as Stanton and Freeman? Could have happened after all we had the picks for once. Shame we didn’t get anything out of them.

his Rankings for 2012 (Minorleagueball.com)

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/1/23/2728027/2012-baseball-farm-system-rankings-prospects

1) Toronto Blue Jays: Eight B+ prospects with ridiculous depth behind them.
2) San Diego Padres: Incredible depth after the winter trades pushes this system almost to the top.
3) Texas Rangers: Continues to churn out talent, with much more percolating at the lower levels. I do not give the Rangers farm system credit for Yu Darvish. They would rank number one if I gave them credit for Darvish, but in my mind that is unfair to the other teams: I see him as a major league free agent, not a prospect.
4) Seattle Mariners: Jesus Montero plus three elite pitching prospects and others who can improve.
5) St. Louis Cardinals: They don’t get talked about as much as other teams, but they have a Grade A prospect in Shelby Miller and a lot of pitching depth behind him. I think this system is underrated.

6) Kansas City Royals: They slipped from last year’s top spot, showing the volatility of pitching prospects, but heavy investments in draft and foreign players should continue to show dividends.
7) Tampa Bay Rays: Impact depth behind Matt Moore has slipped but this is still a robust organization.
8) Atlanta Braves: Lots of pitching at the top, but they need more hitters.
9) Arizona Diamondbacks: Another system with lots of pitching but not much hitting, even more extreme than Atlanta.
10) Oakland Athletics: Trades helped this system a lot, would have ranked much lower otherwise.

11) Boston Red Sox: Large group of B- types who can improve. Hitting stronger than pitching at this point.
12) Pittsburgh Pirates: Heavy draft investments slowly-but-steadily raising the talent level in this system.
13) Colorado Rockies: Middle of the pack at this stage, two definite impact talents and a large group of C+ types who can improve.
14) Washington Nationals: The big trade with Oakland tore the top off this farm system. You still have Bryce Harper and some interesting players in the B- range. Would have ranked much higher without the trade.
15) New York Mets: Solid depth in pitching, especially at the top with Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jeurys Familia.

16) New York Yankees: You can make a case to rank them as high as 12 or 13. Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances are strong Grade B prospects for me and there is a nice balance between hitting and pitching.
17) Minnesota Twins: Another middle of the pack organization, fairly balanced between hitting and pitching, some potential regulars with several solid role players.
18) Los Angeles Angels: Not terrible, there is some depth behind Mike Trout but a lot of questions, too, and most of the tool-heavy bets in recent drafts haven’t paid off as well as Trout has.
19) Baltimore Orioles: You have Machado and Bundy at the top but it falls off quickly after that.
20) Chicago Cubs: Another middle-of-the-pack system with a lot of B-/C+ type prospects. Could rank much higher next year if some of the lower-level guys pan out.

21) Cincinnati Reds: Heart of this system torn out by Mat Latos trade but there is enough at the lower levels that I think they can recharge quickly.
22) Los Angeles Dodgers: Some intriguing pitching depth, much of it fairly close to the majors, but not much hitting.
23) Detroit Tigers: Thins out very quickly after Jacob Turner and Nick Castellanos.
24) Philadelphia Phillies: There is some interesting pitching but tools guys not developing as hoped.
25) Houston Astros: Gradually improving, and there are several players at the lower levels with a chance to develop. Could rank much higher a year from now.

26) San Francisco Giants: This system has thinned out but is not hopeless. Pitching needs a recharge.
27) Cleveland Indians: Of all the teams ranked low, the Indians have the greatest chance to improve in the coming years. There is a lot of talent at the lower levels, but most of it is in the C+ or “Grade C with higher potential” category right now because it is so far away. It would not surprise me to see the Indians in the Top 10 by 2014.
28) Milwaukee Brewers: There is some talent on the pitching side but hitting looks thin.
29) Miami Marlins: Relatively even balance between hitting and pitching, but not a lot of impact coming up.
30) Chicago White Sox: You have two B+ pitching prospects in Addison Reed and Nestor Molina and some other raw materials for a decent bullpen. Hitting is a disaster. I like Tyler Saladino but I have huge doubts about their other hitting prospects.

I think it makes more sense to do it as groupings (say A, B, C). So A = top tier (packed with studs), B = solid, with guys ready to help and a few potential stars, and C = bereft of anything passing for talent.

Maybe there are 5 As, and 5 Cs, with the 20 Bs (including the Mets) all kind of mixed up together (add or subtract a few from each group is you prefer)

The Mets have gotten a little better in the high-end player category as well. The addition of Matt Harvey, and Zack Wheeler have helped in that regard. But where the Mets still fall short of the mark, is with their top-end talent. Years of being big players in the free agent market, robbed them of numerous 1st and 2nd round draft picks. The high picks they did have they wasted with horrible drafting.

Here are Mets Top Picks from 2006 – 2009, and how the pick has worked out.

2006 – Rd. 1 – (no pick)
Rd. 2 – Kevin Mulvey (traded – disappointment)

2007 – Rd. 1 – (no pick)
Rd. 1s – Eddie Kunz (bust)
Rd. 1s – Nathan Vineyard (bust)
Rd. 2 – Scott Moviel (disappointment)
Rd. 2 – Brant Rustich (injured)

2008 – Rd. 1 – Ike Davis (good pick)
Rd. 1 – Reese Havens (injured)
Rd. 1s – Brad Holt (bust)
Rd. 2 – Javier Rodriguez (bust)

2009 – Rd. 1 – (no pick)
Rd. 2 – Steve Matz (injured)

The Mets must stay the course, and retain their high draft picks moving forward. They must scout wisely and make some beneficial trades, for more young talent. If that means trading DWright because he is the only thing we hold of value to other franchises, then that is what we should do to acquire some high-end talent. The Mets system will always be ranked in the middle of the pack, until some of those top 20 MLB prospects, start to wear Mets uniforms.

7 spots lower/higher depending on which list you’re looking at. It’s a no wonder the rally cry is always ‘the game isn’t played on paper’.