Mets Opening Day Rotations: 2013-2016

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• D. Meeker November 4, 2012 at 1:09 pm

  Great job Craig, outstanding indeed. I was actually taken by your comparison of Wheeler to Darling in his formative years. It’s actually a good one and while they are both two different pitchers in terms of their stuff and their potential ceilings, they have both struggled with control early on and Darling showed that it can be overcome with some hard work and time.
• Nathan November 4, 2012 at 1:20 pm

  You are going to catch some flak for that Alderson quip lol. What do you envision for the future of Mejia and Familia. I see a durn good outfielder as their future with the Mets but maybe one of them can break through for a year or two in the rotation.
  • Craig Lerner November 4, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    Mostly their outlooks are still cloudy. Their inconsistency and inability to improve their secondary offerings make them less likely to have careers as starting pitchers.
• Squidoo November 4, 2012 at 1:35 pm

  Nice post. We have definitely come a long way with our minor league system which had been ranked in the bottom five for a few years. Now we have obvious signs of hope.
• Hodges14 November 4, 2012 at 2:25 pm

  No Domingo Tapia? I think he’s going to be a significant part of our future. Overall, good job though. I like these types of posts.
  • taskmaster4450 November 4, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    Some are already talking that Tapia might be a closer for the Mets someday.
• Vinny B November 4, 2012 at 2:26 pm

  “those of you looking for signs of progress under the Alderson era, take a good look at the Mets depth at starting pitching… It’s never been better.”

  Most of the prospects/young pitchers you listed were already here before Alderson took over. You also left out a few names like Tapia, Matz, Degrom, Gorski, and Verrett, who can just as likley be starters(or spot starters) in the future as some of the other names you listed. And with the exception of Verrett, all those guys I just named were already in the orginazation before Sandy got here.

  So, while Alderson has brought in some nice arms, the increase in pitching depth is mainly because of the previous administration.
  • Craig Lerner November 4, 2012 at 3:00 pm

    Well you can only include 5 pitchers in a rotation. I didnt intend to exclude Tapia, Matz, etc. But who will you pull to make room for them? Wheeler, Harvey, Niese, Fulmer, Montero?

    Also, drafting is part of it, development is the true test of a good system. In these two years we went from no development to significant development.

    Look at Vineyard, Moviel, Kunz, Humber, Stoner, Mulvey and other top picks under Minaya. Did they develop?

    Look at some of the players that both Sandy and Omar picked and how they developed under Alderson. You don’t see a difference from when Tony Bernazard ran things?
    • Doekie November 4, 2012 at 3:10 pm

      When Harvey, Wheeler, Fulmer, Niese and Montero are what they could become, # 3 or even better, I would trade the one who could net the best deal. You can always have a rookie as your fifth starter.
      • Craig Lerner November 4, 2012 at 3:15 pm

        I agree with you. The Mets are stacked with talented RHP prospects. I’d hang onto Niese because we have no LHP close to MLB ready.
        • Doekie November 4, 2012 at 4:14 pm

          I know about the lefty situation. I came up with 3 trades that could, on paper, solve a lot of problems for the Mets. And sounds good for the other teams as wellicht.

          Dickey to Texas for Olt (IF his heel is ok) and Leonys Martin in CF.

          Wright to Arizona for Parra and Skaggs. I read that Arizona isnt happy with Trevor Bauer. Dont know why but perhaps the Mets can, IF needed, send money also to get those 3.

          Niese to Toronto for a catcher. Will they trade D’Arnoud?? IF not I assume Arebcibia willl be involved. I would ask for some left handers. Toronto has Nicolino (#5 on MLB), Norris (#6 on MLB), Nolin (#19 on MLB, dont know why #19 but numbers look great in 2012).

          Adding those left handers could solve another problem.

          The 3 trades i suggest will not make the Mets contenders in 2013 but after next year…..
          • Hitman November 5, 2012 at 2:34 pm

            Doekie, put the Texas and Arizona deal together as a 3 way trade and you’ll get somewhere better. I’ll be surprised if Texas gets rid of Martin. Andrus can be part of the return, Tejada joins Wright in Arizona. Bauer, Skaggs and Parra? Nice thought. Instead of Niese going to Toronto, how about Cleveland (home sweet home) for Carlos Santana, Chris Perez and Zach McAllister? I’d talk to Tampa about Hellickson in an effort to complete the rotation before we move on to facelifting the pen (again). I just wish the Mets weren’t stupid enough to bring back Warthen. I have no faith in him as a pitching coach.
    • Peter R. November 4, 2012 at 3:20 pm

      This!
    • Just_Da_Damaja November 4, 2012 at 3:56 pm

      …well it was Omar who brought in Terry Collins, who most folks raved about his work as minor league coordinator.

      In my opinion, no one was happier than Omar when Tony got himself canned. Steve Phillips himself said that Tony B was closer with Jeff Wilpon than Tony…

      There was no way Tony could get fired by Omar…as a matter of fact, I wouldnt be surprised if Tony was still in the organization at the end of 2009, if he doesnt replace Omar as GM
    • Vinny B November 4, 2012 at 4:35 pm

      “Look at Vineyard, Moviel, Kunz, Humber, Stoner, Mulvey and other top picks under Minaya. Did they develop?”

      First, Humber was not drafted by Minaya. And Stoner was not a top pick, he was a 16th round pick. The other guys are just draft picks that busted, which happen to every team all the time. Also Jon Niese and Gee were developed while Minaya was still the GM, and they turned fine didn’t they?

      What your saying is just an assumption. Your just assuming that Sandy was the one that made them become promising prospects just because he’s the GM and they are having success. How do you know they wouldn’t be having the same success with Omar or with another GM? You don’t. You can summize and assume that, but you can’t prove it.

      I also just looked up that a lot of the Mets minor league pitching coaches like Mark Brewer, Phil Regan, and Marc Valdes were all brought in by Omar Minaya. So, Minaya’s orginazation scouted and signed these players, and a lot of them are being coached by coaches that he hired. Not giving him credit for them is very unfair.
      • Just-Da-Damaja November 5, 2012 at 2:02 am

        “Not giving him credit for them is very unfair.”

        Met fans treat Omar not so different from the way the Tea Party treats Obama
• ray sadecki November 4, 2012 at 2:48 pm

  never been better? when you can do better than the 60s’ crop that had Seaver, Kooz, Ryan and McGraw I may agree. The early 80′s crop with Gooden, Darling, Aguilera, El Sid and McDowell was pretty good too. But your point is taken. There is promise there.
  • Craig Lerner November 4, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    I understand Ray, but this post is about positional depth. What happened after the Mets lost Seaver, Ryan and Koosman? Mark Bomback and Kevin Kobel and Tom Hausman were poor replacements.

    Same when we lost Gooden, Sid, Darling and Cone. We had nobody to replace them.

    If we lose Santana and Dickey, Wheeler and Harvey take over. If we lose Gee and Niese, we have capable and more high ceiling replacements.
• DrDooby November 4, 2012 at 3:11 pm

  It’s a nice mix:
  Harvey, Mejia, Familia, Tapia, McHugh, Gorski, DeGrom, Robles, Matz, Ynoa were signed by the previous FO.
  Wheeler, Fulmer, Montero, Mateo, Verrett, Pill, Mazzoni were procured by the current FO
  Both have done nicely in that aspect and the current FO has apparently put a system in place that keeps them healthy.

  This depth will also be important for future bullpens and as trade bait.
  Over the past decade, the Mets system has produced just 3 solid relievers:
  Parnell, Heilman and Joe Smith. If you’re looking for a big reason for the lack of success in most seasons, look there.
  Odds are, 50 % of bullpens from 2013 to 2016 will be young, inexpensive arms
• ray sadecki November 4, 2012 at 3:32 pm

  I dont get too excited about any prospects until they have shown they can succeed in AA. thats pretty much where the prospects get sorted out from the suspects. Gorski hit a wall there this year. Harvey and Wheeler are prospects. the others are suspects to me right now.
• taskmaster4450 November 4, 2012 at 3:34 pm

  The Mets are doing an excellent job with their pitching. Omar got some arms into the system, many of them younger which is the reason why the book on him will not be complete for a while. Harvey, Edgin, Familia, Mejia, and Gee are all solid prospects who could help the big league squad. Fulmer, Wheeler, and some of the other younger arms will enter the picture in the next year +.

  Sadly, the system is devoid of any major league ready talent in the everyday player category. Hopefully one or two of the Duda, Kirk, Den Dekker, Valdy turn out to be ok. Right now it is a huge question.

  I think the Mets are going to be a force because of this starting pitching. Plus, with excess arms, suddenly there are solutions for the bullpen.
  • MetsWatchman November 5, 2012 at 9:25 am

    ticketmaster…..”Omar got some arms into the system, many of them younger which is the reason why the book on him will not be complete for a while”.

    Excellent point that I agree with 100%. And this is the very reason why I LMAO at the posters here that have already branded the Alderson, DePo, JP regime a total failure. Hell, there were some posters here that branded them failures on day one. Both Omar and this current regime made some horrendous moves in their previous jobs with other organizations so its understandable that some may not have liked their selection by the Mets hierarchy. But the truth is the book is not closed on them until a minimum of 3-5 years after their hiring.
    • Just_Da_Damaja November 5, 2012 at 11:11 am

      From what i understand, JP is an asst VP who heads up scouting on the major league level…

      he is checking out talent from other teams major/minor league systems

      Depo’s drafts have historically been atrocious…

      Sandy did not want this job, i cant even grade a man who is forced to take this position.
• Just-Da-Damaja November 5, 2012 at 2:04 am

  Random Thought:

  If we are building for the future…why were we platooning young guys…instead of letting them learn how to hit left-handed pitching…?
  • D. Meeker November 5, 2012 at 11:38 am

    That’s more a function of Terry Collins than it is the Front Office.