Wheeler and Syndergaard Among Top 10 RHP Prospects

72 Comments + Add Comment

• Boomer January 21, 2013 at 5:18 pm

  Stupid Alderson. Trying to build the rotation for the next decade. What kind of plan is that?
  • Metro12 January 21, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    He’s just a soulless number-crunching Selig lapdog!
• Chicago Days January 21, 2013 at 5:27 pm

  Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, Fulmer, Montero + Niese. Gee that’s Nice. i wouldn’t be surprised if we had 3 of top 10 hurlers next year. Syndergaard, Fulmer, Montero. Nice+
  • CB January 22, 2013 at 12:00 am

    Just imagine if they had taken Fernandez instead of Nimmo. They could have three of the top ten right now. Two of the top five. Not saying they should have. Nimmo has plenty of upside and we’re pretty light in the way of the position player, but man oh man. Just imagine.
• Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 5:28 pm

  Beltran and Dickey, the gifts that keep on giving. Thanks, Omar. BTW See that guy at number 4? He was selected right after we reached deep for Finding Nimmo. The Marlins probably say, Thanks, Sandy.
  • taskmaster4450 January 21, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    Actually, it was Alderson who turned an expiring contract into the #6 prospect and extended Dickey to an absurd contract of $8M when he had only one good year. Plus, if I am not mistaken, he was the one who held out for the deal he got.

    Seems that you incredible hatred of Alderson and love of Omar (and his free spending ways) blinds you to the facts. Also, while Nimmo is nothing now, wait until the cards fall into place. He might be a bust or he might be a everyday player in the major leagues.
    • Boomer January 21, 2013 at 7:03 pm

      I don’t have an axe to grind with Omar. He did an ok job doing what he was allowed to do.

      But I don’t get the people who think that offering the most money, in cases like Beltran way over what teams like the Yankees needed to land him, somehow makes Omar a world class GM. I think you could find a pretty large pool of people who are capable of offering players whatever they wanted.
    • jessep January 21, 2013 at 7:51 pm

      taskmaster: Another thing, if Omar didn’t sign a contract with Beltran that did not allow a team to offer an arbitration/qualifying offer the Mets possibly could have gotten more for him on the trade market as well.

      But getting a kid who you hope will be a future #3 starter at WORST isn’t exactly the worst trade ever
    • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 7:56 pm

      What is your problem dooshmaster?
      • taskmaster4450 January 21, 2013 at 8:01 pm

        Another example of your childishness and lack of intellectual ability.

        What is my problem? I have no problem. Just having an intelligent conversation about organizational development of which you seem to be missing. That is okay. Ball clubs needs all kinds of fans…even those who do not really understand what is going on.
        • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 8:09 pm

          You’re the one showing up like gangbusters acting like your shit dont stink. Is Alderson the second coming of Christ? Any criticism means hatred to you? You sound like a facist, your way or we castrate you. Get a clue and stop telling people what to think. If all you want is man love with Sandy go to Amazin Alderson.
          • Boomer January 21, 2013 at 8:14 pm

            I don’t think fascist means what you think it does.
  • Sloatsburg Mets Fan January 22, 2013 at 4:30 am

    Maniac,

    I’m not the biggest Alderson but that’s completely unfair. You can’t just give all the credit to Omar when it was Alderson who was able to procure Wheeler and Syndergaard for Beltran and Dickey. While th 2 players Omar got us were great, the return that Alderson was able to pry away for them was exceptional. Especially the haul he got for Dickey.
    • Alex68 January 22, 2013 at 7:28 am

      Sloats, just the same way you guys tell us to be patient with nimmo and cecchinni, it’s the same way you are supposed to tell yourselves to pump your break in wheeler and noah, they have not pitch a single pitch in the majors yet, so while i like the dickey trade, and the beltran trade was what it was, i don’t think it’s fair either to crown alderson for them trades either no? these 2 kids may well turn out to be big time bust just as many other prospects who don’t pan out in baseball
• Chicago Days January 21, 2013 at 5:40 pm

  Mayo has Wheeler #4, ahead of Cole & behind Fernandez. Hate to nit pick, but you have Cole, Fernandez, Wheeler 3, 4, 5.
  • Craig Lerner January 21, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    Mayo changed it. I don’t know why but you could see he did on a Google cached version of the page.

    I corrected to reflect his changes.

    For a second I thought I was getting senile, but then after a search I saw another site also posted it the way he had it originally.

    http://www.piratesprospects.com/2013/01/cole-and-taillon-make-mlb-coms-top-10-right-handed-pitching-prospects.html

    Thanks for the heads up anyway.
    • Chicago Days January 21, 2013 at 7:04 pm

      Oh okay. i feel dumb. Sorry about the nitpicking. Just wanted our guy to get his ‘due’!
• SheawasBetter86 January 21, 2013 at 5:42 pm

  Yeah, those darn trades have ruined the team! A team that was losing already, mind you, but no one remembers that, right? The Mets have two of the top ten RH starting pitcher prospects in the majors.

  That doesn’t even include Matt Harvey!! Alderson, on two occasions, has used the trade market like his personal draft and gotten top talent flawlessly. He just doesn’t get enough credit. Considering also signing Niese to a team friendly deal, he has hopefully built a future rotation that could be dominant and cheap for years to come.

  You can add Fulmer and Montero to his acquisitions too. He’s created a feeder fund if players that’ll starting paying off this year.

  In the past, the Mets haven’t really had much in their system to be excited about. Recently, it would be maybe one or two players that we all hoped would be successful. Guys like Pelfrey, Milledge, F-Mart, and Gomez all basically had a ton of hype and didn’t work out or meet expectations. They were either rushed, traded, released and never amounted to much.

  Now, this team has a top 25 that has a chance to be really special. The St.Lucy and Savannah rotations are incredibly exciting and have pitchers that could easily be talked about this time next year the way Wheeler and Harvey are talked about now.

  Sandy has don’t his two main jobs. The first one is the one we hate. Save the team for the Wilpons. By trimming payroll and trading away key players that the team desperately needed for any chance to win, he saved a bundle of cash but also secured excellent young players. That was his second job. Create a feeder system of players from the minor leagues to help the team become competitive while maintaining a low payroll that the Wilpons could afford. The competitive part hasn’t happened yet, but when you consider Sandy’s payroll constraints and today’s market for even average ball players, I can’t blame the man for not going all in just yet when the team still has so much money invested in questionable players.

  I’m willing to wait one more year. I believe we’ve waited so long so far and if the budget will remain an absolute joke for a NY market, then I want it to be done right. I don’t want to put all off the freed up cash into role players making a fortune to just win an extra five games. I want the big payoff. A team that wins 90-95 games. I’m hoping that’s next season when there’s another 40-50 million off the books. I’ll wait one more year and defend that holding pattern. After that though, I’ll be done. After this season, I can’t justify it any longer.
• Jon January 21, 2013 at 5:47 pm

  Too bad he blew the Nimmo pick
  Jose Fernandez at number 4 selected one pick after disappointing Brandon
  • Boomer January 21, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    Disappointing? The kid has played one year of organized ball let alone pro ball and he more than held his own against older, more experienced talent.

    How about if we give him, say 2 years of ball before declaring him a bust.
    • Matt M January 21, 2013 at 6:20 pm

      I think what people are saying is Nimmo has a definite ceiling. I watched him in a couple games this summer and I don’t see what the fuss is. Great eye at the plate, yes. But the ball doesnt jump off the bat and he’s a passable-at-best defender.

      Just my take, but I think Nimmo’s ceiling is big league left fielder. And an average one at that.
      • Boomer January 21, 2013 at 6:33 pm

        I think its a little early to make that call but time will tell.
      • taskmaster4450 January 21, 2013 at 6:52 pm

        Funny it is these same people who attack about not getting Courtenay Hawkins when some scouts are saying the same thing about him: that he will have trouble at the upper end of the minors.

        But then again hypocrisy never bothers these people.
        • Donal January 21, 2013 at 7:11 pm

          The same people who constantly tell us that “prospects are not a sure thing” as if we didn’t know that but will then rend garments over all the highly rated prospects we haven’t gotten in the last 2 years.
        • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 7:16 pm

          Attack? What are you bipolar? Saying Hawkins was way to go is an attack? You have hemorrhoids? Stop yapping you’re giving me a headache.
          • taskmaster4450 January 21, 2013 at 7:42 pm

            Personal attacks and name calling are usually a sign of immaturity and childishness.

            And why was Hawkins the better choice? Many scouts have stated that Gavin, at worst, will be a backup IFer in the majors while also expressing concern about Hawkins being able to hit at the upper levels of the big leagues.
            • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 7:50 pm

              Seriously? Are you freaking kidding me? You start yapping like you’re some sort of a draft guru only the problem is you know crap about it otherwise you wouldn’t say something as ignorant as you just did.
              • taskmaster4450 January 21, 2013 at 8:04 pm

                No I dont make like I am a draft guru and, an shown by your other posts, obviously that post was something far beyond you comprehension. The draft is a crap shoot so to say that Hawkins should have been selected over Gavin is just an opinion. There is another side presented by people far more knowledgeable about baseball and the draft than you (I know you probably find it hard to believe in your mind that they exist). The problem is you cannot follow the insight of these people.

                In the end Hawkins might be a superstud in the majors, or he might be one who cant get past AA. Time will tell. But to presume he was a better pick at this point is just an opinion. Its not like he is Bryce Harper or anything.
                • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 8:14 pm

                  You take the player who was the best available based on all the latest data, scouting, tools, etc. that you have. Hawkins>Cecchini and if you disagree then it speaks volumes. Whatever happens after is a crapshoot but when you draft you go with what you have. He as a consensus choice. And so was Fernandez the year before. You dont have a clue.
                  • ifthevansrockin January 21, 2013 at 8:20 pm

                    only opinion that matters is the team’s. And he was not some absolute consensus pick. There were merits to both guys. maybe they guessed right, maybe not. And $ certainly came into play.

                    also possible that they had a pre-arranged deal with Gavin and did not want to reneg on it.

                    I am not saying that Gavin will end up being the better pick down the line. Too early to tell, and certainly possible Hawkins ends up being better. But that still does not mean that the Mets did not make a reasonable, thought out decision, for all the factors that they put into play.
            • ifthevansrockin January 21, 2013 at 8:11 pm

              rating prospects of course is a crapshoot. Especially trying to put them in numerical order. That is why a lot of the guys that do it seriously do it by letter grades. And most likely, those 2 got about the same grade, since the main ranking projection services had them both in the mid-teens, so within a few of each other.

              But, from the prognostications (especially hard to nail on a HS kid!) it seemed that hawkins had more boom/bust potential (lower floor/higher ceiling), and Gavin had an edge defensively. Plus of course, he plays (and is projected to stay at) a much more premium position. And Hawkins would not be the first guy with a big swing with some holes in it that got exposed at the highest levels.

              so pick your favorite at the time, but way too early to say which one ends up being a better pick way down the line (when you can really know what they amounted too).
  • Fonzie13 January 21, 2013 at 7:51 pm

    I agree that Fernandez would’ve been the better pick and it’s not a 2nd guess because I thought either he, Mahtook or Bradley would’ve been the better pick but DePodesta did say after the draft the reason why they went with a projectable bat with the first pick is because the 2011 draft was one of the deepest draft for arms in more than 2 decades and they felt they could still draft high upside arms in the later rounds. The 2011 draft was not very deep with positional players so it did make sense. We still came away with a lot of good arms in that draft and 2 very promising IFA’s in Montero and Mateo. That doesn’t mean Nimmo is a sure bet but the reasoning behind the pick was a sound one. Especially when you consider our system is deep wiith arms and piss poor with Pos Players.
    • ifthevansrockin January 21, 2013 at 8:14 pm

      like them or not, but the FO is staffed with professionals that have been doing this for quite a while, and they really do have reasons for their actions beyond “they are stupid”. And odds are, the average fan on the street will never hear about 1/2 of them.
      • Fonzie13 January 21, 2013 at 8:36 pm

        I agree Van. Funny thing is that the Alderson bashers say prospects are just prospects when you talk about d’Arnaud, Wheeler and Syndergaards acquisitions being good moves but when it comes to players they didn’t draft like Fernandez, Hawkins, etc… Those guys become sure things and the “prospects are just prospects” lines are put to bed regarding them.
        • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 8:48 pm

          Fonzie when have I ever knocked Wheeler or D’Arnaud? A switch flipped on you lately. Am I second guessing about Hawkins or Fernandez or was I on them BEFORE the Mets even selected or the draft even started in the chat room? Ever since your fling with Alex you changed and just go against anyone who still associates with him. Your opinions were not all that different than mine until you flipped a switch 5 months ago.
          • Fonzie13 January 21, 2013 at 10:11 pm

            When have I accused you of knocking Wheeler? Are you the one who said Cecchini and Nimmo are POS busts. Are you the only one to say prospects are prospects when talking about Td’A, ZW, NS but act like we missed 2 HOFers in Hawk and Fern?

            A switch flipped on me? Really. I still have the same opinion. I still think SA is going about building this team the right way and we’re heading in the right direction. I feel even more strongly about it than I did a year ago. So how exactly has my switch flipped. If I say that then I’m a Sandy Alderson Slurping worshiper with you guys there’s no in between.

            I always thought Alex was a complete jerkoff even before that incident and you were associated with him then and I had no problem with you so why would I have a problem now. I think it’s you who has flipped a switch You seem to despise anybody that doesn’t join the Sandy bash parade. Your first post here was to thank Omar for his gifts that keep on giving instead of just posting about the prospect of having potentially 2 front end of the rotation studs to go along with Niese and Harvey

            I didn’t see you thanking him for the gifts that are taking up half the payroll for producing squat nor the gifts that put us in this position to begin with. And if posters here don’t join the Sandy hit parade then they’re all worshipers and you let them know about it too. Just read all your posts lately you bash anybody who doesn’t share your Sandy Sucks opinion. I’m not the one who’s flipped.

            I liked Hawkins too and I remember on draft day that we both liked him but everybody including Joe D has called him a future stud after 1 year in A ball as if it’s foregone conclusion yet the same people who say that also say “Prospects are just Prospects” when it comes to Wheeler and Td’A. Read above about my Fernandez point as to why it made sense to go after a position player.

            My opinion of Hawkins has not changed. I still wish we took him but just like there’s no guarantee that Wheeler or d’Arnaud become studs there’s no guarantee Hawkins becomes one either. I mean you have jerkoffs rooting for Wheeler to fail. Rooting for the Mets to fail because of a dislike of the GM. That’s pretty pathetic. And you know who I’m talking about.
            • Met Maniac January 21, 2013 at 11:22 pm

              Whatever, never mind. Me and YOU have been doing that thanks Omar as a joke for two years in the shoutbox. I only did it because that idiot shits his pants when I do it. I didn’t know that now it bothers you. Jessep wants a civil war and everybody has taken sides as I predicted. Alderson didn’t divide this site, Jessep did with his non stop bias, lying, and divisiveness. I don’t really care so let him drop a nuke on MMO I always said he would.
              • Fonzie13 January 22, 2013 at 12:49 am

                The “Thanks Omar doesn’t bother me. It’s just that there’s no need to get another thread flamed out about the same thing over and over. You blame Jessep for dividing this site but you leave out the real culprit and that’s Alex who seems to be on a mission to act like a complete moron and then blame others for baiting him into acting like an idiot.

                I don’t agree with everything Jessep says and he sometimes thinks his opinion is better than most everybody elses but he doesn’t spend his entire time on this site bashing Alex, You or Bayonne.

                How many times has Alex commented on a thread no matter what the topic is taking a shot at Jessep over an article he wrote 3 years ago. How many times has he been the 1st comment of a thread to take shots at Wright and or the front office even though the thread has nothing to do with either of those guys and then end the sentence with, but some d-bag or some ***hole or some POS or some fkn idiot thinks “Sandy had a good day”. Then he has the nerve to say he’s being baited.

                And if you mention that Reyes made an error that cost the Marlins a game or he’s in a deep slump he starts calling you names but he has no problem bashing a player that’s still on his team. He calls Wright a choker but fails to mention that Reyes is much worse in big spots than Wright. Mention that and he has the excuse that he’s a leadoff hitter. Tell that to Lou Brock, Derek Jeter and Rickey Henderson who have wrecked games in big souts.

                He doesn’t like to be called a Wright hater even though he’ll bash him in a thread about something totally irrelevant but when jessep, myself and a couple of other said we don’t think Reyes is a HOFer he called us haters.

                Just like he called me a fkn idiot and a POS after I said it seems like you’re rooting for Wheeler to fail which is why I flipped and called him the nasty word that I called. How often does Alex come into the shoutbox at night during games? The only times I saw he come into the shoutbox during a games was to let everyone know and emphasize in Caps that “WHEELER BOMBED TONIGHT”. He never came into the shoutbox during a night game to let us know when Harvey got bombed.

                You can’t tell me a grown man can get baited into acting like a complete loser by another person. Nobody forces Alex to post the classless comments that he posts on a daily basis mostly because people don’t agree with his opinion.

                He thinks his opinion is far and above everybody elses and he thinks he knows the game far and above everybody else and belittles people, insults them and cries victim. There’s a reason why Joe D singles him out. Joe sees all the crap that Alex starts in the shoutbox/Drunktank and Joe saw that he attacked me first before he ripped into him. It’s not everybody else it’s him.

                If this was my site he would’ve been 86ed a long time ago. He adds nothing to a baseball discussion. There are plenty of otheres who don’t like the way Alderson is going about rebuilding this team but they don’t act like total jerkoffs. Just 2 guys in kahoots making stuff up about his resume, which is the only time I get involved with the bashing. I could care less about bashing him It just makes me sick that people have to make shit up for their agendas.

                And Jessep lied because Joe D didn’t want anybody to know that he was the moderator. And it’s pretty sad that a certain number of people mostly middle aged men needed to be moderated because they can’t act like adults.

                I don’t have a problem at all with you Maniac. You’re the only one of the people you asscoiate yourself with that I have any respect for as well as the most knowledgable. Lately though you’re becoming just like them unloading on people that don’t share your opinion.
• Acoustic567 January 21, 2013 at 5:50 pm

  FWIW, Keith Law seems to view Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez as ahead of Syndergaard, but the major prospect pubs have Syndergaard ranked higher.
  • Chicago Days January 21, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    Yeah, Sanchez was picked 4 slots ahead of Syndergaard in 2010 by Toronto and i think Snchez was Toronto’s #2 Prospect 1 spot ahead of Noah just before the RA trade, but most lists have Syndy ahead of Sanchez because of on-the-fied performance. So far, Syndergaard has exhibited far superior command . control than Sanchez.
  • Matt M January 21, 2013 at 6:18 pm

    Keith Law hates the Mets. Put Dylan Bundy on the Mets and suddenly Law would drop him from #1 to #5.
• Matt M January 21, 2013 at 6:17 pm

  I still don’t buy the consensus that Walker and Fernandez are better than Wheeler.
  • Optimus prime January 21, 2013 at 6:28 pm

    Nah. Fernandez has slightly worse stuff but way better command, and Walker put up similar numbers to wheeler in double a when he was 2 years younger.
  • ifthevansrockin January 21, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    it’s a certain amount guesswork. One reason I don’t like lists that order guys, so it looks like say #2 is way better than #9, but when in reality they would both be rated the same (say an A-).

    Bottom line, anyone on this list is showing a lot of high-end potential, and teams should be glad to have them.
  • Fonzie13 January 21, 2013 at 11:45 pm

    Fernandez is more advanced than Wheeler was at that age.
• ifthevansrockin January 21, 2013 at 6:39 pm

  based on what they traded him for, Mets could have had Bauer too for Tejada, and gotten change back!
• taskmaster4450 January 21, 2013 at 6:54 pm

  I know Bundy is knocking on the door of the major leagues as is Wheeler, so those two have to be ranked highly. I do not know where some of the others are in terms of their progress through the minors, but I wouldnt rank someone in A ball as high as someone in AAA (if their skills are close). Few are able to make the leap and your top prospects by position should be about ready to contribute.
  • Fonzie13 January 21, 2013 at 11:44 pm

    Funny you mention those names. A scout whose name I can’t remeber said those were the 2 best minor league pitchers he saw all year last year, Bundy and Wheeler. Bundy could be in Baltimores rotation soe time next year. He’s that good.
• tlagee January 21, 2013 at 9:01 pm

  Let’s see, we traded one guy for Wheeler and another guy for Syndergaard (plus the minor league catcher).

  And people think that these moves makes Sandy a genius?

  All I can say is they better be good – and they better know how to play outfield – hit 30+ homers with 100 rbi, win 20 games along with the Cy Young – and since Reyes wasn’t offered a contract – play shortstop and win the batting title to boot.

  It’s a shame that so far under Sandy the Mets teams that actually play on the field get worse and worse – with very low expectations for next season with no outfield and a really bad bullpen. Mark 2014 in your calendar – that’s when Sandy will tell us his eyes are frimly on 2015.
  • Tommy2cat January 22, 2013 at 3:11 am

    Alderson traded Carlos Beltran for Zach Wheeler because Beltran’s enormous contract was expiring and there was no way the Mets were going to re-sign him and no way the Mets were making the playoffs. Further, Beltran’s health status was a perpetual concern. In completing this deal, Alderson saved the Wilpons money and secured a top pitching prospect for a rental player.

    Opinions vary, but I do not think Alderson was allowed to trade Reyes, who was combating an injury toward the trading deadline. I believe the Wilpons tied his hands because Reyes was competing for the batting title and extremely popular with the fan base. Personally, I think it was an horrific decision, and I’m not convinced it was Alderson’s doing, but it did happen under his watch and he should be held responsible for his inaction.

    Alderson traded RA Dickey for Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. In doing so, he acquired baseball’s top rated catching prospect and, apparently, a top ten pitching prospect. I always considered d’Arnaud untouchable and was stunned that Alderson landed BOTH d’Arnaud AND Syndergaard. Talk about extracting value…

    I think the only minor league catcher involved in the Dickey deal was Josh Thole. Travis d’Arnaud is the functional equivalent at the catching position as David Wright is to third base.

    My point is that you really cannot criticize Alderson for the deals that brought in Wheeler, d’Arnaud & Syndergaard. He did say that he wanted to raise the talent level withing the organization and those moves are tangible expressions of that intention.

    Further, I think that his bringing in Andrew Brown and Collin Cowgill will soon be appreciated. I encourage you to visit the Rockies site and track down videos of Brown – he hit a ball OUT of Coors Field and his defensive skills are impressive – he’s got an absolute cannon for an arm and tracks fly balls with ease.

    This year, its fair to put Alderson under the microscope to assess his body of work as we should expect to see trends analogous to 1983-84. If those trends are apparent, then Alderson would appear to be on the right track. We will soon see!

    Take care, Bro.
    • Tommy2cat January 22, 2013 at 3:23 am

      Here’s some footage on Brown that you may enjoy:

      http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?player_id=518500
    • ifthevansrockin January 22, 2013 at 10:14 am

      would certainly be nice if he was the diamond in the rough. Best case, he could do what Werth did for the Phils (promising guy that never worked out for the Dodges, came to the Phils as a MiL FA and ended up becoming a key regular on a winning team).

      For brown, if he could become a solid part time guy (and RH 1.2 of a platoon) with some pop and good D, that would be a fantastic return. Hairston with more defense?
    • CB January 22, 2013 at 1:53 pm

      Was actually just watching vids of Brown last night. Dude has some SERIOUS power. That shot he hit out of Coors was incredible. Never seen a ball hit like that at Coors. And I don’t think his defense is getting enough credit. Excited to see what him and Cowgill can do here. One thing i love is that they may not be getting good major league established players, but they are at least getting players with great upside. And these players know this is their opportunity to stick, so they have a little extra motivation. Spring training needs to get here already.
• Jon January 21, 2013 at 9:24 pm

  Clearly the teams that talk about prospects usually have nothing else to talk about. Syndegard maybe good he may not…. Won’t know for years. Toronto has made out like a bandit this winter trading potentialgotnajor league all stars and cy young winners. And they kept their best pitching prospect. AA has cleaned up JP’s mess very well – good major league team and strong minor league system and dumped Vernon wells while eating no money.
  Yes folks it can be done – see bay, Castillo and Perez for the easy way out.
  What is most disappointing about our three headed overhyped money ball brain trust is how they have been so poor at finding good value and under valued players. Amost every guy they have brought in from Emaus to Hu to Carrasco and Rsmirez have been total busts. Complete failure.
  And to those saying wait on Nimmo….. If we picked Jose Fernandez instead we could probably use him to get a Stanton or prokfur. Nimmo may get you the time if day but not much more.
  • Fonzie13 January 21, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    We could’ve drafted Stanton but chose to draft Nathan Vineyard instead who’s out of baseball. Right after Stanton was picked the Mets picked Scott Moviel and the next pick was Freddie Freeman. We could’ve had Cole Hamels we could’ve signed Profar, we could’ve signed Robby Cano, we could’ve drafted Andrew McCutchen instead of Pelfrey or Jay Bruce, Jacoby Elsbury. Heck we could’ve drafted Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Jered Weaver but we didn’t. Coulda should woulda.
• Old School Mets Fan January 21, 2013 at 10:02 pm

  While Syndegaard and D’Arnaud may turn out great, the Mets traded a 20 game winner because they didn’t want to pay him 8 million a year. Yes, he wouldn’t help as much next year, but what about 2014 and 2015? If Dickey excels in Toronto and D’Arnaud is a bust, Alderson should be fired.

  And while I understand people want to see a plan, what is the plan for the outfield and the bullpen. I know we are only talking about 7 or 8 players, but those areas do come up now and again.
• jdon January 21, 2013 at 10:12 pm

  Syndergaard impresses to make this list from A Ball.
  • ifthevansrockin January 21, 2013 at 10:28 pm

    would love to see him dominating out of the gate and ultimately putting up #s in AA and getting in plenty of innings this year.
• DrDooby January 22, 2013 at 6:45 am

  It´s nice to have two pitchers on this list – plus Harvey who would have bumped Syndergaard from the list to 11th, had he thrown 10 fewer innings in the majors last season. No team in Baseball has 3 arms like that in that age group right now. For whatever that´s worth or not. Plus, it´s nice to know that there´s a plethora of arms behind them up & down all levels of the system.

  That said, I don´t understand the entire “Omar” vs. “Sandy” debate.

  As for Alderson, he has done extremely well in the Beltran trade and Dickey trade, probably two very defining trades for his tenure, maximizing the value of both players in an extreme way.

  Nobody expected him to get a Wheeler-caliber talent for two months of Beltran (without draft pick compensation). And had the 2nd deal been Dickey + Thole + Nickeas for D´Arnaud + Buck + Becerra, everyone would have called it a fine haul for the Mets. That Syndergaard was “thrown-in” as well, makes it a “Homerun” in terms of present day value. Now – god forbid – Wheeler or Syndergaard could blow out their arms tomorrow and D´Arnaud falls down the stairs and breaks both of his legs and has to retire. It still makes those trade tremendous hauls in terms of present-day value. Just as well, Kevin Plawecki and Matt Reynolds could become All star major leaguers (unlikely, of course). Yet, it wouldn´t make the Reyes compensation sufficient. That was Sandy´s biggest blunder so far: Neiither keeping Reyes nor getting more present-day value than two draft picks for him. There may be excuses for that, sure, changing budgets, Reyes´ injury at an inopportune time, directives from ownership to keep the likely batting champ. Yet, while he maximized the value of two trade chips, he failed to do so on a 3rd.

  Alderson & his team also haven´t been as creative as I would have hoped in terms of small scale additons. This winter actually has been pleasant in terms of adding players such as Brown, Cowgill or Burke for almost free in that regard. I did expect more of those types of acquisitions sooner though. And his “lipstick on the pig” moves generally haven´t worked shortterm. Though, he has done well doing nothing of negative longterm consequences which is also worth something.

  The player development approach seems improved. The 2011 draft & several International signings look quite promising, the injury attrition rate among young pitchers has been significantly reduced. The 2012 draft looks rather underwhelming for now. Though it´s obviously too soon to evaluate it after not even a full spring training & season for everyone involved.

  Again, he´s 2 for 3 in “big moves”. He has done well cutting the payroll back and saving Wilpons the franchise. The major league team remains very much a work in progress. Time will tell how productive the farm will be. By 2014 or 2015, we should have a good idea of whether this is probably going to be a successful tenure or not.
  • srt January 22, 2013 at 7:55 am

    Well said. About as close to an honest evaluation of the past few years as I’ve seen yet.
• Alex68 January 22, 2013 at 7:19 am

  You know, i read this article and its comments, and it makes me wonder, how come whenever one mention alderson and his faults you’re all of the sudden a hater or hate the man personally? He’s been awful to say the least, look, i am glad we have this 2 great prospects who BA projects to be good, however, as we’ve seen throughout the years, they are not a sure thing so don’t get your hopes up, but then again, with the sorry ass team sandy alderson has buitl, i understand why many of you got your hopes up really high on this kids because there’s nothing else to look forward to. the same way people are saying to not give up on nimmo or cechinni i’d say pump your brakes on wheeler and noah, again, if you ask me about those trades on the beltran one he gave up half way into the season so that’s that, dickey trade needed to be made but you ask yourseld then are we rebuilding then? If so, why did we spend a boatload of money on #5 who could’ve brought more young prospect instead of wasting the 2 good years he probably got left? either way, i don’t think there’s a plan here it’s more like let’s see what we get and move forward and hope for the best, alderson will never be GM again so he doesn’t care what his track record will be, you’d think he wouldn’t touch baseball again after the massacre he did on SD but he came to ny to totally destroy this team while pretending to build for the future. Let’s hope all things work out for us mets fans because after 50 years and only 7 playoffs app and 2 championship to show for, it’s time things go a little our way.. but quite frankly, i’ve seen this era before where we bank all our eggs on kids from the minors baskets, and it didn’t look pretty good..
  • DrDooby January 22, 2013 at 9:02 am

    Well, I certainly don´t think Alderson has been awful – the haul he got for Dickey & Beltran was tremendous and far beyond what could reasonably have been expected. And those

    However, his tenure has been underwhelming in other parts, for sure, thus far, leaving aside the fine job of cutting cost to save ownership (not good for fans, certainly) and some progress in player development, mainly keeping young pitchers healthier.

    Reyes situation was mishandled. Most short term moves have either been negligible or a waste of money. A certain kind of creativity of keeping the present interesting while rightfully building for the future has been mostly lacking.
    While this winter has been very unspectacular from a shortterm point of view, I believe – as of now – it´s been the best off-season by any Met GM in quite a while.
    Sign Wright to a pretty modest longterm extension (compared to what other players of his caliber have been getting and leaving aside any irrational blame on David Wright for Mets failures over the past 5+ years; look at future free agent options and Wright probably is the best bat on the market for the next couple of years).
    Trade Dickey for a massive haul of young talent, far beyond what any sort of expert expected or even suggested.
    Several intriguing small scale additions like Brown, Cowgill or Burke at next to no cost.

    However, it was about time as the last two winters have basically been about either adding mediocre veteran plugins without much upside or paying market value for mediocre veteran relievers like Francisco or Rauch and essentially wasting most of the little money that was there. With the lone positive effect being that these moves won´t have any lasting impact on future Mets teams.

    So, instead of being a “hater” or “adorer”, how about trying to find a balanced middle ground ?
• Sloatsburg Mets Fan January 22, 2013 at 9:17 am

  Alex

  I agree completely with your take. That being, said, can you PLEASE show a semblance of objectivity! I was and still am a big fan of Omar as a talent evaluator. I (and most on this site) haven’t put Wheeler, Syndergaard, or d’Arnaud in the hall but we love their potential and what they are doing in the minors. I have never nor have I read that anyone here guaranteed their success

  My beef (since it’s apparent that I need to explain myself better) is that we cannot say thank you Omar than completely disregard the great job Aldrrson (someone who I am withholding judgement on) did in getting these prospects that may someday be very important contributors to the mets.

  Alex, don’t you find it somewhat hypocritical to call me out about liking these prospects but you’ve often stated that Flores is the next Miguel Cabrerra and Ike (who can no longer be considered a prospect in my opinion) is a future MVP candidate.
  • Alex68 January 22, 2013 at 9:31 am

    Alex, don’t you find it somewhat hypocritical to call me out about liking these prospects but you’ve often stated that Flores is the next Miguel Cabrerra and Ike (who can no longer be considered a prospect in my opinion) is a future MVP candidate”

    Well, it’s my take on flores as a player, i can be wrong, yet you don’t hear me saying OH MY GAWD!!!! THANK YOU OMAR MINAYA FOR HIM!!!! like you guys do to sandy alderson, that is why often YOU guys are the ones who start the Omar vs Sandy debates in here that we end up getting blame for, it is YOU guys who start the whole he did better than omar crap, not us, not me, not bayonne, not maniac, not metsie, IT IS YOU guys who start that crap, i like flores and i wish he becomes our next miguel cabrera, but not once i have said thank you omar for him, or harvey, or ike davis, they are mets and i’ll root for them because they are NEW YORK METS players, unlike a lot of you’s i root for the team, not the GM and his few good moves.
    BTW, a guy who hit 30+ HR and drove in 90 runs after having 2 pathetic full months is a guy to keep an eye out no???
• Sloatsburg Mets Fan January 22, 2013 at 9:30 am

  I meant take on over hyping prospects.
• Sloatsburg Mets Fan January 22, 2013 at 9:52 am

  Alex

  Seriously! I try to be respectful to you but it’s very obvious you’re just IGNORANT! Learn to read! Do you not see that I stated and HAVE STATED several times that I am not sold on Alderson I am withholding my opinion of him until the end of this year At least I’m giving someone a legit opportunity before I judge (well within my rights). All I said was Alderson deserves credit for getting the haul he got for Beltran & Dickey (players I loved).

  It’s blatantly obvious that your goal is to be the biggest hater and most moronic person on this site. Congrats you won.
  • Alex68 January 22, 2013 at 9:58 am

    If you fall on the category of one of those about sandy vs omar guys then so be it… While i said YOU guys i was obviously talking to those who do, if you don’t there’s no sense in gettign all worked up about it. And don’t cry when i insult you back ok. while i say whatever i say i don’t insult you sloat ok.. Just saying, not that i care.
• Sloatsburg Mets Fan January 22, 2013 at 10:02 am

  Just shut your trap and leave me out of nonsensical rants!
  • Alex68 January 22, 2013 at 10:27 am

    Learn baseball then i will, kid… You’re nothing but another sandy lover who love to praise him every single second you can without pointing out his fault and how pathetic he’s make the major league club, numbers, numbers, numbers….. Thats’s why you praise him, you want your idol to be awesome with his moneyball mentality in NY, guess what? 3 years in and we’re becoming one of the worst teams in baseball, stp your slur*iness and pay attention, you might learn something….
• TX January 22, 2013 at 10:20 am

  So when you sprinkle in the top ten LHP prospects, how far back does this push Wheeler and Syndergaard?
  • DrDooby January 22, 2013 at 11:45 am

    With the recent graduation of Matt Moore, I´m not even sure there are many high potential LHSP prospects around these days. Is Martin Perez (TEX) still rookie eligible ? The lefty Florida got in the Reyes deal (Nicasio ?) is pretty close to the level of Syndergaard, I guess though with a tad less raw upside. Tyler Skaggs (ARI) certainly would be in the top 10.
    Borderline candidates would be the two Seattle lefties Hultzen & Paxton, though each certainly behind Wheeler.
    So, Wheeler probably remains Top 5 among all pitching prospects.
    Syndergaard possibly gets bumped to 15th or so including lefties.
• Sloatsburg Mets Fan January 22, 2013 at 12:12 pm

  My personal guarantee, wheeler & Syndergaard will win back to back Cy Youngs. For no other reason than that they where acquired by Sandy the Great!