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I have always been a guy who preached having Mike Pelfrey in the No. 5 spots of the Mets rotation no matter what. Pelfrey, I said, is either going to be the future of this team or another pitching bust. But the only way to find it out, I declared, was to give him as much of a full season as possible to see what he is made of.

I have to come off that stand now. I feel like Jon Niese is the new Mike Pelfrey and should be given the chance to be in the rotation.

There are a lot of question marks with Niese, of course. He is a baby at 21-years-old. He has no high level minor league experience and has never had the workload that a full professional season would entail.

But he has tons of upside as well. He is 6-foot-3 but looks bigger and is left-handed. His fastball can reach the mid 90s and he also features a curve, splitter and slider. He was a two-time state Player of the Year in Ohio.

He had a good spring albeit in limited action and appeared to have a nice calm demeanor about him.

Pelfrey and El Duque look awful this spring. El Duque is using a whole new windup and who the heck thinks 57-year-old pitcher can all of a sudden start using a new windup. That’s why you don’t teach old dogs (or pitchers) new tricks.

He is clearly feeling the effects of his bum foot and just doesn’t appear ready. Pelfrey started well this spring but got absolutely destroyed by Cardinal backups and has even said things in the press like he’d be surprised if he won the job.

Confidence much?

Why not give a young guy a shot here? It is exactly what they’d be doing with Pelfrey. Sosa is better fit in the bullpen and should stay there. Jason (or potentially Claudio) Vargas has nowhere near the potential that Niese has. El Duque is probably a ways away from being effective.

Pelfrey has had his opportunities and has not seized them. That’s not saying he will not, he just clearly isn’t ready.

Let’s see what Niese is made of, if only for a few starts until El Duque proves he can get people out. If Niese has success let him stay.

Yes he is young, but so is Joba Chamberlain and he is doing just fine.

In other words I’d rather see a young prospect prove he is worthy of this role rather than giving the job to some journeymen who will probably also have mixed results.

And Niese is the best prospect the Mets have right now.