Lagares To Make MLB Debut? (Photo by Gordon Donovan)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• The Las Vegas/Colorado Springs game was postponed due to cold.
• Binghamton dropped a game to Portland, 8-2.
• St. Lucie defeated Charlotte, 2-1.
• Savannah had an off day.

Prospect Pipeline (Morsels From The Minor League Staff)

• BREAKING: RHP Christian Montgomery of the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets, was suspended 50 games for a second positive test of a banned substance. ”My job is not done and my goals aren’t reached yet, but I’m striving and dedicated to be where I wanna be,” he said to fans via Twitter.
• NEW: RHP Tyler Pill makes his fourth start of the year with the B-Mets. He got his first win of 2013 in his last start, a 4-3 victory over New Hampshire. He threw 6.0 innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, and struck out six batters. On the season, he has struck out 14, and walked four. Opponents are hitting .338 overall against the righthander, and are hitting .438 (7-for-16) against him with runners in scoring position. Pill was ranked the #25 prospect in the Mets organization by Baseball America  prior to the 2013 season. He was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Cal State Fullerton.
• So resident psychic Joe D. gave Juan Lagares a well-deserved shout-out yesterday – and lo and behold, the story broke that he might be making his MLB debut with the Mets ASAP. As for my opinion on the matter, Joe and I are sharing a brain. I know that some people argue that Lagares may be experiencing a little statistical inflation, but I think Lagares has always had the potential to become a successful MLB player. More importantly, he has the tools to do it in CF, where the Mets are desperate for any kind of talent. You never know when a rookie can come up and light a fire under a team with some hard-nosed play, so I wish Lagares the best.
• Wally Backman gave his Lagares a sweet send-off. ”He’s a kid who can play all three outfield positions and he’s got speed. He’s a good outfielder. He throws to the right bases. He has a knack for getting the barrel on the ball. He looks like he’s a real good hitter. I mean, if you just watch him, you say, ‘This kid is going to be able to hit.” It’s almost as if it was taken straight out of my Prospect Spotlight on Lagares. (Joe D.)
• Speaking of sharing a brain, Mitch and I both have high hopes for T.J. Rivera – and he is definitely a feel good story. Rivera added two more hits and RBIs to his stat sheet for the 2013 season last night and is continuing to turn heads. Rivera can flat out hit and it may not be long before he is raking in a Binghamton uniform soon.
• Jacob deGrom was a hard luck loser in his first AA start a couple days back, and he ran into some more bad luck on Monday night as the B-Mets had a ton of defensive issues behind him. His final line was tough, as he somehow lasted five innings, but allowed seven hits and four walks. He was on the hook for six runs, but only one of them was earned. The Jake deGrom that you should expect to see going forward is a lot more like the young man we saw in his first AA start – where he lasted eight innings and allowed only three hits and one earned run.
• Jim Callis recently wrote about a piece about a 25-man prospect roster taking at most one player from each team. He chose Zack Wheeler from NY, but he mentioned that he could have easily gone with D’Arnaud. He also answered a direct question about Rainy Lara, where he stated “He’s also old for low Class A at 22, and unless he adds velocity or develops a quality second pitch, he’s looking at a ceiling as a middle reliever.” Lara, as Callis also mentioned, has gained some respect because of the effectiveness of his sinker, which sits at 89-92 MPH. Lara may not be the sexy prospect right now, but I would advise that you keep an eye on him until he gives you a reason not to. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched so far this season, with a 3:15 BB:K ratio.
• Aderlin Rodriguez may have three home runs and three doubles in 68 at-bats, but he is struggling mightily to keep his batting average anywhere near respectable – it fell to .162 last night.
• Shout-out to T.J. Chism, who picked up his second save of the season for St. Lucie and has a 1.59 ERA so far this season.
• Adam Rubin tweeted on Monday that his next farm report would feature Steven Matz…a fun fact? The Mets, as an organization, have only five left handed starting pitchers listed in contrast to 22 right handed starting pitchers according to their organizational depth chart. Jon Niese and Aaron Laffey make up two of them. Angel Cuan, Darin Gorski, and Steven Matz are the other three. Matz’s 1.29 ERA through 14 innings is tops in the Mets Minors right now.
• It’s no fun when Savannah has an off-day and you’re all ready to gush about Kevin Plawecki and Brandon Nimmo. For all the talk about Las Vegas inflating offensive numbers, the top three batting averages in the Mets Minors belong to three Savannah players: Nimmo’s .424, Boyd’s .388 and Plawecki’s .381 who all play at one of the toughest places to hit – Historic Grayson Stadium..
• T.J. Rivera is a well-oiled, finely tuned hitting machine at the plate. After another two-hit game, he’s now swinging a .310/.383/.394 slash and at 24, you’ll soon be seeing him at a Bingo hall near you and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it to Sin City and even to that other Citi for a September cup of coffee. (Joe D.)
• You know how I’m always harping on Zack Wheeler‘s command? If only he could put up strikeout to walk ratios like Jake deGrom 21:3, Rafael Montero 27:1, Steven Matz 18:4. Then you’ll know you really have a can’t miss prospect. Wheeler’s K/BB ratio is 21:12 if you want to know how that would translate in the Majors, take a look at Oliver Perez‘s career. I still maintain that Montero is more MLB-ready than Wheeler is (not so crazy now, huh?), but it won’t stop the frenzied fanbase from forcing Wheeler up based solely on his heightened legendary-status that’s being driven by SNY –  who happens to be owned by Fred. Once attends shrivels up some more, you’ll see Wheeler in Flushing – ready or not. Hopefully it won’t lead to his unravelling. (Joe D.)
• The executive producer of SNY told me last week that 99% of Mets fans only care about Wheeler, Nimmo and D’Arnaud, and that nobody cares about Montero, Flores or Lagares. I was asking him why they only cover the same 4-5 prospects day after day and ignore 3-4 dozen other great names and rattled off the three I mentioned. Toby Hyde jumped into our conversation and said, “Bingo!” Whose Minor League coverage would you rather read after seeing a mindset like that? (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Day

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB

Tweet Of The Day

Pretty sure I just saw a commercial for a farmers-only dating website. The farmer’s daughter cliche must really be struggling these days.

— Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) April 23, 2013

I thought we had the market cornered here at MetsMerized with pictures of hot farm hands… We may now have some competition. This tweet had some competition from @JohnStrubel, who noted that Jason Bay flew out to Fernando Martinez to end an inning – right before Oliver Perez entered the game…

Transactions/Injuries

• Pedro Feliciano was placed on the temporary inactive list down in St. Lucie. Feliciano left the team to deal with a personal issue in Puerto Rico.
• Darwin Frias was called up to St. Lucie from Brooklyn.
• Shaun Marcum threw 52 pitches over 5.0 innings in an extended spring training game for St. Lucie yesterday. He is scheduled to be promoted to the Mets and start Saturday against the Phillies.
• Mets announced they have signed RHP D.J. Mitchell, who was released by the Seattle Mariners. He’s only made one start for Tacoma (AAA) this year and allowed three runs in four innings. He was assigned to Mets extended spring training camp.

Comment Of The Day

Buddy3 asked… “Do you see Matt Reynolds and TJ Rivera jumping over Tovar and Muno at some point this year or next at the double play combo? Seems like Reynolds is going to push Tejada, not Tovar.”

I love this question. First off, remember not to count Phillip Evans out – the Mets have invested a lot in him financially and he is pretty talented. Now, although Matthew Reynolds always profiled defensively as a third baseman, it was unlikely that his offensive capabilities would progress to match the expectations for that position – so the move to short should benefit him in the long run.

Reynolds may have a good glove, but Wilfredo Tovar has an elite glove…so although Reynolds will likely work out to be a better offensive contributor than Tovar, he is fighting an uphill battle. Rivera can flat-out hit and that statement will be said so many times this year that it will be drilled into most readers’ minds. I actually do believe T.J. Rivera will eventually overtake Daniel Muno when projecting the future, but Tovar’s defensive wizardry will likely keep him in the conversation over Reynolds for now.

Photo Of The Day

Don’t mind me, I’m just watching some Mets Minors baseball…

After a shaky outing from Dillon Gee, the Mets offense sparked a late rally to take the first game of the series, 6-4 against the Astros.

Game Notes

DIllon Gee was struggling today to consistently throw strikes, and continually got himself into and then out of jams. Gee allowed four runs in five innings on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Gee was walking a tight rope the whole game, and most of his walks came back to bite him. It was bound to happen at some point, where Gee would have to struggle through an outing.

Ryota Igarashi came out to relieve Dillon Gee, and allowed an RBI single and then an error by Daniel Murphy allowed a run to score, making the game 4-0. Pat Misch came out to finish up the sixth, and got an unconventional double play after a poor base running decision by Bill Hall allowed a double play. Ryota Igarashi’s final line, one-third of an inning, one hit. Pat Misch went one and two-third innings, generating plenty of weak contact. Taylor Buchholz went two-thirds of an inning, striking out one and giving up one hit. K-Rod came out for the four-out save, putting some runners on base as usual, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The bullpen has continued to be amazing, and on a day when Gee wasn’t on his A game, the pen came out and had an amazing day.

The offense today was held in check by Bud Norris, until the seventh inning moonshot of a home run by Jason Bay put the Mets on the board. After a Justin Turner single in the eighth, everyone’s favorite prospect Fernando Martinez annihilated a pitch to right field for his first home run of the year. Then, after a Jose Reyes walk and a Josh Thole flyout, David Wright tattooed a ball into the left field bleachers to put the Mets on top, 5-4. A Jason Pridie double that scored Justin Turner in the ninth was done for good measure. After the Mets were stifled for seven innings, it was great to see them not give up and strike against Bud Norris.

Justin Turner – 2 for 4 with 2 runs and a strikeout.

Josh Thole – 0 for 3 with a walk.

Turning Point

Jason Bay’s awakening home run/ the eighth inning.

Game Ball

David Wright & Fernando Martinez split the game ball, both coming through in the clutch

On Deck

The Mets will look to keep their winning streak going, sending R.A. Dickey to the mound up against Astros lefty J.A. Hap. Game time is 4:05 P.M.

It is early, but the team is currently sitting in last place in the NL East. While the Mets won’t spend the year in the cellar, there are some issues that will certainly keep them from competition for a playoff spot.

Mike Pelfrey’s struggles are obviously the first and most salient of the team’s issues. Pelf’s first three starts can be characterized as nothing other than ugly. He has failed to deliver a quality start yet this season.

Some of Pelfrey’s struggles have been tied to the fact that he has been unlucky this season. He has a .348 BABIP, which is well above his .308 career average. In addition, his groundball rate is just 43.5%, well below his career average of 49.3%.

Pelfrey will undoubtedly right the ship, but the question is what type of pitcher will he be. He is not an ace, and he is not a number two. With a career strikeout rate of 5.10 K/9 and a walk rate of 3.34 BB/9 to go along with a 4.42 ERA, it is hard to even see Pelfrey as a number three. Pelfrey’s has a career 93 ERA+. This is below league average.

It may be time to realize that even though he has turned in a few good seasons, Pelfrey is nothing more than a number four starter. Since this may in fact be the case, the Mets need someone they can count on to act as an ace until Johan Santana returns.

The Mets bullpen also appears to be another area of concern. Because of the struggles of the rotation, they Mets bullpen has bullpen has been taxed and has one of the worst ERAs in the NL.

Part of this can be attributed to some of the same issues that Pelfrey is facing. They bullpen has a very high BABIP in addition to a low groundball rate. In addition to these issues, they have also been allowing a lot of walks.

Another pressing issue for the Mets appears to be second base. The team thought the problem had been solved when they picked up Brad Emaus in the Rule V Draft. However, it appears that is not the case.

Emaus has gotten off to a slow start to the season. He has just four hits in 28 plae appearances. He has walked three times but he has also struck out six.

Some of his issues may stem from the fact that this is his first exposure to Major League pitching. Regardless of the reason, Emaus seems to be a bit lost at the plate. We are not seeing the power that we have heard about. In addition, Emaus has been nothing more than decent defensively.

The solution here may be a simple one. The Mets have Daniel Murphy who it appears will become a platoon partner of Emaus. Murphy has already proven that he can handle hitting in the Majors. His defense at second base has appeared to improve greatly. He just may the answer to Mets issues at second base.

The final thing that is a bit worrisome about the Mets is the Jason Bay’s replacement in left field. Lucas Duda struggled mightily in his limited action and was already sent back down to the minors. Willie Harris has been on a tear to start the season.

This may not seem like a concern. However, Harris is just a career .240 hitter. His current BABIP of .438 is in no way sustainable. The question right now should be how long will Harris be able to keep up his current level of success. It likely won’t be much longer.

Left field will once again become an issue for the Mets once Harris cools down. If Jason Bay is out for an extended period of time, then Harris is not the answer for that. The Mets do have talented young players in the minors, and it may be time to give Fernando Martinez yet another shot at trying to prove he can be a Major League outfielder.

It seems like F-Mart has been around for a long time, though he’s just 22 years old. (His birthday is only two months after mine, and he turns 23 on Oct. 10 this year.)

But there has been so much speculation, question and doubt among Mets fans, specifically for the past three seasons. To F-Mart’s credit, he’s been somewhat on a roller coaster since 2008, being called up. Being sent back down. Called up. Sent down.

Now, I have to wonder if it could finally be Martinez’s time to live up to the potential most of us Mets fans know he has.

The stats don’t lie, though they are difficult to interpret because he’s been so injury-prone the past few seasons.

This spring, he went 8-for-22 with a homer and four RBIs. In his MLB career, he’s appeared in 36 games, with one homer and 10 RBIs, while batting .174. It’s not mind-blowing, but his minor league stats do jump out.

According to BaseballReference.com, his prospect ranking has dropped considerably since 2007. (He was No. 22 in 2007 and was No. 77 prior to last season.)

In two seasons with Triple-A Buffalo, Martinez has played in 116 games, hitting 20 home runs and racked up 61 RBIs.

Sure, the Mets have some enticing outfield prospects — namely Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and even Matt den Dekker. But if the 22-year-old Martinez can find a way to stay healthy, he could be the real deal in a few years — or sooner.

In a March 1 story in the New York Post when Martinez was informed he’d be sent down to minor league camp, he still seemed optimistic.

“I’ve been here a long time, but now I feel comfortable and I know what I’m doing,” Martinez was quoted as saying the day he was sent down. Still, he said he’s finally healthy, adding: “… things are coming together for me.”

My thoughts …

Growing up playing a ton of sports, I know there definitely are such things as “growing pains.” Most youngsters who play a lot of sports get them and know it’s true. Especially with baseball. Yes, most sports are played year-round just like baseball, but baseball is played nearly every day.

I am sure F-Mart has had some silly, nagging, growing-pain injuries throughout his career. But I think that if the kid can stay healthy, he can be a factor for the Mets in the future.

It’s also worth remembering who the Mets have in the outfield right now. It’s as good as anyone’s guess as to how long or often Carlos Beltran will be able to play. Lucas Duda has had a good spring, but F-Mart is probably still in the mind of Terry Collins.

David Wright made his debut July 21, 2004, when he was 21 years old. He’s now 28 and the face of the franchise. Am I saying F-Mart will be the next face of the New York Mets? Not necessarily. But I am saying he’s still young, and he can still have a very bright future if he can stay healthy and get on the right program. I also think a lot of future success for Martinez is contingent upon him believing in himself despite the life of one day playing in Triple-A and the next day getting a phone call to be in the big-league lineup. But that’s the life of a baseball player.

And remember, though you might want to criticize F-Mart for not staying healthy and possibly being a bust, keep this in mind: He’d probably be finishing college if he wasn’t playing baseball. Instead, he has the weight of New York City and Mets Nation on his back to stay healthy and produce … at 22 years old.

Follow Andrew O’Brien on Twitter @aobrien7.

Surprise, surprise. Carlos Beltran is hurt once again.

After he resumes baseball activities sometime in the next few days, who knows how long it will take our new right fielder to get in baseball shape?

While part of me was hoping Beltran would finally return to the field healthy and productive, the other part of me knew it was probably too good to be true.

If Beltran is out for an extended period of time, the Mets are going to need a permanent solution to fill the void in right field and in their lineup. Already, there appear to be several candidates the Mets could consider.

I will present a few options and weigh the pros and cons of each decision.

I’ve heard that a possible platoon between Scott Hairston and Willie Harris could occur.

Hairston has some pop from the right side and has played adequate defense his entire career. He obviously won’t be the offensive force that a healthy Beltran could be, but he would do a nice job filling in.

Harris is a superb defender, as Met fans have witnessed countless times especially late in games. He also has hit well this spring and still has good speed.

These two players certainly have experience, but they could also be valuable members of the bench. Their value to the team would be in more of a limited role, since that’s what they’ve done for most of their careers.

I might as well throw Nick Evans’ name into the conversation. Evans has been mostly playing the corner infield spots during spring training but now might see some time in the outfield.

Evans is raking so far this spring and is making a bid to make the team, even if just as a bat off the bench.

However, his defense in the outfield is suspect, and it would be an adventure for him at Citi Field. Still, if Hairston and Harris see the bulk of the time, Evans may be needed on the bench.

If Beltran were to be out more than a month or two, it might be a wise decision for the Mets to promote one of their outfield prospects. Kirk Nieuwenheis and Cory Vaughn may need some more seasoning in the minors, so that leaves Lucas Duda and Fernando Martinez as the most major league ready prospects.

Duda has been hitting well this spring and with extended time could put up big numbers: maybe not healthy Beltran numbers but still productive in the middle of the order.

He actually looked decent at times in left field late last season, but once again right field at Citi Field is challenging. With lots of work, Duda could become an adequate right fielder, but the question is whether the Mets have that kind of time?

Now onto F-Mart. He’s also been swinging the bat very well this spring. He’s young, he can run, he’s got some pop, he has a good arm. What’s not to like?

The problem is that F-Mart has had a chance to prove what he can do in extended play in the majors, and he flopped.

However, that doesn’t mean that he would flop again. The Mets are content with having him play a full season in the minors before handing over the reins (or even exploring a trade option).

With Beltran out though, I wonder if the Mets decide that F-Mart is ready.

In the best case scenario, Beltran’s knee tendinitis doesn’t prove to be a major problem, and he returns healthy in a week or two.

If that’s not the case, my pick for the Mets’ right fielder would be Lucas Duda, but also with Scott Hairston getting regular at-bats as well. Maybe it wouldn’t be quite a platoon, but Duda could play four games a week and Hairston would play the other two.

We’ll see what happens over the next few weeks, but if one of these prospects starts impressing, the name “Carlos Beltran” could be quickly forgotten in New York.

Follow me on Twitter @JMMancari.

The Buffalo Bisons lost both games of a doubleheader on Sunday, but that wasn’t all they lost. According to Bisons.com, Mets prospect Fernando Martinez suffered an apparent knee injury in the first game and did not play in the second game.

Martinez played the entire first game, but could be seen nursing his right knee in the field and out of the batter’s box. Oberkfell said he aggravated the knee trying to beat out a double-play in the sixth inning. The following inning, Martinez couldn’t chase down a fly ball in the gap. The coaching staff saw and kept him out of the second game against the Red Sox.

What is it with this guy? As I wrote a couple of weeks ago in my post entitled “Fernando Martinez: The Prospect Who Became Suspect“…

I’m not convinced that Martinez will ever be an impact hitter. Too many years have gone by with little to show for it.

Take a look at F-Mart’s games played in the last five years: 2006 – 76 games, 2007 – 63 games, 2008 – 90 games, 2009 - 74 games, 2010 – 71 games. In five years he’s only been able to play a little more than two seasons worth of games. Even Moises Alou fared better than that.

Now he’s hurt again and probably facing another DL stint. Crazy…

Incidentally, Bisons second baseman Justin Turner was also removed in the first game with an apparent knee injury and some sources believe it may be a season ender.

Johan Santana was good today, but a late home run by new Met-Killer Hunter Pence and the Mets lost the game, 4-3.

Game Notes

Johan Santana was great tonight, going the full eight innings, giving up four runs on nine hits with one walk and seven k’s. That stat line doesn’t tell the whole story for Johan, as four of those hits were given up in the first inning. After the first inning, Johan settled in and was working the plate, had great control and was effective.

No K-Rod, no need. The only partially good news today is that his contract has been withheld due to his placement on the Disqualified List after injuring his thumb in the fight last Wednesday. That is saving the Mets roughly THREE MILLION just this year.

The Mets offense existed in sputters today, after scoring an RBI on a Fernando Martinez single in the first, a Jose Reyes groundout in the second, and then David Wright’s 18th HR of the season, and FIRST RBI of August.

Ike Davis, 0-3 with a walk.

Jose Reyes, 2-4 with a walk, a stolen base, a run and an RBI. Great game Jose.

Overall, on a down note the Mets need to start stringing hits together when it matters, have a better pitch selection in KEY situations and really make pitchers work. When the situation is no-outs, early innings it seems they possess great discipline, but Angel Pagan swung at a bad pitch 0-2 in the ninth, Chris Carter swung at the first pitch he saw with one out in the ninth, and Jose Reyes was guessing fastball twice, and got two change-ups, and then hit a weak fly to left.

Turning Point

When Johan Santana threw the 3-2 slider to Hunter Pence. Realistically, instead of throwing your third best pitch, you should walk a guy who took you deep already.

Game Ball

Johan Santana. If there was a ninth inning, he may have pitched it. This was such a deceptive outing, because take away two hits, and he allows 0 runs, or walk a batter and face the anemic Carlos Lee.

On Deck

The Mets will send R.A. Dickey to the mound off his one-hit gem to face up against the Astros Brett Myers and hopefully win an important road series. Game Time is 8:10 P.M.

Mike Pelfrey looked the sharpest he has in weeks, giving up zero runs and throwing 122 pitches, and the Mets managed to scratch across one run and hold the lead for the 1-0 win.

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey had his best outing since early June, throwing seven innings of shutout ball, giving up four hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Big Pelf was getting key outs today, and only allowed ONE runner to reach third base, allowing one extra base hit as well. Pelfrey was locating today, but he had a few tough innings in which he threw 20+ pitches. What really says something about this performance is that Mike knew this was a do-or-die win to keep the Mets in the race and get the moral up, and what better way then to take a win from a Cy Young candidate and All-Star opposing you on the mound.

The bullpen came out, and Hisanori Takahashi served as the setup man today, and made pretty quick work of the Rockies in the 8th inning, throwing 12 pitches, nine for strikes. Francisco Rodriguez came out in the ninth to seal the deal, and none of his usual theatrics were in play today, having a 1-2-3 night for his 25th save of the season.

The Mets offense was held in check by Ubaldo Jimenez, and it was difficult to put anything together until the seventh inning. Mike Pelfrey, hitting for himself even after throwing 107 pitches singled, and after a leadoff walk to Chris Carter, Josh Thole doubled to advance Jeff Francoeur, pinch-running for Chris Carter to third. After an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes knocked in the only run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

Ike Davis, 0-3 with 3 K’s and a walk. Ike is one short of 100 K’s…in about 360 at-bats. Tough righties seem to eat him up.

Ruben Tejada, 0-3 with a K. He is batting .191 on the season, but if his defense saves some runs, then it may be worth it to play him and not Castillo.

Angel Pagan, 0-4 with 2 K’s. Bad day for Angel today.

Overall, the Mets offense was stifled so a lot of 0′s in the hit column for Mets hitters

Turning Point

When Pelf went out for the top of the seventh inning, it gave the Mets fanbase a sign that Jerry would let his starters finish what they started. They let Pelf pitch like the horse that he is.

Game Ball

Mike Pelfrey again. great outing, great control and dropped his ERA from 4.16 to 3.95. His WHIP is still an ugly 1.50, but walks and a few outings giving up 7+ hits in 5 innings hurt him

On Deck

Jonathon Niese will look to assure the series win for the Mets, facing off against Jason Hammel. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Despite a late inning rally, the Mets fall to the Phils 6-5 and lose the series. Dickey had his worst start this season only going three innings and giving up six runs. The Mets bullpen had a great day not giving up any runs after Dickey was pulled. Pagan, Thole, and Reyes all had a multiple hit game, yet Beltran and Wright combined for six strikeouts in the game. The Mets haven’t won back-to-back games in 41 ball games now. Mets fall to one game under .500.

Game Summary

R.A. Dickey had his worst start of the season against the Phillies today. The knuckleballer had a 1-2-3 first inning, but that would turn out to be his only good inning. In the second inning he would give up a solo homerun to Jason Werth followed by giving up five more runs and another homerun in the third inning. Dickey would end the day only going three innings pitched, giving up six runs – four earned – on eight hits and two Phillie homeruns. Dickey also walked one batter and struck out none. Dickey receives his first loss since June 20th.

Raul Valdes and Hisanori Takahashi combined for a great relief outing. Combining for three innings pitched, not giving up a hit or a run. They both record a strikeout. Pedro Feliciano came into the seventh and gave up a hit before striking out a batter and getting his only out. Many Acosta came into the game and pitched 1.1 shutout innings, only giving up one hit and striking out one.

The Mets offense took the lead early scoring two in the first inning but Dickey gave up the lead in the third. The Mets also fought back scoring in both the sixth and seventh inning and tried to for a rally in the ninth but the door was shut on them in the end. The Mets offense has been struck out 24 times in the last 2 games against the Phils. 22 times against the starters.

Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan both had two hits in the game. Reyes went 2-3 with two doubles – robbed of a third one – scored two runs, and was walked once. He did have an error in the game though. Pagan went 2-4 with one run scored, 2 RBIs and stole two bases.

Fernando Martinez had his first hit of the major league season. He went 1-4 with a run scored and a strikeout.

David Wright has now struck out five times in his last six at-bats. He received plenty of boo’s in his last at bat. He went 2-for-23 on this road trip to Atlanta and Philly with eight Ks. His average has fallen to .293 on the season.

Carlos Beltran had a terrible game both offensively and defensively. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts today (1-12 in series). He also didn’t play out a ball well that was hit in center field that allowed Werth’s homerun that Pagan probably could have gotten. Also, for the first time, the Mets double switched Carlos Beltran out of the game.

Josh Thole also had a great game going 3-4 with a double and a run scored. His defense has been good too as he is 6-8 throwing out base stealers this season.

Carter, Tejada, and Davis all had an RBI in the game.

Turning Point

The six runs the Phillies scored in the second and third inning.

Game Ball

It’s a tough choice between the bullpen, Pagan, Reyes or Thole. But I’m going to go with the bullpen who threw five shutout innings after Dickey got beat up.

Up Next

The Mets will have Monday off as they head home to start a three game series against the Rockies. On Tuesday, Mike Pelfrey will look to get back into a rhythm as he gets the start for the Mets. Colorado will have Cy Young hopeful, Ubaldo Jimenez, starting for them.  Jimenez hasn’t given up more than four hits in his last three starts. Carlos Gonzalez has been dominant in his hitting this season. Already has hit for the cycle and a grand slam in the same game. Game time is 7:10 PM.

The Mets have released infielder Alex Cora and demoted outfielder Jesus Feliciano to make room for Fernando Martinez and  Ruben Tejada who will both be in uniform for today’s game.

Cora appeared in 62 games for the Mets this year and was 18 games shy of having his 2011 option automatically vest at $2 million.

So that’s that… The mystery has been solved… We still have Oliver Perez… We still have Luis Castillo… We still have basically the same problems…

Original Post 11:00 AM

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets have announced that Fernando Martinez has been promoted to the Mets.

No word yet as to who will be cut to make room for him.

Also, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes writes that Ruben Tejada has also been promoted to the Mets.

Yesterday, there was speculation that both could be traded, but today we learned from Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, that neither Fernando Martinez or Ruben Tejada were placed on trade  waivers which means they cannot be traded.

As for who the Mets will cut, or trade or demote to make room, the possibilities are many.

It could be that Francoeur or Castillo could be cut or traded, or it could simply mean that Chris Carter, Mike Hessman or Jesus Feliciano are being demoted.

We will keep you updated.

Michael Salfino of SNY.tv wrote an interesting article yesterday on the Mets former number one prospect, Fernando Martinez. In it he chronicles the decline of F-Mart’s prospect status over the years, but is not yet ready to count him out.

Since 2007, he’s moved down on Baseball America’s Top 100 list from the 20th to 30th to 77th position. Now, according an e-mail from BA editor Jim Callis, he’s off the list. All this has happened before Martinez’s 22nd birthday. Is it him, or is it a curse of expectations that became too high?

I always thought it was a crap shoot whenever an 17 or 18 year old gets labeled as the next best pitcher or hitter. I’d say that 75% of the time the greatness and Hall of Fame careers that are projected, never really pan out. There have been more “can’t miss” prospects that have missed than those that haven’t.

I don’t believe Martinez is cursed, I just feel that it’s a bad idea to place such lofty expectations on a kid who just started shaving and still needs a guardian to get into an R Rated movie.

I’ll admit that in 2007, I was one of those who bought into all the hype surrounding Fernando Martinez. Yes, I know I’ve been burned by the Mets Hype Machine before, but something about this one really intrigued me. I once read that he was compared to Juan Gonzalez who I enjoyed watching as a player. Maybe that’s why I was so willing to see F-Mart work out, and so hopeful that he would defy the odds and cash in on all his promise.

However, it’s pretty difficult to fulfill that destiny when you are spending half of your formative years on the Minor League DL.

Salfino also writes,

There’s still a reasonable chance, not much worse than it is for anyone, that Martinez will be the impact hitter that was initially forecast. Granted, this is still unlikely (as it is with all prospects), but it’s closer to 50/50 than it is to zero. If you doubt this rough sketch of prospect probability, consider that Jeremy Hermida was once the consensus “next great hitter” and this week was designated for assignment by the Red Sox.

I’m not convinced that Martinez will ever be an impact hitter. Too many years have gone by with little to show for it.

Take a look at F-Mart’s games played in the last five years: 2006 – 76 games, 2007 – 63 games, 2008 – 90 games, 2009 - 74 games, 2010 – 71 games. In five years he’s only been able to play a little more than two seasons worth of games. Even Moises Alou fared better than that.

Wilmer Flores has replaced Martinez as the Mets top hitting prospect this season, and oh by the way, like F-Mart, he’s also been earmarked for greatness since he was 16 years old, when the Mets signed him. Now 18, he ranks #88 on the latest Baseball America prospect list.

Nobody knows if Martinez will end up going the way of Alex Escobar, another highly touted teen sensation that never lived up to Mets mega-star billing. But there is still time for Martinez to carve out some sort of a career in the Major Leagues. However that can’t happen as long as he continues to spend too much of his time ailing on the sidelines.

Hopefully, Wilmer Flores can meet the hype that has been transfered upon him from Fernando Martinez. So far he seems to be having a solid season, but most of it was at a level he repeated. That said, he has managed to do something Martinez has never been able to, and that is to play an entire season without any aches, bumps, or bruises.

John reviews the Mets Top 20 Prospects list that he originally posted back in January. Based on John’s comments, I decided to color code each player: Thumbs Up (blue), Neutral (black), Thumbs Down (red)

1) Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Grade B+: Back in the minors on rehab for a strained shoulder, after spending most of the spring in New York, 3.25 ERA with the Mets, 17/15 K/BB in 28 innings, 29 hits. He held his own before getting hurt, but I still think it was stupid for him to be on the major league roster this year.

2) Wilmer Flores, SS, Grade B+:  .291/.335/.432 for Low-A Savannah and High-A St. Lucie. He doesn’t turn 19 until tomorrow…made huge progress this year.

3) Fernando Martinez, OF, Grade B+:  .255/.322/.465 for Triple-A Buffalo, hampered by injuries again though he sustained power from last year.  Needs better plate discipline. Still just 21. . .

4) Ike Davis, 1B, Grade B:  .249/.324/.438 with 15 homers in 94 games for the Mets. Has held his own, especially considering just 10 games of Triple-A under his belt.

5) Jon Niese, LHP, Grade B:  3.78 ERA, 86/37 K/BB in 112 innings for the Mets, 120 hits. A highly competent starting pitcher with a chance to get a lot better in my opinion.

6) Reese Havens, SS, Grade B-: Hit great for St. Lucie and Binghamton (.312/.386/.592) but limited to 32 games by an oblique injury. I like him a lot, if he can stay healthy.

7) Kyle Allen, RHP, Grade B-:  5.03 ERA, 52/53 K/BB in 98 innings for St. Lucie, 99 hits. I thought he was a major breakthrough candidate, but he’s been pretty awful, with significant command problems.

8 ) Jeurys Familia, RHP, Grade B-:  6.30 ERA for St. Lucie, 83/62 K/BB in 84 innings, 85 hits. Like Allen, he’s gone backwards. Good strikeout rate, but getting killed by walks.

9) Brad Holt, RHP, Grade C+:  Got annihilated in Double-A, and not much better after going back to St. Lucie. 7.71 ERA with 60/49 K/BB in 70 innings, 84 hits. Secondary pitches have regressed, command is fouled up too.

10) Ruben Tejada, INF, Grade C+:  .279/.326/.344 in 64 games in Triple-A, .212/.297/.250 in 35 major league games. Very young at age 20 and I still think he can develop.

11) Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF, Grade C+:  .292/.340/.515, 16 homers, 13 steals, 30 walks, 92 strikeouts in 390 at-bats in Double-A. Solid across the board, main worry is high strikeout rate.

12) Eric Niesen, LHP, Grade C+:  4.83 ERA, 45/49 K/BB in 60 innings in Double-A, 57 hits. Another live arm undone by command problems.

13) Jefry Marte, 3B, Grade C+: .264/.333/.401 for Low-A Savannah. Not awful, not great, just 19 years old. Currently out with a bad hamstring.

14) Cesar Puello, OF, Grade C:  .293/.377/.363 with 44 steals in 53 attempts for Savannah. Loads of speed, plate discipline is so-so, lacks power, just 19 years old.

15) Josh Thole, C, Grade C:  .267/.353/.430 for Buffalo, .294/.400/.373 in the majors. I think he’s a .260-.280 hitter with a decent OBP but no power.

16) Juan Urbina, LHP, Grade C:  5.76 ERA with 28/11 K/BB in 30 innings in rookie ball, 32 hits. Just 17 years old, much too early to conclude anything.

17) Steve Matz, LHP, Grade C:  Out with Tommy John.

18) Brent Rustich, RHP, Grade C:  Just 13 innings pitched this year between  GCL rehab and St. Lucie, 5.40 ERA, 10/7 K/BB.

19) Tobi Stoner, RHP, Grade C:  6.07 ERA with 79/41 K/BB in 116 innings in Triple-A, 150 hits. Awful awful awful.

20) Dillon Gee, RHP, Grade C:  4.88 ERA, 123/30 K/BB in 127 innings for Buffalo, 135 hits. Good K/BB ratio, good strikeout rate, I think he’s pitched better than the ERA although his home run rate is rather high.

Major league contributions from Niese and Davis were good to see, and Flores has taken a large leap forward with his skills. But I don’t like the way Mejia was handled, and most of the pitchers on this list have been big disappointments.

Only four on this list met or exceeded expectations thus far, with the rest either on the fence or regressing.

I’m looking forward to John’s updated Top 20 which I’m sure will include some new names including pitchers Mark Cohoon and Robert Carson among others. Also, I have a hunch Lucas Duda could reappear on this list again after a solid season in Buffalo.

The Buffalo Bisons hit four home runs last night, but they still fell short of a miracle comeback and lost to the Gwinnett Braves 8-7

In that game, Val Pascucci hit a pinch hit home run, but the star of the night was right fielder Fernando Martinez, who clubbed a pair of home runs, his eighth and ninth of the season.

F-Mart went 3-5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI from his solo shots. On the year, he is batting .267 with 27 RBI, 20 runs scored, and a stolen base in 50 games played.

The Mets have a couple of players having solid seasons for Buffalo this year. 

In 25 games played, outfielder Lucas Duda is batting .340 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs. That’s more RBI’s than games played. Duda has a 1.123 OPS for the Bisons and of his 32 hits, 17 of them were extra-base hits.

Pat Misch continues to dominate in AAA and has a 9-3 record to go with 3.12 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has struck out 67 batters while walking 17 in 112 innings pitched.

The Bisons lead the International League with 101 home runs this season, yet surprisingly they have the second lowest strikeout rate in the league. Not a bad combination.

This is the time during Spring Training that all Major League teams start to cut down their rosters, sending some players down to their Minor League affiliates, while others are sent on their way right out of the organization.

The funny thing about this process is that there are very few surprises as to who stays and who goes. Sometimes a young player with just a little minor league experience makes such an outstanding impression that management feels that he is ready for the big leagues and they can’t envision him not being with the parent club.

Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals comes to mind this year as he has not allowed a run in three appearances so far. It was expected that the number one overall player in last years draft would start the year perhaps even as high as AAA. He did have an advantage of playing college ball under Hall of Fame great Tony Gwynn, but still there would seem to be no real reason to rush him into the fray. It’s not like the Nationals will be in the playoff hunt this year.

On Sirius/XM Radio yesterday, Rob Dibble, who I love as a color commentator and sports talk show host, said that when he was in his first couple of years of Spring Training and he knew he wasn’t going to make the Reds big club, he actually asked the team to cut him early enough so he could get more work in at the level he would be playing at. Amazing.

For the Mets as they start their cuts, the big controversy at least among the Mets faithful, revolves around whether or not Fernando Martinez and Jenrry Mejia, the young pitching sensation, should be on the big club at the opening of the season.

It has been well chronicled that Martinez, still only 21 years old, has been the Mets best prospect for the past five years and has a history of injuries. During the injury fest of 2009 F-Mart, as he is affectionately called, had what’s known as a cup of coffee with the Mets and was not very effective with a batting average just somewhat north of 100.

He was and is still slated, according to Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, to start the season at AAA Buffalo and if he does well he should see action with the Mets no later than September 1st.

The problem is that he’s tearing the cover off the ball this spring after an excellent showing in the Caribbean World Series. Right now it looks like Angel Pagan, who had a walk off home run yesterday, will begin the season in center field until the return of perennial All Star Carlos Beltran.

Newly acquired Gary Matthews Jr. is also having a torrid spring and will definitely make the team as it’s 4th outfielder  and maybe even the center fielder, again that is until Beltran’s return. If that is the case where would Martinez fit in? Personally, and what most writers and fans agree on, is that Martinez needs to play everyday and Buffalo is the obvious place for him to be.

Mejia’s situation is even more complex. From here it doesn’t look like the Mets organization has decided what their expectations are of the role that Mejia will play. Is he a starter, perhaps even a top of the rotation starter, or can he become a lights out closer?

There is a case for both sides. He can crank it up to 98 mph on the gun and is developing some pretty good secondary pitches. He has drawn favorable comparisons to Dwight Gooden who at Mejia’s age, 20, was already dominating Major League batters. That in and of itself is not too shabby.

The other comparison has been to Mariano Rivera who some are already calling the greatest closer in the history of the game. His “cutter” over the years has been practically un-hittable and his post season performances have become legendary.

Former Met and Yankee, Darryl Strawberry has said that Mejia’s “cutter” is just as good as Rivera’s and the Mets need to use him right now, this season, in the pen.

So what are the Mets to do. Jerry Manuel, not my favorite Mets manager to say the least, has said Mejia could wind up as the 8th inning specialist this year if all falls into place.

What the Mets must be concerned about is not falling into what I call the “Joba Catch”. The Yankees have perhaps marred Chamberlain’s chances for super stardom as they vacillate between having him in the bullpen and as a starter. Most pitching experts agree that the transition from starter to reliever is much easier and likely to be more successful than the other way around.

So the Mets must decide which way to go with Mejia. I just want them to make a decision either way and more importantly, stick to it. What it comes down to, as I see it, is what’s the better long term solution. You have Frankie Rodriguez as your closer for the next two years. Mejia, if on the big club, would serve as the apprentice waiting to move into the closers role in 2012 if the Mets chose not to resign K-Rod.

If he goes to the Minors he would have at least a year or maybe two to develop his arsenal of pitches and at 22 he could become the ace of the staff for the next 10 to 15 years. My opinion, which amounts to nothing more than a hill of beans, is that Mejia and Martinez need to be sent down to develop. I think that in the long run, that would give the Mets the best opportunity to compete for the playoffs for years to come.

Agree? Dis-agree? Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Update 5:00 pm

Fernando Martinez will start the season in the minors according to Omar Minaya a guest on SNY.

Well, I’m glad we got that settled…

Original Post 7:00 am

Jon Harper of the Daily News penned an interesting piece in which he he concludes that Mets prospect Fernando Martinez should be the starting center fielder until Carlos Beltran comes back.

He does admit that Martinez looked overmatched and showed little evidence that he was major league ready last season, when injuries forced him into regular duty with the Mets and he batted just .176 in 100 plate appearances, but counters,

He points out that Angel Pagan’s baseball IQ is lacking. He doesn’t read the ball well in the outfield, doesn’t put himself in a good position to throw the ball, and he isn’t very good at running the bases.

I missed that particular game, and hadn’t heard or read about Pagan’s misadventure in centerfield. I was hoping that Pagan would return in 2010 with better instincts and heads up play. It doesn’t seem like much has changed, although it’s just one bad play and we should afford him the opportunity of a full spring training before rushing to judgment.

Harper dismisses Gary Matthews as an option, simply referring to him as “just a backup outfielder”. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Matthews simply because of all the options the Mets have, only Matthews is the proven quality major leaguer. Plus, he’s having a solid spring.

I’m glad to see Martinez playing so well and exhibiting a better understanding of the strike zone and pitch recognition. He is having a great spring, as he usually does, and I have no doubt he’s a better player than what we saw last season.

That said, it still may not be evidence enough that he can handle the task at hand. The enormous pressure and expectations that would be immediately placed on him could make him unravel, especially under the watchful eyes of the New York media.

With the prospect of an already weakened offense with Alex Cora or Ruben Tejada starting at shortstop, is now really the time to bench Pagan or Matthews and gamble that Martinez will improve on his .176 batting average or his own mental gaffes in center field?

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.  Blogs afford this opportunity, as so they do for the commentor to express agreement or disagreement.  Not only do I disagree with Silva but I totally take issue with his entire mentality and philosophy in proposing such a trade.  To sum up my thoughts in one sentence:  Making such a trade is not the way to run a major league franchise.

Most Mets fans are disillusioned with ownership’s inconsistent actions in executing a long term strategy.  That’s why the Mets are never able to contend for an extended period of time.  That’s why we need a plan that maintains a constant flow of prospects coming up through the minor league system.  They need to be well coached and tutored to afford them the opportunity to develop and eventually play important roles at the major league level.  We also need a top tier free agent or two to complement our future stars.  The result would be continuity of the roster from year to year for many years.  Chemistry, camaraderie, and hopefully success will be the end result.

This is not a unique or novel approach.  It simply combines the best strategies of small market teams and large market teams.

In my opinion, a strong farm system is the most important factor in being able to achieve the stated goal.  To be fair, I realize that there is more than one way to build a championship caliber team.  And there are many who disagree with my opinion which so heavily would rely on the minor league system.  It’s true that the Mets have had little success developing their own players.  There is a history of over-hyping our prospects and when they do not meet our lofty expectations, we trade them but get little in return.  In addition, as a large market team, we can afford to splurge on top free agents.  These arguments do give credence to the idea of acquiring Adrian Gonzalez at any cost.

I say we need a strong farm system at any cost.  If it’s broken it must be fixed.  And if it can’t be fixed by the current administration, a change must be made.  In this vein, I have never criticized Omar for failing to sign an impact free agent or make a high profile trade.  I don’t buy the belief that the Mets need to concentrate their efforts on these types of moves.  Making a big splash to pacify the fans and generate support for the team is short sighted.  Trying to imitate the Yankees formula for success has never worked.

We need to scout better, draft better, and coach better.  The results will be difficult to measure, especially in the short term.  Unfortunately a long term plan doesn’t yield instant success or gratification.  But this is where the money should be spent. The team should be built primarily from within.  Let’s get the right people in charge who can get these results.

Believe it or not, the Mets might be on the right track.  I think the Wilpons, along with Minaya, are in the early stages of implementing such a plan. They haven’t formally announced or publicized this plan, nor might they have the courage to admit that this is the plan.  But seeing what has transpired this winter, there is proof that the winds of change have begun to shift.

Proof lies with the Mets payroll for 2010.  Cot’s Baseball Contracts currently shows the Mets payroll as being down 18% from last year.  That’s $122M against $149M last year.

In addition, there has been no response to the Phillies having increased their payroll substantially.  $98M in 2008, $113M in 2009, and $138M committed to date in 2010.  Yes you read it correctly.  The Phillies as currently constituted, will be outspending the Mets in 2010 by $16M.

An 18% decrease in salary and no knee jerk reactions.  Not signing mediocre free agents to long term contracts is consistent with this strategy.  No short-sighted decisions in hopes of improving poor ticket sales is a sound way of staying the course.

The plan is operational!  But that’s just the beginning.

The second piece of proof that a new strategy is in place is that the Mets have not traded a single minor leaguer this winter, from any level of their organization.  It’s exciting that we now have many highly rated prospects that are predicted to succeed at the major league level.

I think the mentality and philosophy of this organization has changed.  The Madoff fiasco and the poor economy seem to have jolted the Wilpons into changing there tune on how to manage this team.  For whatever reason, it is a change for the better and quite refreshing.

Mets Merized fans are energized about the coming 2010 season, despite having been agitated, disgruntled, and depressed all winter long.   We have laid our hopes on all the injured players being healthy, comeback seasons by last year’s underachievers, and the addition of Jason Bay, hopefully a leader and backbone of the team.  Plus now for the first time in years, we feel turned on by our prospects having the potential to be true impact players.

I want to see Jenrry Mejia and Jon Niese pitch for the Mets, not some other team.  I want Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez to be the ones getting curtain calls at Citifield.  Brad Holt, Ruben Tejada, Wilmer Flores and many others.  Who knows?  I’ll take my chances with them.  I don’t want to see any of these guys coming into Citifield with a visiting team’s uniform on.

I want my trip to Citifield to center on an exciting game played by an exciting team.  I don’t want my memory to be having stood on line at the Shake Shack or being mesmerized by the waterless urinals.

All I am saying is to give patience a chance.

Danny Baseball

I love all the excitement that is being generated by our young Met prospects; Ike Davis, Jenrry Mejia, and Fernando Martinez. As for them, the position battles, and some of the other off the field stuff, here’s my take on all of it.

FBI Investigation: Way too much is being made of this. Reyes and Beltran did not take HGH, they just happened to be treated by a doctor who was being investigated for it. I strongly believe that Reyes and Beltran are clean, and I’m glad this is beginning to blow over.

Jose Reyes’ Health: So this is starting to bother me just a little bit. I understand Jose Reyes isn’t Cal Ripken Jr., but the guy isn’t Nick Johnson either. He was injured last year, and I understand that. However, once the news was out that he was going back for a check on the thyroid imbalance, people started freaking out even more. The condition is treatable. I understand that I might be minimizing the situation, but it seems as if the fan base is always looking for something to get on Mets brass about.

Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, and Jenrry Mejia: So I will admit that I am happy to see the three of them looking sharp to begin spring training. Davis has shown nice XBH power, Martinez has 2 HRs and Mejia looks really sharp. However, we really can’t get carried away here. Davis looks lost fielding at 1B. Martinez has yet to prove he can stay healthy for a full year. Mejia has not pitched an inning in AAA. I like these guys, and I think  the future looks bright because of them, and I’ll be the first one to cheer for them when they put on a show this spring. However, I strongly believe they all need some minor league seasoning before we get our hopes up too much. The Mets rush prospects and I don’t want these guys to lose it because they were rushed.

The Mood Of The Team: Jerry Manuel is not, and will not be, a no nonsense type of guy, and the mood of the manager does tend to reflect on the players. That said, according to Matthew Cerrone, the team seems to be more serious and at the same time a lot more relaxed. Wait…what? My standpoint on all this, is that you take all the speculation you hear with a grain of salt, because even if Cerrone is the Metsblog man, he’s still not a player, and nobody can tell it like a player does.

Simply put, I may be glossing over some of the on and off the field concerns right now, I guess that’s just the way I want to react after waiting so long for Spring Training to get here. I just want to enjoy the feeling and take it all in from start to finish in April. Look, we may take apart our Mets in different ways, with sabermetrics or with what we observe on our own…but we’re still all Met fans. It’s time to act like that. I understand we all have the right to criticize, because you couldn’t call yourself a Met fan unless you thought you could do Minaya’s job better than he does. I know the team has its shortcomings, and we could sit here and whine about how Omar didn’t sign LaRoche or Sheets or Lackey… or we could start believing again. The latter sounds much better to me.

Kevin Goldstein revealed his Top 11 Mets Prospects on Thursday for Baseball Prospectus. Like some of the prospects lists we’ve seen already, the top pick is once again Jenrry Mejia. Here is what Kevin had to say about the 20-year old uber-prospect.

“It’s rare to find a fastball with plus-plus velocity and movement, but Mejia has just that… he needs to find a consistent breaking ball.  He gets around on his slider too often, leading it to sweep across the plate on a single plane. His pitches have so much movement that at times he has trouble controlling them in the strike zone.”

Maybe it’s just the many years of disappointment and the never-ending parade of failed Mets pitching phenoms, but I’m finding it hard to fully embrace all the buzz and hype surrounding Mejia just yet. Especially after he was lit up like a Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween in the Arizona Fall League. What I’ve learned in my evolution as a Mets fan is that just because you have great stuff, it doesn’t mean you’ll be a great pitcher.

Jeesh… It’s been over 25 years since Dwight Gooden met all those expectations, won the Rookie of the Year, and followed it up with a Cy Young award. We haven’t had a Met win either award ever since, so pardon if I’m a little pessimistic when it comes to Mets phenoms.

Here is Goldstein’s full list:

5 STARS
1. Jenrry Mejia – His heater sits at 93-95 mph, touches 98, and features heavy, hard sink.

4 STARS
2. Fernando Martinez – Has star-level offensive potential. A good outfielder with above-average arm.
3. Wilmer Flores – Flores has big offensive potential. His bat speed ranks with anyone in the system.
4. Ike Davis – Has classic 1B tools, with a good feel of strike zone and plus to plus-plus raw power.

3 STARS
5. Jon Niese – The most advanced pitching prospect in the system.
6. Brad Holt – He fills the strike zone with a 91-94 heater that touches 96 mph when he reaches back.
7. Kirk Nieuwenhuis – Nieuwenhuis is a big athlete with solid tools across the board.
8. Josh Thole – Thole is a pure contact hitter who slaps balls to all fields, is difficult to strike out.
9. Kyle Allen – He’s long and projectable, and he flashed a solid slider and changeup last year.
10. Ruben Tejada – Tejada could be a second-division starting infielder or a nice utility player.
11. Reese Havens – He could be a low-average 2B who makes up for it with walks and power.

Jeurys Familia, Cesar Puello, Jefry Marte and Juan Urbina rounded out the Top 15.

ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reported via Twitter that Mets prospect Fernando Martinez was named the MVP of the Caribbean Series last night.

Martinez went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI to lead the Dominican Republic to a 7-4 victory over Venezuela. Overall, Martinez had a great series, batting .348 (8-for-23) with a double and two home runs.

It looks like F-Mart is in prime mid-season form, and it would be great to see him carry this over and have a great spring training. While Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr. are virtual locks to make the team, there is one spot left open at least until Carlos Beltran returns from injury, and the kid could force the Mets hands with a solid spring.

As I wrote here a couple of weeks ago, I still believe we have a future All Star with tremendous power potential in F-Mart. If he could just stay healthy and string together a few hundred at-bats in AAA, we may see him sooner than you think, and I predict that his second cup of coffee in the Majors will be much better than the first.

Jenrry Mejia #23

Wilmer Flores #41

Ike Davis #64 - Davis’ mediocre debut in 2008 turned out to be a red herring, as he finished his first full season in 2009 in Double-A and isn’t far from reaching the majors. He has raw power, especially dead pull power, and showed that he can murder a fastball and lay off a lot of pitches out of the zone against right-handed pitchers. On the downside, Davis doesn’t hit left-handed pitching at all, and even against right-handers struggles to recognize off-speed stuff. He’s a reasonably good athlete who can handle first base and actually has a plus arm — he was 92-94 mph as a reliever in college — although that’s less relevant at the position. A full year in Double-A/Triple-A to work on pitch recognition and on improving his approach against left-handers is probably critical for his future as an everyday player, but he has a chance to be an above-average one if he can shed the “platoon player” tag with more reps.

Fernando Martinez #73 - Martinez has one of the biggest drops of anyone on this list (from last year’s list), but I’m not down on Martinez’s offensive potential — the ball still comes off his bat incredibly well, comparable to Starlin Castro, who sits in the Top 25 of this list because of that skill — and I could have left Martinez in the Top 25 and justified it. The problems with “F-Mart,” aside from the fact that Mets fans decided to give him a nickname more appropriate for a farm-equipment discount store, aren’t about baseball skills. He continues to have trouble staying healthy, and there’s a real risk of Chris Snelling disease here, with lack of playing time limiting his development; he’s never had more than 400 plate appearances in any season, and even including winter ball this offseason, when he was just back from knee surgery, he had fewer than 300 PAs in ‘09. Martinez has also had his work ethic and conditioning called into question, including a visible lack of effort more than once at the big league level last year. Very few players can coast to major league stardom on talent alone, and Martinez needs to grow up — he’s still just 21 years old — to turn himself into an elite corner-outfield bat. (It looks like Martinez has exactly 45 days on the Mets’ active roster, which would make him eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in 2010, as well as for this list. If he had just one more day on the active roster, he’d no longer be eligible.)

Law also lists his version of the top ten prospects in the Mets organization, which he ranked #15 overall last week.

1.Jenrry Mejia
2.Wilmer Flores
3.Ike Davis
4.Fernando Martinez
5.Brad Holt
6.Jon Niese
7.Josh Thole
8.Reese Havens
9.Jefry Marte
10.Juan Urbina

Unlike the recently released MLB Top 50 Prospects which featured no Mets prospects, Law has both Mejia and Flores among in his first fifty picks. I’m a bit surprised though, that both Jeurys Familia and Ruben Tejada were left off his organizational top ten.