Dan Farnsworth of Fangraphs continued the site’s team by team prospect lists on Tuesday with the New York Mets. You can see the list below, along with their placements on last year’s rankings.
- LHP Steven Matz (7)
- OF Desmond Lindsay (N/A)
- SS Amed Rosario (3)
- SS Gregory Guerrero (N/A)
- 1B Dominic Smith (9)
- SS Gavin Cecchini (14)
- RHP Marcos Molina (10)
- OF Wuilmer Becerra (NR)
- SS Luis Guillorme (NR)
- SS Luis Carpio (NR)
- SS Milton Ramos (19)
- RHP Jacob Lugo (NR)
- SS Andres Gimenez (N/A)
- 3B Jhoan Urena (11)
- OF Brandon Nimmo (6)
- 3B Eudor Garcia (NR)
- C Ali Sanchez (NR)
- SS Matt Reynolds (16)
- LHP Max Wotell (N/A)
- LHP Josh Smoker (N/A)
- RHP Akeel Morris (13)
- LHP Dario Alvarez (NR)
- RHP Chris Flexen (NR)
- RHP Gabriel Ynoa (26)
- RHP Robert Gsellman (NR)
- 2B L.J. Mazzilli (21)
- OF Kevin Kaczmarski (N/A)
- RHP Mickey Jannis (N/A)
Honorable mentions include 2B Jonathan Johnson, 3B Jeff McNeil, 3B David Thompson, OF Raphael Ramirez, OF Ricardo Cespedes, C Patrick Mazeika, OF John Mora, and LHP Thomas Szapucki. For full profiles and analysis on most of these players, check out the full comprehensive article on FanGraphs.
There are no surprises at number one, but things get interesting right after.
Lindsay is ranked here as the second best prospect in the system, contrary to most lists, which usually place him in the 7-10 range. He for sure has good baseball instincts paired with above average speed, but his inexperience in the outfield – and in professional baseball in general – are two of the main reasons why he usually slides well behind a guy like Rosario, who possesses a constantly improving bat and an already strong profile in the field, to go along with over 230 games of minor league exposure.
There’s only so much you can tell about a player from workout videos and brief scouting reports, so until multiple eyewitness accounts and, you know, actual statistics from professional games start coming in, I would have a hard time placing Guerrero ahead of players like Smith and Cecchini, who have gotten (or will get) reps in the upper levels and major league Spring Training games. Same goes for Gimenez over Nimmo and Reynolds.
What is interesting to note, is just how much the outlook of the system has changed in a year. The 2015 list had seven graduations (Noah Syndergaard, Kevin Plawecki, Michael Conforto, Dilson Herrera, Rafael Montero, Hansel Robles, and Sean Gilmartin), and eight players who left the organization (Michael Fulmer, Cory Mazzoni, Matthew Bowman, Casey Meisner, Cesar Puello, Robert Whalen, Luis Cessa, and Miller Diaz).
Additionally, three prospects dropped off the list completely (Champ Stuart, Vicente Lupo, and Ivan Wilson).
Breakout performances from Becerra, Guillorme, Lugo, and Smoker throw even more names into the mix that had never been legitimately regarded as potential contributors at the major league level. Two players selected in the 2015 draft (Kaczmarski and Wotell) infuse the system with even more youth. At the same time, six players have experience in Triple-A or in the major leagues, providing experienced, high caliber talents to be excited about.
Although most will question the final order of Fangraphs’ list (as is the case with any prospect ranking), Farnsworth had pretty much all of the necessary players somewhere in the order. I’m a little surprised that the likes of T.J. Rivera and John Mora failed to make the cut, but Rivera is getting up there in age for a prospect, and Mora has the opportunity to join the breakout players this year in St. Lucie.
It’s been a long offseason, filled with prospect rankings left and right. Breathe easy, Mets fans – we’re now under a month until the minor league season begins on April 7.
Be sure to check out MetsMinors.net, your #1 source for Mets prospect news!
