In a special series that ran on Fox Sports, Rotoworld’s Matthew Pouliot ranked each MLB team based on what the roster would look like if the team had kept all the players it originally drafted and signed, including international players. It’s a fantastic way of looking at how well or how poorly a team has done at signing and developing players.

The Mets came in at number 20 out of 30, with the Seattle Mariners taking top honors and the Cincinnati Reds bringing up the rear. The rankings include players that were active since 2008 and Pouliot also considered projected 2010 values in determining his rankings..

Here is a glimpse of what the Mets would have looked like. Players in italics are no longer with the team.

Rotation
A.J. Burnett
Scott Kazmir
Brian Bannister
Mike Pelfrey
Jon Niese

Bullpen
Heath Bell
Octavio Dotel
Matt Lindstrom
Bobby Parnell
Aaron Heilman
Guillermo Mota
Joe Smith

Lineup
SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
RF Nelson Cruz
1B Mike Jacobs
C Jesus Flores
2B Kaz Matsui
CF Carlos Gomez
LF Daniel Murphy

Bench
INF Ty Wigginton
OF Angel Pagan
OF Jay Payton
OF Lastings Milledge
C Raul Casanova

Wow… We retained no top of the rotation (1-3) starters and only two everyday players.

The part that really bothers me is that the Braves (3), Phillies (4), Nationals (5) and Marlins (16), were all ranked ahead of the Mets.

Obviously, the Mets need to do a better job drafting and they also need to take a hard look at their player evaluation personnel. I’m not exactly thrilled with the Mets’ drafts under Omar Minaya. The last time the Mets had a top ten pick they selected Mike Pelfrey ninth overall, and he has yet to distinguish himself or justify his selection and big signing bonus. Others in his draft class included Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitski, Jacoby Ellsbury, Cameron Maybin, Jay Bruce, Matt Garza and Clay Buchholz.

The Mets spent the least amount of money in this years draft and were ranked 30th among all major league teams in salaries and bonuses paid. According to Baseball America, the Mets spent just $1.9 million on seven players.

Many have ridiculed the Mets for drafting players based on signability rather than taking the best overall players, but I find that a little far fetched and hard to prove. However, I do agree that the Mets should shun Bud Selig’s slotting system as the Yankees and Red Sox have, and start behaving more like the big market team that they are.

If the season were to end today, the Mets would have the sixth overall pick in next years June Amateur Draft.

Do you still have confidence in the Mets ability to draft the best available players?

By the way…

Unlike years passed, the Mets will not forfeit any draft picks for signing a Class A free agent this off season because they finished in the bottom ten this season. That means they are free to sign any free agent they want without the fear of losing their top pick in next years MLB Draft.

In other words, if you were going to make a big splash on a Jason Bay, John Lackey or Matt Holliday, this of season might be the best opportunity to improve the team without hurting their ability to improve the farm system. Last season, the Mets forfeited their first round pick when they signed Francisco Rodriguez.

I don’t know about you, but I find that it makes me feel better talking about the future of the Mets, rather than dwelling on this downer of a season.

But I’d be less than forthcoming, if I didn’t admit that my confidence in the Mets’ ability to make good decisions, has been somewhat shaken.