Keith Law of ESPN.com released his midseason MLB Farm System Rankings and placed the Mets in 4th place, just behind the Red Sox, Braves and Rangers.
“Even after the promotions of top pitching prospects Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the Mets still have a system loaded with high-probability big leaguers, including a couple of potential stars in Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith and shortstop Amed Rosario.”
The prospect guru also said Gavin Cecchini has emerged as a legitimate offensive prospect and says despite all the promotions the Mets still have tons of pitching in the system including Casey Meisner and Michael Fulmer.
On Tuesday, Law ranked Michael Conforto 12th and Dominic Smith 40th in his Midseason Top 50 Prospects.
Law called Conforto “one of the most disciplined hitters in the minors,” and commended him for his pitch recognition ability facing pitchers in Double-A who can locate their off-speed stuff more effectively.
“He’s already an average defender in left with a grade-50 arm and could end up above-average out there, but it’s the bat and the eye that separate him; he has an excellent chance at .400-OBP, 20-homer seasons when he peaks.”
As for Dominic Smith, I was thrilled to see him get some recognition after Law was so hard on him last year. Smith, who leads the Florida State League in doubles and is fourth in batting average has come a long way.
“He’s an elite defender at first with a 70 arm, and he’ll show plus raw power in batting practice, so I believe it’ll come once he gets to a normal hitting environment in Binghamton… Smith will need to work on his conditioning, as he has gotten heavier since signing.”
I was hoping to see Amed Rosario and Michael Fulmer get some recognition, but I’ll take this for now.
