MMO Top 25 Prospects: Honorable Mentions

Last week, you saw the MMO Top 25 prospects come to an end on Friday. I know that there was some debate over placement and player names that were not included, so this post goes out to give credit to some players that just missed the cut. So without further a do, here we go…

Gabriel Ynoa, RHP

Height: 6’2
Weight: 158 LBS
Age: 19
Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Gabriel Ynoa is a young righthander with a lot of potential. At just 19, he already throws three pitches, and has a lot of time to refine them. It would be safe to call him rough around the edges, but again, he has more than enough time to try and smooth them out. Ynoa is coming off 13 starts in Brooklyn in 2012, where he posted a 2.23 ERA over 76.2 innings. He allowed only 61 hits, including just one home run, while walking just 10 batters. It all came together for a WHIP of .926 and he also struck out 64, which gave him a 6.40 K/BB rate.

Ynoa shows pretty good poise for his age, and he is pretty advanced overall. He already gets the fastball to sit at around 93 MPH, and he has barely begun to fill out his frame, so that bodes well for the future. His second best offering is probably his change-up, which he controls pretty well and is able to mimic his fastball arm slot with. The issue here is that his change consistently comes in at 89, and it has to miss bats to be effective considering there’s not enough separation from his fastball’s velocity. Ynoa also offers a third pitch, a slider, that has the potential to really be useful in the future. At the moment it needs a lot of work, but it shows potential for being an average pitch down the line. It’s too early to project when and if we’ll see Gabriel Ynoa in the big leagues and whether it will be as a starter or reliever. For now he heads to Savannah in 2013 where we will see and learn more.

Logan Verrett, RHP

Height: 6’2
Weight: 180 LBS
Age: 22
Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Logan Verrett is a guy who might move through the system pretty quickly because he came into our system at 21, paired with advanced stuff and good all around mechanics. Verrett is coming off his debut year, where he made 17 starts (2 CGs) panning two levels of minor league ball. Outside of his strikeout rate, he actually improved his numbers upon promotion to St.Lucie from Savannah last year, which was nice to see. He posted a an impressive 2.70 ERA across 103.1 combined innings, walking only 11 while striking out 93. One concern is that he did allow 11 home runs, just something to watch as sluggers can turn on his fastball when left high in the zone.

Verrett, on an overall scale, presents things you really want to see in a pitcher. He has a solid but non dominant fastball, and backs it up with a slider and a change-up. With some work, all three pitches can basically pan out to be average, and he already possesses above average command of all three pitches. It is probably likely that Verrett ends up as a strong bullpen arm, but there is no reason to count him out as a starter right now. Verrett will taste Binghamton in 2013 at some point, but whether he starts there or returns to St. Lucie is up to the Mets brass and how they want to proceed with him.

Tyler Pill, RHP

Height: 6’1
Weight: 185 LBS
Age: 22
Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Tyler Pill and Logan Verrett have a lot in common outside of their appearance on this list, as they were both picked out of the 2011 draft with similar pitching styles. Pill and Verrett both rely on their command because they have the stuff of finesse pitchers, but Pill goes about it in a different way. First off, his fastball comes in a few ticks lower than Verrett’s and basically sits in the high-80s. Pill also tosses a curveball out there, which I feel is pretty underrated, and a slider and change-up. The slider is extremely inconsistent and hittable, but could potentially be worked on. Logically, it would seem more useful for a guy like Pill to keep a fourth pitch, but it does more harm than good at times. The change-up is a good pitch, and I like the movement on it.

Pill’s success as a pitcher is directly related to how good he can control his pitches, because he just does not profile as a power or dominating pitcher. The issue built in here is that his stuff does not exactly look like a prime fit for the bullpen either, so its going to be a long road for Tyler Pill. A 2.30 ERA in 113 innings is a start, and the numbers that are more important are the 22 BB/105 Ks. Tyler Pill is trying and I am rooting for him. We have seen stranger things.

Zach Lutz, INF

Height: 6’1
Weight: 220 LBS
Age: 26
Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Zach Lutz always had the offensive capabilities to warrant prospect status and at times he has shown some really impressive power. The bigger issue with Lutz has been finding him a position, as he has mainly played first and third base — where we currently have future star Ike Davis and some guy named David Wright.

Another issue Lutz has consistently dealt with is a string of injuries. It feels like Lutz has hurt every part of his body and then some, as I believe he also has had multiple concussions. Through all that hell, somehow, Lutz still swings a pretty potent bat, and the Mets are determined to find a place for him on their patchwork 2013 MLB team. The Mets are going to try Lutz in the outfield…and let’s all hope that if works out better than the Daniel Murphy experiment in LF…

That being said, Lutz still has a bat that I will never complain about. It is about time for him to start seeing some MLB pitching, and although he got his cup of coffee with the team last year, it was not nearly enough to conclude anything. Through everything, his MiLB average OPS is .874 and he put up a .901 OPS last year alone. If only we needed a DH…

Juan Centeno, C

Height: 5’9
Weight: 172 LBS
Age: 23
Bats/Throws: Left/Right

Since reader Just-Da-Damaja paid me to include Centeno, this shouldn’t take too long… I jest. Centeno had one claim to fame originally, and it was his strong defensive skill set. In terms of all around defense, Centeno and Wilfredo Tovar are probably two of the top players in the system, and it will likely lead them to careers as major league backups at the least. It is never smart to underestimate the value of good defense. That being said, Centeno made strides in breaking the knock on him that he had no offensive capabilities. In 2010, he posted a .320 average and he followed it up with a .318 average in 2011. 2012 saw him drop to a .285 average, but he picked up about 150 more Plate Appearances than his previous career high and still showed the ability to make good contact against much more advanced pitching.

Centeno will get a chance to showcase his talents in a couple of weeks when pitchers and catchers report. He was one of five non-roster players that was invited to join the team for Spring Training, so you’ll be hearing more about him in the months to come. I’ll quote Joe D to wrap it up on Juan-C, “If nothing else, Centeno is a real defensive backstop in every sense of the word. Casey Stengel would be proud.”

To wrap this up, here are some honorable mentions for the honorable mentions… No, really. Here are some guys that were on my radar and would be on an extended Mets prospect list: Darin Gorski, Alonzo Harris, Camden Maron, Akeel Morris, Travis Taijeron, Wilfredo Tovar.

Look for my MMO 2013 Sleepers later this week or weekend!