John Sickels of Minor League Ball just released his Mets Top 20 Prospects for 2014. As expected, Syndergaard has the top spot and was the only player to get a grade of A-.
Here are his Top 20 with comments for the first five players. You can check out the full article and commentary for all players by clicking here.
- Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Grade A-: Borderline A. I love Syndergaard and I think the concerns about his secondary pitches are a bit overblown. That said, he did have a sharp platoon split between RHB and LHB and a good dose of Triple-A time is advisable to put on the finishing touches. But I still see him as a number two starter assuming good health and the standard caveats.
- Travis d’Arnaud, C, Grade B+: Borderline A-. He really needs to graduate because I’ve been writing about him for a long time and fatigue is setting in. I expect he’ll be a solid major league starting catcher with power and good defense, although batting average/OBP may be erratic. We’ll just have to see if his injury issues are bad luck or something more.
- Rafael Montero, RHP, Grade B+: Borderline A-. It is really hard to do what he did at Las Vegas. People are still sleeping on this guy. I think he can be a number three starter.
- Dominic Smith, 1B, Grade B: Borderline B-. We’ll have to see about the power, but some sources I trust are enthralled with his pure hitting skills. The obvious comp here isJames Loney as a line drive hitter with a strong glove but atypical first base power. When these types of first basemen max out, they are Keith Hernandez. When they don’t, they get stuck in Triple-A.
- Kevin Plawecki, C, Grade B: Borderline B-. I believe in him. I don’t think he’ll produce tons of homers but he should be a solid hitter for average and OBP. Not great against runners but is otherwise a fine receiver. Good backup option if D’Arnaud busts.
- Wilmer Flores, INF, Grade B
- Brandon Nimmo, OF, Grade B-
- Amed Rosario, SS, Grade B-
- Gavin Cecchini, SS, Grade B-
- Cesar Puello, OF, Grade B-
- Dilson Herrera, 2B, Grade B-
- Jacob deGrom, RHP, Grade B-
- Vic Black, RHP, Grade B-
- Steven Matz, LHP, Grade C+
- Cory Mazzoni, RHP, Grade C+
- Gabriel Ynoa, RHP, Grade C+
- Luis Cessa, RHP, Grade C+
- Robert Whalen, RHP, Grade C+
- Chris Flexen, RHP, Grade C+
- Michael Fulmer, RHP, Grade C+
Sickels says that the Mets have a huge amount of depth in C+/C prospects, especially on the mound.
“There are a lot of guys who have a chance to be number four/five starters or at least valid relief arms. In those terms this is one of the stronger farm systems in the National League: the raw material for a really nice pitching staff is here and there is talent at all levels.”
“For the position players, D’Arnaud looks ready if he can avoid injury and Flores can be a useful role player at least, perhaps more. Plawecki is coming up behind D’Arnaud. Recent high school draftees like Dominic Smith, Gavin Cecchini, and Brandon Nimmo are still quite a distance away from the majors. They have regular potential but some questions to answer too. Amed Rosario has great tools but he is also a long way off and could be anything from star to bust. PED issues aside, opinions on Puello are quite mixed: he could also be a bust or a regular.”