Today Baseball America released their top 20 Prospects and Mets placed 3 prospects, Michael Conforto (3), Gavin Cecchini (13), and Brandon Nimmo (19), as well as Former Prospect Michael Fulmer (7), who was traded to the Detroit Tigers.
This is what they said about each:
#3. LF Michael Conforto
Only the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber made it from the 2014 draft to the majors faster than Conforto, who showed enough promise in the EL to warrant a callup without spending a day in Triple-A. When he got to New York, he showed the same polished skill set evaluators saw all year at Binghamton.
Chief among Conforto’s tools is his power, particularly the way it plays to all fields. He distributed his home runs nearly evenly among left, center and right field, and he already had as many major league home runs (seven) through 40 games as he had as an Oregon State junior last year. Evaluators also noted an excellent two-strike approach and his unwillingness to chase pitches out of the zone.
Conforto has a bit of work to do in left field, particularly as it pertains to his routes and jumps, and his arm strength is ordinary. Even so, he’s not going to be a liability on defense. Even as a big league rookie, he had played exactly how he projects: an everyday player on a club that contends for the pennant.
#13. SS Gavin Cecchini
Cecchini, the younger brother of Red Sox third baseman Garin Cecchini, is an athletic shortstop who got better in all phases as the Binghamton season wore on. That fact is reflected by his .317 average that ranked second in the EL batting race as well as his second-half batting line of .365/.420/.474.
Cecchini’s defensive play at shortstop improved, too, as he learned to calm down and let the game come to him. He worked to correct mechanical issues on his throws and also improved the quality of his hands overall. His arm strength grades as above-average and his internal clock is mature for someone his age.
At the plate, Cecchini uses an inside-out stroke to spray line drives, and he has present doubles power and average foot speed. That same bat path, however, does leave him vulnerable on pitches on the inner half of the plate. Cecchini played the entire season at age 21 and should advance to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League as one of its youngest players in 2016.
#19 Brandon Nimmo
As was the case when he was drafted as the first-ever first-rounder in Wyoming high school history, Nimmo stands out for his grace and athleticism in the outfield. Because of that, he has a good chance to stick as a center fielder in the long term.
He doesn’t stand out for his range, but Nimmo is an above-average defender with a strong arm. On the off chance he doesn’t stick in center field, however, he must develop home run power to keep his prospect status.
Nimmo currently has a more doubles-based, gap-to-gap approach, but evaluators can see some of those doubles turning into homers as he continues to gain strength. A more refined approach at the plate, which he made strides toward improving this year, should also help unlock his power.
They did not say anything else about Mets players in the chat.