Right-hander Noah Syndergaard has been named the Mets’ top prospect by Baseball America in their 2014 Top 10.
1. Noah Syndergaard, RHP
2. Travis d’Arnaud, C
3. Rafael Montero, RHP
4. Dominic Smith, 1B
5. Kevin Plawecki, C
6. Wilmer Flores, IF
7. Amed Rosario, SS
8. Brandon Nimmo, CF
9. Gavin Cecchini, SS
10. Jacob deGrom, RHP
Syndergaard, they write, ranked as the top pitching prospect in both the high Class A Florida State and Double-A Eastern leagues, and he appears poised to follow Wheeler’s path to the big leagues in 2014.
The Mets believe they have as much pitching depth as anybody. For proof, they can point to the fact that their pitchers at the full-season levels finished with a collective 2.79 K-BB ratio, better than any of the other 29 organizations. They handed out the second-fewest unintentional walks (7.6 percent of batters) and struck out the third-most (21.3 percent).
As for their Best Tools, my personal favorite feature, here is what they have:
Best Hitter for Average: Kevin Plawecki
Best Power Hitter: Dustin Lawley
Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Brandon Nimmo
Fastest Baserunner: Champ Stuart
Best Athlete: Amed Rosario
Best Fastball: Noah Syndergaard
Best Curveball: Robert Whalen
Best Slider: Logan Verrett
Best Changeup: Gonzalez Germen
Best Control: Rafael Montero
Best Defensive Catcher: Juan Centeno
Best Defensive Infielder: Wilfredo Tovar
Best Infield Arm: Aderlin Rodriguez
Best Defensive Outfielder: Matt den Dekker
Best Outfield Arm: Cesar Puello
Thoughts From Satish R.
So… I’ll be honest here, I don’t know if I completely agree with their Top-10. Honestly, Brandon Nimmo and Gavin Cecchini are still prospects, but how could you rank them over guys like Steven Matz or Cesar Puello? Hell, at least Kevin Plawecki makes more sense for a Top-10 based on the fact that he’s a catcher.
I love Rosario myself, but I don’t know if I’d throw him in there at No. 7. I do, however, really like their tools assessment. I’m happy to see friend of the site Rob Whalen on there and Rafael Montero getting some love for his control. Also, considering they rank Amed Rosario as the top athlete, I can understand their No. 7 ranking.
(Photo credit: Gordon Donovan)