Photo by @ZacharyLucy
Today we’re going to start a very long and great effort in our countdown to spring training, especially because we at MMN we want to show we miss baseball as much as you readers do: the Mets Minors top 80 prospects. Maybe ours is excessive at 80 prospects, but believe us- you’re lucky we capped it at this many.
With the first 30 prospects, there isn’t too much written on these guys, so we will provide you statistics for each, and fairly brief profiles. Excuse us, we have not been able to watch all of these guys, considering some have been in the Dominican Republic or the Gulf Coast team. Nor for some of these guys, there is not much written, but MMN feels they should be mentioned. We will do these in lists of 10.
In the next 30, we will do each by 5, and then after that we will do individually. In addition, we will list our top 5 prospects per position in the Mets Minor Leagues starting very soon.
For Now, MMN’s top 80 prospects from #80-71
Courtesy of MILB.com
#80 LHP Alberto Baldonado
Ht: 6’2″ WT: 160 Age: 2/1/1993 (22)
Level: Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats
Stats: 56.2 IP, 1.91 ERA, 35 H, 24 BB/74K ,.183 BAA
The 22-year-old Panamanian dominated Full-season A-ball after being converted from starter last year. He has a mid-90’s fastball. However, he still has some control issues posting a 3.8 BB/9. He’ll definitely start in the St. Lucie bullpen next year.
#79 RHP Andrew Church
Ht: 6’2″ WT: 190 Age: 10/7/1993 (21)
Level: Short Season Brooklyn Cyclones
Stats: 44.2 IP, 5.04 ERA, 53 H, 12 BB/25K, .294 BAA
The 2nd Rounder from the 2013 draft who signed for 850k, Church was a head scratcher of a pick. A raw right-hander with a nice fastball, but very raw, and he hasn’t performed. His pre-draft report had him at 91-95 with a promising curve and change, but we’re not sure how he’s going to do this year, since he hasn’t really ever performed, or missed bats. He might repeat Brooklyn, or go to Full-Season Columbia, maybe he’ll get on track there, but time is running out.
#78 C Juan Uriarte
Ht: 6’1″ Wt: 180 Age: 9/17/1997 (18)
Level: Dominican Summer League Mets
Stats: 204 PA, 172 AB, 11 2B, 3 HR, 19/25 BB/K, .267/.374/.395
A 2014 Signee at 16 years old out of Mexico (considered one of the “best pure amateur hitters in Mexico” when he was signed), Uriarte spent his entire season at the Dominican Complex. A guy with some good catching skills, and a little pop, he’s someone to keep an eye on. Look for Uriarte on a stateside rookie club this coming year, such as Gulf Coast or Kingsport as an 18 year old.
#77 RHP Nicolas Debora
Ht: 6’5″ Wt: 170 Age: 12/6/1993 (22)
Level: Dominican Summer League Mets
Stats: 76.1 IP 1.65 ERA, 59 H, 13/70 BB/K .212
He’s an older guy that signed out 0f the Dominican Republic in 2012 for 115k, but was busted for Performance Enhancing Drugs (Stanzolol) , and barely pitched the following year. He’s a tall lanky righty with a low-90’s fastball. He was named the Mets Sterling Award Winner (MVP) for the Dominican Summer League Mets. We’ll likely see him this year in Gulf Coast or Kingsport.
Courtesy of Jim Mancari
#76 RHP Scarlyn Reyes
Ht: 6’3″ Wt: 190 Age: 12/10/1989 (26)
Level: Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats & High-A St. Lucie Mets
Stats: 128 IP, 3.52 era, 126 H, 50/102 BB/K, .255 baa
An older prospect, signed out of the Dominican Republic for 25k in 2013, Reyes has pitched incredibly well. He has a mid-90’s fastball that touches 97, and some okay off speed offerings. It’s likely at this point that the Mets could convert him to a reliever and put him on a quicker path to the Majors. He’s got a big arm, and will likely be in Binghamton next year.
#75 RHP Mickey Jannis
Ht: 6′ Wt: 190 Age: 12/16/1987 (28)
Level: High-A St. Lucie/AA Binghamton/Arizona Fall League Salt River Rafters
Stats: 58.1 IP, 3.55 era, 53 H, 26/36 BB/K, .240 BAA AFL: 29 IP, 2.84 era, 26 H, 13/17 bb/k
Signed off the Long Island Ducks earlier last year, Mickey Jannis is another intriguing knuckleball pitcher. Throwing an 88-92 mph fastball, and a 79-83 mph knuckleball, he is a hard throwing knuckler. Jannis did well in full season ball, and then simply dazzled in the Arizona Fall League, giving us high hopes that he may become another Mets underrated starter. We’ll likely see him in AA
#74 C Tomas Nido
Ht: 6′ Wt: 200 Age: 4/12/1994 (21)
Level: Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats
Stats: 86g, 335 PA, 317 AB, 14 2B, 6 HR, 14BB/86K, .259/.284/.372
An 8th round pick in 2012, and former high school battery mate of Robert Whalen, Nido was highly touted for his plus power before the draft. However, that never manifested, considering his career peak was this year with 6 home runs in 86 games. We should see him either repeat A-ball with a crack at Columbia, or drift up to St. Lucie.
Courtesy of MILB.com
#73 2B Vincent Siena
Ht: 5’10” Wt: 190 Age: 12/24/1993 (22)
Level: Short-Season Brooklyn & Hi-A St. Lucie
Stats: 72 G, 298 PA, 269 AB, 7 2B, 1 3B, 26/56 BB/K .268/.333/.301
14th Rounder out of the 2015 draft, Siena was an inconsistent hitter at UConn. He has a line-drive swing. He is an MMN Breakout Candidate.
#72 C Brandon Brosher
Ht: 6’3″ Wt: 225 Age: 2/17/1995 (20)
Level: Short-Season Brooklyn Cyclones
Stats: 59 G, 206 PA, 168 AB, 10 2b, 1 3b, 3hr 28/75 BB/K .179/.325/.304
A 36th rounder out of the 2013 draft, Brosher has an intriguing profile. He has the most power in this system, which means he has some great potential. However, he struck out at a high clip (36%), and has struggled to hit and field too. He has a long way to go. One upside: He knows how to draw a walk. I’m unsure whether he enters full-season or not after this past year.
Courtesy of MILB.com
#71 LHP PJ Conlon
Ht: 6′ Wt: 175 Age: 11/11/1993 (22)
Level: Short-Season Brooklyn Cyclones
Stats: 17 IP, 0 Earned Runs, 8H ,2/25 BB/K, .136 BAA
Soft-tossing lefty senior sign out of the University of San Diego in the 13th round this past draft. Born in Belfast, Ireland, the lefty pitched well out of the bullpen in Brooklyn, not letting up an earned run. However, he is a complete finesse lefty, throwing 86-88 with not much upside. He is bound for St. Lucie or Columbia in 2016
We’ll continue with the #70 to #61 top prospects in a few days, starting with RHP Ronald Guedez.
Ted’s Prospect Extras
5 other intriguing Prospects
- Cecilio Aybar – 23-year old shortstop with 70 speed.
- Sixto Torres– 18-year old LHP with a 94 mph fastball.
- Kenneth Bautista – 18-year old prototypical right fielder.
- Edgardo Fermin – Shortstop with some time to fill out.
- Gabriel Llanes – Young, projectable right-hander.
Wow Top 80 prospects. That is just amazing
Thanks for this!!
Are you guys going to do some kind of preview for the 4 full season teams? Would be nice to know what you and the rest of the minor league writters think about that.
No problem.
We have pretty much stated our believed assignments so far, and will continue to do so until we finish. Once we’re done with the top-80 and top 5’s, we’ll do our speculations for the 4 full season teams.
we really miss baseball.
When you guys draft your lists; how does potential for making a major league team eventually; (even as a quasi 4A player) rate compared to potential upside?
Really a great idea! Looking forward to seeing the rest of your list. I’d love to see this broken out by position.
I think out of our team, Jacob, Michael and I all rate upside higher than we do anything else (not sure about the 4th one). However, when at a higher level with more polish, we do take it into consideration. Upside to us is really what we value.
Also, with so many players we want to know about, we all have a tendency of valuing some guys higher than others: For instance I like Scarlyn Reyes more than Blake Taylor. He throws hard and has a better chance of actually having raw upside and getting up to the majors at the same time.
The others didn’t have that similar reaction, but we all took each other’s accounts into effect.
We re going to be breaking down the Top 5 for each position.
I agree with what Teddy said below, I tend to rate guys with a higher ceiling ahead of guys that put together good minor stats but don’t seem to have big upside. Good example would be the fact that I have Ricardo Cespedes ahead of Travis Taijeron despite Travis obviously being the more polished player right now.
80! 80! what in the world. Wow Teddy, I can’t imagine the research needed to start this. Is Mickey going to make the top 80?
F*ck it. Out of support for my friend Teddy and the great work he and Mayer do, I’ll get really involved with this series which they aptly describe as excessive. Here are my thoughts on each player. Note: I am not a prospect guy so these are based entirely on info provided in the article.
Baldonado–Maybe a bit of advanced age but this guy looks good! 3/1 K/BB ratio and 74 Ks in 56 innings–I like that! Given his profile, I feel like this guy should be ranked above Conlon. Maybe someone can explain that to me.
Church–This guy appears to stink. Teach him the Warthen slider and if he doesn’t improve with that send him packing. If you can’t develop as a pitcher in the Mets system then you have no talent or no work ethic.
Uriarte–Nice OBP! Any word on his defense?
Debora–Pretty good control it looks like, with only 13 BBs. Hard to tell at such a low level how that will translate, especially given the advanced age. Let’s see him prove some things at a higher level.
Reyes–26 years old in A ball doesn’t really excite. Decent numbers but he’s pitching against babies. Seems like a reliever if he ever makes the Majors.
Jannis–Ok I like knuckleballers but let’s just tale a second to acknowledge how much of a fluke Dickey was. Most knuckleballers don’t make it for a reason. I’ll root for him though.
Nido–Horrifying OBP. Would love more info if there is any on catching prospects’ defense. Big part of how I’ll view a catcher who may have power but gets out 72% of the time. As it stands those stats are pretty terrible.
Siena–.301 SLG? Ehhhh, I guess those line drives aren’t 112mph screamers. Decent BB% but he’ll need to flash more power moving forward.
Brosher–Ok I like guys who have power and can walk, but that SLG is still only .304. Would be nice to get a legit prospect from that deep in the draft.
Conlon–What an excellent 17 innings! Lefty that throws 86-88? This dude is gonna get his lunch eaten as he moves up. I’ll say now that his ceiling is a lefty specialist.
Suggestion: Provide the average age for the level that each prospect competed at.
Thanks for clarifying so early. I tend to agree, though I will add I think the typical fan over-values potential upside in comparison to present value.
An example; Eric Campbell: nothing more than a -.5 to a +.5 WAR player carries value to a team, (especially the Mets considering DW health issues) is viewed with disdain, while Leathersich was viewed only with his possible peak.
I agree. Curious to see how the MI shakes out in the rankings. Personally I am lower on Ramos & Reynolds than most, but am higher on Guillorme and McNeil…
I am a Nido fan, from defensive aspect he seemed to do everything asked of a catcher average. What I really liked was how he worked with his pitchers, pre game I seen (overheard) him walking the starter through, putting the time in on prep. Would not surprise me to see him on a ML bench, or at worst a BP catcher (possible coach)
Thanks for the info. With a horrible OBP but a little bit of pop, with your description of the defensive/prep side, sounds like a Recker type of guy.
I am lower on Reynolds than most and a bit higher on Guillorme after talking to a few people that saw him this year. I think the Mets need to have Reynolds play third base this year. But also have him move around to become a possible utility guy.
It was originally going to be 100 but we decided that might be too much.
My dear CJM,
At 80 prospects we start figuring out the good or solid parts of each prospect that might in a way propel them forwards. To each prospect there is downside, or else they would be a pretty damn good product instead of #80-71 in a single Org’s prospect list.
Baldonado has some control issues, but he probably deserves a few spots up.
Church- He does stink, but due to draft placement, and stuff, he can get through this. He’s been a pretty bad pick though
Uriarte- know nothing yet on his receiving.
Debora- yep, can only watch the progress
Reyes- signed at 22 with a 25k bonus, Mateo-light type.
Jannis- which is why we ranked him low though he did well in the AFL
Nido- Now or never to show some pop.
Siena- was dominating, but I doubt he gets much power
Brosher- I’d associate the Slugging with the Average, and he K’d a ton, but that power you’d want to dream on.
Conlon- #71 prospect is a decent loogy, not bad.
Thanks Teddy. For the most part I’d assume these guys are interchangeable this far down on the list. The 10 spot difference between Conlon and Baldonado seemed odd to me, though, because Baldonado would see to have stuff that translates much better to the Majors. And even with slight control issues, I’ll take the upside of a guy who throws 95 and is also closer to the Majors (he is closer to the Majors, right?), especially when his K/9 easily exceeds 9.0, and his K/BB% exceeds 3.
I thought you ran out of players in the organization 😉 … Seriously, I admire the dedication.
I got to see Guillorme a handful of times. I haven’t seen as smooth a SS in a while. Effortless movement on everything. Good contact skills and a good eye, more quick than fast. I hope to see him pull the ball more often this year, even if it means less in the stat line.
Right now I would say Tejada with a better glove and baserunner. Though that won’t excite fans who have fatigued on Tejada.
If Rosario is the best defensive SS in the organization, Guillorme has to be a close second. I am excited to get to see Rosario in person this year.
Agree on Reynolds, who I think should also add LF to his repertoire
Which would make him a major leagues. Not the prospect to get excited about but part of the 25%. I am a sucker for backup catchers
I’m really intrigued by Sixto Torres. Mid 90s fastball from a lefty is rare… I’m guessing he is very young too based on the limited amount of inning pitched
Michael and Teddy: I’m sorry but you dropped the ball on this one. The proper number is 81…just messing. Great work guys!
Good lord top 80? You guys rock
Ya it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Reynolds to play where ever he thinks he can, big league career is as a utility guy. Honestly surprised the Mets haven’t exposed him more to 3B. I think I would rate Guillorme’s glove higher than Rosario but Amed can really pick it at SS too.
Agreed, I think people sometimes forget how important a solid bench player can be. Although they shouldn’t after seeing some of the players the Mets had to use last year.
thanks Connor! Jacob and Teddy are awesome.
Definitely someone worth keeping an eye on, like you said lefty with that type of fastball is a nice commodity. Mets stocked up on lefties in the 2015 draft.
Good luck today!
Sixto Torres is my sleeper prospect…dude was an absolute steal in the 15th round last year.
My bad…17th round!
Welcome back Mitch.