Twenty percent of the Top twenty National League prospects for 2015 listed in the 2015 Major League Baseball Yearbook are Mets. The Amazins are the only NL club with four prospects to make the Top 20 list.  Both the Cubs and the Diamondbacks had three selections each.  Boston and Minnesota matched the Mets with four prospects for each franchise named on the AL list.

Noah Syndergaard tops the group of young Mets coming in at number 10.  Here’s how the MLB Yearbook described the Met pitcher.

“A 6-foot-6, 240 pound power right-hander, Syndergaard’s unusually high release point and good feel for his change-up are enough to make him a solid No. 3 starter, even if he doesn’t find an effective breaking ball. The development of a third pitch will determine whether he becomes a star.”

Pitchers dominated the top ten NL prospects on the list. Syndergaard was rated as the fourth best NL prospect in the Yearbook behind Jon Gray of the Rockies, Archie Bradley of Arizona and Robert Stephenson of the Reds.

Kevin Plawecki was the only catcher included in the Top 20 listing.  Plawecki was rated #15 overall among the elite prospect group.  The crystal ball reading for the young Met catcher read like this.

“Plawecki is blocked by Travis d’Arnaud, and he’s not good enough defensively to force his way behind the plate. His bat is very good though; he shows great pitch recognition and has an advanced approach at the plate.  If he develops more power, he’ll become one of the better offensive backstops in the majors.”

Following right behind Plawecki at #16 in the rankings is Met second base prospect Dilson Herrera. Herrera and Jose Peraza of the Braves are the only ranked second baseman, although Peraza, ranked #8, also goes under the shortstop label. Take a look at what the MLB Yearbook said about Herrera.

“Considered a second-tier prospect, first in Pittsburgh’s system and now with the Mets, Herrera has kept hitting at every level.  He made it to the bigs as a 20-year old, and he shows advanced contact skills with a bit of pop.  He has a chance to be solid as a productive middle-infield bat.”

Completing the Met prospect foursome and coming in at #18 is Brandon Nimmo. Outfielders figure heavily in the Top 20 NL prospect list with five outfielders finishing in front of Nimmo; Yasmany Tomas of the Diamondbacks, Jorge Soler of the Cubs, Joc Pederson of the Dodgers, Josh Bell of the Pirates and Jesse Winker of the Reds.  Even so, the MLB Yearbook is high on Nimmo as the following description attests.

“Because he works a lot of walks, Nimmo is more of an OBP guy than a batting-average hitter.  He has started to show some pop the past two seasons, and should top out as a 20-homer threat.  Citi Field caps his power upside, but he’s an on-base machine with pop.”

MLB peeks an additional year into the future and projects a Top Ten for the 2016 season. The Mets Dominic Smith is the lone Met and lone first baseman to make the ranking.

“Smith’s power numbers disappeared at Low-A Savannah, but that’s nothing new for left-handed power hitters in one of the nation’s most pitcher friendly parks.  Smith still has 25 homer upside, and he also has the advanced approach that should allow him to hit for a high batting average.”

The MLB Prospects rankings are another indicator of the giant strides the Mets have made in retooling their scouting and minor league development programs.  Again and again, the young Met players in our minor league system are projected for bright futures in the major leagues.

The prospect parade provides the Mets a foundation to build sustained baseball success into the future.  For that to occur the Mets will need to strategically access the free agent and trade market to add complimentary pieces for these future stars.