1. Zack Wheeler, RHP
Status: Hot
The MMN top prospect heading into 2013 enjoyed his most dominant start of his young MLB career on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. He was in control for most of the game, throwing plenty of first pitch strikes, using his fastball wisely, and keeping his pitch count down. Wheeler kept the Giants scoreless into the seventh inning before Brandon Crawford broke up the shutout. In the end, Wheeler went a career-high seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. In five big league starts, he’s 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA.
2. Travis d’Arnaud, C
Status: Injured
d’Arnaud is still rehabbing in Port St. Lucie, and we haven’t heard much with regard to his progress toward getting back on the field. He has moved deeper into his running progression, moving to flat ground. The catcher felt some discomfort in his foot, but that is normal, according to a team spokesperson. Due to that, they’re not considering it to be a setback in his rehab. In 36 at-bats with Las Vegas before getting injured, d’Arnaud was hitting .250/.429/.472 with one home run and eight RBIs this season.
3. Noah Syndergaard, RHP
Status: Hot
Syndergaard continues taking care of Double-A competition. He started last night against the Portland Sea Dogs, throwing two shutout innings and allowing one hit, while striking out three. Why did he only last two innings? This start was in preparation for his MLB Futures Game appearance on Sunday at Citi Field. He remains 2-0 in four starts for the B-Mets, and his ERA has now dropped to 1.35. In 20 innings of work, he’s struck out 26 hitters, while walking four and allowing 18 base hits.
4. Rafael Montero, RHP
Status: Warming up
Montero followed up his first career Triple-A win with two shutout innings last night at Cashman Field against the Tucson Padres, allowing one hit and gathering two strikeouts. Like Syndergaard, he was pulled after two frames because he needs to stay fresh for his appearance in the MLB Futures Game this Sunday. The most encouraging part of Montero’s short start last night was that he didn’t walk anyone. In 33 innings with the 51s (seven starts), the right-hander is 1-2 with a 4.36 ERA, 10 walks, and 29 strikeouts.
5. Wilmer Flores, INF
Status: Hot
Flores just continues to hit; I feel like I’ve been saying that every week, but it’s true. In their blowout victory last night at Cashman Field, the second baseman collected four more hits (two homers and a double) and four RBIs. He’s currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, and has collected multiple hits in four of those games (three straight). Through 363 at-bats, Flores is hitting .325/.361/.537 with 12 homers, 74 RBIs, and 33 doubles. That line has taken a big jump in the last couple weeks, as he’s hitting .438/.471/.729 in July.
6. Brandon Nimmo, OF
Status: Cold
Nimmo’s bat continues to stay cold in Savannah with the Sand Gnats. He’ll be joining Montero and Syndergaard at Citi Field this weekend for the Futures Game, but he’ll be looking to find the April magic that was in his bat. He’s hitting .156 in his last ten games, including five walks and 17 strikeouts during that span. His triple slash has dipped down to .261/.366/.350 with one homer, 23 RBIs, eight doubles, and five triples.
7. Domingo Tapia, RHP
Status: Warming up
Tapia finally broke his four-start, multi-walk streak on July 9th against Charlotte. For the second straight start, he lasted 6.2 innings (matching a season-high), and allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts (also a season-high). He earned the loss, but it was refreshing to see a stat line that wasn’t littered with free passes all over the place. Tapia is now 2-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 71.1 innings of work, allowing 35 walks and striking out 65.
8. Michael Fulmer, RHP
Status: Warming up
Fulmer made his debut in the Florida State League on July 7th against Fort Myers. This start also marked the end of his rehab after surgery on a torn meniscus in spring training. The right-hander gave up three first-inning runs, but shut out the Miracle over the next four innings prior to making his exit. His final line included three earned runs, five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in five innings pitched. He earned the loss, but I’m interested to see how he builds on that performance moving into his next start.
9. Luis Mateo, RHP
Status: Injured
Mateo’s injury troubles continue; he missed a good portion of April and virtually all of May with an arm injury. He was activated off the disabled list May 30th to start his rehab assignment in Single-A, and he was back on the disabled list within a week. The hurler recently had Tommy John surgery, and is finished for the 2013 season. In four total games (two starts) between St. Lucie and Binghamton, Mateo was 1-2 with a 6.17 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched. He joined the Mets in May 2011 as a non-drafted free agent.
10. Gavin Cecchini, SS
Status: Injured
Cecchini hasn’t played since July 3rd, and went on the 7-day disabled list this week with a high ankle sprain. As of right now, he’s not expected to miss a significant chunk of time. At the time of his injury, the Brooklyn shortstop was hitting .259/.305/.315 with no homers and three RBIs in 54 at-bats.
UPDATE: We’ve begun our mid-season top-25 prospect countdown here at MMN! To see numbers 21 through 25, click here. You can also find numbers 16 through 20, right here. Numbers 11 through 15 are being released on the website today, so that means you will start seeing our new top ten next week!