Well, John Sickels released his mid-season Top 75 update today, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. For the record, I’m a big fan of John Sickels for a number of reasons, so when one of our prospects gets his respect, I feel great. Our top 4 prospects all cracked his Top 75 list, and three of them fell within the top 50. Take a look…
11) Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets. Previously 22nd. His breaking ball looks good enough to me. The stats are there, the stuff is there, the body is there.Kevin Gausman will go right here after Syndergaard, if he remains eligible. It is possible Syndergaard could move past Taillon.
22) Travis d’Arnaud, C, New York Mets. Previously 13. Staying healthy is a tool (or a skill); either way it is a factor, especially for a player in a demanding defensive position.
50) Rafael Montero, RHP, New York Mets. Not ranked previously. Grade B- pre-season, has boosted his stock by maintaining command in Double-A and not getting killed after moving up to Triple-A Las Vegas.
71) Wilmer Flores, INF, New York Mets. Previously 118. Las Vegas inflates his numbers to some extent, but I think he continues to make steady progress.
I think the biggest surprise here is Rafael Montero jumping into the Top-50 after being previously unranked, which is testament to how quickly he’s risen up the ranks of the prospect world. I’m so excited to see our prospects getting respect — and all of them, save for d’Arnaud, moved up. D’Arnaud is still a prime talent on his own, so we’re in pretty good shape right now. Oh, for the record, we would’ve had a fifth prospect on the list as well, but Zack Wheeler had to go ahead and make his MLB debut. He moved off the list after being ranked at No. 15 in the pre-season.
He also mentioned that both Plawecki & Puello would be among his Top 100, though to be fair enough, the list specifically ddn’t feature any June 2013 picks yet, so another 15 to 20 prospects probably find their way onto this one. Though Dominic Smith would probably be among them.
Nice for Flores & Montero to finally get some reckognition by someone.
Agreed.
I’d definitely slide Puello up there and Dom Smith.
I love Plawecki, but I can understand why people don’t go crazy over him as a prospect.
Big Noah on the verge of top ten in Sickels’ mind, that’s awesome. I’m starting to sour on d’Arnaud. I’m almost at the point where I wonder what he’d return us in a package, as part of a bigger package of course. And then we sign Brian McCann. He’s a Brave I know, but he’s an all-star level catcher and a veteran for all our youngsters. Thoughts??