As the first half of the 2013 MLB regular season comes and goes, it’s time to evaluate how each team has performed. This evaluation is not only going on at the Major League level with the non-waiver trade deadline just three weeks away, but throughout entire organizations. Baseball America provided their analysis of the Mets’ farm system, and Mike Kerwick identified players for four different categories: best player, biggest leap forward, biggest disappointment, metamorphoses.

Best Player: Zack Wheeler

This was obviously a no brainer since Wheeler is the only top prospect currently impacting the big league roster. Kerwick labeled Wheeler as a “major league-ready pitcher masquerading as a minor leaguer” because the general consensus was the right-hander was ready prior to his June 18th debut, ensuring he missed the Super-Two cutoff.

While he may have been ready prior to his debut last month, I think the time Wheeler spent in Vegas was well worth it. He learned how to pitch effectively in a tough environment for hurlers, compiling a 4-1 record, 3.95 ERA, and 73 strikeouts in 69 innings. He’s had mixed results thus far in the majors, but built some momentum against the Milwaukee Brewers in his last start. He’ll be facing his former organization, the Giants, tomorrow in San Francisco.

Biggest Leap Forward: Cesar Puello

Again, this isn’t a surprise. The Eastern League player of the month for June is preparing for the EAS All-Star game tomorrow night in New Britain, Connecticut, and is enjoying a career season. He’s among the league leaders with a .323/.385/.572 line, and through 257 at-bats in 2013, he’s already established new career-highs for home runs (15) and RBIs (55).

There have been plenty of improvements in Puello’s game this year. He’s still not walking a lot, but his plate approach has drastically improved, and he’s playing up to the potential the Mets had when they signed him in 2007. His combination of speed and power is most attractive, and could the big league team could desperately use someone like that now, but especially in 2014.

Biggest Disappointment: Travis d’Arnaud

Are you sensing a trend here? This is also not a shocker; d’Arnaud has been out of commission with a fractured foot since the middle of April. Before Sandy Alderson made the trade over the winter that sent R.A. Dickey north of the border, d’Arnaud’s injury history was well-documented. Still, his ability and potential are also well-documented, and he deemed it was worth the risk. Hopefully, the backstop’s rehab will continue to progress and we’ll see him back in Vegas soon so the Flushing Faithful can see him at Citi Field once September rolls around.

Metamorphoses: Noah Syndergaard, Luis Mateo, and Dominic Smith

Kerwick noted all three of these prospects, as each of them are in very different stages in their development. There’s Syndergaard, who was recently promoted to Double-A Binghamton, and continues to impress with his performance. In three starts (18 innings pitched), he’s 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts for the B-Mets.

Then, we take a look at Mateo, who has seen his development stall with what basically is a lost year. He fought with arm troubles to start 2013, and only appeared in four games before he had season-ending Tommy John surgery. We’ll see how he bounces back in 2014 once he completes his rehab.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s Dominic Smith. This year’s top overall pick in the Mets organization, the 18-year-old signed with New York for $2.6 million and has begun his professional career in rookie ball with the GCL Mets. Through 12 games (44 at-bats), the first baseman is hitting .227/.300/.364 with one homer and seven RBIs.

All in all, it was a successful first half of play for the Mets’ minor league affiliates, with a majority of their top prospects taking steps forward in their development, as well as some others coming out of nowhere with their outstanding performance. We’ve been saying it for quite some time, but the future looks bright. It will be exciting to see which prospects we’ve been following will eventually make an impact at the big league level.

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