Eleven years ago, the New York Mets were in a very bad place as a franchise. The franchise was in the wake of the Madoff scandal, and they fired Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel.

The Mets core was eroding as the franchise followed the 2006 NLCS disappointment with two collapses in the final years of Shea Stadium. The first couple of years in Citi Field were not kind as the Mets had consecutive fourth place finishes. Worse yet, the Mets farm system was much maligned with Baseball America ranking it in the bottom third in the league.

However, it was a system that was improving with very real prospects who would eventually have an impact at the Major League level. Looking back, here are MLB Pipeline‘s top 10 Mets prospects in 2011:

1. Wilmer Flores, 2B
2. Matt Harvey, RHP
3. Cesar Puello, OF
4. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF
5. Lucas Duda, 1B
6. Reese Havens, 2B
7. Cory Vaughn, OF
8. Jeurys Familia, RHP
9. Jordany Valdespin, 2B/SS
10. Juan Urbina, LHP

One thing which should jump right off the page is half of that list were significant contributors to the Mets 2015 pennant winning team. Working in order, Flores was the shortstop for the pennant winning team, would establish himself as a fan favorite, and he would become the Mets all-time leader in walk-off RBI.

If not for TOS, Harvey would be one of the best pitchers in Mets history. That was his trajectory with the near perfect game against the Chicago White Sox, starting the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field, and his 2015 postseason run. Like in Game 5 of the World Series, Harvey was that close to being an all-time great.

Nieuwenhuis emerged as an effective platoon bat off the bench, and he would shockingly become the first ever Mets player to hit three homers in a game at home.

Of course, there was Duda who still probably remains the most polarizing Mets player in team history. He would unseat Ike Davis at first, and he would be the clean-up hitter for the 2015 pennant winning team hitting a grand slam in the NL East clincher. Duda remains the all-time home run leader in Citi Field history.

Finally, there was Familia. He has the Mets single season save record, a feat he accomplished twice. He has the third most saves and relief appearances in team history. Arguably, he is the best right-handed reliever in team history. He was phenomenal out of the pen in the 2015 postseason until he ran into three hard luck blown saves in the World Series.

Of course, the rest of the rankings did not pan out nearly as well for the Mets. Puello was seen as a potential five tool prospect, but his career fell apart for two reasons. First, there was the complete lack of plate discipline, and second, there was his PED suspension due to his ties to Biogenesis. Despite all that, he was able to play 66 games in the majors, and he would return to the Mets organization last year on a minor league deal.

Like Puello, Valdespin never made the impact in the majors many anticipated. Valdespin had raw power and athleticism which earned him opportunity after opportunity despite all the times he would rub teammates and coaches the wrong way with his attitude. Despite all of this, he forever etched his name in Mets lore with his infamous quote, “I’m the man right now.”

Then, there were Havens, Vaughn, and Urbina who would never make it to the Major League level. For some, Havens is still a buzz word for fans who opt to put little to no trust in prospect rankings and justify trading prospects for smaller returns.

This has always been an unfair position because Havens was that good, and if he got the opportunity, he very well might have torn it up at the Major League level. Unfortunately, Havens suffered chronic injuries which eventually forced him into retirement in 2014.

Vaughn had the pedigree being the son of former Major League All-Star and Silver Slugger Greg Vaughn. He had tools, but for whatever reason, possibly the injuries, he never developed like many expected when he first hit these prospect rankings. Eventually, he was released in 2015, five years after he was a fourth round draft pick, and he played in the Independent Leagues for four years before retiring.

Like Vaughn, Urbina had the pedigree being the son of former closer Ugueth Urbina. The fact of the matter is Urbina just didn’t work out losing velocity after signing and lasting five disappointing seasons, and he was released before ever reaching a full season minor league affiliate.

Overall, how the Mets top prospects fared is a matter of perspective. In the rankings, they had seven players make it to the majors and two of them were All-Stars. In reality, this organization took five of these players and turned them into significant contributors to a pennant winning club. If you are an organization, you cannot ask for more than that, and really, it is a testament to how the Mets have continuously identified and developed talent for the past two decades.