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Continuing their rundown of every Major League farm system, Baseball America released its rankings and scouting reports of the Mets’ top 10 prospects.
John Manuel, writing for BA, ranked them in this order:
1. Fernando Martinez, OF
2. Deolis Guerra, RHP
3. Carlos Gomez, OF
4. Kevin Mulvey, RHP
5. Eddie Kunz, RHP
6. Brant Rustich, RHP
7. Philip Humber, RHP
8. Jon Niese, LHP
9. Nathan Vineyard, LHP
10. Robert Parnell, RHP
Regarding the farm system as a whole, Manuel writes:
Scouts from other organizations say the Mets have little immediate help on the way in the farm system. The jury is still out on how much Pelfrey and Humber will contribute, and there’s not much in the way of upper-level position players behind outfielders Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez.
The lack of talent reflects New York’s decision not to wield its large-market resources to acquire talent the last two years, particularly in the draft. The Mets have surrendered their first-round choice as free-agent compensation in each of the past two drafts, and haven’t tried to compensate by exceeding MLB’s bonus guidelines with other picks. Minaya said that could change in the near future.
Manuel will be chatting on BaseballAmerica.com to discuss the rankings at 1 pm.
…a thin list indeed, it doesn’t include Mike Pelfrey or Lastings Milledge, as they have exceeded rookie innings pitched and at bat limits, respectively… even so, after Martinez and Guerra, there is little high-end talent here to speak of… interestingly enough, no Mike Carp, who struggled with injuries this year…
…Manuel does mention the Mets’ large caribbean signing class this summer, which will perhaps soon inject some high ceiling talent into the system, but a change in draft strategy is seemingly crucial…
…i’ll be back later in the day with my own writeups of some of the top 10, as well as a bit of a recap of Manuel’s chat, which starts in a little less than an hour…
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The organizational edict to stay Bud Selig’s friend and not exceed MLB’s suggested bonus compensation levels comes directly from the top, like the tippy-top, aka Fred and Paris.
This whole concept still makes me scratch my head. What’s more important: drafting top quality talent with unremarkable picks or staying in Bud’s good graces? The one commodity we have in abundance here is money, why not use it on some boras draft picks and actually get some top talent in this next draft?
Good question. Can’t blame Omar when he’s handcuffed. If the Wilpons don’t give him the green light to sign Boras guys, or to retain Pedro Beato as a draft and follow, then what can you do?
If anything, I think it’s impressive that guys only drafted 1 or 2 years ago like Pelfrey and Joe Smith are already making some contributions in the big league roster. Smith especially may not be a “ceiling” guy but again, if your owners what to stay Bud Selig’s buddy, you have to at least try and do things that help your team in the immediate future.
Then off with the top if they don’t not only change their ways, but atone for the past few years of grime with an over the top MONSTER Draft this year.
Where’s Dylan Owen and Dylan Gee? Gee, not so good? Not so projectable? It’s bogus that the Mets used the last two years of the MAJOR LEAGUE draft to beef up the Cyclones.
Nice work Jordan. I don’t see your name on the top of the website, so I’m not sure if this is sort of a temporary role for you, but I’ve been enjoying your posts. Keep up the good work!
Unfortunately this is just further proof of what we’ve been hearing ever since the offseason started, the Mets farm system is a mess when compared to the rest of the league. I don’t know how Omar really thinks he can get any deal done for kids like Cabrera or Willis and even Santana, with our current crop of prospects, maybe that’s why he’s focusing on the free agent market instead. I know Gomez and F-Mart get a lot of hype, but beyond that it’s pretty thin with a ton of unknowns. I hate to compare us to the freakin Yankees, but we honestly have no Joba or Phil Hughes or even an Ian Kennedy in our system, that’s a big problem. I don’t understand what Omar and the Mets have done with the drafts over the past couple of years, it seems like we have no real plan and have not been re-stocking the farm. The minors is such an important place to build young talent and create some important chips to trade, it just seems like we’ve been ignoring it…. “A change in draft strategy is seemingly crucial”, I couldn’t have said it any better. For all the good Omar has done this may be the one area he’s really neglected and it may come back to hurt us.
This is supposed to be Omar’s strength too … “great judge of young talent”. He needs to start paying better attention and stop slacking.
Guerra is a stud prospect, he has a better upside than Ian Kennedy. Kunz is a future closer.
has anyone here seen Guerra? is he the real deal? what’s his stuff like?
Nice Changeup, I can tell you that.
I don’t want too hear about FA signings and no number ones. How many star players were not picked in the earliest rounds of the draft. Omar does not know what he is doing. We have garbage position players in our system You cannot simply say lets draft 30 pitchers–someone has to hit for us. drafting is an art–not a science. Get sopmeone who has a feel for talent. D0n’t just stack numbers. Fire Omar.
I agree, though I think bad drafts far predate Omar. We have produced so few quality players through our farm. When you look at teams like the Indians and what they’ve been able to do, it just makes no sense. Most of it stems from giving away picks by signing free agents. And frankly, free agency seems to be a lousy way to build a ballclub.
Personally, I’ve found in my own “research” that the international players being signed are really great. Although I wish the draft class had been better, given that Omar HAS been signing good players, it’s understandable.
Many of the same guys complaining about not drafting better than we have been, and the guys complaining that we don’t sign the absolute best free agents, every time.
Personally, Omar’s plan to bypass the draft selections and go after international talent, and thus meaning we can aquire the A type free agents, I think is brilliant.
Also, Mulvey was drafted by Omar’s staff, and he’s super. The Mets farm system is certainly a “work in progress”, but I beleive Omar is doing a tremendous job building it up.
(see sandgnats.com and watch the international talent start coming up) I’m super excited to watch this talent come through the system.
While I really do like Moises Alou, I don’t believe that he was worth giving up a first rounder for. And I agree with the sentiments that we shouldn’t be abiding by the MLB stated price range for signing draftees. Whatever it takes to get it done. We need to restock the system for both the future years and trading chips.
Alou was worth a first rounder if you ask me. Alou hit .340 for us. No guarantee that first rounder we got for him would’ve equalled a superstar.
The decision to go over slot is probably the Wilpon’s decision.
And remember, the Yankees last year people were saying they had no system besides Phil Hughes. The emergence of one or two pitchers will make the Met system look a helluva lot better.
Mets definitely though have to flex their big market status. They should be proactive instead of reactive. Look at this years market, now they’re looking at Livan Hernandez and Carlos Silva because they failed to pay superior pitcher like Ted Lilly last offseason.
Mets should definitely offer their free agents arbitration. Like Tom Glavine. Glavine would net us a first round draft choice. Why not use the pick to bring in a new prospect. And stop being cheap!!
We could have the best farm system in three years though. Especially with our presence in the Latin American countries, if we can get some of those prospects from the states, we could be unstoppable.
Because Tommy and Paris Hilton likely have a “gentleman’s agreement” that enables Glavine to go back to Atlanta without any interference. Who knows, if he costs Atlanta a draft pick, they’ll probably back out and Tom will have no choice but to pitch with us or retire….
Honestly, I’m glad you recognize Falcon that elements of the Mets draft strategy go beyond Omar. The talent Omar has picked up in LA is generally highly regarded and constitutes the top-end of our prospect list. For whatever reason, it seems like the Wilpons are either only willing to spend money on the draft or the foreign market and since signing guys like Guerra and FMart to record bonuses doesn’t anger Uncle Bud, the Wilpons choose to be “political” instead of aggressive.
Carlos Silva - 55-46, 4.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP
Ted Lilly - 74-66, 4.46 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
How exactly is Ted Lilly better then this years crop? The simple answer is he’s not….and that’s with Lilly’s 3.83 ERA and 1.14 WHIP this year weighing his numbers in his favor.
Lillty’s stuff exceeds that of Silva by quite a bit.
i’m wondering which chant will start first if the mets struggle next year (yes, i’m aware that willie will be the first scapegoat followed by omar at the end of the season):
freddie coupon, clap clap clapclapclap
or will his son get the spotlight
paris wilpon, clap clap clapclapclap
Who were they supposd to draft at number 42 last year that they could overpay for? That is ridiculous. The Mets haven’t had high picks lately and aren’t getting any compensatory picks from lost FAs.
the sadder truth is the Mets have very little on the farm to be players for big trades.
So much for the great Latin hotbed of talent.
I really think the Mets should sign that RFer from Japan to give the young OFers time to grow. If they can get a solid starter for Millz, they have to do it.
There’s nothing wrong with the ‘latin’ pool of talent, but you’re talking about signing 16 year olds who are at best case 4 years away from being in the Major Leagues. They’ve yet to be able to work their way up through the system…..and our best 2 prospects right now were from our first class of international signings.
PS: I’m not sure if it’s a good sign or not that Kunz, Rustich, and Vineyard are already in our Top 10 when they were just drafted 5 months ago.
agreed
I think it’s more about not signing Beato, and allowing ourselves to fall to draft pick #42 in the first place.
Some will go to any lengths to defend Omar even if there’s no credible proof that it was the Wilpons who put the kabosh on Omar giving out bonus money exceeding Selig’s edict.
The Yankees, Red Sox, and others can draft in the later rounds and come up with gems without paying big bonus money. Why can’t the Mets?
If the farm system continues to come up empty, giving Omar a free pass is just blindness. He’s as much to blame for the state of the Mets farm system as anyone.
From metsblog archives:
Jim Callis had the folllowing exchange with a reader during his most recent chat at Baseball America…
The reader asked…
“Peter Gammons said the commissioner’s office convinced the Mets management to stick to the commissioner’s office slot of $800,000 in their negotiations with Pedro Beato…What do you know of this situation? And could you compare Beato with […]
I’m pretty sure the Wilpons are writing the checks here….
That’s just 1 player. How have the Wilpons hampered Omar with other players. Be specific.
And again, other teams can draft successfully in later rounds without paying big bonuses. Why can’t the Mets?
Also Beato was a 17th round pick. Why is he even asking for $800,000???
Something doesn’t compute.
And, some will go to any lengths to bash Omar even if there’s obvious reasons (you sign a type A free agent you lose early round draft picks) as to why he hasn’t drafted such great ball players. Aquiring guys like Pedro, Beltran, etc., have cost us draft picks.
Omar’s guys did draft guys like Mulvey, and he’s really doing quite well. With the international signings, and putting the resources he has into that particular avenue, will allow us to build an outstanding farm system (starting in single A), all while enabling us to sign the big name free agents also. We’ll continue to lose the draft picks every time we do so, but we’ll compensate that with international signings.
The complete farm system IS somewhat empty compared to other teams, however, the international talent coming up through the minors, especially in single A, (see sandgnats.com) is actually exceptional.
And some will blindly defend Omar since other teams can draft successfully in later rounds. Why can’t Omar? And other teams can build a winning team without giving up all their draft picks. Why can’t Omar?
Omar has had 3 years already. How long are you prepared to wait till either the farm system or the international signings bear fruit? 6 years? Forever?
Don’t you think that by this year they should have been able to have more than just Smith be a success for the big club?
The Yankees big 3 were all first round picks — two taken in a year where the Mets didn’t have a first round pick because they signed Wagner. Hughes was ‘04, pre-Omar.
Bucholtz was the sandwich pick used from Pedro Martinez’s signing. The Mets also took Pelfrey that year, who was considered the best pitcher in the draft.
On the international scene Carmona took 5 years to make the big leagues. Jiminez 4 years. Some say FMart could be debuting some time next year. That’s 4 years.
And to answer your question above, knowing the history of the Wilpon’s, I most certainly believe one specifically documented case of where they cheaped out about a signing bonus is a likely sign that there have been others. If you need more substantiated proof, then you haven’t been paying attention to our ownership the past 7 years.
This is not about defending Omar at all costs. This is just common sense logic. If anything I feel the criticism should be directed towards the Mets development team, which does fall under Omar’s jurisdiction. There’s no reason Pelfrey or Humber shouldn’t be reaping rewards right now, but for some reason, these guys aren’t learning how to be big league pitchers, despite having the stuff to do it.
And before you go there, Ellsbury was a first-round pick in ‘05 (Pelfrey’s year) and Pedroia was a second-rounder in ‘04 pre-dating Omar. Unless you think Omar should have passed on the guy who was considered the best pitcher in the draft, I don’t see where you’re going with this criticism.
No I don’t think 3 years is enough time. Omar’s first year here was spent signing big free agents to turn the Mets around- so we lost draft picks. To compensate that they signed Latin America talent- but they’re teenagers and need more time to develop. That leaves one year to allow draft picks to develop into successful players- not enough time.
And I’m not a blind-omar defender- I know full-well how he f-ed up last offseason. I just don’t think this is something you can pin on him (yet).
The point is, why are other teams able to build a winner without giving up all their draft picks? Why isn’t Omar getting compensatory draft picks when players leave to sign contracts elsewhere? (I know the answer to that one: he signs players who are either too old or not good enough to bring those picks when they leave.)
Granted, Omar deserves a little more time to see if his draft strategies or international signings work out. But if he comes up empty in the next 2 years, then there’s no excuse.
And this excuse with the bonus money I’m not buying. Beato was a 17th round pick, so why was he asking for $800,000 to begin with? Did any other club give a 17th round pick anything close to that? I bet not. Which means the player’s demands were unreasonable given the position where he was drafted. So I don’t even buy that the Wilpons cheaped out with Beato.
And yes, I know the history of the Wilpons. They’ve given their GMs the biggest payrolls in the NL for the last 10 years. They bid $40 million on Matsuzaka and that was just to talk with him. What cheapos.
Unless you have concrete facts or information, then the Wilpons being cheap remains a flimsy excuse for why the Mets farm system is so weak now. The far more logical explanation is the drafting and free agent strategies of the current and recent GMs.
And whether it’s poor draft choices or a poor developmental staff, that doesn’t matter. Both are Omar’s responsibility and neither have to do with the Wilpons being cheap.
You can continue to cry poverty for the Mets as an excuse for their poor farm system but you haven’t given any good supporting facts to support it.
Even if Beato were a valid complaint, as I said that’s one player.
And would anyone like to answer the question about when we should start expecting results from the farm system? How long is Omar going to get a pass?
Huh? I’d like to know.
I’ll be interested to know if anyone will answer that honestly instead of just being vague so they can defend him 3-4 years from now if nothing crops up.
Omar is in charge. He has the vaunted AUTONOMY that the Wilpons thought was so significant, but which really meant: “leave us alone. From now on it is not our fault.” The college drafting has sucked. Most of these boob scouts measure guys pecs and talk about their body types and 40 times when they should be looking for baseball players like Chase Utley. The guy has NO forearms, but he hits the ball a mile. Half the guys who actually make it to the big leagues get down the line to first base in 4.5 seconsds. It is harder to turn double plays in college than it is is MLB. All this BS the scouts give you has nothing to do with actual baseball talent. And omar was, first and foremost, a scout. Are Lastings MIlledge, Joe Smith and Mike Pelfrey the only draftees on the roster? Heck, they aren’t even regulars.
what great players have the Red Sox/Yankees drafted in the later rounds without going over slot? Betances, Jackson, Angelini, Suttle, Anderson, Kalish were all over slot guys…what players other than the handful of later round picks that normally turn out have those teams drafted that turned out to be quality players?
Papelbon, Pedroia and Lester were all drafted in the 2nd round or later.
And it’s not just the fact they got gems from later rounds. But why is it that they and the Yankees are not losing all their 1st round draft picks but the Mets are??
They’re signing just as many free agents as the Mets.
Lester and Pedroia were second round picks and Papelbon was a fourth…thats not in the later rounds of the draft.
As for the yankees and red sox, they have gained many early round picks because of the signing of their own class A free agents….Red sox got picks for guys like Damon, Pedro, Mueller, Lowe, Cabrera and the Yankees for guys like T. Gordon and Lieber,
They lose picks too its just that they get picks back because other teams sign their class A free agents. They havent signed the typoe of class A free agents over the years that the Mets have and when they have, teams have taken their class A free agents which gave them a first round pick. Teams who have taken the Mets picks have been protected (1st 15 picks).. thats what happened with a guy like chad bradford..
Yankees and Sox have also acquired a lot of their top players from trades too….Beckett, Abreu, Arod, Lowell, Schilling, etc.
What I meant by later rounds is rounds other than the first round . The Red Sox have been able to find gems in those rounds.
In addition to later round picks, Omar has had quite a few first round picks since he’s been the Mets GM. Now I concede that he deserves at least 1 more year to see if some of these picks will pan out, but I think by the end of next season if not much comes of them you can start to question his judgment.
As for the yankees and red sox, they have gained many early round picks because of the signing of their own class A free agents
I know. That’s part of my point. Which is why do the Mets have so few ‘class A free agents? I think part of the reason is the Mets’ tendency to sign so many lesser players or older players that either retire or fade to the point that they are no longer Class A free agents (Valentin, for example).
My point was how come the Red Sox can build a winning team, sign free agents, and maintain their own draft picks? I don’t really agree that they don’t sign Class A free agents. What about Lugo, Drew, Clement? Maybe they sign fewer than the Mets, but then that begs the question how can they meet so many of their needs through trades, international free agents, and non-tendered free agents like David Ortiz? Why aren’t the Mets doing the same?
And the Mets got a high draft pick for Bradford. They got a 1st round sandwich pick. Most of Boston’s young homegrown players were gotten with picks at the same point in the draft or later. There’s no excuse
As I said, Omar deserves another year to see if some of that talent he’s acquired pans out, but after that it’s fair game to question him as GM if the farm remains empty.
In 2005 Omar picked Pelfrey in the first round, he didnt have another pick until the fourth found that year. In 2006 he didnt have a frist round pick and he went on to choose Mulvey and Joe Smith with his first two picks in rounds 2-3….pretty good guys to get for your first two picks…In 2007, again without a first round pick he took Kunz and Vineyard in the supplamental round…his next two picks were in the 2nd round in which he took Moviel and Rustich
So i ask..where we all those first round picks he had? He had only 1 by my count…he had two supplamental picks this year and took a potential closer with very good stuff, and solid lefty with good control and a mix of three pitches…all this without being allowed to go overslot…
“My point was how come the Red Sox can build a winning team, sign free agents, and maintain their own draft picks?”
The things is..how many teams can do that? Only a handful of teams can consistantly do all three of those, Mets havent been able to yet…but you cant blame them for the signings of Pedro, Beltran, Wagner, or Alou..those were all pretty good moves so its tough to keep draft picks with that.
As for the Red Sox losing their picks…they lost it last year for Lugo, Drew actually did not cost them any picks (must have not been offered arbitration after he opted out) and Clement was only a class B free agent and the sox lost only a 3rd round pick for him…they gained extra picks that year from other teams signings of Pedro, Cabrera, and Lowe so they had several picks.
I think that Omar has had one bad and one good year with the trades so i definitly agree with you that this is a big year for him. As for the internation market im assuming u mean at the major league level because the Mets have done a superior job in finding young talent. But remember, the Mets were second in bidding for Dice-K and Okajima was a complete surprise to everyone, including the Red Sox. How many teams get lucky with international free agents at the major league level…not all that many (dont see braves, phillies, marlins or nationals with any)
Comparing it to a team like the Red Sox probably isnt the best thing…considering they are the model franchise in baseball right now. Even comparing them to the Yankees is difficult because Omar has not been allowed to go over slot like Cashman has… As Omar said in the BA article, they are reconsidering their draft formula…and hopefully you start seeing some money thrown around to those guys that fall in the draft
I really don’t buy this. The Mets have always been willing to pay more for quality talent - they paid Pelfrey when he fell in the draft because of contract questions, and Milledge when he fell because he was a teenage boy. What isn’t mentioned in this article is that the Mets have paid some of the largest international contracts in the past couple of years while they were “skimping” on the draft, including Fernando Martinez’s over $1 million signing bonus. Meanwhile, the Mets have been drafting guys more likely to contribute like Smith and Kuntz, in the regular draft.
Let’s face it, most of today’s stars are coming from international signings. There’s no reason to spend all that money AND piss off Selig on a guy who probably won’t pan out. I am much more content with the Mets signing more Smith’s in the draft, and using their big money to buy high-ceiling, 16 year olds like Martinez.
I don’t think there’s any problem with the Mets farm system except for the fact they’re all young guys. As in VERY VERY young guys that are hard to project and can go in any direction in the next 2 years or so.
THe prospects are too young and hard to evaluate BUT all of those guys do have high cielings. You have to be patient with them but I don’t think it means its a bad group of guys… I mean by next year Jon Niese could be a very desireable guy. He’s only 21 years old, is a lefty, doesn’t walk alot guys, strikes out a nice ammount. His production at AA is make or break, he can be someone the Mets count on either to produce at the major league level or as trade bait.
But, the Mets have to stop this whole bypassing top talent in the draft for “signable” players. Its ridiculous.
There is no excuse for not drafting really good guys because of the POSSIBILITY the CHANCE they go over slot money.
I mean pissing off Selig, what are the consequences of that anyway?
A-Rod and Boras will still get their money despite pissing off MLB. I think it’s fair to say the Mets can cope without x-mas cards from Bud by keeping a Pedro Beato type.
Can someone who has been following the drafts more closely than I have provide some specific examples, in addition to Beato, in which the Mets have not drafted a good player because he would cost to much, or have drafted a good player and not signed him because of money disputes?
My sense is that the biggest issue here is that we have lost first round picks because of our free agent signings, which in my book is yet another reason not to sign ARod. I’m not saying that the whole Selig and slots thing is not an issue — I don’t know enough to say one way or the other. I just think if people are going to keep throwing around the argument that the Mets have passed on good players in the draft because of money, they ought to provide specific examples.
If it’s just Beato, just one player where they made the judgment not to go higher, that’s different than if it’s a general trend. And given an earlier poster’s point that they ponied up for Pelfrey and Milledge, and that we have the highest payroll in the National League, I’m inclined to think that the whole “Freddie Coupon” thing is bogus. (Plus my general rule is that if a poster is juvenile enough to make their “point” by making fun of someone’s name, the poster is almost invariably wrong.
Exactly! This whole money issue is a big excuse to deflect blame from where it really belongs.
Beato was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round, for christsakes!. He was asking for $800,000. AFAIK, no one who was drafted in that round got that money. So the Wilpons are cheap????
If you’re going to go around deflecting blame for the draft at least make a sound case for your opinion. Accusations are cheap.
Thomas, the Mets didn’t draft guys like Dellin Betances, Scott Sizemore, Jeff Larish, guys like that.
Benny, thanks! I was curious about the guys you named, so I googled the first one, Betances. He looks like he could be great, but he was drafted out of high school in the 8th round, which means alot of teams, not just the Mets, passed on him for seven rounds before the Yankees took him. Here’s one blogger’s answer to why Betances didn’t go earlier:
“Why did he fall to us in the 8th round? Well, there are a few reasons. First off, no one thought that he would sign. Second, he pretty much said “If I am going to sign, it is only going to be with the Yankees”. Third, he was not a three pitch pitcher prior to attending the Yankee camp. He tossed a live fastball and had little in terms of secondary pitches. This is a steal.”
At least if this guy is right (and I can’t judge that), it wasn’t a money issue with Betances, it was that he wanted to play for the Yankees and wasn’t going to sign with another team out of high school. If it’s money that’s at issue, you can negotiate, but if the guy says “I’m going to college if any team other than the Yankees drafts me,” how do you get around that if you’re not the Yankees?
Hey when I was a high school senior, I said I was going away for college no matter what, I was going to Penn State.
St. John’s offered me alot of scholarship money and so not only did I NOT attend Penn State but I didn’t even go away for school like I said I would.
Money changes everything…
I think Baseball America was inaccurate for being Baseball America.
This is what I think:
1. Fernando Martinez A- (The young outfielder is 19 years old, and scorches line drives. He has a sweet swing, probably will strike out a bit, but has 30 HR pop, with the ability to hit .300. Has an average glove, speed and arm. Injuries held his season a little short, he struggled a bit in AA)
2. Kevin Mulvey B+ (4 pitch pitcher, zoomed through the organization with no trouble. Has the ability to keep the ball down, throws in the low 90s and strikes out a decent amount of hitters. Very young, only 22, has potential to be #2 starter.)
3. Deolis Guerra B (Great, young, talented left hander with a nice fastball-changeup combo. He still needs to get more command of his pitches, and strike out a few more guys. Haven’t seen a whole lot of him or his breaking stuff. Although young, was already a Futures Game selection. The guy is 18 years old, 6′5″. Will take him 2-3 years to develop.)
4. Carlos Gomez B (Great glove, amazing speed. has the ability to make some good contact. Has bad hitting habits that need to be solved in AAA. Gomez still needs to prove his power.)
5. Jon Niese B (Nice lefty, 21 years old, has some good velocity, a nice curveball and a good change. Not a big home run pitcher, and his biggest enemy is the walk. He has the ability to be very dominant MLB pitcher, but needs to prove so in AA)
6. Philip Humber B- (His curveball is pretty slick, has some decent velocity on the fastball. He has yet to pitch 4 innings in one game. This is a crucial year for him to prove himself. It is very possible that he will either be a reliever or simply traded away. He is 25 years old)
7. Robert Parnell B- (Throws pretty hard, has some nice breaking stuff. He has improved on his command this year. Parnell has yet to put it all together, but has potential to be extremely dominant. He is 22 years old.)
8. Eddie Kunz C+ (Extremely raw of talent for someone who went to college. He definitely has potential, and electric stuff. Probably will be a very dominant closer. He has been struggling the the Arizona Fall League, and also put up a 6.75 ERA in Brooklyn.)
9. Nick Carr C+ (Currently a starter, probably will be a reliever in the majors. Just 20 years old, throws gas, successful in Brooklyn and Hawaii)
10. Anderson Hernandez C (Still technically a rookie, Hernandez has some decent wheels, an amazing glove, and can hit minor league pitchers. But is he just a AAAA hitter?)
I haven’t seen enough of Duda….
What does Mulvey have that Bannister didn’t? In the minors, Bannister threw in the low 90s, had four pitches, had a similar ERA, but he had a better strikeout rate than Mulvey.
Because of the better peripherals, seems to me Bannister had more upside. So what is the difference?
Mulvey has developed much more quickly. Bannister didn’t throw low 90s consistantly, usually had a fastball in high 80s. Bannister never fully got down command.
I’d love to have another Bannister anyway.