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At NYFS, TJD explains why RHP Brant Rustich, RHP Dylan Owen, 2B Hector Pellot, OF Raul Reyes and RHP Phillips Orta are Five Under-the-Radar Prospects to Watch in 2008.
Of the bunch, only Rustich appeared on the team’s Top 10 Prospect List at Baseball America last November, during which they wrote…
“Healthy in pro ball, Rustich showed a premium fastball…He pitches inside to righthanders and uses his size well…His changeup shows flashes of being an average pitch…Control was a huge problem before and after his finger injury…His splitter was a plus pitch before he got hurt, but he hasn’t thrown it much since the injury…
“Rustich has enough stuff to start, but the Mets most likely will have him join Eddie Kunz on the fast track as a reliever. Rustich could jump to Double-A in 2008.”
Last November, MetsBlog’s Jordan Zakarin conducted a Q&A with Rustich, which you can read here, during which he had the following to say about his finger injury from 2008…
“Injuries are the toughest thing any athlete has to deal with. It’s far worse than failure. It was very hard on me when I go hurt, cause it was the first time in my life I had to sit out from any sport I’ve played…A finger injury is very significant…every pitch I throw leaves my middle finger. It basically effects everything when it comes to command. Coming back from a finger injury was more difficult than I anticipated. It was tough trying to perform in pain sometimes during my college year. I remember feeling like I let down my teammates when I couldn’t perform like I was capable of.”
In 10 relief appearances for Low-A Brooklyn last season, Rustich allowed just three runs, while striking out 10 batters and walking one through 12.2 innings pitched.
wow you mean we actually have other prospects besides mulvey humber and gomez? i was under the impression that if we traded those guys for the best pitcher in baseball that we wouldnt be able to field a minor league team at any level. either way if we do in fact do the smart thing and deal for santana these guys will come out from under the radar real quick.
You wanna give up 4 prospects for Johan? That’s waaaay too much?
Oh wait, that was last week, and we passed? Sh*t!
Outside of Gomez/Martinez/Mulvey, we have a lot of talent in the low minors. Our farm system is so frequently knocked because people generally focus on Hi-A and up, when it comes to rating prospects. In a year or so, the farm should be in decent shape if these and a few other players progress.
and this is why im fine with a 4 for 1 even a 5 for 1 for santana. ill now leave the floor open to someone who wants to bash my intelligence bc they actually believe carlos gomez will be a cornerstone on a future WS winner at citifield.
I have said that a couple times here, but I have been knocked, I think are farm system is very talented and should be one of the top 10 by the end of 2008.
I like Joe Kennedy for the Mets number 5 starter.
Come on man, there is no need for that type of comedy here.
Omar Minaya is no Frank Cashin. Mets fans shouldn’t be expecting the best of both worlds: an elite MLB team plus a deep and loaded minor league system. In fact, right now we have neither.
Minaya’s here for one purpose and it’s not his drafting skills. He’s here to force the Wilpon vault as wide as possible and build the best “win now” team he can. Trading 5 minor league bodies for Santana is part of that. Locking him longterm is part of that. If the Twins make that deal only if we throw in the 16 year old kid Minaya found playing with a milk carton glove a couple years back (and has taken the minors by storm with his whopping 14/61/.272 in 140 games), then extra kudos for Omar.
Hey Matt & Metsblog,
TJD here. I’m very flattered for the love. I’m also glad to share my opinions and have a discussion about these or other players.
Rustich will begin 2008 in the starting rotation for St Lucie barring an injury setback
can we throw them in too for Santa?