I’ve gotten a chance to see the following prospects this summers: Thole, Davis, Holt, Shields, F-Mart, Niese and Evans. A few thoughts:

1) C Josh Thole: Liked his short compact swing. I see why he hits for a high average. His short stroke (and choking up on the bat) allows him to put the ball in play a lot. However, he doesn’t show much power, which is all right if he hits for a high average.

On defense, what is written about him is correct. He defense is a bit lacking on throws, footwork, block the ball, taking command on bunts, etc. He’s still a bit stiff as a receiver as I found that he stabs at the ball a bit. I just think he’s not ready defensively to be a major league catcher. I wonder what pitchers would feel pitching to such a raw catcher at this point, which is why I think he need another year.

2) 1B Ike Davis: I like Davis in college. I thought he was a solid pick for them, then I saw him in Brooklyn last year and wondered if I was seeing the sam player. His swing was different – longer and his hands lower. He was prone to getting busted high and in. He showed no power.

That’s different now. His swing is a bit smoothed out, which allows him to turn around on this inside pitches. He still is a bit pull-conscious so he needs to learn to hit the ball the opposite way.

I like what I saw on defense. Soft hands and good range. That said, Davis was a pitcher in college also and he showed enough speed and footwork that he could play right field or left field in the majors. Wonder if the Mets will play him a bit in the outfield next year to give them more options.

3) SP Brad Holt: Awesome fastball and it shows movement. When I saw him his secondary stuff was inconsistent but showed improvement and potential. If he can improve on that, he has a chance to be an effective starter. Definitely looked better than last year when I saw him. He seemed to be trying to work his other pitches instead of just using his fastball.

4) OF F-Mart: Again shows a quick bat and covers enough ground in the outfield, BUT he can’t stay healthy and his strike zone judgment is poor. At some point you can’t harp on his age and potential. At some point you have to produce. I think another year in AAA is needed.

5) SS Robbie Shields: I admit it I wanted the Mets to draft C Stassi in the 3rd round. That said, I saw Shields play in Brooklyn. Slender guy with soft hands and decent range. Can play SS in the majors defensively. At the plate, he shows surprising pop for a slender guy. I actually liked him better than Reese Havens when I saw Havens last year.

6) SP Jon Niese: Caught Niese pitch. He really needs that curve working or else he’s in trouble. Although he’s learned to mix his other pitches to try and push through when his curve isn’t working which is a change from last year when it was curve or nothing. Too bad he got hurt.

I really expect him to be the #5 start next year with Parnell moving back to the pen.

7) Nick Evans: The fact that he’s in AAA and Andy Green is in the majors speaks volumes as to how much his stock has fallen. When he connects he shows good pop, but his strike zone judgment is poor and he doesn’t seem to know how to work the count in order to get his pitch so he can take advantage of that power. I think we’ll see him in AAA next year or more likely traded.