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Law: Wheeler is game’s 27th best prospect, Harvey 38th

posted on February 9th, 2012 at 10:50 am

Keith Law of ESPN believes RHP Zack Wheeler is the 27th best prospect in baseball, saying:

“Wheeler was stolen from the Giants for two months of Carlos Beltran‘s services in a deadline deal that should benefit the Mets for much of this decade.

He will touch 97 mph and sit at least 91-94 with an above-average curveball that has shown it can miss bats. He has a fringy changeup that’s a little too firm, giving up a .283/.375/.452 line to left-handed hitters as a result (although that improved after the trade in a small sample). His control is still below-average, and he’ll have to show durability to match his frame, as he retired more than 18 batters just twice all year.”

In addition, Law believes RHP Matt Harvey is the game’s 38th best prospect.

Michael Baron (posted Jan. 26, 2012): I talked with people close to Harvey last year, and they also seemed extremely impressed with his concentration and ability to focus for such a young pitcher. I saw Harvey pitch with St. Lucie and while his stuff was electric, he was dominating mostly with a hard fastball and not much else. He struggled after jumping to Double-A primarily because his secondary pitches were still raw. However, he clearly began to harness that stuff towards the end of his season with Binghamton, and the results were indicative of such growth.

I do not expect Harvey to make the team out of camp, despite being invited to Major League Spring Training this year. I expect Harvey to start his year in Double-A or Triple-A, which is where he belongs to start the season. However, if he gets off to a great start and is able to sustain that success into mid-season, I expect him to at least get a cup of coffee with the Mets during the year.

Regarding Wheeler, I asked him last year about some of the adjustments he made to regain his control, and he said the Giants tried to slow his mechanics down and as a result, he struggled with his command and with the movement of his pitches. After reverting back to the mechanics he used in high school, he was able to rediscover some of the electricity and, most importantly, his command. I expect Wheeler will begin the season with Double-A Binghamton but hopefully he is able to maintain those mechanics and command this winter and continue his strong progression through the system.


To see Law’s entire list, including more details on Wheeler and additional comments about Harvey, check out his report here for ESPN.com.