Mets fatten up thin farm system
Trading away a package of prospects the caliber of Yusmeiro Petit, Gaby Martinez and Mike Jacobs -- as the Mets did over the offseason to acquire Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca -- is bound to leave a farm system a bit on the dry side. But the late signing of 2005 first-round pick Mike Pelfrey, and his subsequent impressive Spring Training performance, has certainly helped take the sting off the loss.
One Minor Leaguer New York didn't part with was five-tool outfielder Lastings Milledge, whose name arose during trade talks involving Manny Ramirez and Barry Zito. The 20-year-old Florida native is the club's best outfield prospect since Alex Escobar, though the Mets hope he'll pan out better.
In addition to losing Petit, Martinez and Jacobs, 2004 first-round pick Philip Humber had to have "Tommy John" surgery, and the 2005 draft yielded just one pick in the first three rounds due to free-agency compensation. To partially fill that void, general manager Omar Minaya dipped into the Latin American well, signing Dominican outfielder Fernando Martinez and right-hander Deolis Guerra of Venezuela, both of whom were just 16 at the time.
All in all, the system is still thin, but as the team has chosen to allocate its resources toward proven veterans like Delgado, Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran in order to win now, the big league club shouldn't be beckoning for a lot of help from the lower ranks any time soon. And that should give the newly revamped scouting and player development departments a chance to reload.
Five Faves
Five prospects whose names you should know:
Lastings Milledge, OF
What a wild year it was for the Mets' prized prospect as he built upon his strong showing at Capital City in 2004 by hitting .318/.388/.449 with eight homers and 29 stolen bases between St. Lucie and Binghamton. He played for Team USA in the World Cup in Holland and then in the Olympic qualifying tournament, tore up the Arizona Fall League (.330-5-23 in 24 games) and finally watched his name get bandied about in trade rumors involving Manny Ramirez and Barry Zito. Through it all, Milledge has continued to impress. Through the first 17 games of Spring Training, the 20-year-old five-tool outfielder has given the Mets reason to believe that he's ready to face Major League pitching, batting .340/.354/.447. But with Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran in left and center and the recently acquired Xavier Nady and Victor Diaz battling it out for right, plus Endy Chavez off the bench, the former first-round pick will most likely play the season out at Triple-A Norfolk before a late-season call-up.
Audio: Lastings' first Double-A homer
Listen to Lastings blast one over the 390 sign in AFL action
Audio: A two-run single for Grand Canyon
Audio: Milledge goes deep for Team USA vs. Nicaragua
Philip Humber, RHP
Less than eight months after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery, the Mets' 2004 first-round pick threw off the mound for the first time early in March, tossing 15 pitches in his first step back from what was a tough pro debut. Humber went 2-7 with a 5.09 ERA in 15 starts between Class A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton and became one of several former Rice hurlers to have serious arm trouble in their first season. He'll gradually make his way back in '06, hopefully returning to game action in the second half.
| 2005 Organizational Record | |||||
|
LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A SS R R |
LEAGUE INT EAS FSL SAL NYP APP GCL |
TEAM Norfolk Binghamton St. Lucie Hagerstown Brooklyn Kingsport GCL Mets TOTAL: |
W 79 63 66 71 40 28 37 383 |
L 65 79 68 66 36 40 16 370 |
PCT .549 .444 .493 .518 .526 .412 .698 .509 |
 |
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If you were to apply word association to Mets prospects, the word "tools" would probably most often lead to the quick response of "Lastings" or "Milledge." But there's a new kid on the block that might be even "toolsier" than New York's prized outfield prospect, and that's Carlos Gomez. At the age of 19, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound Domincan was second in the Minors in steals in 2005 with 64. He also has the power to wow spectators during batting practice and is generally considered to have the best outfield arm in the system. He's impressed during Spring Training, flashing his blazing speed down the line and around the bases, going 4-for-13 with a pair of triples in four games with the big league club. He could be tested at the plate in the Florida State League in 2006 after hitting .275 at Hagerstown last year, but don't expect that to reduce his stolen base totals greatly, as new farm director Adam Wogan says he'd like Gomez to be even more aggressive on the basepaths.
| 2005 Organizational Leaders | |||||
|
Average Home Runs RBIs Stolen Bases ERA Wins Strikeouts Saves |
.325 36 102 64 1.16 15 144 14 |
Brian Daubach Brett Harper Brett Harper Carlos Gomez Nelson Portillo Jason Scobie Yusmeiro Petit Carlos Muniz |
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| Complete MiLB statistics |
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A strong 2005 season for Hernandez combined with another underwhelming effort by Kaz Matsui has resulted in a possible Major League opportunity for the former. The 23-year-old Dominican split the year evenly between Double-A Binghamton and Norfolk, playing 66 games at each level and hitting a combined .315 with nine homers and 35 stolen bases. He hit over .300 from both sides of the plate in what was easily the most impressive season of his career offensively. Despite the fact that he didn't get a hit until the 18th and final at-bat of his late-season call-up last year, Hernandez's solid spring and Matsui's sprained right knee have given the former Tigers farmhand a shot. With a lineup that includes Beltran, Delgado, David Wright, Cliff Floyd and Jose Reyes, the most important thing for Anderson is going to be to play solid defense, which shouldn't be too tall of an order for him. But if he can hit too, his role may be more than a temporary one.
Video: Hernandez goes the other way for Norfolk
Brian Bannister, RHP
As impressive as Bannister's 2005 season was, it's his phenomenal 2006 Spring Training effort that has him knocking on the big-league door. With just eight Triple-A starts under his belt, the 2003 seventh-round pick out of USC has done enough to earn himself the No. 5 spot in the Mets' rotation to start the season. Whether he begins there will be determined by the team's bullpen needs, but a 0.64 ERA and 9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio has certainly upped his stock. Even if he doesn't begin the season in the bigs, he'll be a call away in Norfolk should anyone falter or be injured.
Video: Bannister fans the side at the EL All-Star Game
Others to watch: Shawn Bowman, 3B; Mike Carp, 1B; Ambiorix Concepcion, OF; Matt Durkin, RHP; Deolis Guerra, RHP; Brett Harper, 1B; Jeff Keppinger, 2B; Evan MacLane, LHP; Robert Manuel, RHP; Fernando Martinez, OF; Waner Mateo, RHP; Henry Owens, RHP; Alay Soler, RHP; Juan Tejeda, 1B; Andy Wilson, C/IF/OF.
Harper talks about his FSL All-Star experience
Video: Harper goes deep in the All-Star game
Cinderella story
Mitch Wylie, RHP
An eighth-round pick by the White Sox out of St. Ambrose University (Iowa) way back in 1998, Mitch Wylie has overcome "Tommy John" surgery, a broken foot, a stint in the independent Northern League and various other setbacks to put himself in a position to earn a spot in the Mets' bullpen this year. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was plucked from the Giants in the Rule 5 draft in December and has at times turned heads during Spring Training. It seems that at the very least he'll finally, after eight years in the Minors, reach the big leagues.
Primed for breakout in 2006
Shawn Bowman, 3B
Bowman went through drastic swings in 2005 before his season was ended prematurely by a fractured bone in his lower back. The slick-fielding Canadian third baseman played just 87 games, and in the first 43 of those, he batted an abysmal .142 with three home runs and 14 RBIs while striking out 62 times. In the final 44 games before his injury, though, the former 12th-round pick was hitting the ball with authority, batting .299 with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs. And that was as a relatively inexperienced 20-year-old in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. He still needs to cut down his strikeouts immensely, but if he can fully recuperate from his back problem and pick up where he left off in '05, Bowman could establish himself as one of the top power hitters in the FSL.
2005 draft recap
1. (9) Mike Pelfrey, RHP
Everything about Pelfrey is big -- his 6-foot-7 frame, his mid-90s fastball, and of course his contract that guarantees him $5.3 million. And then there was his long-awaited debut, which didn't come until Spring Training due to an elongated hold-out -- that was big too. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed just a single run, on a home run by Braves' top prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia, in seven innings while walking one and striking out six. He would likely be slated for Double-A Binghamton if it weren't for the traditionally cold weather there in April, and instead will stay in St. Lucie to pitch for the Mets' Florida State League affiliate there. General manager Omar Minaya has already hinted that the Wichita State product may move quickly and said he wouldn't even rule out a call-up as early as this season. With Bannister's progress, there shouldn't be any need to rush Pelfrey, but it's clear that the Mets are expecting -- what else? -- big things.
Video: Pelfrey discusses the draft and his college career
4. (119) Hector Pellot, 2B
Pellot signed a 2006 contract after being the second Puerto Rican taken in the 2005 draft and proceeded to impress at the winter instructional league. The Mets love his makeup and think he'll develop some physical tools as well. His pro debut will have a large say in where he gets slotted on the prospect landscape since he is a largely unknown commodity.
5. (149) Drew Butera, C
.217-1-23, .305 OBP, .297 SLG
Like father, like son. Drew was chosen in the fifth round largely because of his defense, which is what allowed his light-hitting father, Sal, to stick around for parts of nine Major League seasons in the 80s. At Brooklyn in 2005, Butera's .217 might have been expected, but he also had the most errors of any backstop in the league. On the other hand, he also threw out more baserunners (31) than any other catcher. He's the opposite of a "he'll-go-as-far-as-his-bat-will-carry-him" kind of guy.
6. (179) Greg Cain, OF
.202-1-11, .358 OBP, .309 SLG
Unheralded heading into the draft, Cain hadn't committed to a school out of high school but still got a decent signing bonus ($150,000) as a bit of a surprise pick in the seventh round. He didn't do anything to draw any more recognition or notoriety in his rookie campaign -- he struck out 39 times in 94 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League -- but he's a long-term project for the Mets. He's young (18), has decent power for his size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and has good speed (seven SB in 30 games).
7. (209) Jon Niese, LHP
1-0, 3.65 ERA, 24.2 IP, 23 H, 10 BB, 24 K
Niese is probably more likely to make noise in 2006 than any of the other 2005 draft picks outside of Pelfrey. He's a big (6-foot-3), hard-throwing left-hander who added some velocity during his first pro season in the Gulf Coast League, reaching the mid-90s at times. He was particuarly stingy against lefties, holding them to a .143 average, while right-handers hit at a .263 clip against him.
Best of the rest: RHP Bobby Parnell (ninth round) had bad luck in terms of his record (2-3), but for the most part, the NYPL All-Star's numbers were sparkling (1.73 ERA, .185 OPP AVG, 1 HR and 67 K in 73 IP) ... RHP Eric Brown (18th) was 3-2 with four saves and a 3.97 ERA for Brooklyn ... OF Joe Holden (21st) was hitting over .350 before scuffling in the final few weeks of the season to finish at .291, but he stole 22 bases and was a NYPL All-Star ... RHP David Koons (27th) went 4-2 with two saves and a 3.46 ERA for Kingsport in the Appalachian League ... OF Greg Gonzlaez (28th) wiped 33 bases in just 66 games between Kingsport and Brooklyn while batting .324 ... RHP Sal Aguilar (29th) was 5-0 with a 2.24 ERA and walked just nine batters in 52.1 IP at Brooklyn ... 3B Matt Anderson (31st) from Cal Irvine hit .301/.366/.440 with eight homers and 40 RBIs in 70 games between Kingsport and Brooklyn.
Video: NYPL All-Star Game interview with Joe Holden
Video: NYPL All-Star Game interview with Bobby Parnell
Predictions
Organization MVP: Milledge. Barring an injury in New York, the Mets' top prospect is probably stuck at Triple-A, where he should reward the team's decision-makers for electing to hold on to him during a whirlwind of trade talks over the offseason. As well as he's handled Major League pitching during Spring Training, you've gotta believe Lastings can hang in the IL.
Cy on the farm: Pelfrey. He was widely considered the best pitching talent in last year's draft, and judging by his Spring Training performance, the long layoff didn't negatively affect him. Bannister will be pitching at a much higher level -- possibly even in the Majors -- and other promising hurlers like Niese and Parnell could be pitching at the same level as Pelfrey, just at a younger age.
High Tide: With players like Milledge, Bannister, Keppinger, Harper and Chase Lambin possibly spending time in Norfolk this season, the Tides could have quite a talented young nucleus in the International League. They made the playoffs last year while relying largely on older, veteran players like Brian Daubach, Ron Calloway, Benji Gil, Rodney Nye, Eric Junge and Jae Seo. This year, a return trip wouldn't be a surprise, although potentially with a much younger cast.
Latin love: Conspiracy theorists tried to accuse Minaya of being a racist because of his proclivity for signing Latin players. But Mets fans won't be complaining if youngsters like Guerra, Martinez and/or Junior Contreras pan out as they're expected to. Martinez, from the Dominican Republic, and Guerra, a Venezuelan, are 16 and 17, respectively, and signed for a combined $2.1 million last year (with Martinez getting $1.4 million). Contreras is a hulking 6-foot-6, 250-pound first baseman, who was second in the GCL with eight home runs last year. The 20-year-old Dominican also drew 26 walks and was fourth in the league with a .401 on-base percentage and fifth in slugging (.500).
Quotable
Mets General Manager Omar Minaya
"I'm not saying we're going to bring Mike Pelfrey up, but I can't say that we won't. We usually are conservative, but a player like this, with so much ability, can come very fast."
Jason Ratliff is a contributor to MLB.com.