Twitter Poll: Who is the most exciting prospect?

I took to Twitter to ask my followers which prospect excites them the most.

Here are some responses…

mattclausen said: Thole....guady BA numbers, smart hitter....will play perfectly in Citi

pattigibbons said: Ike Davis. He shows well-rounded promise as an infielder and as a hitter.

trmbonemulligan said: Ike Davis without a doubt. Maybe its just the hype but I feel like he could be another Delgado

kramtelak said: The prospect that nets the Mets Halladay.

I’m frightened by the point trmbonemulligan brings up.  Is Davis just hype?  Obviously, it’s too early to tell and we’ll only find out when he starts playing more and at a higher level.

I truly hope Davis isn’t just another product of the hype machine.  I’ve already penciled him into the lineup in the coming years.

Does that mean I’ve bought into the hype?

Top 10 Mets prospects

Here’s the top 10 list from Baseball America…

1. Jenrry Mejia, RHP
2. Wilmer Flores, SS
3. Fernando Martinez, OF
4. Ike Davis, 1B
5. Brad Holt, RHP
6. Jon Niese, LHP
7. Reese Havens, 2B/SS
8. Josh Thole, C
9. Ruben Tejada, 2B/SS
10. Juan Urbina, LHP

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t care?

I am not impressed with Fernando Martinez

No, I have not seen Fernando Martinez play...ever. But just looking at his numbers, I am not too convinced this guy is everything he is cracked up to be.

F-Mart is supposedly the Mets blue chip prospect, the best we have, the savior of the farm system. Why? Let's take a look at his statistics through his first three seasons in the minor leagues. Granted, he is only 19 years old and still growing and maturing, but it just doesn't seem he's as groomed as Nick Evans or Daniel Murphy seem to be.

His first season, split between one game at the Rookie level, A, and A+ ball, at the young age of 17, he hit .279/.336/.457/.793 (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS). He hit 10 home runs, drove in 39 runs, and scored 43 times in 76 games. He walked 21 times while striking out in 61 AB's.

Nothing really special there. He played decent in the field, only committing two errors. Again, he was only 17 years old this season.

Moving on to his second season in the minor leagues, where he saw three games at Rookie ball and 60 games in AA Binghamton. Last season he hit .265/.331/.376/.707 while hitting only four home runs. In the 63 combined games, Martinez only drove in 22 runs, while scoring 33 times.

In the field, he committed six errors for a fielding percentage of .975. Not a great season at all. Still, only 18 and seeing a higher level of competition in AA.

Onto this season, where he is 19 years old. Again, Martinez seen time at the Rookie level, playing four games, but he is mainly playing in AA where he has appeared in 61 games. He tore up Rookie ball while he was there, to the tune of .429/.467/.643/1.110 in those four games.

Back at AA, Martinez is hitting .292/.332/.420/.752. Martinez has hit five dingers, driven in 25, and scored 37 times. He has walked only 14 times while striking out in 56 at bats. He's committed two errors in the field this season, both at the Rookie level. At AA, he's sporting a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Let's run under the assumption that an average player should hit .275/.330/.410/.750 or so. In his career, only 204 games due to injuries, F-Mart is hitting .282/.336/.420/.761. He's hit only 19 home runs in his career. He's hit 42 doubles and 10 triples in his short career.

That's not too pretty. That's slightly above average.

Maybe I am missing something on the F-Mart parade. If someone can fill me in on why this kid is supposed to be so good, I'd love to know.

Early Morning Madness: Lifeless edition

Flat. Dead fish. No oomph. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

This team looks dead. It has no spark, no fight. What we saw nearly three weeks ago, the 10 game winning streak, feels like it happened months ago. Such an abrupt fall from grace. After battling back strong, getting within a few games and finally taking over sole possession of first place, the Mets have fallen back to reality, hard.

A 1-5 road trip, one marked by bullpen disaster after bullpen disaster, was not easy to swallow. Almost every game, it seemed the Mets had a chance. Even Sunday's game, where they had men on base and threatening nearly every inning, but failed to push across any runs.

This team needs a spark. Maybe the youth infusion could do it. I'd love to see Jerry Manuel pull out all the stops and stock the lineup full of these young guns. Throw Nick Evans in left, Daniel Murphy at first. Argenis Reyes can man second base. Eddie Kunz can close. While we're at it...have Jon Niese start and Fernando Martinez in right (or left, and move Evans. It doesn't matter).

I like the way the team is moving. Instead of promoting the old guys hanging around at AAA, it's moving towards getting younger and healthier. There will be a bit of a learning curve, there is no doubt about that. But these kid are young and fresh and ready to go. If they're chomping at the bit, let them run.

Movin' on up: Eddie Kunz called up to the bigs

The youth movement continues.

Binghamton closer Eddie Kunz was promoted to the Mets. Kunz is 1-4 with a 2.79 ERA, tallying 27 saves for the B-Mets.

I called it. Well, so did a lot of people. Will update when we know who is getting demoted or heading to the DL to make room.

Update: John Maine is heading the DL. Kunz will take his spot.

Rebuttal: My problem with veterans

Yesterday, I wrote about "my problem with prospects." Today, in a guest post, Doug Helferich is going to explain his problem with veterans...

They've seen it all. They know the pitchers, they know how to play each hitter in the field. The provide stability. But are they a sure bet? I think it depends.

Over the years, the Mets have perennially been buyers at the trading deadline. Trading for such gems as Kris Benson (losing the young Ty Wigginton who, while never a stay, provided decent defense and adequate hitting ability) and practically giving away the fireballing Scott Kazmir for the miserable Victor Zambrano, the Mets have time and again thrown away promising young stars for players with a few more years under their belts. Luis Castillo is another recent name added at the deadline.

Other free agent deals and trades in the offseason brought the likes of Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Paul Lo Duca, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, Cliff Floyd, and Moises Alou into the orange and blue. While most of those deals (certainly more recently) have been at least good if not excellent, some have been questionable at best (read: Castillo).

At some point, you have to plan for the future. The Mets will never truly rebuild like they need to, purging the team of old fallen stars and getting valuable playing experience. However, there are small circumstances where they have had the chance without losing much, if any, skill at a given position. For example, why won't the Mets commit to a youngster at second base? As much as I love Gotay, he was a terrible fielder, and he has not had a good year with the Braves. However, we really didn't give him a real chance to start. Same thing this year with Argenis Reyes; he splits the starts with Easley, and clearly will get less time with Castillo coming back soon.

The Mets opt for veterans time and again, when, by the end of the year, the kid that is replaced would be nearly as good (and certainly not as injury-prone) as the older player. Every veteran we sign is one less opportunity to build a team of players we can keep for years at a time. We don't have to sign or trade for a whole new team each year. 2006 is a good example of solid veteran signings; they unquestionably put experienced players in the needed positions. But what did Luis Castillo offer that necessitated a 4 year deal? Why did we resign Alou when we could have gotten away with a platoon of Endy and friends?

Veterans can be great mentors and provide stability to an inexperienced team. However, they also impede the progress of a franchise. The Mets need to decide whether they are going to sign a new team of old-timers every year, or actually put together a real team that will play together for years.

My problem with prospects

Everyone specifies certain players as "prospects." These are players that have shown major talent at a young age.

"Prospects" have busted out of the gates early in their lives, in their careers, and have put up spectacular numbers against players not nearly of their caliber. That's my problem. These players are usually tearing up leagues against players who are just budding, or maybe won't even pan out. Some players work, others don't.

As they work their way up the minor league team, you really get a chance to prove themselves. They should stay consistent as they move up the chain, with a bit of time for them to adjust to their respective leagues and it's talent. I would much rather trade away a "could be" for an established player, any day.

Guys like Fernando Martinez, Mike Carp, and Jon Niese could be great. They could be something special. They could also be the next Alex Escobar. You just never know. I side with the thought to trade away these players for ones you know are established in the majors, know they can hit, field, and handle the pressure.

I'd much rather have a proven talent on my team over a kid who tears up the Eastern League against pitchers who will never even taste the big stage. Obviously, you need to hang on to some prospects, but not every player in your minor leagues is going to be a star. It's all a crapshoot, and the GM's will feel the heat if they deal the wrong guy, but it's all to up to chance.

MySpace. Where all the prospects hang out.

well. Tip to HotFoot for the link for this. haha

Lastings Milledge's MySpace

and after some searching i turned up these...

Chase Lambins MySpace (he's with binghamton)

Rafael Arroys MySpace(Hagerstown)

Michael Devaneys MySpace(B-Mets)

Bobby Maleks MySpace(B-Mets)

more to come...?