Inside Pitch Prospect Ranking Issue

[Guest Edgy DC]

They don't include guys without US pro experience, so Alain Soler, Mike Pelfrey, and Fernando Martinez are on the outside looking in --- which is tough, because their all counted on in different ways to shore up a system depleted by trades, so absent them a plus sleeper like Carlos Gomez shoots all the way to number two. Iriki isn't even in time for press.

They also went to press to late to remove Aarom Baldiris. He was sliding the wrong way, anyhow.

Rank	Player	Pos.	2005 Team
1)	Lastings Milledge	of	StL/Bin
2)	Carlos Gomez	of	Hag
3)	Brian Bannister	rhp	Bin/Nor
4)	Philip Humber	rhp	StL/Bin
5)	Mike Carp	1b	Hag
6)	Ambiorex Concepcion	of	Hag
7)	Shawn Bowman	3b	StL
8)	Jesus Flores	c	Hag
9)	Jamar Hill	of	StL
10)	Anderson Hernandez	2b	Bin/Nor/NYM
11)	Nick Evans	1b	Kin/Bro
12)	Matt Lindstrom	rhp	Bin
13)	Jose Coronado	ss	GC/Hag
14)	Angel Pagan	of	Nor
15)	Corey Ragsdale	ss	StL/Bin
16)	Chase Lambin	2b	Bin/Nor
17)	Brett Harper	1b	StL/Bin
18)	Shane Hawk	lhp	DNP
19)	Aarom Baldiris	2b	Bin
20)	Henry Owens	rhp	StL
21)	Jeremy Hill	rhp	StL/Bin/Nor
22)	Sean Henry	2b	Kin
23)	Kevin Deaton	rhp	Bin
24)	Evan MacLane	lhp	StL/Bin
25)	Andy Wilson	c	StL/Nor
26)	Jeff Landing	rhp	Bro/Hag
27)	Scott Hyde	rhp	DNP
28)	Jeff Keppinger	2b	Nor
29)	Jorge Reyes	rhp	Bro
30)	Robert Paulk	rhp	GC/Bro
31)	Kole Strayhorn	rhp	StL/Bin
32)	Marcelo Perez	rhp	Hag
33)	Alhaji Turay	of	StL
34)	Miguel Pinango	rhp	GC/StL
35)	Aaron Hathaway	c	Hag/StL
36)	Rafael Cova	rhp	Hag
37)	Royce Ring	lhp	Nor/NYM
38)	Joe Hietpas	c	Bin/Nor
39)	Greg Ramirez	rhp	StL
40)	Jonathon Niese	lhp	GC
41)	Drew Butera	c	Bro
42)	Jason Scobie	rhp	Nor
43)	Bobby Parnell	rhp	Bro
44)	Anderson Garcia	rhp	StL/Bin
45)	Greg Gonzalez	of	Bro/Kin
46)	Edgar Alfonzo	lhp	Hag/Bro
47)	Matt Drukin	rhp	Hag/GC
48)	Eddie Camacho	lhp	StL
49)	Emmanuel Garcia	ss	GC/StL
50)	Joe Holden	of	Bro

Not the most definitive source, but not the least either. Among the banishees, they report that they would have had Mike Jacobs at number four, Peit at five, Gaby Hernandez 10, Grant Psomas at 27 and Dante Brinkley at 28. I guess Maine came too late for press.

Others on their fringe list (besides Pelfrey, Martinez, Soler and Deolis Guerra) include:

• Chris "Wicked Game" Basak (if, Nor)


• Wilson Batista (if, StL)


• Courtney Billinslea (of, GC [6'6"!])


• Greg Cain (of, GC)
  Jay Calgiuri (corner if, Bin)


• Corey Coles (of, Hag)


• Junior Contreras (1b, GC [6'5"!])


• Vincent Cordova (rhp, StL)


• Mike Devaney (rhp, Hag)


• Blake Eager (rhp, Hag)


• Jesus Gamero (of, Bro/Hag)


• Blake "the Fake" McGinley (lhp, Nor)


• German Marte (Where do you go for authentic strudel?) (rhp, Kin)


• Bobby Malek (StL)


• Jonathan Malo (middle if, Bro)


• Hecotr Pellot (2b, DNP), Chuck Smith (rhp, StL)


• Chuck Smith (rhp, StL)


• Juan Tejeda (1b, Erie Tigers)


• Derran Watts (of, Hag/StL)


• Cory Wells (of, Kin)


• Tim Worthington (rhp, Hag/StL).

[Theoldmole]

Doesn't look good for Scarlett's baby Joe.

[DocTee]

Jeff Kepinger: fifth best 2B prospect in system?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Fourth, as the Rangers claimed Aarom Baldiris on waivers a few weeks ago. But he appears to be riper --- and therefore higher on the depth chart --- than the three guys ahead of him.

[nymr83]

Hernandez and Keppinger should have been 5 and 6 on the simple basis that nobody below there stands to see any significant time in the majors in the next few years while either of them could conceivably see 400 ABs this year if Boone gets cut and Matsui shows he can't hit in April/May

[Guest KC]

I don't see how you can list Mets prospects and not include Pelfrey. BA
appendixed him to their lists and I think they say he's now the Mets best
pitching prospect - but I'll check that out later.

Does anyone subscribe to the site? $80 a year seems kind of steep - I
wonder how they're doing? Is this all still Bryan's baby?

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

]New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Pelfrey looks phenom-enal By JOHN HARPER Sunday, February 19th, 2006 PORT ST. LUCIE - On the first day of spring training, Pedro Martinez wasn't ready to throw off a mound and Billy Wagner went home sick with the flu before he could show off his eye-popping fastball. You couldn't blame Mets fans for once again groaning something to the tune of "the best-laid plans ..." But let's not go there yet. It's too early to start bemoaning the fate of this franchise again. After all, spring training opened on a beautiful, sunny morning, Pedro did do some more long-tossing as he deals with his toe injury and a potential savior stood out among the 20-plus pitchers who threw from the mound. Maybe you've heard of Mike Pelfrey by now. He was the Mets' No. 1 draft choice out of Wichita State last June, a kid who was available when the Mets picked ninth only because other teams wanted no part of negotiating with Agent Holdout, Scott Boras. But chances are you haven't seen him pitch. Or even throw. It was an impressive sight, so impressive that Willie Randolph invoked the name of Randy Johnson when speaking about Pelfrey, and GM Omar Minaya wouldn't rule out the possibility that the 22-year-old righthander could be pitching at Shea at some point this season. Skeptical? Spring training hyperbole, you say? Fair enough. It was only one simple, 25-pitch session in which Pelfrey was lined up with nine other pitchers on the back-field bullpen mounds. Still, your eyes were drawn to Pelfrey, largely because he had such a physical presence, tall and thick at 6-7, 230 pounds, and yet even at that size he threw so smoothly, with impeccable mechanics. As a beaming Minaya said afterward, "A lot of guys were out there throwing. But he stood out." Minaya had seen Pelfrey pitch before, when he scouted him at Wichita State last spring, but for Randolph it was his first look. "Willie was kind of like, 'Wow,'" Minaya said. Randolph admitted as much after the workout, raving about how rare it was to see such a big guy throw "so free and easy," and describing how the ball "just exploded" out of his hand. Noting how Pelfrey's long stride seemed to put him so close to the catcher, Randolph said he could be a nightmare for hitters. "It could be like facing Randy Johnson," Randolph said. "Or even worse, because he's so wide (in addition to being tall)." If you're a Mets fan, surely by now you're begging for this kind of talk to stop because you know the history of phenom pitchers in this organization. The last one who lived up to the hype was Dwight Gooden more than 20 years ago. In the '90s, Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher were supposed to fuel another '80s-like run at the top. Then Scott Kazmir came along and the Mets made the mistake of trading him. Philip Humber was the third pick in the 2004 draft, and he promptly tore ligaments in his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery last year. Ah, but to see Pelfrey cut loose yesterday was to believe this could be the one. He was considered the best pitcher available in the draft last year, and the Mets were fortunate to get him with the ninth pick. But give them credit: they could have passed like other teams did, citing the Boras factor. They knew it would be a difficult negotiation that would cost them big money, but they made the commitment to get it done. "Nobody wanted to take him because of the risk of not being able to sign him," Minaya said. "We knew we'd have to pay, but he was too good to pass up." Negotiations took time, but because Pelfrey threw 140 innings for Wichita State last season, when he went 12-3 with a 1.98 ERA, the Mets say they didn't want him to pitch last summer anyway. Finally, the Mets signed him in January to a $3.8million bonus, the most they've ever paid a draft pick. The Mets are thinking he'll start the season for their high Class A team right here in Port St. Lucie, but with a strong spring Pelfrey could jump right to Double-A. If he succeeds in the minors, well, the Mets aren't counting on him this season, but Minaya was quick to point out that two years ago he picked Chad Cordero for the then-Expos in June, and by August the righthander was closing games in the big leagues. "I'm not afraid to bring guys up," Minaya said yesterday. "I'm not saying we'll do that (with Pelfrey), but I wouldn't say it won't happen, either. I'd rather take a conservative approach, but then if the player shows he has the ability, I'm not afraid to take a young guy and put him in there." We'll see. The kid hasn't even faced a hitter yet as a professional, so let's give him time. But on a day when spring training didn't start quite as planned for the Mets, at least Pelfrey offered fans a reason to dream.

[MFS62]

I'd guess they rate "tools", and "potential" highly instead of already demonstrated baseball ability, because of how high Gomez and Bowman are rated.

Ragsdale had dropped off most of the other lists I've seen. The one where he was on the list had him aroound 28-29.

And these guys have him at #15?

We'll see.

Later

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

TheOldMole wrote: Doesn't look good for Scarlett's baby Joe.

What do they know?

[Frayed Knot]

]I'd guess they rate "tools", and "potential" highly instead of already demonstrated baseball ability, because of how high Gomez and Bowman are rated.

Most list-makers try to find a balance. They generally want to target the guys ceiling and temper that with the likelihood of him actually reaching that level. So guys like Keppinger, while they might be closest to ready, get dropped on lists because few think he'll advance a whole lot beyond what he already is.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ragsdale is up because he hit 19 homers last year, and a handful of guys who might be in front of him are gone.

[Guest KC]

I knew I saw this somewhere ....

Callis in BA: >>>We included Pelfrey in a special appendix in the Handbook, as he signed too late to be included on our Mets Top 30. But I do agree with Brad that if he had, Pelfrey would have ranked No. 2 behind Lastings Milledge. The rest of New York's Top 10, in order, would be: Humber, outfielders Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, shortstop/second baseman Anderson Hernandez, Bannister, righthanders Alay Soler and Deolis Guerra, and lefty Jon Niese. Because we didn't include Pelfrey on the list in the book, first baseman Brett Harper was No. 10 on that one.<<<

[Guest Edgy DC]

So Inside Pitch agrees with BA on Milledge. They have Humber two slots higher, suggesting that BA --- not IP --- cares more for ability demonstrated as a pro. Having Bannister much higher also suggests that IP is more attentitive to results than to tools.

Gomez is a toolsy package, but one most publications agree has them, and he hasn't done so shabby in results either.

[DocTee]

Someone tell John Harper that a 25 pitch session does not a savior make.