Prospect Porn, 2015

[Edgy MD]

I'm tempted, too. Cuddy's sunburn (to say nothing of his productivity) sure makes him look too used up to handle the daily grind. Terry's usage sure seems to suggest he's concerned, too.

David Wright spent, what, a month in AAA?

[Frayed Knot]

Wright had 406 PAs in the 'higher' minors prior to his call-up; 272 at AA, 134 at AAA
So steady play for the rest of this season for Conforto with say an August 1st promotion to Vegas would fall just slightly shy of that amount.

Of course one was a HS draftee and the other via a major college program so there'll never be a totally equal development curve.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

GOOD NEWS! We'll be seeing Conforto on a major-league stage well before August! Nimmo, too.

(Meanwhile, in St. Lucie, Dominic Smith grits his teeth and goes back into the batting cage to punish some small horsehide somethings.)

[Frayed Knot]

There's been a Michael Fulmer sighting.
The #44 overall draft pick in 2011 that the Mets were awarded courtesy of the Yanx and their ill-fated signing of Pedro Feliciano, Fulmer made an immediate splash in Savannah in 2012 but has had nothing but injury problems since; just 46 total IP in 2013, then 98 more in 2014. But now with 10 starts under his belt in 2015 (1 at PSL, 9 at Bingo) and still just 22 y/o, things are looking up again as he makes this week 'Hot List' in BA.

BA: Good health has been about the only thing standing in the way of Fulmer and wider recognition on the prospect scene. The 2011 sandwich pick has a pair of big league-caliber pitches with his fastball and slider, and while some scouts project him to the bullpen, he sports a 17-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his past three starts, during which time he�s allowed one run and a .200 opponent average.

[Frayed Knot]

BA does their mid-season 'Top-50' list - essentially kicking out everyone who 'graduated' since the beginning of the season and then factors in how the first half went for the remainder.

#14 Michael Conforto (#80 pre-season) -- Conforto and [Cubs catching prospect Kyle] Schwarber (#6 on list) are having a fun duel to see who is the best college bat from last year�s draft

#48 Brandon Nimmo (#45) -- Nimmo isn�t a sexy prospect, but he plays center field, gets on base and shows occasional pop


Full list


Would have been interesting to see where Matz fell on the list if not for the promotion just a week earlier.

[Frayed Knot]

3 runs allowed (and only 1 earned) over 2 starts brings around the second appearance in three weeks for Michael Fulmer in BA's 'Hot List'

11. Michael Fulmer, rhp, Mets
Team: Double-A Binghamton (Eastern)
Age: 22
Why He�s Here: 2-0, 0.69, 2 GS, 13 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 15 SO
The Scoop: The Mets have always believed in Fulmer, and this year he�s beginning to deliver on his promise. Scouts have seen the 2011 supplemental first-rounder sit in the mid-90s with his heavy fastball deep into his outings. He couples the pitch with a power slider and a changeup, and has allowed more than one earned run only once over his last nine starts.




Overall stats at Bingo this year: 12 starts, 4-1, 2.06 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 70 IP, 63 K, 19 BB, 3 HRs

[Edgy MD]

The leagues and the parks in the Mets system tends to cause hitters to start out with pedestrian stats and produce more eye-popping numbers as they climb the ladder. Pitchers tend to work the opposite way � knocking them out when they start out but hitting progressively more unfriendly environments.

Fulmer has a chance to defy all that, hitting his stride in Bingo.

[Frayed Knot]

In his case certainly injuries had some effect on things. After a good season in low-A and some prospect attention, he then had just 9 starts in 2013 then a poor follow-up year in 2014 which may or may not have been a hangover reaction to '13 and led to talk about maybe being a future bullpen-er


But on that front, a follow-up question from this afternoon's Q&A from BA:
Q: Do you see ultimately see Fulmer as a starter or reliever?
J.J. Cooper (BA): Starter and a potentially pretty good one. Mets are producing a whole lot of pitching lately, huh?

[MFS62]

Don't think either if them is a prospect, but a minor league note.
While we were noting the return in last night's game for Las Vegas, something else happened. Two pitchers with the first name Chase* appeared for the Mets. And they pitched in consecutive innings.
Interesting.

Later

*= last names Hudgington and Bradford

[Frayed Knot]

This week from BA's 'Hot List'

14. Amed Rosario, ss, Mets
Team: high Class A St. Lucie (Florida State)
Age: 19
Why He�s Here: .400/.429/.550 (8-for-20), 3 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBIs, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2-for-2 SB

The Scoop: Rosario is nearly three months younger than the Florida State League�s other standout 19-year-old shortstop, Willy Adames of the Rays, and until recently his youth and lack of full-season experience had shown. Yet Rosaio returned from a brief disabled-list stint to hit with authority in July, showing his usual bat-to-ball ability and line-drive stroke. Scouts expect his power to play eventually, though he hasn�t homered yet in 2015.

[Edgy MD]

It'll be interesting to see if the switch from Savannah to Columbia will change the organizational structure that suppresses slugging percentages the lower down on the ladder they are.

[Frayed Knot]

Speaking of 1st round picks (now that one is getting his call-up today) Gavin Cecchini (12th overall in 2012) rode a 13-for-30 week into the #7 slot of BA's 'Hot List' this week.

Gavin Cecchini, ss, Mets
Team: Double-A Binghamton (Eastern)
Age: 21
Why He�s Here: .467/.500/.667 (13-for-30), 5 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 2 BB, 2 SO, 0-for-0 SB
The Scoop: New York�s No. 6 prospect at midseason, Cecchini is converting scouts who were not believers by showing power and steady defense. He has toned down his leg kick, helping get his hands and bat quicker to the ball.


Overall Binghamton numbers: .306/.366/.442 over 372 PA
That's not a ton of power (29 of his 103 hits for XB, 19 2Bs, 3 3B, 7 HR) but it's respectable. Meanwhile the K-rate is low (~10% of PAs) and the BA & OBA are particularly nice for a SS listed at 3.5 years younger than the AA position player average. Clearly his best season as a pro - which beats the hell out of having your future behind you.
Like Dom Smith, this one started slowly and wasn't looking good for a while but that's nothing unusual for many HS picks.

[Frayed Knot]

John Sickels looks back on his pre-season NYM prospect list -- http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/8/10/9123559/new-york-mets-top-20-2015-pre-season-prospects-in-review

Keep in mind that this ins't a new list but is rather a look - with eight months worth of hindsight - at the one he did last December so the order and grades are unchanged from the original.
The (light type) stats, comments, and summary at the end are newly added to reflect this season to date.

[MFS62]

There are two guys, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and David Wright, playing for St. Lucie tonight. You might want to keep your eye on them. They have major league potential.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Fla State League 2015

Best Hitting Prospect - Michael Conforto
Best Reliever - Akeel Morris
Best Defensive 1st Baseman - Dom Smith
Best Defensive SS - Amed Rosario
Best Managerial Prospect - Luis Rojas

... or at least so says Baseball America

[Theoldmole]

It must be weird to be Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

[Frayed Knot]

John Sickels doing a review of last June's high draft picks

53rd overall pick) New York Mets Desmond Lindsay, OF, Out-of-Door-Academy, Sarasota, Florida:

-- His draft comments: Hits right, North Carolina commit, another injury victim, in his case a bad hamstring. Good power/speed potential but another guy who has signability concerns due to injury and college commitment though should sign here. Risky choice but with very high upside.

-- Update: Hit .304/.400/.464 in 69 at-bats in Gulf Coast League, then .200/.308/.267 in 45 at-bats after moving up to New York-Penn League. High physical upside the main draw but skills in early developmental stages so it is no surprise he had trouble against older players in the NY-P.

[Edgy MD]

Sending a guy to Brooklyn in his first year out of high school is tough to ask of anybody. But his walk tool apparently stayed intact. In fact, those numbers look strangely Nimmoid.