2007 New York Mets Prospects

1. Fernando Martinez, OF, A- (tools and youth, just needs refinement)
   
2. Mike Pelfrey, RHP, Grade A- (I think the breaking pitch problem is overblown. He had a good one in college and I think he'll find it again. I am sticking with my guns on this one)
   
3. Phil Humber, RHP, B+ (Many prefer him over Pelfrey, I like both)
   
4. Carlos Gomez, OF, B (great tools, but I'm not sure about his power)
   
5. Jon Niese, LHP, B- (projectable lefty is a personal favorite)
   
6. Deolis Guerra, RHP, B- (live arm, a long way away)
   
7. Kevin Mulvey, RHP, B- (accidently left off first list)
   
8. Joe Smith, RHP, B- (impressive reliever could advance fast)
   
9. Mike Carp, 1B, B- (developing power bat to watch)
   
10. Alay Soler, RHP, C+ (Cuban defector looks better as a reliever to me than a starter)
    
11. Adam Bostick, LHP, C+ (acquired from the Marlins, good breaking ball)
    
12. Josh Stinson, RHP, C+ (interesting arm but another guy who will need time)
    
13. Sean Henry, OF, C+  (toolsy, skills may be developing)
    
14. Mike Devany, RHP, C (looks like a utility pitcher to me)
    
15. Nick Evans, 3B, C (making slow progress)
    
16. Shawn Bowman, 3B, C  (back injuries two years in a row)
    
17. Michel Abreu, 1B, C (good stats, but how old is he? 26? 31? 52?)
    
18. Stephen Holmes, RHP, C (intriguing arm from '06 draft)
    
19. Tobi Stoner, RHP, C (control artist dominated New York-Penn League)
    
20. Brandon Nall, RHP, C (good numbers but old for the level)
    
21. Dustin Martin, OF, C (hit .315 in the NY-P but strikes out a lot)

The Mets In One Sentence: This system has quality at the top, but the talent level bottoms out very fast.

For some reason, Mets fans tend to get very defensive about their farm system, likely a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from trades over the last few years. Face it guys: this system has three strong prospects at the top, four or five more who are interesting but have question marks, then a whole bunch of guys who are only marginal right now. This isn't an insult; there are lots of systems like this around, and the Mets are not the worst. I just don't understand why people get so upset about it. The Mets have problems, sure, but at least you are not rooting for the Minions of Evil like Yankees fans.

ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. If you hate a grade, feel free to make a case for me to change it, though remember that cases phrased respectfully using logic and facts are more likely to be viewed positively than those featuring insults and invective.

There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+/C range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

And, as always, there is the helpful reminder to Buy My Book, which will lay out reports for all these guys (and more) in detail.