I think Eric Niesen belongs on this list over Josh Satin. Satin is 25 years old with 22 career ab’s above A-ball with the Mets saying his glove isn’t strong enough to be a regular at any position. Niesen on the other hand is a lefty with a plus breaking ball, low 90’s fb, has “high draft pick” pedigree and had a strong year going 140.2 innings 127 hits 57 walks 134 k’s in the FSL and then AA. At AA his numbers can be deceiving as he started very slow his first 2 starts yet still struck out 85 in 83 innings. As I said Niesen’s first 2 AA starts were putrid (9 innings 11 hits 12 er 7 walks and 7 k’s) but he really came on with his final 8 starts going 46 innings 33 hits 45 k’s allowing only 1 hr during that time) he also struck out 8 or more 4 times at AA

I think C Nelfi Zapata and 3B Richie Lucas both deserve in. I would rate Lucas right there with Zach Lutz, though Lucas has been limited by injuries and almost quit baseball. And I think of Zapata as a young Pablo Sandoval, when he was a catcher, but I’m not going to compare the two that directly. Similar game.

Next, you have the wrong “Harris,” in my opinion. Ronald Harris can hit a little and has some speed, but I like the bat of Alonzo Harris better.

If you want to look at similar players, you should most certainly include Carlos Guzman over Brahiam Maldonado. The two put up similar numbers at St. Lucie, but Guzman strikes out less with far fewer professional ABs. Also, the Mets gave Guzman a promotion to AA at the end of the season, while they left Maldonado at High A. While neither would be anything but a “C” prospect, I think Guzman’s bat will turn out better, though Maldonado’s the better athlete.

He’s on the verge of a major-league call-up, and would have had he not been hurt most of the season. In terms of near-major-league-ready starting pitching, the Mets have him and Jon Niese.

Maldonado is kind of a typical minor league slugger. Struck out 126 times. Not good in the field. Approach won’t work at higher levels. Carlos Guzman at the same level has much more potential.

And Eric Niesen is probably the biggest omission, unless there’s an injury there I don’t know about (which there may be given the velocity drop in the AFL).

The other guy I’d probably cut there would be Ronald Harris. I dont’ know, 14th round 22 year old, college senior, spends most of the season in Kingsport? You might know something I don’t here. I certainly don’t remember that one standing out on draft day!

Not sure whether or not you typically rank first year players from Japan, but if so, Ryota Igarashi should be on this list. He’s apparently got a mid-90s fastball and is expected to compete for the Mets set-up man job this year. Keith Law had him ranked as the #25 best free agent this offseason ahead of Hideki Matsui, Adrian Beltre, Erik Bedard, and Adam LaRoche among others. Also, I’d like to see Dillon Gee as someone else mentioned. Before his injury last season, he was probably in the top 15 - 20 in the system. I don’t think the injury should drop him out of the top 40. I’d drop Zach Dotson, Chase Greene, or Ronald Harris

I believe Gee got hurt, but what about the other guys?

I agree with those who say Niesen should be on the list.

I think Tobi Stoner should be on the list. Had a decent year on a bad Buffalo team, and wasn’t awful in his cup of coffee with the Mets. More upside than some of the guys on this list, and a better chance of sticking in the majors than as much as half of this list. As I mentioned in my post about Igarashi, I would get rid of Dotson, Greene and Harris. I’d be fine with Maldonado being dropped as well.

Good point by LanceAW, by MLB writers’ Point of View, Hideki Matsui didn’t even get a vote for ROY because he played in the Major Leagues of Japan for a long time. Junichi was a “real” rookie when he signed with the BoSox.

but I don’t care about that kind of stuff, Ryota is a rookie in the MLB in my mind, but I don’t think he’s good enough in general to be on the Mets top 20.

Oops, I meant Dylan Owen, not Dylon sorry for the misspelling! and I agree, I like Dillon Gee better than either Antonini, Owen but I figured I might throw those guys in the mix.

I just wonder if Javier Rodriguez will ever make anything happen. I took a draft flier on him in a league…oops? haha

He hasn’t lived up to his draft pedigree, but his 2009 season shows he may finally be figuring things out. ERA under 2.00 and more than a K per inning. The Mets thought enough of him to give him a major league contract. He’s been around forever, but at 25, he’s not much older than several of the older players on this list.

sick, sick stuff. Should be great in the bullpen. Potential setup man/

Best three guys still missing in my opinion:

Ryan Coultas
Eduardo Aldama
Darrell Ceciliani

Coultas was shut down and had surgery on his shoulder, but apparently not too serious (no reconstruction, “cleaned out” whatever that means) and is supposed to be back. Had success as SP in AA with plus FB, a solid recently developed change, inconsistent breaking ball. Could have potential as a bullpen arm throwing mid-90s.

Aldama had a solid year in Kingsport as a 19 year old with a low 90s FB, decent change, and a breaking ball with some potential. Not a projectible frame though, and could end up a bullpen guy.

Ceciliani I’ve said enough about above.

But, I don’t really have a strong case for them over the guys listed. I kind of like the list as it is, just thought I’d throw this out there in case anyone else wants to argue one way or the other with these guys.