New York Mets 2016 Top 20 PRE-SEASON prospects, mid-season review

Continuing with our mid-season reviews of the pre-season prospect lists, we turn to the New York Mets.

Remember, this is the PRE-SEASON LIST. This is not a new list. These are pre-season grades.

We will discuss current happenings in the Mets system in the comments section.

This list was originally published November 23, 2015.

1) Steven Matz, LHP, Grade A-/A: 3.38 ERA in 96 major league innings, 90/23 K/BB, while pitching through a bone spur. You have to admire his determination and he is obviously enormously talented, but exactly how long will his career be?

2) Dominic Smith, 1B, Grade B: Hitting .277/.340/.436 with 10 homers, 28 walks, 52 strikeouts in 307 at-bats in Double-A; isolated power continues to tick upward. On the other hand, defense seems to be deteriorating and concerns about his conditioning are growing, no pun intended.

3) Amed Rosario, SS, Grade B: Breakout; hitting combined .330/.377/.472 between High-A and Double-A, 14 steals, still just 20 years old; good defense, too; Mets version of Xander Bogaerts? Grade A- prospect at this point and maybe more.

4) Gavin Cecchini, SS, Grade B-: Hitting .323/.402/.450 with 34 walks, 34 strikeouts in 251 at-bats in Triple-A. Yes, that's Las Vegas and the PCL so don't get hugely excited just yet but it is similar to what he did last year in Double-A and his feel for the zone is legitimate.

5) Brandon Nimmo, OF, Grade B-: Hit .328/.409/.508 for Las Vegas (keep that in mind when thinking about Cecchini), .250/.313/.318 in 44 big league at-bats. Expect a long career as a solid role player but not a star.

6) Wuilmer Becerra, OF, Grade B-: Hitting .319/.349/.403 in High-A, not yet tapping power inherent in 6-4, 190 frame; that may still come eventually at age 21; overall hitting well for Florida State League context.

7) Desmond Lindsay, Of, Grade B-/C+: Projection pick, age 18, second round pick in 2015, just two at-bats in rookie ball so far.

8) Marcos Molina, RHP, Grade C+/B-: Tommy John surgery.

9) Milton Ramos, SS, Grade C+: Hitting .233/.300/.286 in Low-A; no power, just three steals, but renowned for defensive ability and at age 20 his bat may yet improve.

10) Luis Carpio, SS, Grade C+: Age 18, hit .304/.372/.359 in Appy League last year; hasn't played this season due to shoulder surgery (which will keep him out all year).

11) Ali Sanchez, C, Grade C+: Hitting .236/.276/.309 through 14 games in the New York-Penn League; excellent defensive catcher, not much of a bat yet, age 19 so there's time.

12) Chris Flexen, RHP, Grade C+:  3.87 ERA in 95 innings in High-A, 63/35 K/BB, 91 hits; not terrific for the Florida State League but bad, either; confirms full Tommy John recovery. Breakthrough next year?

13) Eudor Garcia, 3B, Grade C+: Was suspended 80 games for PED use, just now getting back into game action in Low-A.

14) Andres Gimenez, SS, Grade C+: Venezuelan shortstop signed for $1,200,000 in 2015; hitting .355/.460/.527 in 110 at-bats in Dominican Summer League with exceptional 21 walks, 12 strikeouts; also playing well with the glove.

15) Gregory Guerrero, SS, Grade C+: Dominican shortstop signed for $1,500,000 in 2015, cousin of Vlad Guerrero Jr who signed with Blue Jays, hitting .275/.358/.300 in Dominican Summer League with 15 walks, 24 strikeouts in 120 at-bats; steady with the glove at shortstop; Mets have two DSL teams so both Gimenez and Guerrero are playing shortstop as regulars.

16) Akeel Morris, RHP, Grade C+: Traded to Atlanta Braves in June for Kelly Johnson; 3.98 ERA with 54/26 K/BB in 41 innings in Double-A, just 28 hits; middle relief future if he can sharpen command a bit more.
17) Jeff McNeil, INF, Grade C+: Age 23, 12^th round pick in 2013 from Long Beach State, has missed almost entire year with a sports hernia.

18) Matt Reynolds, SS, Grade C+/C: Hitting .258/.324/.381 in Triple-A, .233/.267/.419 in 43 big league at-bats; utility/bench work seems his destiny.

19) Max Wotell, LHP, Grade C+/C: Age 19, third round pick from North Carolina high school in 2015, just getting started in the Appy League with 2.87, 16/5 K/BB in first three starts.

20) Jhoan Urena, 3B, Grade C+/C: Hitting just .221/.285/.336 with 24 walks, 46 strikeouts in 262 at-bats in High-A; hasn't hit well since leaving New York-Penn League last year. May still be feeling effects of 2015 wrist injury,  or perhaps he just isn't as good as he performed in the NY-P back in '14.

OTHERS OF NOTE: Dario Alvarez, LHP; Matt Bowman, RHP; Robert Gsellman, RHP; Luis Guillorme, SS; Kevin Kaczmarski, OF; Seth Lugo, RHP; Luis Mateo, RHP; Patrick Mazeika, C; L.J. Mazzilli, 2B; Paul Sewald, RHP; Josh Smoker, LHP; Thomas Szapucki, LHP; Corey Taylor, RHP; David Thompson, 3B; Gabriel Ynoa, RHP

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Let's discuss the system in the comments.

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