Thursday, June 28, 2012

2012 Mets Prospect Report: Week 12 (6/21 - 6/27)

Top Pitching Prospect of the Week

Luis Mateo, SP (A-) - 6.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Mateo (2011, international) is an atypical prospect. After contracts with both the Giants and Padres fell through in prior years due to questionable physicals and age misrepresentation, the Mets landed Mateo last spring for $150K. The 22-year-old righty spent the summer of 2011 putting together a K:BB ratio of 80:5 in 63 innings in the Dominican Summer League, and so far the success has transferred stateside. Through two starts, Mateo is leading the New York-Penn League in strikeouts and is 2nd in WHIP. Mateo's is a name to remember as a strong summer will make him a very interesting prospect heading into the 2013 season.

Honorable Mention:

Thursday, June 21, 2012

2012 Mets Prospect Report: Week 11 (6/14 - 6/20)

Top Pitching Prospect of the Week

Matt Harvey, SP (AAA) - 13.0 IP, 1-1, 2.77 ERA, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 17 K

Harvey (2010, 1st round, 7th overall) put together consecutive quality starts this week and appears to be making major strides at AAA. These last 2 outings he's limited the free passes and missed a ton of bats. Fortunately, the Mets' rotation is healthy and thriving at the moment, so the calls for Harvey have quieted down. That's good because the Mets' most advanced top pitching prospect still has work to do before being ready to make his big league debut. And there's no rush. After all, Harvey's still the 10th youngest pitcher to spend time in the International League this year.

Honorable Mention:

Thursday, June 14, 2012

2012 Mets Prospect Report: Week 10 (6/7 - 6/13)

Top Pitching Prospect of the Week

Darin Gorski, SP (AA) - 8.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Gorski (2009, 7th round) turned in his longest & first walk-free outing of the year this week. After bursting onto the Mets' prospect radar last year from out of nowhere, he has struggled to find his footing in AA, posting a 4-3 record with a mediocre 3.97 ERA and pedestrian BB and K numbers (7.17 K/9, 3.97 BB/9). But this past outing, he navigated around 7 hits, including a pair of doubles, to go 8 scoreless. Hopefully Gorski can build off this successful start and get his 2012 season back on track. As of now, he still looks like the best chance the Mets have to get a Major Leaguer out of their miserable 2009 draft.

Honorable Mention:

Thursday, June 7, 2012

2012 Mets Prospect Report: Week 9 (5/31 - 6/6)

Top Pitching Prospect of the Week

Zack Wheeler, SP (AA) - 7.0 IP, 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

Stud. This space is in imminent danger of become the weekly Zack Wheeler report. Wheeler (2011 trade, originally 2009 1st round 6th overall) was predictably brilliant again for the B-Mets this week. The lone run he gave up in his start against the best offensive team in the Eastern League came on back-to-back one-out doubles in the 7th, after which he rebounded with a strikeout and groundout to end the inning and strand the runner. On the season, Wheeler has been falt-out dominant. Despite being one of the league's youngest pitchers at 22, his 1.88 ERA ranks 4th and his 60 strikeouts lead the league. He hasn't been giving up hits all year (opponents are batting just .169 against him), and in his past 2 starts (15 IP) he's only surrendered 2 walks. It will be interesting to see how much longer the Mets will leave Wheeler in AA.

Honorable Mention: