New York Mets
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PrintBaseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2008.
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| TOP TEN PROSPECTS |
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| PROJECTED 2011 LINEUP |
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| LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY |
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Advance scouts descended on the Mets in September, as other contenders sent in their top evaluators to check out the team bound to win the National League East. As late as Sept. 12, New York led the Phillies by seven games.
But the team scouts saw in September wasn't a playoff team. A listless team that played without enough energy, a manager in Willie Randolph who couldn't find the right spark for his team, a bullpen constructed by general manager Omar Minaya that gave Randolph few if any reliable middle-relief options . . . the Mets were a mess. A team that spent 140 days in first place didn't finish there, as Philadelphia won 13 of its last 17 games while New York was going 5-12.
It was a historic collapse, but the Mets didn't suddenly become a bad team in September. In fact, they had been a .500 team since the calendar turned to June. New York went 34-18 in the season's first two months and just 54-56 the rest of the way.
The Mets faltered in part because they got old in a hurry. Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca had the worst full-season numbers of their careers. Moises Alou remained productive but couldn't stay healthy. On the mound, Tom Glavine got bombed in his final three starts and Billy Wagner blew three saves down the stretch.
More disconcerting, however, was that some of New York's young building blocks struggled. Franchise cornerstone Jose Reyes wilted in the second half, hitting just .251 after the all-star break and .205 in September. Mike Pelfrey, who signed for a club-record $3.55 million bonus as a first-round pick in 2005, went 3-8, 5.57 and failed to keep the No. 5 starter's job. Philip Humber, a first-rounder whose $3 million bonus ranks second in club history, got hammered by the Nationals in his lone start during the season's final week.
Scouts from other organizations say the Mets have little immediate help on the way in the farm system. The jury is still out on how much Pelfrey and Humber can be counted on, and there's not much in the way of upper-level position players behind outfielders Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez.
The lack of talent reflects New York's decision not to wield its large-market resources to acquire talent the last two years, particularly in the draft. The Mets have surrendered their first-round choice as free-agent compensation in each of the past two drafts, and haven't tried to compensate by exceeding MLB's bonus guidelines with other picks. Minaya said that could change in the near future.
"We've adhered to the commissioner's slot recommendations," Minaya said. "We've been good citizens. But not all the teams have done that, and the competitive balance is not fair. We have to take that position under review as an organization."
New York did sign 15 players internationally in the summer of 2007, more than any other organization, and has tried to use that market to find impact talent. The Mets have aggressively pushed prospects such as Dominican outfielder Fernando Martinez and Venezuelan righthander Deolis Guerra—the top two prospects on this list—and they've handled it well. A third, Dominican catcher Francisco Pena, faltered in full-season ball as a 17-year-old in 2007.
| Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects
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| Pre-Order the 2008 Prospect Handbook 30 scouting reports on every team |
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