Here’s part two of our countdown:
15. Domingo Tapia – If we re-voted on this list today (as opposed to just prior to the start of the season), Tapia would most likely skyrocket into the top 10. He is absolutely dominating Single-A through three starts, and at this pace will see Advanced-A by the end of the season, although a big-league debut is still a few years away. He has as high a ceiling as anyone in the organization, including guys named Harvey and Wheeler, and even D3PO named him as a breakout candidate for this season. He has upper 90’s velocity and a changeup that right now is above average. So far this year Tapia has been a ground ball machine and is striking out batters at a higher rate than the past couple of seasons.
14. Cory Vaughn – If Vaughn had performed in the second half of last season at St. Lucie the way he performed during the first half in Savannah he would undoubtedly be a top-10 prospect. Instead, he maintains a top-15 ranking purely out of hope that he can regain the form he had in Brooklyn in 2010 and the first half of 2011 in Savannah. He has the body size, power, plate discipline, arm, and work ethic to be an above average, if not better, corner outfielder; however, he should have been able to handle a promotion to the Florida State League better than he did, which has brought into question how bright his future looks at the moment. In Vaughn’s defense, he suffered a heal injury right around the time of his promotion that may have hindered him the remainder of the season. He is also a diabetic, and 2011 was the first year he had to manage his disease and his body for a full minor league season (not to mention he played in two cities that are very hot and humid in the summer). So, we may be able to give Vaughn a pass for his performance the second half of last year, but there are no more excuses. If Vaughn doesn’t play well enough to earn a mid-season promotion to AA his stock will plummet. Of course, there’s always a chance he can have a bounce back year and get back on track to becoming the player we all hope he’s capable of becoming.
13. Cory Mazzoni – Mazzoni was a 2nd rounder out of NC State in last year’s draft and has pitched well for St Lucie thus far. He could be a fast riser through the system so a promotion to Double-A by end of the year is a possibility, which means he could be in line for his major-league debut in 2013. He’s good at keeping the ball on the ground. He’s always been a starter, but he doesn’t have the ideal size so if he can’t make it as a back-end rotation piece a move to the bullpen at some point is likely.
12. Reese Havens – Talent wise, Havens should be much higher on this list, but he drops a few spots because of all the problems with injuries he has had throughout his career. Unfortunately for Havens, injuries matter: you can’t develop into a big leaguer if you can’t get on the field and you can’t help out the major league club if you can’t stay on the field long enough to get there. Both are problems that Havens has. Outside of the injuries, Havens is a good second baseman with plenty of range; at the plate he’s a guy that gets on base a lot and provides above average power for a middle infielder. In a perfect world, Havens would already be the Mets everyday second baseman, but in reality he’s inching his way towards the same category as Fernando Martinez: injuries overcoming talent.
11. Jordany Valdespin – It’s starting to look like Valdespin could end up being a very versatile bench player. His main position is second base, which is a logjam for the Mets right now, but in the past he has played shortstop and recently he has started to learn centerfield. His speed and athleticism are his biggest assets. His hit tool is also there because of his impressive bat speed, but he needs to be more patient at the plate and mature in his approach. Maturity issues have also been a problem with Valdespin, but there is reason to think those are behind him after a breakout 2011 season.
14 comments
Prismo
4/24/2012-12:34pm at 12:34 pm (UTC -4)
Update on Reese Havens from Metsminorleagueblog (this is from last Friday):
Reese Havens has been playing all nine innings in extended spring training games for the Mets, and has been doing so for about a week and a half.
Get healthy Reese!
srt
4/24/2012-12:38pm at 12:38 pm (UTC -4)
Speaking of Valdespin….couldn’t agree more with you after his plate appearance last night. Not sure if he’ll ever learn that fully. He just seems to be such a hacker.
Good call on the utility role. Unlike some other Met fans, I’m not betting on Valdespin being the starting CF or 2nd baseman of the future for the Mets.
Bryan
4/24/2012-12:44pm at 12:44 pm (UTC -4)
I’d be shocked if he ever becomes a starting CF. They just want him to be proficient enough in the outfield to be a back up there. If he’s ever going to be an everyday player it’ll be at 2nd base. Most likely scenario is he ends up as a free-swinging back up middle infielder that can occasionally see the outfield.
Stick
4/24/2012-1:01pm at 1:01 pm (UTC -4)
I would live with a roster that had Havens manning 2Bin a professional and productive manner (on O and D), with Valdespin playing all over the diamond off the bench, hacking his way to glory.
would a bench of Torres, Murphy, Spin, BU C and a RH hitting OF (Hairston for now) be all that bad?
Bryan
4/24/2012-1:18pm at 1:18 pm (UTC -4)
That sounds like a decent bench, but there’s no way Murphy is ever a bench player. If they think Havens or someone else can play 2B they would look to trade Murphy before using him primarily as just a pinch hitter.
Stick
4/24/2012-1:26pm at 1:26 pm (UTC -4)
probably ture, and fine by me. Depending on the other guys, he could be a jack of all trades type, starting at various spots 4-5 days/week, not just PH every day or 2
SpencerRealDirtyMets
4/24/2012-5:17pm at 5:17 pm (UTC -4)
Murph’s to talented for the bench, they’ll find PT for him to get his bat in.
srt
4/24/2012-12:55pm at 12:55 pm (UTC -4)
Just started reading some good things about Domingo Tapia last week. I’ll confess prior to that, never really heard of him.
Here’s hoping his continued development looks as good as he does now. Cannot ever have enough pitching.
Cory Vaughn…..can’t help pulling for this kid. Can’t imagine how hard it is to play baseball for a living toting around an insulin pump.
Stick
4/24/2012-1:03pm at 1:03 pm (UTC -4)
It really sounds like Tapia is going to have to move up a couple of levels to find anyone that might give him a challenge.
and it would be great to see Vaughn really put it together too.
Bryan
4/24/2012-1:23pm at 1:23 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t think they’ll rush Tapia like that, but you’re right it seems like everything is either a strikeout or a ground ball coming from him.
It seems like Vaughn, and pretty much everyone at St. Lucie, is clicking right now. Ceciliani was great before his injury, Flores has been hot, Muno and Tovar have both been great, and now Puello is starting to heat up. If Vaughn can put himself in a position for a mid-season promotion to AA I think he’ll be right on track for the big leagues, possibly taking over in LF when Bay’s contract is up (assuming his option doesn’t vest).
Stick
4/24/2012-1:28pm at 1:28 pm (UTC -4)
for tapia, was thinking another month or so of this, and they will bump him to PSL. If that is no challenge after a couple months, maybe a quick taste of Bingo?
I believe that guys need to find their own level. If the stuff is there, and they don’t seem to be getting challenged, then bump them up to you find out where they are.
That is also the only way to find out exactly what they need to work on.
Bryan
4/24/2012-2:05pm at 2:05 pm (UTC -4)
Remember this FO likes to show patience with its young prospects, but with Tapia not only has the production been there but by all accounts his slider and change-up have looked pretty good in addition to his sinking fastball, which apparently has been nasty.
I can’t imagine him seeing AA this year, but if they want to give him significant time in PSL they may not be able to wait til mid-season. He threw fewer than 60 innings the last two years so I imagine they will limit his innings count this year, which he could conceivably get to before the end of the season.
SpencerRealDirtyMets
4/24/2012-5:22pm at 5:22 pm (UTC -4)
I would guess that he could be in A+ by the end of the season, double-A at best by end of next, and MAYBE majors late in 2014. That’s just a hunch though I know as much as you.
Stick
4/24/2012-1:29pm at 1:29 pm (UTC -4)
take Lutz off the list. He is a ML now! Probably not for very long, but Bay to DL, Lutz up.