New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 06/04-06/10: Den Dekker Hits .630 During Week

Two familiar faces appear in this week's New York Mets Minor League Update.

Pitcher Of The Week: Zack Wheeler (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 Ks, 1 Win)

We could pretty much pencil in Zack Wheeler for 'Pitcher of the Week' every week. This marks the third time in the past four weeks that Wheeler has earned the honors.

Wheeler is far and away the Mets top prospect, and absolutely torching Double A in 2012. The only blemish on his resume is a modest walk problem. However; his strikeout numbers, average against and groundball tendency do a good job of masking his lone blemish.

Expect him in Triple A, and possibility the Major Leagues, by season's end.

Hitter Of The Week: Matt Den Dekker (.630, 4 Doubles, 4 RBIs, 1 BB, 6 Ks, 3 SBs)

Much like Wheeler, Den Dekker frequents as the Mets hitting prospect of the week. This is also his third 'Hitter of the Week' honors.

Here's what I had to say about Den Dekker on May 14:

Den Dekker is putting together a very solid season with the Birmingham Mets in Double A. His slash line on the season is .295/.361/.525 and his strikeout rate is down from last season. If he can continue this pace, he may be able to be a below average starting outfielder in the majors, but it's more likely he tops out as a reserve. At 24 he's not young for his level at all.

Since then Den Dekker has continued to rake, and his season average is up to .340 on the season. Over the last 10 games, he's batting .488 with an unsustainably high OPS of 1.219.

Den Dekker remains a fringe prospect. He's not as good as his season projects, but if continues to hit at anywhere near the rate he has in 2012, he could certainly assert himself as a regular in the Mets outfield in a year or two. He still strikes out too often.

-- For more Mets coverage, check out Amazin' Avenue. For in-depth analysis of all the Major League farm systems, as well as the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 5/28-6/3: Aderlin Rodriguez Is Scorching Hot

One of the New York Mets hitting prospects is finally realizing some of his potential as a hitter, and he's still only 20 years old. Find out who it is, and which pitcher performed well in this week's Mets Minor League Update.

Pitcher Of The Week: Cory Mazzoni (13 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 12 Ks, 2 Wins)

Mazzoni was a two-start pitcher this week, winning both outings. He sported a good strikeout:walk ratio, despite allowing eight base hits. He nice week improves his record to a perfect 5-0 on the season, with an ERA of 3.09. It should be noted that both of this week's wins came against two of the three worst offensive teams in the Florida State League.

Outside of one start, Mazzoni started only one game in the Mets system in 2011 – he was used strictly as a reliever. This year, the 22-year-old second round pick in 2011, has started all 11 games he's appeared in. His fastball sat in the mid-to-high 90s out of the bullpen, but is a bit slower as a starter – as expected.

To go along with his fastball, he has a nice slider and controls both pitches well. He projects as a back-end starting pitcher in the major leagues.

Hitter Of The Week: Aderlin Rodriguez (.417, 1 Double, 4 HRs, 4 RBIs, 1 BB, 2 Ks)

Here's what I wrote about Rodriguez a few weeks ago:

He has some of the best raw power in the Mets system, but severely lacks almost every other tool necessary to be a major leaguer, at this point in his career.

Because Rodriguez is a terrible defender and baserunner, he'll have to be very good with the bat to be a serviceable major league player. The power has always been there, but over the past month and change, he's shown a new-found plate discipline.

In May, Rodriguez hit .315, with five homers, and a stellar on-base percentage of .406, and his BB:K ratio of 14:19 was incredibly encouraging. He's even hotter over his last 10 games, sporting a slash line of .351/.419/.730 – all three above average numbers.

He's hitting for average, for power, and getting on base at an elite clip. If he can continue this streak, he could finally tap into some of his potential. He's still only 20 years old.

-- For more Mets coverage, check out Amazin' Avenue. For in-depth analysis of all the Major League farm systems, as well as the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 5/21-5/27: Wilmer Flores Showing Power Potential

It wasn't a great week for the prospects of the New York Mets. Prized pitcher, Zack Wheeler, threw well – as usual – but the rest of the Mets farm system failed to stand out.

Pitcher Of The Week: Zack Wheeler (8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 Ks, Win)

Zack Wheeler continues to shut down teams in the Double-A Eastern League. He's 4-2 on the season, with an ERA under 2.00, and a batting average against of .175.

This week, he dominated the New Britain Rock Cats. Although it has to be noted that the Rock Cats are the second-worst hitting team in the Eastern League.

Hitter Of The Week: Wilmer Flores (.280, 1 Double, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 2 BBs 3 Ks, 1 SB)

Matt Den Dekker and Cory Vaughn were also candidates in this weeks incredibly weak selection for 'hitter of the week'. Flores got the nod for two reasons. One, he's usually considered the better prospect of the three, and two, we haven't discussed his upside yet.

The 20-year-old Venezuelan was signed back in 2007. He's listed as a short stop, but he'll probably end up at at one of the corners – either in the infield or outfield. His career OPS of .715 is decent for a shortstop, but because he's very unlikely to remain at short, his power potential would have to begin to manifest itself for him to be considered anything other than a fringe player.

Luckily, his power has been present in 2012. He already has eight home runs in only 187 plate appearances. Last season he only hit nine homers, in 559 plate appearances. Although he doesn't walk much, he doesn't strike out much either, and hits for a high average.

At 20 years old, he's still relatively young for the Florida State League, and if his power potential finally comes to fruition, he could top out as 25-homer guy. His ceiling is a slightly above average starter.

-- For more Mets coverage, check out Amazin' Avenue. For in-depth analysis of all the Major League farm systems, as well as the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 5/14-5/20: Jack Leathersich Dominates

One of the New York Mets top prospects made his first Double A start in 2012. Find out who it was, how he did, and what other prospects had performances of note in this week's Mets Minor League Update.

Pitcher Of The Week: Zack Wheeler (7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 Ks, Win)

Zack Wheeler is the Mets top prospect, and profiles as a good number two starter at the big league level. Just 10 days from his 22nd birthday, he doesn't have much more to prove in Double A, and will probably be promoted to Triple A at some point this season.

This week he had an impressive performance, in a winning effort against the Eastern League's top hitting team – the Trenton Thunder. He struggled a bit with walks, but fanned 8 batters in 7 innings, and allowed only 2 hits.

Hitter Of The Week: Aderlin Rodriguez (.462, 2 Double, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 3 BBs 6 Ks, 1 SBs)

The 20-year-old Rodriguez was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2008. He blasted 17 homers in 131 games for the Savannah Sand Gnats last season, but stuck out 106 times and his average was near the Mendoza Line, at .221. He has some of the best raw power in the Mets system, but severely lacks almost every other tool necessary to be a major leaguer, at this point in his career.

To go along with his power, he has an above average arm, but he's horrific in the field and on the base paths. If he makes the necessary adjustments, he could turn out to be a replacement level starter at one of the corner infield spots. His on-base percentage has hovered around .300 during his time in Low A – that's not going to cut it, especially for a below average runner and defender.

Top 10 Prospect Spotlight: Jenrry Mejia

The 22-year-old Mejia pitched 3 innings for the Binghamton Mets and allowed only one run, despite giving up 6 hits. He also stuck out 3.

Mets fans should be fairly familiar with Mejia, because he appeared in 33 games for the Mets in 2010. His stint in the majors wasn't great, with a 4.62 ERA and nearly as many walks (20) as strikeouts (22) – he hasn't been back since.

He's coming off Tommy John surgery, so he'll be handled carefully in the minors and remain there until he's fully healthy again. Once he eventually returns to the majors, he'll be used strictly as a reliever. Before the injury, Mejia had potentially two or three plus pitches, including a fastball with high velocity and late movement. He's always struggled with control, but he still has the ceiling of a good late-inning reliever – assuming he fully recovers from TJS.

Top Prospect Spotlight: Jack Leathersich

Leathersich was a 5th round pick of the Mets in 2011. The soon-to-be 22-year-old struggled with control and mechanic issues, as a starter at UMass-Lowell, but has shown great improvement as a reliever in the Mets system.

In 2011, Leathersich pitched 13 innings for the Brooklyn Cyclones with an ERA of 0.71 and an absurd 26:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In college, his fastball topped out in the low 90s, but as a reliever he's running it up in the mid-to-high 90s, and his curveball is considered a plus pitch already.

2012 marks Leathersich's first full season as a minor leaguer, and the early returns look promising – he's picked up where he left off in the New York-Penn League last season. In 24 innings, he's struck out 37 batters, walked only 8 and owns a miniscule 0.75 ERA. If his production remains at this level, he should progress through the Mets system very quickly, and become a late-inning force in the Mets bullpen in a mere two or three years.

-- For more Mets coverage, check out Amazin' Avenue. For in-depth analysis of all the Major League farm systems, as well as the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 5/7-5/13: Domingo Tapia Continues To Pitch Well

For the second consecutive week in our weekly look at the New York Mets top 30 minor league prospects Domingo Tapia earned 'pitcher of the week' honors. Maybe it's time people start taking notice.

Here is our weekly look at how some of the Mets top 30 prospects performed during the past week.

Pitcher Of The Week: Domingo Tapia (5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 Ks, Win)

To avoid repeating, here's what I wrote about Tapia's upside last week:

Because he only has one pitch, he's probably going to be moved to the bullpen as he advances through the system. However; if he improves his secondary pitches he could be a hidden gem in the Mets system. His fastball/groundball combo remind me of Fausto Carmona a bit.

At first glance, Tapia's 3.94 ERA isn't going to blow anyone away, but as I pointed out last week, that number is highly inflated from one horrific start. If you remove his April 26 start from the equation, Tapia's ERA would be 1.73 on the season. Also, his FIP of 2.33 and low LOB percentage suggest he's been a bit unlucky on the season, probably all in that April 26 start, in which he allowed eight of his 14 earned runs this season.

Tapia has a lot of things you have to like in a pitching prospect: a big-time fastball, a low walk rate, a decent strikeout rate and high groundball rate. If Tapia continues to pitch like this, he'll be in Double A soon.

Hitter Of The Week: Matt Den Dekker (.370, 1 Double, 1 Triple, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 5 Ks, 2 SBs)

Den Dekker was a fifth-round pick by the Mets in 2010. He has speed and decent arm, which paired with his instincts on defense, make him a good defensive outfielder. On offense, his hitting tool grades as just average, he strikes out too often, and his speed rarely shows up on the basepaths.

However; Den Dekker is putting together a very solid season with the Birmingham Mets in Double A. His slash line on the season is .295/.361/.525 and his strikeout rate is down from last season. If he can continue this pace, he may be able to be a below average starting outfielder in the majors, but it's more likely he tops out as a reserve. At 24 he's not young for his level at all.

Top 10 Prospect Spotlight: Jeurys Familia

Familia has some of the best stuff in the Mets system, but walks far too many batters to be considered an elite prospect. In 32.2 innings, he's walked 27 batters this season. However; when he has his control, he shows flashes as to why he's considered one of the Mets top prospects. He went six innings in a winning effort this week, in which he walked a season-low two batters.

Prospect Spotlight: Juan Lagares

I'm cheating a bit here, because Lagares is far from a top 10 prospect – usually a requirement for the spotlight – but there's not too much going on in the Mets below average system this week and Lagares had a week on par with this week's 'hitter of the week'.

Lagares his .440 this week, with two extra base hits and a stolen base. The 23-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2006 as a shortstop, but never panned out and is now an aging, fringy outfield prospect. What makes him interesting is the significant strides he made in 2011. His contact, power and ability to draw walks all improved at three different levels in 2011 and seemed to have carry over a bit in 2012. His walk rate is up to 8.6 percent – by far the highest of his career – and considering his relatively low BABIP, his .270 batting average is solid. The only numbers he hasn't maintained are the power numbers, but it's still early in the season.

Maybe Lagares finally figured it out after six years. He's someone to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

-- For more Mets coverage, check out Amazin' Avenue. For in-depth analysis of all the Major League farm systems, as well as the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 04/30-05/6: Zack Wheeler Lands On DL; Domingo Tapia Impresses

It wasn't a great week for the New York Mets top 30 prospects. I struggled to find a multiple players worthy of our hitter and pitcher of the week awards, but here are the few who stood out in this week's Mets Minor League Update.

Pitcher Of The Week: Domingo Tapia (7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks, Win)

The 21-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2009 and is still raw. He hangs his hat on his fastball, which sits in the high 90s, and touches 100 mph on occasion. The rest of his pitches range from average to below average, but he's always sported a good groundball rate.

Between the Appalachian League and the New York Penn League, Tapia pitched 56 innings in 2011. Despite his plus fastball, he only struck out 36 batters and walked 13. On the bright side, his ground ball to fly ball rate was an impressive 1.89 and his ERA was respectable, at 3.38.

This year he's pitching in Low A, for the Savannah Sand Gnats, in the South Atlantic League – the better-hitting Low A League – where he's pitched 26.1 innings with 23 Ks, only 4 BBs, and an ERA of 4.78. The Mets have to love what they're seeing in the control department – only four walks – and his GO/AO rate is absurd, at 4.30.

Despite his unimpressive ERA, Tapia has pitched great in 2012. The reason his ERA is inflated is because he had one bad start – 8 runs in 1.1 innings. If you remove the bad start from the record books his ERA would be 2.16 on the season.

Because he only has one pitch, he's probably going to be moved to the bullpen as he advances through the system. However; if he improves his secondary pitches he could be a hidden gem in the Mets system. His fastball/groundball combo remind me of Fausto Carmona a bit.

Hitter Of The Week: Cory Vaughn (.241, 1 Doubles, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs, 2 BBs, 8 Ks)

It's hard to believe a guy who hit .241 with 8 strikeouts is the hitter of the week, but like I said, it was a rough week for Mets prospects, and Vaughn's three home runs are hard to ignore.

Cory – a fourth-round pick in 2010 – is the son of former major leaguer, Greg Vaughn. He hit 13 home runs and stole 10 bases (caught eight times) in 131 games between Low A and High A last season, but doesn't really possess any true "plus" tools. He has average-to-slightly-above average power potential, average speed and he's average defensively. His walk rate is decent, but he strikes out too much.

He's showing off his power potential in 2012, as he's already belted eight home runs. That said, his HR/FB percentage is near 30, which suggests his home run pace is unsustainable.

Best case scenario, Vaughn is an average-ish corner outfielder in the Majors – possibly a fourth outfielder.

Top 10 Prospect Spotlight: Zack Wheeler

Wheeler – the Mets top prospect – was in our spotlight last week for his good pitching performance. This week he's in the spotlight for a different reason. A torn nail on the righty's middle finger caused him to miss his scheduled start, and he landed on the 7-day disabled list, retroactive May 2nd. Normally a torn finger nail isn't cause for any concern, but this is the second time in the last calendar year that Wheeler has landed on the DL with a torn nail. When he was in the Giants system, he spent nearly a month and a half on the DL with the same injury. He'll probably make his next start, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Top 10 Prospect Spotlight: Cesar Puello

I could have, and probably should have, named Puello this week's best hitter. In six games he hit .409 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and 2 SBs.

Puello – signed out of the Dominican Repbulic in 2007 – is one of the best hitting prospects in the Mets system. He has plus speed, projectable power and a cannon for a right arm. He played 198 games between rookie ball and Low A from 2008 to 2010, and hit a combined 7 home runs. In 117 games in 2011 he belted 10, so hopes were high for Puello coming into 2012. Unfortunately, he's yet to go yard this season and slugging only .407. He's also striking out a bit too much and barely walking.

The good news is, there's still a lot of season to be played and the 21-year-old is very young for his league. He reportedly has a strong mental make-up and his frame/upside are still traits to be excited about. If he "figures it out" he projects as an above average major leaguer. However; at High A, he's still a ways away.

He's been somewhat of a slow starter throughout his career, so if he gets it going fairly soon, he could land in Double A by season's end.

-- For more Mets coverage, check out Amazin' Avenue. For in-depth analysis of all the Major League farm systems, as well as the MLB Draft, check out Minor League Ball.

New York Mets 2012 Minor League Update, 04/23-04/29: Matt Harvey Throws Seven Shutout Innings

The Mets have two of the top pitching prospects in baseball, in Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. Find out how they're doing in our weekly minor league update.