New York Mets: A Look at the Mets' Top Prospects so Far

The New York Mets are off to a hot start in the 2012 MLB season, but their top prospects in the minor leagues are also creating quite a buzz. With an aging Johan Santana and an inconsistent Mike Pelfrey, the need for young arms is rapidly increasing.

Zack Wheeler, the flamethrower that the Mets acquired from the Giants in the Carlos Beltran deal, is making a strong case to fill one of those roles, but Triple-A arms Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia are both wild and hittable thus far.

Wheeler had a bit of a rough outing in his first start for Double-A Binghamton, but he has since rebounded with an incredible second start. In his most recent appearance, Wheeler went six innings, walking none, allowing one run and striking out nine. After struggling with his control in his first outing, issuing no walks was a huge step for Wheeler.

Together, with the rest of the rotation—Darin Gorski, Collin McHugh, Greg Peavey and Mark Cohoon—the Binghamton Mets starters are currently boasting an unheard of 2.03 ERA.

At Triple-A Buffalo, meanwhile, top prospects Harvey and Familia have been disappointing, seemingly trying to do too much. Through 13 innings, Harvey has allowed 20 hits, 12 runs and eight walks, with only nine strikeouts. Familia has been even more wild, issuing 12 walks in 13.2 innings but striking out 15.

With the Mets rotation being as good as it has been so far (minus Santana's 1.1-inning start Tuesday night), the organization can breathe in a sigh of relief and not worry about Harvey or Familia too soon.

As long as the big-league staff continues to dominate, Harvey and Familia likely won't be needed until September, which would give them time to right the ship and find their control.

With Wheeler, Harvey and Familia, there is definitely no lack of "stuff." They are all hard throwers with great secondary pitches. But at the big-league level, control is the breadwinner, something they have yet to learn.