Stock Up, Stock Down for New York Mets' Top 10 Prospects for Week 9

As any baseball fan knows, a successful baseball team is almost entirely put together internally.

Arguably, the most integral aspect of the franchise is its farm system, and in turn, the prospects that fill it. The New York Mets have some of the best prospects in baseball sitting atop their farm system, and they should help the disappointing major league club very soon. 

Many may debate about who should be in the top 10, but this article will utilize Jonathan Mayo’s MLB.com rankings of the top Mets prospects. For injured players or players in short-season leagues who have not played this week, this article will add slides starting at the No. 11 prospect, according to the rankings.

Here are the stock changes for the top Mets prospects for week nine:

Stats are updated as of June 1, 2013

No. 1: Zack Wheeler, SP

2013 Stats

11 GS, 4-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 24 BB, 59 K, 58.1 IP

Overview

Zack Wheeler is still an elite prospect, so don’t be fooled by the not-so-elite WHIP. Take away two poor outings in a row in mid-April and Wheeler’s stats are much more respectable with a 2.94 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.

The Mets, who acquired Wheeler in a 2011 mid-season trade with the San Francisco Giants for Carlos Beltran, have something special in the right-hander. Wheeler seems to have recovered from a minor shoulder scare recently. He had two mediocre starts after the scare, but his most recent outing at Triple-A Las Vegas was quite impressive.

On Saturday, he continued his dominance away from home, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out six in 6.0 innings of work. Wheeler has a 2.23 ERA on the road and 5.88 ERA at home. Wheeler even doubled on Saturday, coming inches away from his first professional home run.

Wheeler’s call-up is imminent. Mets fans should get excited about this prized young arm.

Last Week’s Stats

2 GS, 1-0, 10 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 10 K

Stock

Up

No. 2: Travis D’Arnaud, C

2013 Stats

.250/.429/.472, 5 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 12 R

Overview

Travis d’Arnaud is still recovering from a fractured foot that has limited him to just 12 games all season.

D’Arnaud, who was part of the package deal for R.A. Dickey, is set for a foot exam on Monday. The goal of the visit, according to ESPNNewYork’s Adam Rubin, is for d’Arnaud to be cleared to get rid of the protective boot and begin weight-bearing activity.

By then, it would likely take about a month for him to get back into game-playing shape, meaning that d’Arnaud would also need more Triple-A games before he is ready for his long-awaited call-up.

Last Week’s Stats

None

Stock

Even

No. 3: Noah Syndergaard, SP

2013 Stats

10 GS, 2-2, 2.73 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 15 BB, 54 K, 52.2 IP

Overview

As with Wheeler, do not be fooled by Noah Syndergaard’s slightly below-average WHIP. Take away one horrific start in mid-April, and Syndergaard looks like a budding ace, as he would boast a 1.63 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and no home runs allowed.

Syndergaard was another prized piece of the R.A. Dickey trade. The 20-year-old is already living up to the hype at Single-A Port St Lucie, and a call-up to Double-A should come very soon. 

Unfortunately, Syndergaard’s most recent outing was suspended due to the incredible amount of rain in the Northeast. Syndergaard retired the first seven batters with two strikeouts. Had he been able to finish the outing, his stock perhaps would have soared, but for now that is mere speculation

Last Week’s Stats

1 GS, 0-0, 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

 

Stock

Even

No. 4: Jeurys Familia, RP

2013 Stats

Majors: 8 G, 0-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 1 SV, 7 BB. 7 K, 10.1 IP

Minors: 6 G, 0-1, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 1 SV, 2 BB, 6 K, 7.0 IP

Overview 

Jeurys Familia was just as hyped as Matt Harvey during last year’s spring training, but his stock has since plummeted due to his poor command.

This year, Familia struggled with his command in the majors, but showed plenty of promise in four Triple-A games.

However, Familia was put on the disabled list in early May with a biceps tendinitis and did not come back until this week. He put together two decent performances in his rehab stint in High-A before suffering a setback with his biceps injury, according to ESPNNewYork’s Adam Rubin.

Terry Collins is optimistic that the setback is minor for Familia, said Rubin, and Familia should be on a mound again next weekend and back in Triple-A soon.

Either way, we will have to see if Familia can bounce back and build on his promising Triple-A start (4 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP).

Last Week’s Stats

2 G, 0-1, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Stock 

Down

No. 5: Wilmer Flores, 2B/3B

2013 Stats

.289/.335/.466, 20 2B, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 30 R

Overview

Wilmer Flores has been a promising Mets prospect ever since he signed as an international free agent in 2007.

Flores has been thrown into every infield position while he has slowly moved up the in Mets' farm system and is now flourishing in his first Triple-A season. Flores’ two main positions, third base and second base, are unfortunately also the only two productive positions for the Mets with David Wright and Daniel Murphy. 

He is likely not the first option as a potential replacement for Ike Davis at first base if Davis were sent down to the minors. Josh Satin has more experience at the position and currently has nine home runs and a .922 OPS. 

Nonetheless, if Flores keeps dominating on offense, he may just hit himself into the Mets lineup, which desperately needs some offensive punch.

Last Week’s Stats

10-for-25, 5 2B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R

Stock 

Up

No. 6: Brandon Nimmo, CF

2013 Stats

.300/.395/.400, 2 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 24 R

Overview 

Brandon Nimmo, the Mets' 2011 first-round pick, is proving to be a promising young outfielder.

Nimmo's 300 batting average in 28 games is certainly worth bragging about and he seems on pace for a call-up from Class-A fairly soon. You would like better splits from him, though, as he is crushing righties for a .322 batting average compared to a .200 batting average with zero extra-base hits against lefties. 

Nimmo missed nearly a month with a hand injury. It was considered a minor hand contusion, but he was put on the disabled list after it proved to be more serious than anticipated.

He came back on May 28, only to go 0-for-5 with a strikeout. Nimmo has a hit in three straight games now, but continues to struggle with his consistency and strikeout rate.

Last Week’s Stats

4-for-20, 1 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K

Stock 

Down

No. 8: Cesar Puello, RF

2013 Stats

.293/.376/.494, 8 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 30 R, 14 SB

Overview

Cesar Puello is putting together a very good season at Double-A so far.

Puello, who signed with the Mets before the 2008 season, has shown much improvement in his game. After drawing just 18 walks in 117 High-A games in 2011, Puello already has 12 walks in 45 games this season. He also had a .259 average and .260 average in his previous two seasons before his solid start this season.

However, Puello has cooled off of late. He has hit .216 in his last 10 games, dropping his batting average from .315. It is worth noting Puello also has a .415 average and a 1.272 OPS against lefties, versus a .252 average and .738 OPS against righties.

Puello is too talented to not pick up his game eventually, but for now, he is stuck in a slump.

Last Week’s Stats 

5-for-21, 1 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Stock

Down

No. 9: Reese Havens, 2B

2013 Stats

.237/.312/.330, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 9 R

Overview 

Reese Havens, the smooth-swinging first-round pick from 2008, has seen his stock slowly decline after years of nagging injuries.

Havens has played a lot this year in Triple-A, but is struggling mightily to channel the raw power that the Mets found so enticing. Havens is still a great fielder with a superb arm, but his bat has not developed like the Mets would like it to.

Havens has gotten a few extra-base hits when he is healthy enough to play recently, but he still has no consistency at the plate.

Last Week’s Stats 

3-for-13, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI

Stock

Down

No. 11: Rafael Montero, SP

2013 Stats

11 GS, 6-4, 2.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 10 BB, 71 K, 66.1 IP

Overview 

Rafael Montero, signed as an international free agent in 2011, has skyrocketed through the Mets’ farm system.

In two-plus seasons, Montero has gone all the way from rookie ball to one of the Mets' best Double-A pitchers. After making a superb spot start on May 21 for the Triple-A team, he pitched the Binghamton Mets into sole possession of first place this week. 

Even more impressive, Montero’s already-stellar stats were greatly impacted by his one poor outing. Without that outing, Montero would have an unbelievable 1.87 ERA and 0.87 WHIP.

Montero now has a streak of almost 16 straight scoreless innings in Double-A. Sandwiched in the middle of that streak are his 6.2 innings of two-run ball in his Triple-A start. 

Montero is on fire and at this rate, a permanent call-up to Triple-A seems inevitable.

Last Week’s Stats

2 GS, 2-0, 13.0 IP, 9 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K

Stock

Up

No. 12: Domingo Tapia, SP

2013 Stats

9 GS, 2-4, 3.58 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 19 BB, 32 K, 37.2 IP

Overview

Domingo Tapia was an international free agent signed before 2010 who has steadily risen through the Mets' farm system.

Despite some uncharacteristic control issues this year, Tapia is still having a strong season in High-A.

Last week, though, Tapia had a nightmare start. He lasted just 0.1 innings, giving up six earned runs on two hits and four walks (equating to a slightly subpar 162.00 ERA). That outing came after he had given up no runs and just two hits in six innings of work in his previous start.

Without the nightmare loss, Tapia would have a much more dominant 2.17 ERA and 1.07 WHIP.

Tapia had a solid start last week and seems back on track to a solid season.

Last Week’s Stats

1 GS, 0-0, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Stock

Up

Stats and info via MiLB.com, baseball-reference.com