New York Mets Top-15 Prospects of 2010, No’s 6 – 15

ALSO SEE – New York Mets Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

Grades are based on a prospect’s projected value over the course of his career and how likely it is that prospect will fulfill his projected value. Various factors are accounted for including upside, red flags, actual performance, and closeness to the majors. See the 2010 Prospect Primer for more information as it relates to prospect grading and philosophy.

Hitters must have 100 or fewer Major League ABs to qualify for this list. Starting pitchers must have 50 or fewer Major League innings to qualify for this list. Relief pitchers must have 25 or fewer Major League innings to qualify for this list. Ages are listed as of May 1st, 2010. Levels are based on the highest level in which a prospect played in 2009. All grades are subject to change based on any new information I receive before the season starts.

If you need to reach me in any way, please contact me via e-mail or post a comment at the bottom of the page and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. The first two prospects are available for everybody to read.

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Player Grades
Contact – 45 Now | 50 Future
Power – 50 | 55
Discipline – 55 | 60
Speed – 40 | 40
Defense* – 50/55 | 55
Arm – 55 | 55
Instincts – 55 | 60
ETA – 2012
Final Grade – B-
*Projected Second Base

Body Type – Muscular build

Scouting Report

Reese Havens’ two pro seasons have been marred by injuries and have hurt his ability to get into a good rhythm as a hitter.

I fully expect Havens to make the switch to second base in the near future because he’s a below average defender at shortstop. However, his bat will play just fine at the position.

Havens has a nice blend of power and patience. He’s a disciplined and selective hitter and makes contact at a good, but not great rate. There are times Havens swings through good fastballs.

Havens was unlucky on his batted balls last year, putting up a .275 BABIP, a figure that should go up next year.

Best Case Outcome – Above average offensive offensive second baseman

More Likely Outcome – Average everyday second baseman…his value takes a hit if he moves out of the middle of the infield

Player Grades
Fastball – 60 Now | 65 Future
Curveball – 45 | 50/55
Change-Up – 40 | 50
Control – 45 | 55
Command – 45 | 50
Pitchability – 40 | 50
ETA – 2011
Final Grade – B-

Body Type – Lean and athletic build…could potentially add some more muscle to his frame

Stuff

Fastball – Clocked betewen 92 – 96 with excellent life and carry through the strike zone…fastball can straighten out at times, so he needs to be able to better locate it

Curveball – Very inconsistent and that’s partly because he rarely threw one in college…he’s definitely able to spin the ball and will occasionally break off a good 12-to-6 curve, but too often the pitch comes out sort of flat and slurve like, without a tight break

Change-Up – Shows some feel for the pitch, but it’s inconsistent. When it’s right, it has some nice fading action to it.

Scouting Report

Brad Holt really struggled when he was promoted to Double-A Binghamton. In response to tough situations, Holt has a tendency to power-up, thinking he can just pump fastballs by advanced level hitters when in reality, he needs to “pitch” to them. As a result, you could see hitters sitting on his fastball and he then compounded the problem by not being able to locate it consistently.

Holt needs to do a better job of mixing in his other pitches to keep hitters off his fastball. He also should look into adding a two-seam fastball or cutter to his arsenal, a hard pitch that gets more movement.

While Holt’s numbers did take a hit in Double-A, he was also unlucky. Holt had a LOB% (left on base percentage) of 58.8 percent, a number that should regress to the mean (around 70%) next year. As a result, his ERA will be much less extravagant.

While Holt holds his velocity deep into games, he won’t be able to stay at starter until he improves the quality and consistency of his off-speed offerings.

Best Case Outcome – No. 3/4 starter

More Likely Outcome – Quality power arm out of the bullpen

Brief Rundown on Prospects 8 – 15

8. Ruben Tejada | SS | Grade – B- – Solid across the board, the young shortstop more than held his own in Double-A at a very young age

9. Jefry Marte | 3b | Grade – C+/B- – Results not withstanding, Marte was incredibly young for Single-A (like Wilmer Flores) and showed many of the same tools that made perform at a high level in the GCL the year before. Click here for a more in-depth breakdown on Marte. You can also get a look at Marte’s defense by clicking here.

10. Josh Thole | C | Grade – C+/B- – High contact catcher should have enough defense to stay at the position

11. Kirk Nieuwenhuis | OF | Grade – C+/B- – Do everything outfielder probably not good enough to play full time in center, but he makes for a perfect fourth outfielder or platoon mate

12. Juan Urbina | LHP | Grade – C+ – Son of Ugueth Urbina hasn’t thrown a pitch yet, but he shows a good feel for pitching at a young to go along with good stuff and a lot of projection

13. Kyle Allen | RHP | Grade – C+ – Sleeper prospect could make jump into next year’s top-10…projects as a back of the rotation starter. Click here for a more extended look on Allen, as well as No. 14 prospect Jeurys Familia

14. Jeurys Familia | RHP | Grade – C+ – Another sleeper prospect, but needs to improve his change-up and miss more left handed bats. Because he has less a chance to remain a starter, I rate him below Allen…see the Allen link above for more on Familia as well

15. Steve Matz | LHP | Grade – C+ – Mets 1st pick of 2009, the lefty is a good athlete with a lot of projection…has some mechanical concerns

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Other C+ Prospects

16. Cesar Puello | OF | Age – 19 – Intriguing young talent makes hard contact and has lots of good tools, but he’s very raw and has plenty of work to do on his approach and discipline at the plate

17. Eric Niesen | LHP | Age – 24 – Really like the movement and life on his pitches…will benefit from a move to the bullpen

18. Eric Beaulac | RHP | Age – 23 – Missed plenty of bats in Single-A Savannah and could be a big league middle reliever when all is said and done.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order) – Zach Lutz (3b) | Robert Carson (LHP) | Yohan Almonte (RHP) | Brent Rustich (RHP) | Eddie Kunz (RHP) | Roy Merritt (LHP) | Nelfi Zapata (C) | Scott Shaw (RHP) | Dillon Gee (RHP) | Josh Stinson (RHP) | Robbie Shields (SS) | Chris Carter (1b) | Armando Rodriguez (RHP) | Nick Santomauro (OF) | Carlos Guzman (OF) | Sean Ratliff (OF) | Lucas Duda (OF/1b) | Clint Everts (RHP) | Josh Satin (2b) | Scott Moviel (RHP) | Chase Green (RF) | Aderlin Rodriguez (3b) | Zach Dotson (LHP)

ALSO SEE – New York Mets Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

UP NEXT – Philadelphia Phillies Top Prospects, No’s 1 – 5

Other References and Resources Used for This Article – First Inning and Minor League Splits