The prospect lists come fast and furious this time of year.  Last week, it was Kevin Goldstein at BP, this week it’s John Sickels at minorleagueball.com.  His Mets Top 21 follows:

 

2007 New York Mets Prospects

  1. Fernando Martinez, OF, A- (tools and youth, just needs refinement)
  2. Mike Pelfrey, RHP, Grade A- (I think the breaking pitch problem is overblown. He had a good one in college and I think he'll find it again. I am sticking with my guns on this one)
  3. Phil Humber, RHP, B+ (Many prefer him over Pelfrey, I like both)
  4. Carlos Gomez, OF, B (great tools, but I'm not sure about his power)
  5. Jon Niese, LHP, B- (projectable lefty is a personal favorite)
  6. Deolis Guerra, RHP, B- (live arm, a long way away)
  7. Kevin Mulvey, RHP, B- (accidently left off first list)
  8. Joe Smith, RHP, B- (impressive reliever could advance fast)
  9. Mike Carp, 1B, B- (developing power bat to watch)
  10. Alay Soler, RHP, C+ (Cuban defector looks better as a reliever to me than a starter)
  11. Adam Bostick, LHP, C+ (acquired from the Marlins, good breaking ball)
  12. Josh Stinson, RHP, C+ (interesting arm but another guy who will need time)
  13. Sean Henry, OF, C+  (toolsy, skills may be developing)
  14. Mike Devany, RHP, C (looks like a utility pitcher to me)
  15. Nick Evans, 3B, C (making slow progress)
  16. Shawn Bowman, 3B, C  (back injuries two years in a row)
  17. Michel Abreu, 1B, C (good stats, but how old is he? 26? 31? 52?)
  18. Stephen Holmes, RHP, C (intriguing arm from '06 draft)
  19. Tobi Stoner, RHP, C (control artist dominated New York-Penn League)
  20. Brandon Nall, RHP, C (good numbers but old for the level)
  21. Dustin Martin, OF, C (hit .315 in the NY-P but strikes out a lot)

Others of Note: Corey Coles, OF; Ambiorix Concepcion, OF; Jose Coronado, SS: Emmanuel Garcia, SS; Brett Harper, 1B; Anderson Hernandez, INF; Mike Nickeas, C; Robert Parnell, RHP; Todd Prviett, LHP; Dan Stegall, OF.

The Mets In One Sentence: This system has quality at the top, but the talent level bottoms out very fast.

 

            Sickels, like Goldstein, puts Martinez at the top followed by the two righthanders -Pelfrey and Humber- although he reverses the order, and rounds out the top four with Gomez.  The two gentlemen have the same players in the 5-10 spots (Niese, Guerra, Mulvey, Smith, Carp and Soler), although the order is different.  That’s a lot of agreement about the names to watch in Mets prospect land. 

            Poor Sickels goes 21 deep, and that looks hard. 

            I’d love to be able to get John to sit down and discuss his list, but timing could be difficult this time of year.