Jeff from Rochester sent in the following e-mail, which asks:

I live in Rochester, NY and I’m personally very excited to see the Bisons and future Met prospects.

When checking the Bisons’ roster, it is almost nonexistent. I’m new to following AAA teams closely and obviously a lot of the roster depends on how players perform in spring training and who gets signed to fill out the Mets’ roster, but any idea on who might be on the AAA roster and when these rosters are set?

Thanks for the e-mail. In regards to AAA rosters, they usually are not filled out officially until mid to late March, beginning of April. Guys like Bobby Parnell, Eddie Kunz, and Jonathon Niese all have a shot at earning a spot on the major league 25-man roster. If not, then you’ll see them on Buffalo’s roster.  I would expect to see Kunz to enter the season as the Bisons‘ closer (he needs to continue working on improving his command), Parnell to have a very good chance at making the roster in the pen, and Niese to be competing as the fifth starter. OF Nick Evans could also benefit from spending a little time with the Bisons’ and I could see him starting the year there.

You’ll see OF Fernando Martinez start 2009 in AAA and certainly get a call up the majors before season’s end, unless he has some major break down in Buffalo or gets hurt. He’ll be the marquee name there. The Mets also have a history of stock piling veterans in AAA (a la Fernando Tatis, Trot Nixon, or Tony Armas) for insurance. You should begin to see some minor league signings soon.

The Mets’ top prospects are fairly young, in other words below the AAA level. Another guy to keep your eye on is right-hander Dillon Gee, who will start the season in AA.  I could certainly see Gee getting promoted to Buffalo before the end of the year. He had a very good debut with the B-Mets last year in his brief stint and has had a very good winter in Puerto Rico. RHP Brad Holt will either start in St. Lucie or Binghamton.

if you have a question that you would like answered, please send me an e-mail at CGGuy86 [at] yahoo.com…