Tuesday, Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus held a prospect chat and took two Mets questions, one on Jenrry Mejia and one on Wilmer Flores.

Rhys (Near Shea): Jenrry Mejia‘s been torched in the AFL. Is he the Mets top pitching prospect?

Kevin Goldstein: He’s easily the Mets top pitching prospect, as the arm is really special, despite the fact
that on the mound, he’s often a bit of a spectacular mess.

Wednesday’s line is a good example: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K leaving his AFL ERA at a swollen 12.56.  On the other hand, according to Gameday, his four-seam fastball was 94-96 with some 97s for good measure. More Mejia later.

Trevor127 (NYC): Kevin, What did scouts have to say about Wilmer Flores this year? Is there a concern about the power if he has to move from shortstop?

Kevin Goldstein: There’s just no way he’s a shortstop in the end, so it’s not an if, it’s a when. Still very talented for his age, so don’t get too crazy.

After a fully managerially focused morning, lets take a look at one of Tim Teufel’s likely charges with the 2010 Binghamton Mets, 23 year-old SS-2B Reese Havens.

Havens is in Arizona Fall League, but as a member of the taxi squad for the Surprise Rafters, is only eligible to play twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday.  I saw him play one game and take a few BPs and two infields.  Havens admitted that the unusual playing schedule forced him to adjust, “That’s been a little different out here just trying to find a routine that works for me just playing two days a week,” he said before a Tuesday game.

As for the transition to second, Havens has played only a handful of games at the position, and unsurprisingly admitted that he’s still “getting used to it.  It’s just something you need to get a bunch of reps.   I’m just trying to get comfortable over there.”  He did not have to turn a double play at game speed in the game I saw him play, but pointed to the new angle to the second base bag as his biggest challenge at his new home, “Probably the biggest difference is the footwork around the bag.”

How about his range?  He was tested three times last Wednesday.  In the first inning, he stabbed a sharp liner down and to his right on a complete reaction play that would have been right at home at third base.  The subsequent batter, Jays 1B David Cooper bounced a ball up the middle.  Havens, after a few steps, dove, and was in a position to make the play, but the ball took a tricky hop,  kicking at the last second, bounding out of his glove into center field.  That was pretty much the only action for Havens until the ninth inning when Mesa SS Jose Iglesias bounced a ball up the middle past a diving Havens for the game winning single in the bottom of the ninth.  It would have taken extraordinary range for Havens to have made that play near the second-base bag.  So, I came away thinking that Havens will make an adequate second baseman.

It’s absolutely impossible for me to judge a player in such a limited viewing, but there were things to like, and things to give one pause.  In the prior category, Havens was patient and worked at bats.  Since a three-strikeout day in his first game, in which he said, he was, “late on everything,” he’s walked six times and fanned four in his subsequent seven games.  His leg kick is minimal.  His swing is short in back.  He drives very well off his front leg.  However, in the latter category, I didn’t see as much power as I was expecting, but I saw less of Havens than I wanted.  In the game I saw, he squared up one ball on a clean single into center.  In BP, he did not drive the ball with as much authority.   Perhaps he was trying to feel out his timing for one of his two starts in a week.  He has more than solid power numbers (19 2B and 14 HR) in 97 games in the Florida State League and he just his his first AFL HR Saturday in a game in which he also walked three times.

Havens also pointed out that he’s made a small mechanical tweak in his swing.  “I’m pretty much the same stance-wise, just moved my hands up a little bit.   My hands were down a little bit and I kinda had a tough time getting on that high fastball.  I’m a lefty, I like the ball down like most lefties do.  I moved my hands up, just to try to get in that comfort zone,” he explained.

The AFL numbers, in a tiny sample size, in an offensive environment, mean little for Havens.  However, the game film validates, to some degree, the power he showed in St. Lucie, and his approach was plenty patient.   Add a few more singles to his batting average in the FSL (where he struck out just 73 times against 55 walks in 97 games) and his .247/.361/.422 line would look a lot better.   I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Havens hitting .280/.380/.450 by July of next year for AA Binghamton.

Havens, who missed chunks of time in both 2008 and 2009 with injuries to his elbow, groin and hamstring, knows that to produce next year, he’ll need to be healthy.  Or as he put it, “the key to putting up numbers is staying in the lineup.”

Tuesday, the AA Binghamton Mets announced that Tim Teufel will manage the team in 2010.  It’s a nice promotion for Teufel who’s worked with Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Josh Thole and Reese Havens, all of whom rank among the Mets top position prospects, in the last two years at advanced-A St. Lucie.

Teufel began his second baseball life as a scout with the Mets in 1998 before working as the roving infield instructor in the organization for two years in 2001-2.  That experience will serve him particularly well as he will have a chance to work everyday with Reese Havens who will be making the transition to second-base.  The versatile Teufel, who also played SS, 1B and 3B, played more games at 2B (806) in the big leagues than all of his other positions combined.

Also, I can’t believe I forgot how Teufel’s Mets career began and ended as a player, from the B-Mets release:

He was traded to the Mets in January 1986 in a deal that sent former No. 1 pick and future Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane along with two other players to the Twins for Teufel and minor leaguer Pat Crosby. After six seasons with the Mets, including two trips to the postseason, New York traded him to the San Diego Padres for Garry Templeton May 31, 1991.

There’s a couple of interesting nuggets from Wally Backman’s introductory press conference as the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones in the video player on the right.

This sequence stuck out the most for me:

1. I’m starting over. 2. Absolutely, there’s no bones about it, my ultimate goal is to manage in the Big Leagues someday. 3. Right now I have to focus on the Brooklyn Cyclones and try make these players better – try to get them to Citi Field is what I gotta do. 4. And in the process, try to win a lot of games.

One sentence at a time.

1. Backman really does seem grateful for the chance to return to affiliated ball. One can only hope that he is now in control of his emotions and over his past problems. I certainly believe people can learn and change. However, it seems in my own life, my friends and not friends just get crazier as they age.

2. Hey, I like a little honesty and drive.

3. Right on. It’s so simple, and right. His job is to help make big leaguers.

4. Um, sure, that too. Of course, the Brooklyn team will win. The question is whether the drive to ensure a playoff team in Brooklyn gets in the way of development.

Let’s look at some of the more interesting pitching prospects in winter ball:

Pitchers
VWL

Though not considered a prospect anymore, Broadway has been effective this winter. Mason and Guerra have both struggled.

AFL

While Mejia’s #’s are putrid, fans still have to be excited with the scouting reports. His stuff is ace quality (FB 94-98, 2-seamFB 88-91, CB 78-80), and his groundball rates (GO/AO 3.20) are still very solid. Mejia still needs to work on command and working ahead of hitters. Moviel started the AFL strong, but has struggled lately. Having never pitched past High A, Moviel has shown some promise. 2010 will be a big year in Moviel’s development. Niesen struggled before a strained oblique sidelined him. Stinson has been better over his last 5 outings.
DWL

Tobi Stoner has been very impressive so far this winter. His last start 7IP 0R 2BB 2K. Stoner has easily been the best Mets minorleague pitcher this winter.
PWL

We are going to take a look how some of the more interesting prospects are fairing in winter ball:

Hitters

VWL

Josh Thole continues to hit, hit, hit. He continues to lead the league in BA and OBP….What impresses me the most about him, is that he does not deviate from his line drive approach, as opposed to trying to hit for more power. His BB/K rate is outstanding. Coronado and Carter are also doing well. They are just above average in all categories. The VWL clearly looks like a hitters league.
AFL

Ike Davis has continued to hit for power, and Reese Havens shows the ability to control the strikezone with a .400 OBP despite a .276 AVG. Ruben Tejada looks to be wearing down after a strong AFL start. The 20-year old Tejada has played a lot of baseball this year. Nick Evans has had a rough Fall, just continuing a disastrous year.
DWL

Francisco Pena has struggled early on with 10k’s in 12 games. While Valdespin is off to a solid start.

I’m on my way home from Arizona after a busy weekend with friends in the LA area (yeah, it sorta makes sense geographically), but will get to more content including both interviews and video from Arizona focusing on Scott Moviel, Reese Havens, Ike Davis, Nick Evans and a little more from Jenrry Mejia in the coming days.