TH: Josh Thole hit a little and reached base a lot in the FSL and AFL. My guess is that you’ll say that questions about his defensive ability prevented him from cracking the top 11. True?
KG: and the fact that he just doesn’t have much juice in his swing.
KG: It’s hard to rank catchers with [...]
Following his the release of his list of the Mets Top 11 Prospect List at Baseball Prospectus, I chatted with prospect guru Kevin Goldstein. Please read his piece first, as our talk is meant as an auxiliary to his posted work. Our conversation largely focused on those players who were included on his list, although [...]
For a New York Penn League team, this is an unusually interesting bunch of hard throwers. Of course, in so many ways, the Cyclones are not an average Short Season team.
James (Jim) Fuller
W-L
ERA
G/GS
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
K/BB
BB/9
SO/9
2-0
1.00
1-Aug
18
15
2
2
0
5
22
4.40
2.50
11.00
L/L – 5’10” 180 lbs – 21st Rd ’08 S. Connecticut State – b. 6/11/87
The little lefty who can dial it [...]
Brad Holt
W-L
ERA
G/GS
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
K/BB
BB/9
SO/9
5-3
1.87
14/14
72.1
43
18
15
3
33
96
2.91
4.12
11.98
R/R – 6’4” 195 – 1s ’08 (UNC Wilmington) – b. 10/13/86
This one’s simple: for me, Brad Holt is the best pitching prospect in the Mets system. Holt has a perfect pitcher’s frame and uses it to generate a plus fastball (93-95 mph) that he has learned to locate. His breaking ball made [...]
2B Josh Satin
G
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
BB
SO
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG
SSA
45
143
40
10
2
4
16
26
0
1
.280
.350
.462
– R/R – 6’2” 200 lbs – drafted 6th rd 2008 – b. 12/23/84
Satin was second on Cyclones, behind Lutz, on the Brooklyn offense with an .812 OPS in his 45 games in 2008. If he had had enough AB to qualify, he would have tied for 15th best in [...]
Zach Lutz 2008
G
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
BB
SO
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG
SSA
24
72
24
4
0
3
14
12
0
2
0.333
0.442
0.512
3B - R/R – 6’1” 220 lbs – drafted 5th rd 2007– b. 6/3/86
Lutz, who missed the entire 2007 season with an injury suffered on Opening Night, showed power, patience and contact ability in 2008. Scouts loved his swing. One described an MLB caliber bat where even his outs were hit hard. However, [...]
OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis
G
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
BB
SO
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG
SSA
74
285
79
15
5
3
29
70
11
7
.277
.348
.396
- L/R - 6′3″ 210 lbs - 3rd Rd ‘08 - b. 8/7/87
There was a reason immediately after the June draft that Mets Director of Scouting pointed to Nieuwenhuis as a player he was particularly happy to add to the Mets system out of Azusa Pacific. Nieuwenhius looks the part of [...]
The 2008 Brooklyn Cyclones finished 45-30, in second place in the New York-Penn League McNamara Division four games behind the Staten Island Yankees. The Cyclones fell just 1.5 games shy of the wildcard spot eventually controlled by the Jamestown Jammers. Brooklyn burst back into the playoff race by reeling off nine straight wins from August [...]
LHP Michael Antonini – R/L – 6’0” 190 – 18th Rd ’07 – b. 8/6/85
I wrote about Antonini’s excellent season in the St. Lucie wrap.
LHP Angel Calero – L/L – 6’1” 210 lbs – NDFA ’04 – b. 9/25/86
W-L
ERA
G/GS
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
A
3-5
2.57
12/12
66.2
54
30
19
3
15
59
A+
1-1
7.07
4/4
14.0
18
11
11
3
7
10
I was told in early July that Calero’s shoulder problems were not serious and [...]
Greg Veloz – S/R – 6’0” 175 lbs – NDFA ’06 – b. 6/3/88
G
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
BB
SO
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG
A
111
455
130
25
5
6
32
93
28
12
.286
.339
.402
A+
21
77
18
1
0
0
7
20
1
2
.234
.298
.247
Good stuff first: Veloz just keeps getting better. In 2007, the then-18 year old hit .171/.243/.235 in 66 games in Savannah before the Mets sent him down to Kingsport where he hit .271/.344/.450 in the season’s final 66 games. In 2008, [...]
