Lets get into part two of my mid-season review of my pre-season Top 41 Mets Prospects.

Part 1 on players 36-41 is here.

#31 – 3B Jefry Marte
What I thought: Marte, who was limited by hamstring injuries in 2010, was better in 2010 than 2009 and had a chance to put things together.
Reality: Well, he looks like he’s improved a little. His offensive numbers across the board look extraordinarily similar to last year, actually shockingly similar to last year. Considering that he’s moved up a level and is playing in advanced-A as a 20-year old, I think we can count that as progress.
On defense, after committing 25 errors in 80 games a year ago with an .892 fielding percentage, he’s committed 15 in 72 games, a .906 fielding percentage. That’s a better but Marte still has a long way to go. Obviously, errors aren’t everything, but only three 3B in MLB have committed as many as ten errors: Adrian Beltre (10), Casey McGehee (13) and Mark Reynolds (18). The three have widely disparate fielding values with Beltre ranked as the second-best by UZR/150, McGehee a few runs below average, and Reynolds the worst in baseball.
Stock: Up.

Basic

Advanced

#32 – OF Sean Ratliff
What I thought: He was a good athlete who hit for power.
Reality: He’ll miss the entire 2011 season after needing facial surgery to reconstruct the area around his eyes and sinuses.

Stock: Down.  I hate writing down for Ratliff here, but the reality is that next year, he’ll be 25 years old with 73 games above a-ball to his credit coming off a major surgery.

#33 – LHP Josh Edgin
What I thought: I saw Josh Edgin’s fastball and slider last year and saw two MLB pitches which added up to a nice bullpen piece.
Reality: Edgin was untouchable in the SAL with a fastball that picked up a little velocity and was sitting 92-93 and a slider in the low 80s that terrified A-ball hitters.  Edgin’s command was shaky to begin the year: he walked five batters in his first two appearances over 1 inning of work in the SAL.  He walked five more in his subsequent 30 innings, a BB/9 of 1.5.  If he can carry that forward, well,  yeah, that’s good.
Stock: UP.

Basic

Advanced

#34 – SS Wilfredo Tovar
What I thought: A brilliant defender who made a lot of contact, Tovar would see the upper levels of the minors on his glove alone, but who would need to prove he could hit.
Reality: Yup.  He’s still a sweet defender at second or short.  On the other hand, he didn’t hit at all the first two months, bottoming out at .185/.240/.230 on May 30.  And in June, the 19-year old has been excellent going .333/.396/.402.  Note the low BABIP on Tovar.  This is no accident.  Early in the year, he was getting under pitch after pitch, producing pop-up after popup.  In the last month, he’s made some nice adjustments.  At contact, he’s done a much better job getting on top of pitches, producing liners and grounders and laying off the stuff he can’t handle.  Overall, his walk rate is up, nearly double where it was a year ago.
Stock: Up a little.

Basic

Advanced

#35 – RHP Nick Carr
What I thought: Carr had a big arm and might make an eventual bullpen piece, but has been hampered by injuries and control problems stemming from a violent delivery.
Reality: He’s been largely healthy and made incremental progress, striking out a few more batters and trimming his walk rate.  However, a walk rate of 4.0/9 IP or 11% of total batters faced, leaves plenty of room for improvement.
Stock: Holding

Basic

Advanced