Vicente Lupo: I don’t like putting a prospect so far down in the pipeline so high on my list but… I’m gonna do it anyway. For some pundits Lupo, who hasn’t played above the DSL, doesn’t make the Top 40 prospects and I have him in the top 10. Are they over-cautious? Am I over eager? You decide.
Scouting: At only 6’0” and 180 Lbs. he’s not going to have Keith Hernandez talking about Paul Bunyon… then again, that hasn’t worked out well for Lucas Duda.
Fielding: He’s played 114 games between two seasons in the DSL and I can only tell you that he isn’t a center fielder.
The Bat: In 65 games last year and 204 at bats Lupo had 70 hits. Of those 70 Hits, 18 were doubles, 3 were triples and 10 were homers. He stole 12 bases and walked 46 times compared to his 45 K’s. The kid’s triple slash was .343/.500/.608 and his OPS was 1.108. So… he’s 19 and only playing in the GCL or APP? Those numbers in the DSL are still pretty phenomenal.
ETA: I don’t know which rookie league he’ll be starting in. PERSONALLY, I’d skip the rookie leagues and put him in Brooklyn. That shouldn’t happen. He’s got at least 4 years before he reaches Flushing, but I expect him to find his way into more Top prospect lists as those years go by.
Mets Top 20 Prospects:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Vicente Lupo, OF (RK) [2017-18 Corner OF]
11. Domingo Tapia, RHP (A+) [2015 Rotation Battle OR Closer]
12. Cory Mazzoni, RHP (AA) [2014 Back-End Depth OR Middle Reliever]
13. Kevin Plawecki, C (Full Season A) [2016 Catching Depth]
14. Hansel Robles, RHP (Full Season A) [2016 Rotation Battle]
15. Gabriel Ynoa, RHP (Full Season A) [2016 Rotation Battle]
16. Aderlin Rodriguez, 3B (A+) [2016 1B or DH]
17. Jack Leathersich, LHP (AA) [2014 Bullpen… 2015 Closer?]
18. Cory Vaughn, OF (AA) [AAAA]
19. Jacob deGrom, RHP (AA) [2014 Bullpen]
20. Steven Matz, LHP (Full Season A) [2016 Bullpen]
Four years is so long away BUT a nice write-up on this fellow.
The thing I worry about with 4 years is the Fernando Martinez effect.
We see it with Wilmer Flores.
What COULD happen is that Lupo could emerge in 2013 and 2014 in rookie and A- levels as a potential superstar. At 19 he should be playing 2-3 years in the minors before he’s even on our radars. (Unfortunately?) He was so good in the DSL that we noticed and that means he could be seen as failing to live up to hype even while he’s ahead of the curve age-wise.
I guess it all depends on how you approach things. I don’t see any reason *not* to have Lupo in the Top 40. And I bet those same people are still clinging to Reese Havens as a top prospect, too.
Personally, I’d want to see him prove something in this country before I’d rank him in the Top 10. However, I bet he sees time in Brooklyn this year.
Top 10 is a very high mark but I’ve become upside happy.
I am very excited about the prospect of Lupo and his 1.108 OPS in the DSL, but this is VERY high to be ranking him, because he is so far away. Here’s the guys who have lead the DSL in OPS from 2006-2009: Damian Taveras (2009), Jairo Perez (2008), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2007), Kelvin Diaz (2006). The point is, success in the hitter-friendly DSL doesn’t predict success in the future. Here’s to hoping Lupo can be the exception to this.
What happened to the “Building from the bottom up” series? Vicente Lupo seems to have been the last post.