Mets360 Top 50 Prospects: Players 26-24

We continue on our journey upwards, examining the best prospects in the Mets farm system. In case you missed any of the other installments, check them out at: 50-48, 47-45, 44-42, 41-39, 38-36, 35-33, 32-30 and 29-27. Next up is:

Casey Meisner – 26
A third round pick in the 2013 draft, Meisner was selected out of Cypress Woods High School in Texas, where he was a Rawlings All-American in his senior year. Meisner was shipped off to rookie ball in the GCL where he posted a 2.80 K/BB and 1.16 WHIP in his first season for the Mets. He improved that K/BB rate to 3.72 in 2014, pitching for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Opponents started to hit a little better against him there (.271 vs .238 in GCL) which accounted for a raise in his WHIP and ERA, but a nearly .050 point rise in BABIP had something to do with that as well. He still pitched exceptionally well for being all of 19-years-old, which makes him one of the youngest players in our top 30, with good reason.

Meisner stands 6’7″ but is still listed under 200 lbs, so there’s plenty of room for growth on his thin frame. Given that though, his fastball can already reach low-90s with regularity, so some extra bulk might make that a mid-90s pitch in a few years. Meisner already looks to have solid control, as his walks have not been a problem in either of his first two seasons. His BB% actually went down slightly in 2014, which is a very nice sign. As with many young pitchers though, he needs to work on his secondary pitches, which are a changeup and curveball. His delivery is fairly solid, but his lanky frame can mess up timing and should be refined a bit. All in all, Meisner is already showing the goods, and this third-rounder may live up to the billing. Of course, there is a long way to go still, and an injury-shortened season should always been assumed. But his age and ability make even that hurdle seem acceptable. Keep him on your radars.

Jhoan Urena – 25
Urena was signed as an international free agent out of his home in Santiago, Domincan Republic, and spent 2012 and 2013 in rookie ball leagues. He brought with him a twitchy, confident bat, a sharp eye for at the plate, and some decent defensive skills at third base. The latter of which is the area where he needs to develop more. Some reports compliment his arm, but say his rushed delivery needs work, as well as range issues. He manages to put everything together in a competent package though, so a move to the outfield is not necessary at this time. He just turned 20 in September, so there is plenty of time for him to get reps at the hot corner and improve his glove response before anything drastic has to happen.

As for the bat, that plays very nicely indeed. In 2014, playing the Cyclones, he racked up a .300/.356/.431 line with 26 extra-base hits in 75 games. His home run power is minimal, as he has just 9 in three years, but that could come a bit with age. He projects to be more of a high average hitter though, who can rack up doubles and use the whole field. He’s a switch hitter as well, which helps makes the lack of power easier to swallow. He has some momentum speed, but he has to work on his base-running, as he stole 7 bases, but was nabbed 9 times, most likely from bad leads and the like. Urena has room to improve to become a better all around player, but right now his bat is speaking for itself. He’ll probably head to Savannah in 2015, which won’t help his power numbers. However, if he shows improvement defensively at third, he probably won’t stay there long.

Vicente Lupo – 24
Power and strength are the two words that keep coming up in reports for Lupo, which is strange as he stands just 5’11” and clocks in at around 180 lbs. He’s a 21-year-old who was signed out of Venezuela, and his .229 ISO last season and .259 ISO in 2012 lend credence to those eager assessments. Unfortunately, so do his strikeout numbers. To put Lupo in perspective, let’s look at those two years a little deeper. In 2012, he was playing for the Dominican Summer League and hit 10 home runs and 18 doubles with a video game-like .343/.500/.608 line in 65 games. Then in 2014, playing for Kingsport he bopped 16 more extra-base hits with a .278/.415/.504 line in 44 games. So what’s the problem? In 2012 his K% was 16.5, while in 2014 it was 31.5. Those are the two lowest strikeout rates of his short career, and therein lies the problem.

After watching video of his swing it is pretty clear as to why he has issues striking out. He finds himself off-balance quite a bit as he lands early on his front foot, draining his power. When he does make contact though, he’s able to keep his energy back and showcase the home run ability everyone loves. I even heard a Miguel Cabrera-light reference, but let’s not get nuts. Lupo is also severely limited defensively, as he’s probably only ever going to play left-field, but if he can put up the offensive numbers to back up that position, no one will care. There are other minor concerns with Lupo besides striking out and mediocre defense. In July of 2014, both he and Wuilmer Becerra were arrested for drag racing without U.S. licenses. While they were both 20 and 19 respectively at the time, and kids do dumb stuff, it’s not the kind of thing you want to hear from your prospects, especially since the tragic death of Oscar Taveras.

While it sounds like I’m down on Lupo, it’s only because when his numbers are good, it’s easy to fall head over heels with what he can do. He is still very young and needs to show consistency in his swing pattern before he can hope to mash against better competition. One of only a few elite power prospects in the Mets system, he deserves to be ranked high on power and plate discipline alone. If he has an impressive 2015, we’re looking at a potential top 15 guy easily. All Mets fans should hope Lupo learns how to pump the brakes (literally) and stay on his back foot longer. If he does, watch out!