We continue our Top 50 countdown with five prospects who are either flawed or too far away from the majors to factor higher. It is interesting when ranking players how you determine a player’s value. Where is the floor and where is the ceiling? What is their ETA to the majors? What key stats do we see them succeeding or failing in? Players ranked 40-50 seemed to all fit into categories of “Dwindling Buzz”, “Limited Potential” or “Too Early To Say”.
#45 Raul Jacobson, SP: If one looks only at the stats, Jacobson could be much higher on this list. Once you factor age, “stuff” and everything else, you might ask if a player who first entered the SAL at 24 has any business on a list like this. Jacobson was very good for Brooklyn in 2016 and has a repetoire that could make him a sneaky candidate to eventually reach the majors. Expect the Mets to toss him into the fire as he’s a player with a relatively low threshold of risk. (ETA: 2019 Ceiling: 5th Starter)
#44 Kevin Canelon, SP: There are two stats that I find most telling regarding a player’s potential success in the majors. K/9 (Ace pitchers typically have a K/9 of 9.0 or better) and WHIP (Ace pitchers typically do not have WHIPs higher than 1.200). While Canelon’s K/9 was a pedestrian 7.5 for 2016, his WHIP was an outstanding 1.165. You can credit most of that to Canelon limiting his walks which indicates that he may have a future as a control pitcher and innings eater. What we will look for is his WHIP not creaping beyond 1.350 in Advanced A and AA as he progresses through 2017 and beyond. (ETA: 2019 Ceiling: 4th Starter)
#43 Joseph Zanghi, RP: A former pick of the Cincinatti Reds, Zanghi didn’t pitch at all in 2015. He joined the bullpen of the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2016 and became their primary closer by August. His power numbers are apparent as his K/9 sat above 11.6 the entire season, though he has a propensity to walk batters common in hard throwers. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mets shift Zanghi into a starting role, as he’s only been pitching for a few years. Back in 2014 Zanghi was primarily used as a catcher, only switching to pitching in 2015. It is entirely possible that this hard throwing righty becomes a relative diamond in the rough. (ETA: 2020 Ceiling: Closer)
#42 Vinny Siena, 2B: With Siena managing an impressive .834 OPS in the difficult hitter parks of the SAL you might expect his name to grace this list a little higher. The fact remains that a light hitting middle infielder cannot afford to strike out once per game. Additionally, at the age of 22, Siena was as old or older than the typical players at his two levels in 2016. When faced with the improved quality of pitching in Port St. Lucie, he saw a distinct drop in productivity. He does have some speed and could become a quality backup middle infielder but he also needs to improve his eye at the plate significantly. (ETA: 2019 Ceiling: Backup Infielder)
#41 Blake Tiberi, 3B: The left-handed third baseman came as the Mets 3rd round pick and had a significant level of expectation with him. A hitting third baseman, I was personally impressed with his arm when I saw him play in Brooklyn. He has a pretty good read on the strike zone and a swing that can generate some power but he’ll need to hit the ground running in 2017 and make good on that lofty draft pick. I have hope that Tiberi could climb this list and finish next year in the Top 25 prospects. (ETA: 2020 Ceiling: Starting Third Baseman)
Dave, off-topic, but I just saw a wonderful documentary on Netflix that I’m sure you’ll enjoy: “The Battered Bastards of Baseball.”
It’s about an independent minor league team in the 70s — the only one operating at the time — and it’s an utter joy to watch. Sort of “Major League” meets Bill Veeck.
It’s also a tribute to the 1970’s ramshackle spirit. Highly recommended to any baseball fan.
Watch for a glimpse of an ex-Met toward the end.
The article is dated today. How could you not do your homework and realize that Jacobson was released by the Mets a few weeks ago. Please do your homework next time so readers do not have to correct you.
This was also written several weeks ago. I apologize for the error. No major anouncement was made regarding Jacobson and therefore the error occured.
Thank you for reading
“Once you factor age, “stuff” and everything else, you might ask if a player who first entered the SAL at 24 has any business on a list like this.”
Apparently self correcting! 😉
Fact remained that Jacobson had enough statistical success to warrant a glimmer of hope as a MLB innings eater.
It is, if nothing else, the bottom 10 of the list.
Gonna triple check 40-36… just to make sure.
I am quite curious where Nido and Szapucki end up!
Dave has had a rough “Off-Season”—first, His Debacle as “Atlanta GM”, Trading Freddie Freemen, and Now This!!!—we discover than 10% of his Top 50 Prospects are Getting Cut!!!
hahaha 😉
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😉
He who is without fault may cast the first stone.
1 out of 50 = 2%
I’ll fish out who was the 51st prospect and get this all sorted. This would all be easier if the teams could just wait for me to publish this thing before moving these players around too much.
Maybe we should question why Sandy and His Team are cutting 10% of their top Prospects.
Team’s trim their prospects constantly. There could be any number of reasons that we aren’t privy to.
David, a reference you may want to bookmark and a good read for everyone. A few more names would I have liked to have seen are Flexen, Conlon and Crismatt. While I’m sure every team has a collection of potent arms, so it’s hard to know how the Mets stack up, but we should at least know our own.
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2016/11/2/12897326/mets-prospects-pitching-szapucki-gsellman-lugo
All those names appear, just closer to the top.
An update is pending to correct for Jacobson’s departure.