This One's For Nick

Luis Mateo, Brooklyn

I think that the New York Mets, as an organization, have gone in the right direction with many decisions made at the MLB level. The past two drafts have shown promise, as Sandy Alderson and crew have directed their attention in a different direction. But for the success that the Mets have had, especially this season, is due in-fact because of former-GM Omar Minaya, who basically had a angry mob of fans with lighted pitchforks after him. The talents of Jon Niese, Daniel Murphy, Josh Thole, Ike Davis, Matt Harvey,  and Josh Edgin are some of the pieces that Minaya found in the draft.

Most impressively, Minaya found the diamonds in the rough in the Latin countries. Baseball America’s Ben Badler tweeted about former Mets scout Ismael Cruz, who signed Jenrry Mejia, Ruben Tejada, and Valdespin for all under $50k. Out of those players, Tejada has blossomed into a potential cornerstone. Mejia continues to battle his way back after Tommy John surgery, and Valdespin, well he’s the man right now. Most importantly, they all reached the majors.

In the lower minors, the Mets have a stack of intriguing young arms. Some of them are college arms, such as Tyler Pill and Logan Verrett. Others are from the wave of Latin Americans that were integrated into the system many years ago. And its those arms that look like success in New York, all thanks to Omar Minaya.

Here’s a quick ranking of the top Latin arms in the Mets system. Later in the week, I’ll be breaking down each arm.

1. Domingo Tapia, RHP Savannah (age: 20)

5-2 3.56 ERA 7.8 K/9 2.65 FIP 1.23 WHIP

2. Rafael Montero, RHP St. Lucie (age: 22) *Just St. Lucie stats* – I want to rank him ahead of Tapia, but the age is a big difference. The lack of a change up right now is hindering Montero, but there is no reason why he cannot make it to the majors as a 3/4 starter.

4-2 2.51 ERA 10.67 K/9 2.13 FIP 1.05 WHIP

3. Luis Mateo, RHP Brooklyn (age: 22)

4-2 2.79 ERA 10.80 K/9 1.96 FIP 0.95 WHIP – Huge strikeout numbers. Has really outmatched the competition, but he needs to face better competition. Also has just walked 6 in 47 innings.

4. Rainy Lara, RHP Brooklyn (age: 21)

5-1 2.72 ERA 12.25 K/9 2.49 FIP 0.88 WHIP – He’s walked 5 in 39.2 innings, while striking out 54. He’s overshadowed by Mateo, but Lara is a real prospect and him and Mateo should be the next wave coming. Sometimes I want to put Lara ahead of Mateo, but he’s not really a pitcher yet. A very intriguing arm that can be the “Rafael Montero” of next year.

5. Gabriel Ynoa, RHP Brooklyn (age: 19)

3-1 2.81 ERA 6.94 K/9 2.49 FIP 1.16 WHIP – Younger than the two ahead of him. Also has fantastic control.

6. Hansel Robles, RHP Brooklyn (age: 22)

2-1 2.04 ERA 8.17 K/9 1.99 FIP 1.06 WHIP – Older prospect, still promising. Nice control, as well.

7. Luis Cessa, RHP Brooklyn (age: 20)

2-2 2.78 ERA 5.80 K/9 3.65 FIP 1.29 WHIP – I like Cessa a lot. He hails from Mexico, which isn’t as strong as the Domincan Republic, but he should be on the radar. He isn’t close to a finish product yet, however he is still a nice prospect to be ranking #7.