Wheeler and Syndergaard Regarded as Top Prospects; Mets Put Banner Day Up To Vote

Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has continued ranking top prospects throughout professional baseball for the 2013 season, and there were a couple of Mets prospects featured in his latest edition, which ranked the ten best right-handed pitchers. The presence of Zack Wheeler at the number four spot was not surprising, but the young Noah Syndergaard snuck in and found himself rounding out the pack in the tenth position.

Since Wheeler has been in the Mets system since he was acquired before the trade deadline in 2011, fans know plenty about the right-handed starter, and are salivating at the thought of him being ready to pitch in the Big Leagues at some point this season. However, we don’t know a whole lot about Syndergaard because he’s only been in the organization for about a month following the R.A. Dickey trade. So far so good though, because everything we’re hearing about this kid is positive.

May 27, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; A general view as New York Mets fans participate in banner day festivities before the game against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

Ever since this trade became official, talent evaluators were most impressed that Alderson was able to nab Syndergaard as well, who many think is developing faster at this point in his career than Wheeler was when he was his age. Mayo actually thinks Noah could be the best player in this deal, but will take longer to become Major League ready.

It’s the old adage we’ve heard for years: pitching wins championships. Does it? For the Mets, it certainly seems like it. These prospect rankings come out at the perfect time, because Mark Simon of ESPN New York ranked the top five rotations and bullpens in Flushing, and it’s not a surprise that the rotations of ’86 and ’69 were slotted one and two, respectively. Whether this saying is true or not, it’s a formula that has worked for the Mets in the past, and Alderson has done a great job in setting up the organization to have dominant pitching; Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, and Matt Harvey are all in the Big Leagues, while Wheeler is a few months away (at most), and Syndergaard could be there in a year or two.

Speaking of the devil, Harvey was working out at Citi Field on Monday, taking some hacks in the indoor cage and participating in some long toss, and he said what every Mets fan wants to hear him say:

"“I’m here to win.”"

Good thing, right? It’d be pretty awkward if he didn’t want to. All kidding aside, the reasons why I enjoy watching Matt Harvey compete continue to grow. A lot of players talk the talk, but not nearly as many can walk the walk, and that’s exactly what he’s been able to do, and it’s amazing that he’s doing it with only 10 MLB starts under his belt.

On to some outfield news! Don’t worry though, there’s nothing new when it comes to the Mets making any moves. Scott Hairston still hasn’t announced his decision, and despite the fact that New York only offered one-year/$2 million when he’s looking for more like two-years/$8 million, I’m sure the Amazins are still in the lead for his services. However, the Phillies continued to add depth to their corner outfield positions, as they signed Delmon Young to a one-year/$750K deal, with incentives in place that could bring the total value of the contract to $3.25 million.

The Diamondbacks continue to field offers for both Jason Kubel and Justin Upton, and could be more apt to deal Kubel since they feel they can get adequate return for him. If he’s the more available outfielder, he definitely won’t be headed to Flushing, as it’s already been said that Alderson doesn’t think he’d be a perfect fit with New York. Could you imagine an outfield with Kubel in one corner and Lucas Duda in the other? Just the thought of it makes me shiver. However, Jon Heyman said on MLB Network the Mets have been having quite a bit of internal discussion regarding Michael Bourn‘s services.

Probably the most satisfying news from yesterday came straight off the Mets website; since the original date for Banner Day (May 26th) has been tinkered with due to ESPN picking up their game against the Braves that day for Sunday Night Baseball instead of the scheduled 1:10p game, the organization has opened up a fan vote until this Friday to help choose when to hold Banner Day. Fans can either vote for the original day, or select either May 11th (against the Pirates) or June 8th (against the Marlins). I think this is a great move by the Mets, as they’ve decided to leave this decision up to the fans, since this is an event held specifically for them to enjoy.

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