Keith Law's 26th Best Farm... Can hit!

Sorry Keith, but next time don't insult my boys. (Keith Law was not injured in the writing of this Blog post.)

Now my Law aimed vengeance is not severe like that aimed at Steve Philips whenever he opens his mouth, but it's palpable. Law ranked the Mets 26th out of 30 teams in terms of the strength of our minor-leagues. I don't claim to have the Tampa Bay system or the Kansas City system, but... are we REALLY that bad?

* - Career Minor Leaguer
** - Journey Man
*** - MLB Bench Player
**** - MLB Starter
***** - MLB Star

None of these rankings are set in stone but given the players age, skill, and level I think that all of their rankings fit their current projections.

AAA:
C: Mike Nickeas, **
1B: Nick Evans, ***
2B: Justin Turner, ***
SS: Ruben Tejada, ****
3B: Zach Lutz, ***
LF: Lucas Duda, ***
CF: Kirk Nieuwenhuis, ****
RF: Fernando Martinez, ****
DH/Util: Josh Satin, ***

Three players project as possible MLB starters and I still believe Fernando Martinez could be a star. The key here is that: Evans, Turner, Lutz, and Duda are all ready to be in the majors and they will be (in all likelihood) in AAA to start the year. This means that our AAA club has quite the murderers row. At least... for AAA.

AA:
C: Salomon Manriquez, **
1B: Michael Fisher, ***
2B: Reese Havens, *****
SS: Jordany Valdespin, ****
3B: Eric Campbell, ***
LF: Sean Ratliff, ***
CF: Matt Den Dekker, *****
RF: Carlos Guzman, **
DH/Util: Brahiam Maldonado, **

A number of players to watch starting in AA. First Reese Havens who needs only to play as good as he has and stay healthy to be on the Mets in 2012. Next is Matt Den Dekker who's defense and hitting have him steadily moving up through the system. Then there's Valdespin who flashed brilliance this fall. add in a little Campbell and Ratliff and the B-Mets should hit.

A+:
C: Kai Gronauer, ****
1B: Stefan Welch, **
2B: Wilfredo Tovar, ****
SS: Wilmer Flores, *****
3B: Jeffry Marte, ****
LF: Rafael Fernandez, ***
CF: Pedro Zapata, ***
RF: Caesar Puello, *****
DH/Util: Robbie Shields, ****

Port St. Lucie will start with the uber-prospect Wilmer Flores but he won't stick. Expect Tovar to shift across to SS when he does. Caesar Puello is a potential 5-tool player, Shields can hit, Marte has power and Gronauer is VERY VERY German. I think that half this team will be in Binghamton soon.

A:
C Francisco Pena ****
1B Jeff Flagg **
2B Ray Van Gurp **
SS Rylan Sandoval ****
3B Aderlin Rodriguez *****
LF Javier Rodriguez *****
CF Darrell Cecilliani *****
RF Cory Vaughn *****
DH/Util Juan Lagares ***

The most intriguing bunch is here in Savannah. Now... I spoke to a much more known blogger who says that Vaughn will be in a higher league but I want to maximize playing time and I think Savannah is the tougher league to hit in anyway. Vaughn, Rodriguez and Rodriguez will be the best 3, 4, 5 combo this league has. Add Cecilliani leading off and hopefully a healthy Francisco Pena and the Mets might have an ultra dominant team on their hands.

In conclusion, before one goes around saying that the Mets have almost ZERO talent in the farm... remember that a couple years ago Fernando Martinez WAS our farm.

This is Phlavio Phega and, if it relates to the Mets, I have an opinion.