Quantity, Not Quality

Maybe its just me, but I've always believed that you can judge a GM not by the big moves he makes, but rather the little ones. Don't get me wrong, I love the Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltrans, but a part of me is much more interested in those minor league deals no one cares about. Be it the release of Marco Scutaro or just simply a non-roster invitee, I think those deals give us a greater insight into a GM's mind. Wanting to appease my thirst for small transactions, Minaya keeps stockpiling minor league free agents like its going out of style. In today's press release, the Mets announced the addition of three more minor league invitees.

Shortstop Chris Woodward and righthanded pitchers Manny Aybar and Joe Nelson each signed minor league free agent contract with the New York Mets today and all three will be invited to Spring Training next February in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

So who are these guys? Lets take a look. Chris Woodward is a former Blue Jay shorstop who last year hit to the tune of 235/283/347 . He doesn't hit for much average but has decent pop for a shorstop. Presumably he's going to be competing with Super Joe McEwing for the ss back up role. Manny Aybar is a 32 year old journeymen who pitched in Mexico last year. Currently pitching in the DWL, Aybar has pitched 54.1 innings allowing 54 hits and a 58/17 k/bb with a 3.31 ERA. Joe Nelson, who despite the rumors isn't related to Nelson de la Rosa, was last seen pitching for the Red Sox AAA affiliate in Pawtucket. He's a right-handed 29 year old who in 8 minor league seasons has had a very solid 8.57 K/9 but whose 4 walks every 9 innings is a big problem. Last year in AAA, those two went up. His strikeouts per nine innings reached a Benitez-esque 14.5 but much like the former Met closer, his walk rate evidenced some wildness [15 walks in 30 innings]. Expect Woodward to make the team while Aybar and Nelson to serve as insurance down at Norfolk.

If you are like me, and are more interested in minor moves, you can check the Metropolitans blog for some Aaron Heilman action. But then again, if you are interested on whats happening with the big fish on the FA market, you can always check Kaley at Flushing Local who refuses to get Guerreroed again.

Before I forget, yes, I haven't forgetten about my incomplete top prospect list. And yes, I'll be getting around it eventually, but for now, here's some answer to prospect mail:

Mike writes:

So far you've listed Bowman and Bladergroen as your 4th and 5th prospects. Assuming Diaz, Milledge and Petit are ranked as the top three, where does that leave Brett Harper?

Certianly Harper produced big time this year, but considering his injury history and the fact that he has never produced like this, I had to rank him 6th on my list. With that being said, I still think he can be an useful part in the near future, and thats why I even wrote an honorary prospect review on him:

Brett Harper

The Mets selected Brett Harper in the 2000 draft, but the draft and follow did not sign until May 2001. Through his three years with the organization, Harper, the son of former MLB catcher Brian Harper, had shown some signs of being able to hit for average, but his power had gone missing as he entered the year with a career .094 IsoP [SLG - AVG] and only 5 HRs in 607 minor league at-bats. Not exactly promising. In addition to his Rey O-esque power, Harper also struggled to stay healthy, playing in only 48, 53 and 75 games in his first three seasons. Despite all of this, the Mets promoted him to St. Lucie and Harper didn’t waste the opportunity. In 60 games, the left-handed first-baseman had a Todd Helton-esque performance hitting for average, power and showing discipline at the tune of 350/.440/.564 in 220 Abs in the Florida State League, arguably the toughest hitting environment in the minor leagues. Aside from the excellent batting average, what was most impressive about Harper’s performance were his peripherals. He showed excellent plate discipline by walking once every 10 Pas and his power was more than solid with an IsoP above 200, and more than 30 percent of hits for extra bases. Given his previous history, Harper’s season drew several opinions from scouts:

Few guys I talked to didn't have a strong opinion about Harper, but those opinions were all over the board. A few guys thought he was a potential top-20 talent because of his ability to hit for average (he has an above .300 average for his minor league career) while showing solid power . But others view him as a pinch hitter at best at the major league level who swings almost from his heels to get his power. He has a lot of work to do defensively, and he struggled when he moved up to Double-A. Defensively he's projects as a DH and backup 1B right now who will have to work to improve to be an everyday 1B.

With that kind of performance the Mets had no choice but to promote Harper to Double -A Binghamton. There, Harper continued to show solid power with almost half his hits going for extra bases, but struggled to hit for power and his walk rate took somewhat of a hit. Understandably there was some adjustment period, so Harper will get another chance to show 2004 wasn’t a fluke next season when begins the year as the starting first baseman for AA-Binghamton.