MLB.com is starting to roll out their top prospect lists by first releasing the top prospects by position. Yesterday they released their top 10 right handed pitchers and today they released their top 10 left handed pitchers.
Syndergaard being #2 on the RHP list wasn’t a surprise. MLB.com gives his fastball a 70, curveball a 60, changeup a 55, control a 60 and overall a 65. They also say all the normal things you hear about Noah, his frame, his delivery, the development of his pitches and control over the last couple of years. For those wondering who was #1, that ranking went to Lucas Giolito of the Nationals organization who is looking at his major league debut in 2016 (fastball 80, curveball 70, changeup 55, control 60, overall 65).
It was interesting seeing Steven Matz at #8 on the LHP list. I’m still used to Mets prospects being over-hyped within the system and with fans, and I’m not used to seeing our surprise prospects receiving National recognition, yet that is exactly what is happening to Matz. His fastball was given a 65, 50 for his curve, 60 for his changeup, 50 for his control with an overall score of 55. In their discussion of Matz, which you can read at the above link, they discuss his TJ surgery and his long path to where he is now from 2009 to 2012. The feel from their writing is that as he moves away from the surgery and injuries and continues to improve, the stigma of having that surgery starts to decrease. They also call him a potential frontline starter to join the Mets other young frontline starters. This builds off nicely from what we know about Matz from QBC15 where Wally Backman discussed how in his eyes Matz is the best pitching prospect in the Mets organization right now.
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