Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian
The Kent trade had just as much to do with his attitude/demeanor than from a talent evaluation perspective imo, so it's hard to bash the Mets for that one. Plus he had his best years in his early 30's batting in a lineup with arguably the most prodigious hitter of the past 40 years, so who's to say he'd become that on the Mets.
Wheeler is just as good (likely better) than Harvey is. Harvey is slightly overrated now because of his great start in big leagues this year, but Wheeler has the better stuff.
also on the Mets & developing "stud" pitchers; the Mets haven't had stud pitching prospects in quite some time. Pelfrey was vastly overrated and never was looked at as a front of the line starter (sad that the Mets were going to draft Bruce there instead). Generation K is always held up as this terrible job by the Mets, but it was mostly injuries that held the three of them back (plus Wilson was a headcase). They've done a decent job recently with guys like Niese and Gee, but it's more of a reflection of poor drafting than bad player management.
And Nolan Ryan? Ron Darling? Jerry Koosman?
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You cant sugarcoat the Kent trade. It was a terrible trade. It was a terrible trade at the time as well. Baerga was fat, lazy and injured when he was acquired. Kent was widely regarded as one of the best young 2B in the game as a met. Plus, he was an all-star on three different teams. It's a cop out to say he was a great hitter because of Bonds.
How is Harvey the one who's overrated when he's the one who's actually dominated MLB hitters? Harvey threw 60 IP at the major league level while Wheeler has only 33 IP at AAA???
Injuries or headcase???? What's the difference? The point is that the Mets don't develop frontline starters....when they've won, they acquired them.
Koosman was never the ace of the staff until much later in his career. Seaver ran the staff. Ryan was never a dominant starter as a Met. Darling was a high Rangers draft pick and spent a year in their system before being traded. He was an above-average picther at best...really only had one "dominant" season.
50 years history and only two aforementioned pitchers were drafted and developed by the Mets who went on to become legit aces. Koosman is a close third.