Beginning today, Beating the Bushes will be counting down to the start of the 2010 baseball season, which kicks off with a game between the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway Park April 4.
In the first part of our season preview, Bushes will examine Baseball America’s annual Top 10 prospect lists for the Mets and Yankees farm systems from 2000-2009. Today we’ll look at the lists from 2000.
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The Amazin’s Top 10 from 2000 isone to forget for Mets fans. Players like Lesli Brea and Jorge Toca are among the players on the list, and only one – Grant Roberts – made any kind of significant impact on the major league roster individually. The Mets did use some of the players on the list – notably Alex Escobar and Jason Tyner – as trade bait, and tragically lost one, Brian Cole, in a car accident.
10. Dicky Gonzalez, RHP — A 16th round pick by the Mets in 1996, Gonzalez went 3-2 with a 4.88 ERA in 16 games (seven starts) in 2001. He then was deal to the Montreal Expos in April 2002 as part of the trade to acquire reliever Scott Strickland. He had a brief cameo with Tampa Bay in 2004, and then was out of baseball.
9. Eric Cammack, RHP — The Mets’ 13th round pick in 1997, Cammack had an even shorter-lived career in the majors than Gonzalez. He appeared in eight games for the Mets in 2000, giving up seven runs (all earned) in 10 apperances without earning a decision.
8. Jason Tyner, OF — Although he never made much of an impact with the Mets, Tyner had a solid career as a fourth outfielder. He was traded, along with Paul Wilson, to Tampa Bay for outfielder Bubba Trammell and reliever Rick White in July 2000, and spent the next several years playing for the Rays and Twins, before finishing his career with a brief cameo with the Indians in 2008 before retiring.
7. Jorge Toca, 1B/OF — A Cuban defector who signed with the Mets in 1998, Toca had brief cups of coffee with the Amazin’s in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He then bounced around the minors – never again making the major leagues – in stints with the Pirates, Expos, Tigers, White Sox and Cardinals before calling it a career in 2006.
6. Lesli Brea, RHP — Brea never pitched in the majors with the Mets. After arriving before the 1999 season in a trade with Seattle for Butch Huskey, Brea was later dealt to the Orioles in July 2000, along with Melvin Mora and Mike Kinkade, for shortstop Mike Bordick.
5. Enrique Cruz, SS — Cruz is another prospect from the list to never play for the Mets. He was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Brewers in 2002, and later traded to the Rangers for pitcher Brian Shouse. He appeared in one major league game with Cincinnati in 2007, and retired after the 2008 season.
4. Brian Cole, OF — Selected by the Mets in the 18th round of the 1998 draft, Cole was moving quickly through the Mets’ system when he died in a car crash just before the 2001 season. The cause of the crash is still being fought out in court, with Cole’s family claiming it was because of defects in his Ford Explorer, while Ford blaming speeding and reckless driving. Either way, the Mets tragically lost a potential star player at the tender age of 22.
3. Grant Roberts, RHP — After a cup of coffee in 2000, Roberts pitched most of the 2001-03 seasons with the Mets before flaming out due to arm problems. He had shoulder surgery, and later tested positive for steroids. He signed with the Yankees in 2005, pitching for Double-A Trenton for part of the season, before calling it a career.
2. Pat Strange, RHP — Strange ended up rocketing through the minor leagues for the Mets, having success at every level, but was unable to ever get things going in the majors. He looked great in his brief major league debut in 2002, allowing one run in eight innings over five appearances. However, that ended up being the highlight of his major league career. Strange struggled in a brief major league cameo the following year, and then had a bad 2004 with Triple-A Norfolk. He signed with the Twins before the 2005 season, but retired after having elbow surgery.
1. Alex Escobar, OF — Escobar was one of the most-hyped prospects ever in the Mets’ system, and would up being a colossal disappointment. The Mets managed to cash in on Escobar’s perceievd value in 2001, dealing him to the Indians in exchange for Roberto Alomar. He later bounced from the Indians to the White Sox to the Nationals, where he had a brief stint of success in 2006, hitting .356 with four homers and 18 RBI in 87 at-bats. He eventually retired after the 2008 season.
