#41 Zack Wheeler

New York Mets

DOB: 5/30/1990

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2014

Wheeler was traded straight up for Carlos Beltran in July and was sent immediately to High Class A St. Lucie where he posted a 2.00 ERA with a 31:5 K:BB ratio in 27 innings.  Those numbers were considerably better than those from the 88 innings he threw in the California League before the trade.  Nevertheless, Wheeler immediately became the top prospect in the Mets organization, and at just 21 years of age, he should be in the rotation at Citi by 2014.

Wheeler features a fastball that sits consistently around 94-95 mph with the ability to reach back for 97 mph.  His best secondary pitch is a true 60 curveball with good 12-6 shape and about 15 mph off of the heater.  His third pitch is a changeup that is far behind the other two pitches at this point due primarily to an inability to maintain arm speed or slot.  The pitch has arm side life with sink, though, and has a chance to be a useable pitch with just minor improvement.

His 6-foot-4 frame is lanky and projectable and might still allow him to pick up a tick on the fastball.  Wheeler should begin the year in Double-A and might push that ETA up a bit, but the Mets are the worst team in the East and have no business rushing either Wheeler or Harvey in our opinion.  The good news for fans in Queens is that the Mets appear to finally have real pitching prospects with real top-of-the-rotation upside.

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• In a stunning eight-player deal, the Tampa Bay Rays traded Matt Garza, Fernando Martinez, and Zach Rosscup to the Chicago Cubs, and received a slew of prospects in return- Chris Archer, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld, and Hak-Ju Lee.  Although the players that the Cubs parted with are just prospects – all but Fuld are yet to reach the Major Leagues – I sincerely believe that they surrendered too much for Garza.  And after reading Dave Cameron’s analysis of Garza over at FanGraphs, I’ve only become more convinced this was the case.

• Although they are not nearly as despicable as the staff of the Chicago Tribune – don’t get me started on Phil Rogers – the Chicago Sun Times sports writers are still pretty inept.  On the morning following the announcement of the Garza trade, the Sun Times published a photo of Joaquin Benoit on the cover of the sports section instead of the newly acquired Garza.  A slip up of this magnitude speaks volumes about the crack-squad of writers and editors that they willingly employ.

• This week we learned that the St. Louis Cardinals and their prized slugger, Albert Pujols, resumed talks regarding an extension before the 2011 season.  But even when the Cardinals lock up the all-mighty Pujols, will it be enough? I-70 Baseball explores the trades made by the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs, and offers some insight as to how the 2011 Cardinals team will compare.

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“Hell, If I’d known 40-40 was going to be a big deal, I’d have done it every year!”- Mickey Mantle

“40/40 club/ESPN on the seats”

This is exclusivity at it’s best.  Fellow blogger Brett (aka my lil brother) wrote a piece on baseball’s influence over hip-hop music.  I felt that out of tribute, I should find my own quote from this same influence.  The above quote is from Jay-Z.  He is rapping about how he is above the rest.  He spits about pushing weight (crack-cocaine to be exact) to promote his growth as an exclusive member.  He is actually the owner of a NY night club called The 40/40 club.  Can you name all of the club member VIP’s?  Jay-Z probably couldn’t either, so it’s all money.

The 40/40 club is exclusive.  So exclusive in fact, that it only has 4 members. Quick, what do Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano have in common?  If you guessed being homos you were close, but not correct.  They have all been linked in one way or another to steroids.  (As a responsible reporter, ehhh, I should note here that Soriano has only been indirectly linked to ‘roids.)  That’s right; the 40/40 club is the prime example of what the steroid era meant for baseball.  Sure, Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Vlad Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano (for a 2^nd time) and Carlos Beltran all came close.  But that is no horseshoe or hand grenade throwing.  These 4 men (using the term loosely) are the only  to achieve such asterisk laced glory.

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