Toby Hyde is now perilously close to announcing his top prospect. #2 is Jeurys Familia. Toby really likes Familia, as do I, but I just can't put him over Wheeler. You should still know the name, and it's hey-YOR-ees for the record. Betting that Gonzalez Germen locks down that #1 slot. Well, either him or Jeckyol De Leon.

A little too much Harvey ST hype for my liking by the writers.... I really hope this doesn't become "Mejia-gate #2".

As in him making the roster? Sandy has already said it's not happening. Heck, by all indications, Harvey and Familia aren't even likely breaking the AAA roster. I wouldn't worry.

McCulloughSL Lucas Duda steps in against Matt Harvey. It's the irresistible force meets the irresistible force. 19 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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DPLennon Harvey warming. Now comes an exercise I like to call "Bringing the noise." #Mets 35 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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DPLennon Harvey vs Duda in live BP. Sort of like Godzilla vs. Monster X. #Mets 16 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Why do we assume Sandy is some idiot whose going to succumb to pressure of NY writers?

Alderson said he is not tempted to consider having Matt Harvey or Jeurys Familia make the rotation if one of the incumbents is injured as the team breaks camp. (Zack Wheeler, the highly regarded prospect acquired in the Beltran trade, has not pitched above Class A ball and is not even in major league camp, while Jenrry Mejia still is rebounding from Tommy John surgery.)

"I don't think it's a problem waiting as we sit here today," Alderson said about patience with his big-four pitching prospects. "The problem arises when one of your starting five goes down and you're tempted to bring somebody up at an earlier time. ... Let's face it, some of the guys in that rotation would like to have better years than they had last year. But, at the same time, the real problem is depth in the event somebody goes down. So the temptation with those three guys [excluding the rehabbing Mejia] doesn't really exist at the moment. ... I'd be very surprised if we broke from some sort of timetable. Now that's not to say that somebody doesn't get off to a great start at Triple-A and is doing this and that and we have an injury. But right now, when I look at our rotation, and the depth for our rotation, none of those guys are in there. So of the five guys we have, and then the three to five guys we have backing them up, they're not in that three to five category."

Why Ranked Here: The Mets and Mets fans can dream about Harvey fronting the rotation of their next playoff team. He has both the first-round pedigree and the raw stuff. Now can he put it all together in game action?

The son of a hitting coach, Harvey has a full four-pitch arsenal with a slider, curve and changeup to complement his plus fastball. His heater sits in the low-mid 90s, and can touch 96 or 97. In the offseason after the 2011 season, he worked to add a two-seam fastball/sinker to his arsenal.

Scouts liked both of Harvey’s breaking balls, the curve and the slider, which now operate as two defined pitches. The velocity on his slider, which he did not start throwing until his junior year of college, increased from his collegiate years to 86-89 mph as a professional in 2011. Harvey learned to trust his grips and in his words, “Let the pitch go.” The curveball, which was always his out pitch as an amateur, remains a weapon to hitters of both sides.

My last five out when I started writing: Chase Huchingson, Armando Rodriguez, Gilbert Gomez, Tyler Pill and Steven Matz.

I really liked Julian Hilario and Luis Cessa’s arms, but as GCL guys, they were so far away, I’d like to see them pitch their way up the lists.

I wonder if I just didn’t brainfart completely by leaving Jeremy Hefner off. He’s not sexy, but I found a spot for Chris Schwinden on the theory that he’ll have a chance to contribute to the 2012 Mets. Hefner might have deserved a spot on the same logic, and his numbers were hurt by the fact that he was pitching in hitter-friendly environments in the Texas and Pacific Coast Leagues.

I missed at least one of Chase Huchingson or Hamilton Bennett on the list. Honestly, I wouldn’t know who to drop in their favor, but then I don’t get the high ranking of Edgin(19). What makes Edgin the so much better prospect?

Fastball separates the three lefty relievers. Edgin has a plus fastball. He was sitting 92-93 and touched 95 for Savannah. His slider can be nasty too.

Huchingson is lanky at 6’5″ and batters have a tough time picking up the ball out of a octopus-like motion that’s all arms and legs. He was mostly in the upper 80s with his fastball with a 90s sprinkled in. He calls his breaking ball a curve, but it has a lot of slider action to it out of a low arm-slot.

Bennett is a great story of personal redemption, but succeeded at low-a with lots of curveballs and deception rather than stuff that will play at higher levels.