None of the three prospects the Mariners acquired from the Mets in three-team
deal—righthander Maikel Cleto, first baseman Mike Carp or outfielder
Ezequiel Carrera—made the revised Top 10 in the Prospect Handbook. And none
of them would have ranked ahead of second baseman Luis Valbuena, who just
missed out on our Mariners Top 10 but will check in at No. 10 on our new
Indians Top 10. Cleto was No. 8 on our original Mets Top 10 before the trade.
Maikel Cleto, rhp, Mariners
Born: May 1, 1989. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 218. Signed: Dominican Republic,
2006. Signed by: Ramon Pena (Mets).
Cleto has the highest ceiling of the three prospects the Mariners acquired from
the Mets in the three-team, 12-player deal at the Winter Meetings that sent
J.J. Putz, Sean Green and Jeremy Reed to New York. Managers rated Cleto's
fastball as the best in the low Class A South Atlantic League last year, when
he topped out at 100 mph. Unlike many young, hard throwers, he has an idea of
where the ball is going. "Anyone who throws 91-98 and a ton of strikes, you
have to pay attention," one scout said. Cleto has a strong body that allowed
him to log 141 innings as a teenager in 2008, and Mets officials raved about
his work ethic. However, he's far from a finished product. His slurvy breaking
ball and changeup need to get a lot better if he's going to keep hitters from
sitting on his fastball. His delivery can be a little violent at times, too.
He's erratic in terms of results, showing no-hit stuff one day and the
inability to get out of the first inning the next. Cleto should start his
Mariners career in high Class A.
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