By Joey DeMayo

Left hander Jonathon Niese has emerged in the past year as far as being a prospect goes. Last season, depending who you asked, he was ranked somewhere in the range of 5th-7th on the Mets top ten prospect list. When the Mets acquired Johan Santana from the Twins for Carlos Gomez (OF), Deolis Guerra (RHSP), Kevin Mulvey (RHSP), and Philip Humber (RHSP), Niese flew up as the no doubt 2nd best prospect in the system behind outfielder Fernando Martinez.

Jon is 21 years of age, and is currently pitching for the Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League (AA). Last season, at 20, he pitched in the Florida State League (High-A) for the St. Lucie Mets. He posted an 11-7 record with a 4.29 ERA, allowing 151 hits over 134.1 innings pitched, equating to a .285 BAA (batting average against).

This year Jon has made leaps and strides in his development. As of 7/26, Jon is 6-7 with a 3.04 ERA, surrendering 118 hits over 124.1 innings, which is a .253 BAA. Jon is being so highly valued, that it is very possible he is pretty much untouchable from the organization as the July 31st trading deadline comes. A lot of people like Niese to be a good #3 type starter at the big league level. I had the chance to speak to Jon, and ask him a few questions.

JD: How does it feel to know that now you are widely regarded as the second best prospect and best pitcher in the Mets system when you were a decent amount further down last year? Do you feel any extra added pressure to perform because of how you are now perceived?

JN: Well it’s a great feeling…I think with the Santana trade and the prospects that left kind of helped me out…my pitching has stayed the same..There really isn’t much pressure…I go out there and try to help the team win and that’s all I really think about.

JD: For the fans that don’t know much about Jon niese, give a rundown of Jon niese the pitcher, your repertoire, what you think your best pitch is etc.

JN: I’m a 6 foot 3 lefty who sits 88-91 hitting 92 and 93 I throw two types of fastballs four seam and two seam. I have a changeup and a hard curveball/cutter and a 12-6 curveball for an out pitch…my best pitch is my fastball.

JD: What adjustments have you made from last year where you posted an ERA of just about a run higher than you’re posting this year in Double-A where it’s considered to have the best talent in the minors.

JN: I’m just trying to pitch to early contact and mix my pitches. I try not to make too many mistakes in the middle of the plate…if I make a mistake I try to make it off the plate…double A guys are good at hitting mistakes much better than the guys in high A.

JD: Who was your idol growing up and why?

JN: My dad because he is the one who coached me growing up and he was the one who got me to where I am…if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here today…that’s for sure and that’s why he is my idol.

JD: With a high percentage of the Mets top prospects playing in Binghamton, how good a shot do you think the B-Mets have to make the playoffs and possibly win a championship? And how focused on that goal

JN: There is a lot of talent on this team. If we can put that all together there is no doubt we will win a championship. That is the reason we are here is to win so that is our focus.

JD: You were invited to big league spring training this year. Were there any big leaguers that you kind of followed and tried to learn a lot from? If so, who? And what did you learn?

JN: Yeah there was a lot of knowledge there and I followed Pedro and Johan a little and kind of watched what they did and how they prepared themselves and so on…I saw and spoke with sandy Koufax and learned a lot from him about throwing pitches and how he did it. Billy Wagner is also a great guy to learn from.

Joey DeMayo is a minor league analyst for nybaseballdigest.com

Tags: B-Mets, Jon Niese, New York Mets