Baseball prospect lists are always a gamble. Some future stars rise to the occasion, while others fade away long before reaching Citi Field. The Mets’ Top 10 prospect class of 2011 was no different, a group filled with hype, heartbreak, and a few unforgettable characters.
Here’s a look at those 10 names Mets fans once pinned their hopes on and where they ended up.
Revisiting the Mets’ Top 10 Prospects from 2011
-
Juan Urbina — SP
Signed as an international free agent in 2009, Urbina once ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Gulf Coast League by Baseball America. But inconsistent velocity and lack of secondary pitch development held him back. He was released in 2014 after posting a 5.19 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 59 MiLB games.
Urbina has since pitched in the Venezuelan Winter League, never reaching MLB.
-
Jordany Valdespin — UTL
Valdespin was something else. After debuting in 2012, he quickly became the center of multiple controversies, including reportedly cussing out Terry Collins. He hit eight home runs in 94 games as a Met, including a franchise-record five as a pinch hitter, and had memorable celebrations like his admired homer vs. Pittsburgh in 2013… which led to him getting drilled while his teammates stood back.
Valdespin received a 50-game PED suspension as part of the Biogenesis scandal and later joined the Marlins, hitting .214 in 2014. He’s now a player-coach in the Dominican Winter League.
-
Jeurys Familia — RHP
One of the Mets’ better closers in recent memory, Familia racked up 124 saves and 487 strikeouts with a 3.22 ERA across 469 appearances. He set the Mets’ single-season saves record with 51 in 2016 and earned an All-Star nod before allowing a three-run homer in the Wild Card Game that October.
After a trade in 2018, he returned as a setup man for Edwin Díaz, posting a 3.94 ERA in his final Mets season. He last pitched in 2023 for Oakland before being designated for assignment.
-
Cory Vaughn — OF
A 4th-round pick in 2010 and the son of All-Star Greg Vaughn, Cory impressed early with 14 home runs and a .953 OPS in Brooklyn. But the production faded as he climbed the system, and he was released in 2013.
His last stretch in affiliated baseball came in 2019.
-
Reese Havens — INF
The Mets’ 2008 first-round pick never escaped the injury bug. Surgery for “rib-tip syndrome” in 2010 delayed his development, though he showed promise in Double-A in 2011, hitting .289 with a .372 OBP.
Recurring injuries forced him to retire at just 27 years old in 2014.
-
Lucas Duda — 1B
Before Pete Alonso, there was Lucas Duda.
A fan favorite, Duda launched 27 homers during the Mets’ 2015 World Series run and finished with 125 across seven seasons in Queens. He was traded to Tampa Bay in 2017 for reliever Drew Smith.
Duda’s final MLB season came in 2019 with the Royals. He is now an assistant hitting coach at Lipscomb University.
-
Kirk Nieuwenhuis — OF
“Captain Kirk” never carved out a full-time role, but he produced one of Citi Field’s greatest regular-season moments. A three-homer game in 2015 against Arizona, just days after being re-acquired from the Angels.
Nieuwenhuis hit .236 in 262 Mets games, finished his MLB career with Seattle in 2018, and now serves as the head baseball coach at Azusa Pacific University.
-
César Puello — OF
Once a top speed threat, Puello led the Mets organization with 41 stolen bases before receiving a 50-game PED suspension in 2013 alongside Jordany Valdespin. He left the Mets in 2015 without reaching the majors.
He bounced around for years before debuting with the Angels in 2017 and hitting his first MLB homer in 2019. Puello ended his career back with the Mets in 2021, batting .241 in Triple-A.
-
Matt Harvey — RHP
The Dark Knight.
Harvey took the baseball world by storm in 2012 with an 11-strikeout debut, then started the 2013 All-Star Game and finished 4th in Cy Young voting (2.27 ERA, 191 K). After missing 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, he returned as the fiery ace of the Mets’ 2015 World Series run.
But after the infamous ninth inning of Game 5, when he convinced Terry Collins to leave him in, Harvey was never the same. A stint in Cincinnati followed, then off field struggles with the Angels, and a final stop in Baltimore.
Still, one of the most electric runs in Mets history.
-
Wilmer Flores — 3B
On July 29, 2015, Flores was seen crying on the field as trade rumors swirled. Mets fans will never forget that moment. Days later, he walked off the Nationals with a dramatic home run, cementing himself as a Queens legend.
Flores hit .257 with 253 RBIs in six Mets seasons and still hold the franchise record for walk-off RBIs (10), with Pete Alonso right behind him.
He’s been a steady contributor in San Francisco since, most recently hitting 16 HR with 71 RBIs in 2025.
Main Photo Credits: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
The post Revisiting the Mets’ Top 10 Prospects from 2011 appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.