Comments on: Brad Holt’s Long Winding Road Through The Mets Farm System

By: t agee

t agee — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:29:33 +0000

I think it’s clear they rushed him. Through his first 200 IP in a year and a half in A-, and A+ he looked real good. He did average 11 K’s per 9 innings and just a couple of walks, a HR and 7 hits but that was in only 9 games. Nine games is not enough to say he’s mastered a grade. Right after a mid season promotion in 2009 to AA is where he started getting skittish. Hits, HR’s ERA, and BB’s went up, K’s came down. While no one outside of the organization can know it could certainly be that doubt set in over the off season and that led to his breakdown in 2010.

The fact is 9 games in A+ didn’t allow him the time to make adjustments against the same lineup 2,3 and 4 times and obviously didn’t provide him with the solutions to get hitters out at the next level.

You always want your top prospects going into the off season feeling confident and motivated. If he had been ready for AA in mid 2009 he wouldn’t have collapsed when he got there. Presumably he would have have built upon the success he was having in A+ and acquired more skills that he could have brought to AA in 2010 after having had a good offseason. His problems in AA mostly stemmed from increased walk rates. That’s from nibbling because his stuff didn’t translate from A+ and he had nothing to draw back upon.

Oftentimes rushing your prospects serves only to delay them. If Holt had been allowed to experience a full year in A+ (a league with lots of good pitching) he may very well have developed the skills needed to be successful in AA and quite possibly would have been in AAA this year. Either way 9 games in A+ wasn’t enough time to know that he was ready and he wasn’t even averaging 5 IP a start when he was promoted.

By: METS62FAN

METS62FAN — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:42:38 +0000

RATHER THAN VIEW HIS STRUGGLES AS A SETBACK, I PREFER TO VIEW THEM AS PART OF A WELL ROUNDED DEVELOPMENMT PROGRAM WHEREBY, HE’S EXPERIENCED THE TYPICAL GROWING PANGS OF PITCHING PROFESSIONALLY WHERE IT MEANS THE LEAST SO THAT WHEN OTHERES MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING THEM AFTER THEIR LAST BIG PTOMOTION, HE’S ALREADY KNOWLEDGABLE IN HOW TO SELFCORRECT & NOT LIKELY TO PAnic trying so many solutions it’s nearly impossible to reset back to your fundamentals. HAVING HOLT PROCEEDING IN AA, WITH HARVEY IN SINGLE A, MEJIA @ AAA, GEE JUST MOVED UP THE FINAL STEP, THE STAIRCASE OF PROVIDING GOOD, YOUNG PITCHING PROFICIENCY IS ALREADY IN PROGRESS, WHEREBY, HOPFULLY THE EMERGENCY PROMOTIONS BORN OUT OF DESPERATION AT THE COST OF PLAYER CONFIDENCE ARE NO LONGER GOING TO BE AN INTEGRAL PORTION OF NY MET SEASONS. THE POTENTIAL IS THERE TO POTENTIALLY NEED PLACEHOLDING ESTABLISHED VETS ON SHORT CONTRACTS ala Young,Capuano,Dickey TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE SOME CONSISTANCY FINALLY AS PART/PARCEL TO NYM BASEBALL. SHOULD GEE BE GIVEN CAPUANO’S SLOT AS SOME BELIEVE INEVITABLE THE MAKINGS OF A YOUNG RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE CAPABLE IF NOT FORMIDABLE ROTATION IS WITHIN SIGHT AS PELFREY IS THE EST Sr CITIZEN OF THE FUTURE GROUP.

I DON’T PARTICULARLY SEE A SEAVER OR A GOODEN IN THEIR MIDST, U KNOW THAT QUALITY DOMINATOR THAT ELICITS DISMAY FROM OPPOSITION PLAYERS WHEN THEY REALIZE THEIR SCHEDULED ENCOUNTER FALLS UPON THAT PITCHING STUD’S TURN ON THE BUMP. THOUGH IT’S STILL SO EARLY IN HIS CAREER, PERHAPS TARHEEL GRAD HARVEY WILL EVENTUALLY DON THAT MANTLE.

By: Metsie

Metsie — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:38:52 +0000

If a pitcher is overmatched at a higher level the solution is to get him to MATCH not just send him down so the numbers go up against lesser competition.

The key to developing youth is not to cottle them and put them where they can succeed it is to challenge them and put them where they struggle, identify WHY they struggle and have the coach work out a way for that player to overcome those struggles.

You need to CHALLENGE your prospects not cottle them!
Or send them someplace where the numbers are good merely because he can’t cope at a higher level.

By: Kranepool7

Kranepool7 — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:01:41 +0000

I think they rushed him and thats why he hit a wall. Im glad to see him pitching this well again.

By: Donal

Donal — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:53:00 +0000

BRAD HOLT!

Good to see him getting it together. We’ll probably see him in Spring Training next year.