2
2011
Mets Have Benefited From Minor League Call-ups
An article by 
For the New York Mets, depth was a major issue heading into the season.
Like in 2009, the injury bug has plagued the team, only earlier this year than anyone expected.
However, the Mets have received timely contributions from several players who originally didn’t factor too much into the team’s plans for this season.
Here are five Mets who have been great finds after starting the year in the minors.
5. Jason Pridie
Jason Pridie had only appeared in 11 games for the Minnesota Twins over the last two seasons.
When Angel Pagan went down with an injury, the Mets recalled Pridie because he was the best defensive outfielder in Triple-A.
Not only had Pridie filled in great defensively when needed, but he’s also come up with a few clutch hits, including a pair of three-run homers earlier this season.
Don’t let the .239 batting average fool you. He’s driven in 11 runs and has drawn 11 walks, which has added to his .320 OBP.
He’s a great option to have around as a fourth outfielder and left-handed bat off the bench. He even has good speed which further adds to his value.
4. Ruben Tejada
Ruben Tejada is playing so well that the Mets will be faced with a tough decision once Ike Davis and David Wright are ready to return.
Tejada was in the competition for second base this spring, but the organization wanted him to play every day shortstop so he could be an insurance plan for Jose Reyes.
Tejada has been a magician with the glove, which has been the norm since his call-up last season.
However, this year he’s also off to a .316 clip. He won’t drive in many runs, but he has found a way to get on base.
If he keeps up his torrid hitting, the Mets may have to find a way to keep him on the roster.
3. Jason Isringhausen
To think, the Mets actually broke camp with Blaine Boyer instead of Jason Isringhausen.
Boyer is long gone, while Izzy has been a mainstay as the setup man in front of Frankie Rodriguez.
Isringhausen has only given up six runs in 21 games, and that includes a recent streak of giving up a run in three consecutive appearances.
He’s shown good life on his fastball and a very good curveball.
The Mets will continue to rely on Izzy late in games.
2. Dillon Gee
When Terry Collins called Dillon Gee a Major League ready pitcher this winter, he wasn’t kidding.
Gee has been phenomenal since his promotion in mid-April. He’s 5-0 with a 3.83 ERA in seven starts.
Once Chris Young went down for the season, Gee was able to cement himself in the rotation.
Though he’ll give up a few runs here and there, he throws strikes and gives his team a chance to win every time out.
When and if Johan Santana returns, Gee will hold down his rotation spot if he continues to put up “W’s.”
1. Justin Turner
Justin Turner has been the glue that has held the Mets together in the absence of Ike Davis and David Wright.
He didn’t get going right away, but really came into his own during the road series in Houston, including the game he drove in five runs and hit his first career home run.
Turner set the Mets rookie record for driving in at least one run for seven straight games. After not driving in a run for two games after that, he now has another six-game RBI streak going.
He’s driven in 21 runs in just 92 at-bats, and is hitting .337 on the year.
His hitting and defense have earned him a spot on the roster, and he should still get plenty of playing time once Wright and Davis return.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
24 Comments + Add Comment
Recent Comments
- Scott Rice's Arm: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Since it's an off day, I flew...
- BadBadLeroyBrown: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Mets would love Rauch because he is...
- BadBadLeroyBrown: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Bring him back with the stipulation that...
- Aldersons Dog Buddy: on Mets Have Opportunity To Soar To New Heights: Woof! I want Rauch & Batista I...
- Mr North Jersey: on From Left Field: Big Innings Have Been A Killer: "There is still time, and there’s no...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5390 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
“To think, the Mets actually broke camp with Blaine Boyer instead of Jason Isringhausen.”
They had to. Izzy needed two weeks because he hurt soemthing. If he was helthy, Blaine Boyer never would have been on the team.
Right. Fans sometimes forget that players have contract options.
For example, Justin Turner was in the minor leagues anyway. Giving Emaus a chance, is as much of a risk as giving any Rule 5 player a chance. If it fails, you have to lose the guy for good. So you give him a chance early on and see what you’ve got. If you got nothing, you go to plan B.
For this very reason is why signing Chris Young was a smart move. Best case was you get some nice starts, worst was he gets injured and you already have his replacement in the minors.
I’d sign Chris Young to a million dollar deal every single day and twice on Sundays.
I agree. He’s a real good pitcher when healthy. And $1mil for him with having Gee as your backup is a no brainer. A healthy Chris Young is the best pitcher on this staff as presently constructed.
Injury prone? Yeah absolutely. But that’s why you only give him $1m with incentives and not some ridiculous deal
+1
soemthing” helthy,”
xtree-micon
don’t let jesseP (team spell check) see you wrote that w/o correcting it
Until this site embeds a spell-checker, my comments will likely have spelling errors. That’s why I type all my posts in Word first.
got you… i don’t mind and never will, but others need the nesecity to actually bring that up like is a crime yunowhatimsayin!!
I’m a stickler for grammar, but spelling…..eh. If I catch it, I’ll correct it.
When you look at the development and contributions the Mets are getting from Turner, Gee and Tejada, it’s hard to not to get pretty excited. I know they are each going with small sample sizes but Gee has been flat out outstanding. He reminds me a lot of Rick Reed from back in the day. And a little of Bobby Jones, minus the heavy sinker. But his even temperament and approach are truly marvelous, and he’s full of surprises, which is fun to watch. Something to note, the Mets have at least three Dillon Gee clones following right behind him in the system, each of whom could be ready within the next two years. Starting with Chris Schwinden who is so close to being called up, they held him out of his last scheduled start at Buffalo. Following closely, fellow Bison Josh Stinson, and Bingy right-hander Brandon Moore, who is still the furthest away. Tejada’s continued development is a thing of beauty, he seems to be able to make adjustments at the plate on a big league level now and he should continue to improve with experience. It’s not hard to see similarities with his defense and that of Rey Ordonez, but he has a much higher ceiling as a hitter than Rey Rey. But the guy I am most excited about is Justin Turner, who came out of nowhere! Thank you Wayne Krivsky! Turner is absolutely just what the doctor ordered for this team. It shows how addition by subtraction works. The Mets make a courageous move and jettisoned Luis Castillo, which creates an opportunity for someone else. And that someone else was a guy who was ready to contribute to a big league team but he just needed a, that’s right you can say it, an opportunity. I love Turner. The thing I love the most about him, is that he does something hardly any other Met has done for years. He hits in the clutch, he drives in runs. And not just any runs, BIG runs. I love when a player shows those kind of intangibles, Jason Pridie seems to have that ability also. I mean the Mets only have four three run homers this year and Pridie has two of those. Who does Turner remind me of? If you combined Tim Tuefel with Ken Oberkfell, and that’s not half-bad!
I’m sure they had a plan for each of them except maybe Pridie. I don’t think they wanted to bring up Izzy with the cold at the start of season. Gee knew he was coming up as the 1st starter from minors. Tejada was coming up as backup to 2nd and SS. Turner was getting at bats while they checked Emaus out, then Emaus checked out. Eventually Hairston is also going to check out.
Ahh, Dillon Gee. Seems like yesterday people here wanted Chris Crapuano in the starting rotation because he won 18 games ONCE and was a veteran. Yeah, a crap veteran with a ERA in the 4-5 range and a high H/9. I hope all those people who underestimated Gee are humbled.
Nope, still prefer Cap in the rotation and Gee beginning the year in Buffalo and available for depth. Yes, Gee got off to a slow start. So, using your reasoning, we should have cut Pelfrey, Niese and Dickey.
Imagine if they did it your way, and cap isn’t on the team and Gee is already starting when Young goes down. what then? Does the idea of Pat Misch getting a bunch of starts get you excited?
“Imagine if they did it your way, and cap isn’t on the team and Gee is already starting when Young goes down. what then?”
Chris Schwinden says hi.
And if this were April 1st we’d all respond “who are you”?
Buffalo Soldiers………..
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you your August version of the Fire Sold NY Mets…
Davis 1B
Turner 2B
Tejada SS
Murphy 3B
Pagan CF
F-Mart and Pridie RF
Bay LF
Paulino and Thole C
I don’t trust David will be healthy and maybe even here by then if he is. Reyes and Beltran will be traded.
It will be another Midnight Massacre if they lose a series or two to teams like the Pirates!
The kids have surprised a lot of the people who thought they were just plain awful.
Maybe they are, but they will be what we have if there is a firesale!
i read that and almost threw up.. is embarrassing..
You sound like a real optimist Metsie.
You call that optimistic? I don’t…But I do call it within the realm of reality if we have a firesale soon.
You all are relly off base. All thise guys you now loive and cherish wre in the minors because the over the hill and out of touvh gm wouldn’t give jobs to any more omar guys than he had to., the fact is he is a failure and horrid judge of talent and the team would be on pace for 40 wins if not for the guys omar found off of scrap heaps. But don’t give omar any credit after all you all hate on him now. You’ll be hatin alderson soon enough.
Yup our farm is really setting the world on fire. Duda, Parnell, Thole, Murphy….we sure got some MVPs from Omar.
You left out Davis….
no one said Omar wasn’t a good talent evaluator. he’s just a terrible executive.