Aug
23
2011

Dynamic Duo, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, Hurl Gems

An article by Craig Lerner

While the Mets continued their descent to the bottom of the NL East Standings last night in Philadelphia, there’s two big reasons that better days may be coming as Mets pitching prospects Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler continue to shine down in the minors.

The Mets’ new dynamic duo, and arguably the two top prospects in the organization, are settling in very nicely for their respective teams in Binghamton (Harvey) and St. Lucie (Wheeler).

Matt Harvey is 13th in the Minor Leagues with 151 strikeouts in 127 2/3 innings.

Last night, Matt Harvey hurled another gem as the B-Mets defeated the Erie Sea Wolves 2-0 for their fifth straight victory. The big right-hander fired seven shutout innings and allowed just four singles while striking out five.

Harvey walked two and faced only three over the minimum in one of his best starts since being promoted to Binghamton in late June. The 22-year old induced three groundballs when he absolutely needed them, and his defense did the rest by turning three double plays.

Harvey earned All Star honors for the FSL after going 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA for St. Lucie before his promotion., but now he picks up his 12th win on Monday- tops in the organization and that includes the major league squad as well.

Meanwhile down in St. Lucie on Sunday night, Zack Wheeler pitched a dandy of a game himself, but got the no-decision in a 3-1 loss to the Bradenton Marauders.

Wheeler allowed just one run on four hits while striking out nine batters and walking two. His fastball got as high as 97mph and he was consistently in the mid-90′s all night long.

The nine strikeouts were his most in a game since joining the organization and in four starts he has now struck out 23 batters while walking 5 in 20 innings of work. Small sample size, yes, but encouraging nonetheless.

Nothing, but good stuff from these two in the last few weeks.

About the Author: Craig Lerner

I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.

28 Comments + Add Comment

alex68 August 23, 2011 at 9:14 am

sigh…..
- JoeSmith August 23, 2011 at 12:02 pm
  
  Seriously – how dare the future look bright…………..
Brandon Butler August 23, 2011 at 9:14 am

Future ACES ANYONE? I cannot wait to see these two at Citi Field. These guys are definitely the future of the rotation.
- alex68 August 23, 2011 at 9:18 am
  
  can we wait at least 2 more years with wheeler please???? just.. just until he gets to double A.. are we that bad that we need to update what’s going on with our single A pitchers now?? i mean, wow, i am excited don’t get me wrong, seeing hopefully wheeler, familia, mejia and harvey all together and performing well will be a dream come trough, but come on man.. stop this nonsense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  - jessep August 23, 2011 at 9:25 am
    
    Alex: Didn’t we updated how Harvey was doing when in Single A?
    
    I am however on board with waiting and seeing before I annoint Wheeler or Harvey for that matter, anything. Still got a long way to go in my view.
    
    I don’t mind excitement over two legit prospects though.
    
    The thing I continue to observe with Wheeler is that K/BB ratio.
    - alex68 August 23, 2011 at 9:29 am
      
      there has been at least 5 or 6 articles pertaining to nimmo and wheeler in the past 2 months or so, there have been about 3 or 4 at best about harvey, mejia and familia COMBINED!!!!! stop with the SMOOCHFEST!
      - Donal August 23, 2011 at 10:25 am
        
        Well, Mejia hasn’t pitched since early May.
        
        And Harvey gets plenty of attention.
        
        Some of those articles mentioning Nimmo and Wheeler have been over all assessments of the farm.
        
        Of course, if you don’t want to read about Wheeler or Nimmo, then don’t click on the posts that have their names in the title.
- METS62FAN August 23, 2011 at 10:57 am
  
  2014!!! TO REACH PEAK FERMENTATION INTO CAPABLE, REGULAR ROTATIONAL SP AFTER LATE ’13 CALLUPS FOR A TASTE ENSUING PERIOD DEDICATED TO SPIT & POLISH APPLICATION
  - Bayonne Mets Fan August 23, 2011 at 11:05 am
    
    what is this? Directions for use for minor league pitchers? lol Where do they stick the label?
Bayonne Mets Fan August 23, 2011 at 10:30 am

How many innings did Wheeler pitch?

The writer tells us he struck out 9, walked 2 and allowed 4 runs on 2 hits but doesn’t tell us how many innings he pitched? I’ve never heard of this type of reporting in my life.

I’m sure Wheeler pitched a good game but it would be nice to know if he did this in 5, 6, or 9 innings.

Unbelievable, and it’s not the first time Lerner fails to provide innings pitched. What the hell kind of reporting is that?
- alex68 August 23, 2011 at 10:34 am
  
  bayonne,
  
  5 innings 9 k’s 4 hits and 2 walks
  - Bayonne Mets Fan August 23, 2011 at 10:42 am
    
    thanks alex,
    
    very simple. Remember whenever we would hear about a pitcher’s performance for that day we would know how many innings they pitched in that start?
    
    Those were the days, lol.
    - alex68 August 23, 2011 at 10:43 am
      
      lmao, yeah, he doesn’t want ppl to label his 5 inning start john mainesque..
    - JoeSmith August 23, 2011 at 12:10 pm
      
      Remember when people realized this is a blog and not actually life itself and if there was something missing you’d just go and find what you were looking for yourself,instead of standing on a soap box criticizing then actually stepping up and volunteering to write yourself.
      
      Easier to criticize then to actually do.
      - Bayonne Mets Fan August 23, 2011 at 12:42 pm
        
        yeah okay so from now on when Hojo, Dave or whoever post game recaps they can just tell how who started and won/lost, how many runs they gave up and we can look up the rest ourselves
        
        JoeSmith August 23, 2011 at 4:30 pm
        
        …..Or as a fan just watch the game yourself.
        
        MMO nice site but if it’s your only source of news that answers a lot – LOLOL
- Donal August 23, 2011 at 10:38 am
  
  over all, 23 Ks in 20 innings. That’s in the post.
  
  5 IP yesterday
  - alex68 August 23, 2011 at 10:39 am
    
    by the way, all in 4 starts.. so, he’s averagin 5 innings per star.. joh maine like pitching if you as k me..
    - Donal August 23, 2011 at 10:41 am
      
      No one did. Mainly because you have never demonstrated knowledge of player development.
      - alex68 August 23, 2011 at 10:43 am
        
        comments like that is the reason why maniac said this:
        
        BRB I have to got take a Donal. (Just relieving myself with humor)
        
        JoeSmith August 23, 2011 at 12:11 pm
        
        Comments like this, you mean ones with facts to back them up? Yeah………clever
    - jessep August 23, 2011 at 10:57 am
      
      You understand minor league A ball pitchers with a high ceiling often are not thrown out there to throw CG’s right?
      
      Lincecum averaged under 5IP per minor league start, Felix Hernandez averaged just over 5 innings per minor league start, Verlander 5.2 innings per start, Kershaw 5 innings per start
      
      Do I need to go on? I’m not saying Wheeler is any of these guys. I’m saying you’re focusing on a stat that means nothing in the minor leagues. He’s not there to get his arm to a 9 inning pace yet. He’s there to learn how to pitch. It has nothing to do with John Maine. It has everything to do with developing a pitcher.
      - darth minaya August 23, 2011 at 1:01 pm
        
        alex68 – please tell us about the oldie times when men were men and pitchers threw 160 pitches a game and pitched 18 complete games per season.
        
        Its clear that you are an old dude, and that’s where your antiquated point of view is coming from.
        
        alex68 August 23, 2011 at 1:12 pm
        
        darth,
        
        i am old school, not old, just old school.. no need news on a 5 inning pitch day from a single A pitcher..
        
        JoeSmith August 23, 2011 at 6:42 pm
        
        Sounds more like no school
- Des August 23, 2011 at 10:53 am
  
  Let me help you out, Bayonne.
  
  Wheeler pitched 5.0 innings. 4H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 9SO, 0HR. GO-FO 2-4.
  For the season, 2.70 ERA.
  
  All of this info is readily available on the internet.
Lifelongmetsfan August 23, 2011 at 10:37 am

AWESOME! Something to look forward to in 2 or 3 years.. Lets hope its not a Paul Wilson, Bill Paulishper(sp) situation. HAHahA! But you know it will be…… Oh God, I feel so negative!
sarge August 23, 2011 at 1:28 pm

As stated young pitcher are limited to 5 innings in low minors cause they are there to learn how to pitch not stretch out their arms as that happens later plus you want to save some of those bullets in the arm for MLB.

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	23	18	.561	-
Nationals	23	19	.548	0.5
Phillies	20	22	.476	3.5
Mets	16	23	.410	6.0
Marlins	11	31	.262	12.5

Last updated: 05/18/2013

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