2
2012
MMO Minors: A Demotion For Familia and A Promotion For Mateo Might Be Imminent
An article by 
I find it amazing how little attention RHP Luis Mateo gets when the topic of conversation is about the Mets’ best pitching prospects. If you didn’t know any better you would think that Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Matt Harvey and one or two others, were the only starting pitchers in the Mets minor league system.
So let me introduce you to rising star Luis Mateo, currently the hottest pitcher in the Mets organization. This very young and promising starter is off to a great start for Brooklyn:
Last night, the 22-year-old right-hander scattered only three hits while striking out six and walking none as his confidence rises with every passing dominant start. Through 17.2 innings this season, Mateo has allowed just one run on seven hits while walking two and striking out 22. His future in Brooklyn may be winding down and a promotion to Savannah could come as soon as next week – that’s if the higher-ups opt to wait that long.
As we wrote last week, Mateo, averaged 10.8 strike-outs per nine innings in what was his first taste of pro ball for the DSL Mets last season. But for those of you who thought 2011 might have been a fluke, perish the thought as he’s now boasting an even higher 11.5 K/9 rate against better competition.
Mateo is a legit prospect and as our Minor League guru Pete told me yesterday while watching him live, not only does he throw hard, but he does so “effortlessly”. At 6-foot-three and 200 pounds, Mateo is an imposing presence on the mound and he was hitting 96mph this weekend. His slider is heavy and can miss bats, and his changeup keeps getting better and better the more he incorporates it into his offerings.
Pete got to see Mateo live and in action last night and I’m sure he’ll have plenty more to say about our latest prized pitching prospect, Luis Mateo. Remember the name.
On the flip-side of things, RHP Jeurys Familia has seen his stock tumble in 2012. The 22-year old delivered another sour note last night for the Buffalo Bisons lasting just three and a third innings and getting knocked up for seven runs on five hits and three walks. It was brutal to say the least.
For the season, Familia is now 5-5 with a 5.28 ERA in 17 starts. In 75 innings pitched he has allowed 81 hits and 52 walks while striking out 67. That said he hasn’t topped four strikeouts in any of his last five outings.
After last night’s loss, manager Wally Backman openly suggesting that a demotion to Double-A Binghamton may be in order for Familia, but also took some blame for the young right-handers failure to execute for Buffalo.
“I look at it as trying to work it out here, because then I feel like I failed him to some extent. But is that a possibility? It probably is a possibility. You can only take so many lumps before a guy loses total focus, so that’s something that could be discussed. But I look at it as failure upon myself and my coaches not being able to get somebody right, especially when we know what kind of stuff he has.”
Anyway, here we have two very talented pitching prospects each moving in totally opposite directions. You can expect some news on both very soon.
Incidentally, I want to know what you think of our expanded minor league coverage. Let us know what you think of our comprehensive Farm Reports, live game coverage, prospect profiles, mailbag pieces, Hot/Not lists and of course all of our exclusive interviews – over 50 of them already in 2012. When I told you this Winter that we were going to expand our Mets minor league coverage, our goal was to strive to be the best. How are we doing in that regard? Drop us a line at GetMetsmerized@aol.com.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
8 Comments + Add Comment
Recent Comments
- Metsie: on Sandy Disappointed With Some Of His Moves And The Team’s Performance: You can't be serious Dean.... Yankees current attendance...
- BadBadLeroyBrown: on Sandy Disappointed With Some Of His Moves And The Team’s Performance: Uhhhh??? Easier to get to for you...
- Major Mangu: on Sandy Disappointed With Some Of His Moves And The Team’s Performance: The Yanks have a special case though... Unlike...
- philipag: on Sandy Disappointed With Some Of His Moves And The Team’s Performance: It may very well have been that...
- Major Mangu: on MLB Denies Mets Appeal On Harvey Run: lets not forget the mets appealing to...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5382 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
I don’t know how to read the “possibility” quote from Backman in turms of how serious a consideration that is but I agree with him in wanting him to work it out there in AAA.
The thing one must consider with regards to Buffalo and Binghamton is not just what’s best for the Mets but also what’s best for those two cities and the independent ownership groups who want a winner and are both considering bolting the Mets once their deals are over. Now that we have our people going there and talking to them it’s amazing to hear how dissatisfied they are with the products on the field right now. There’s a lot of negative buzz in Buffalo and Bingo right now and it’s almost impossible to go there and not hear about it.
I’m going to make a ‘case in point’ to Joe’s comment, but want to preface it with this first – for the most part, fans in minor league cities understand we are here for the development of players for the big club, it’s a roll we’ve played in Binghamton in both hockey since the 70′s and baseball since the early 1900′s (with the exception of the dark years 69-92). That being said, it gets very frustrating to watch night after night as the home team just isn’t getting it done. Last night is a good example of that, and I’ll use one of my co-workers as the ‘casual fan’ example to bring us back around to Joe’s comment. He (my co-worker) went to the game, his first this season so in my book he qualifies as the casual fan. Came to work this morning, we talked about him going to the game, and his words to me were ‘man, those guys really stink, I mean they looked terrible’. You know what? He was right – they looked like the Keystone Cops last night. I was at the game too, and saw first hand the follies that ensued. On the heels of that, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t pay to go and watch them play again if that’s how the games usually went. Disposable income for entertainment is at a premium everywhere these days, including Binghamton – if the games aren’t ‘fun’ to go to people won’t go. That’s the cross every minor league team has to bear. They need to not only put a good product in the stands (that’s up to the club), but for god’s sakes at the least put something somewhat competitive on the field too (that’s up to the parent club). This team in Binghamton was competitive, and did at least give the fans here something to hope for every game. In the last three weeks, there has been a complete change. Between the players coming up from St. Lucie learning the game at a higher level, and the players coming down from Buffalo that couldn’t get it done there, this team is in a downward spiral. Joe’s absolutely right – there is a lot of negative buzz in Binghamton right now and it’s the fault of the Mets, not the Binghamton Mets organization, for that. This ‘shift’ is something we have always seen in years past, BUT it usually came towards the end of the season (hello, 10 game losing streak to end the 2004 season), NOT at the All-Star Break.
By the way, what do you guys think of this:
https://twitter.com/MetsMerized/status/219777691778420736/photo/1
This was a Hudson Valley renegades promotion, not a Mets promotion. $20 bucks to take a picture with HoJo?
I found this to be in very poor taste.
I don’t know if this is commonplace around the minors similar to paying for autograph sessions but I once bought a Dwight Gooden VHS just to have the privilege of having him sign it so if people want to pay 20 bucks for a pic with HoJo I can’t really complain.
I think you can’t really get that excited about a kid at that low of a level, in terms of what they are going to do in the majors, since normally you are looking at what, 5 years from Brooklyn to the majors (many levels in between there!)
so you here a lot more about guys at upper levels, since they can be discussed in terms of actually making the majors in the near future.
and interesting to note, mateo and Familia are the same age, but one guy is in rookie ball, and the other one already up in AAA (or maybe soon AA?) so that has to play a big part in it.
look at it this way. What would happen (in terms of dominance/success) if you send Familia back to the NYP league, and promoted Mateo to Buffalo?
and the reality of who the fans are discussing is not the same as the projection lists (Like BA) where ultimate ceiling comes much more into play.
Having seen Mateo throw, I was really impressive. He throws gas and paints the corners. Not only does he have 3 plus pitches, he commands all 3. Low level or not he may be our best pitching prospect in a year from now.
I will readily admit that the guys in A and AA get short shrift from me on the whole because of the level they are at and probably unfairly on my part.
I really don’t start paying much attention to thier success till they start showing it in AAA because success there means they are soon on their way here and success or failure in A and AA just means they will stay down a bit longer than expected.
Thats said I pretty much buy Pete’s assesment on who to take a good look at take note of but I usually wait till AAA promotions to give them any decent attention.