14
2013
Mets Invite Rafael Montero, Cory Mazzoni, Juan Centeno to Spring Training
An article by Hojo's Mojo
RHP Rafael Montero went 11-5 with a 2.36 ERA with Savannah and St. Lucie in 2012.
The New York Mets today announced the club invited righthanded pitchers Rafael Montero and Cory Mazzoni, catcher Juan Centeno, infielder Josh Satin and outfielder Matt den Dekker to major league Spring Training.
Montero, 22, went a combined 11-5 with a 2.36 ERA (32 earned runs/122.0 innings) and 110 strikeouts in 20 starts for Savannah (A) of the South Atlantic League and St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League. The 6-2, 168-pound native of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic went 6-3 with a 2.52 ERA (20 earned runs/71.1 innings) in 12 starts for the Sand Gnats and 5-2 with a 2.13 ERA (12 earned runs/50.2 innings) for the St. Lucie club. The Mets signed the righthander as a non-drafted free agent in 2011.
Mazzoni, 23, split last season between St. Lucie and Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League, making a combined 26 starts and earning a spot on the midseason Florida State League All-Star team. The 6-1, 190-pound native of Evans City, Pa. went 10-6 and compiled a 3.93 ERA (63 earned runs/144.1 innings) with a 104 strikeouts and 36 walks. The Mets selected the righthander in the second round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.
Centeno, 23, hit .285 (80-281) with 12 doubles and 35 RBI in 79 games for Binghamton last season. The 5-9, 172-pound native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, made his pro debut in 2007 with the Gulf Coast Mets. The Mets selected Centeno, who bats lefty and throws righty, in the 27th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.
Satin, 28, had one at-bat with the Mets last season, striking out in his only major league action. He spent the remainder of the season with Buffalo (AAA) of the International League, hitting .286 (126-441) with 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 131 games. The 6-2, 200-pound native of Hidden Hills, Calif. made his major league debut in 2011, hitting .200 (5-25) in 15 games with the Mets. The club selected Satin, who throws and bats righty, in the sixth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.
Den Dekker, 25, appeared in 135 games between Binghamton and Buffalo last season, hitting .274 (146-533) with a career high-tying 17 home runs and 76 RBI. The 6-1, 205-pound native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. who bats and throws lefty, hit two grand slams with the Bisons: August 6 at Syracuse and August 14 vs. Lehigh Valley. The Mets selected the outfielder in the fifth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.
This is kind of a nice surprise. I know that I’ll be looking forward to seeing Montero, Mazzoni and Centeno who all made big strides last season. Den Dekker struggled in Buffalo after being promoted from Double-A, but is being counted on for depth by the Mets this season.
About the Author: Rob Johnson
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
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Wow, that’s kind of rushing it on Montero. But it does show how impressed they must be with him. He’s definitely a top ten prospect for the Mets.
How is it “rushing him” when all the reports about him have been overwhelmingly positive in and outside the organization? On top of that, Montero has a very good chance of showing up within the next year. I wish they would’ve extended an invitation to Jake deGrom as well instead of Satin. Pitching is what’s gonna carry us this season.
The Mazzoni move is something I’m very intrigued in. Are they potentially considering a spot for him in the bullpen?
He basically had a half season in St. Lucie. I could see if he pitched in AA but how can you not call this rushing? I can name six other Mets righthanders that had great seasons below AA. Hey I hope I’m wrong and he blows everyone away this spring and makes the team. I hope Centeno makes the team over Recker too for that matter.
He was only given a Spring Training invite. Unless I am missing something where he will start the season has yet to be determined.
He’s just coming to major league spring training. That doesn’t mean he is going to make the team. Many minor leaguers get major league ST invites
Mets often invite their Sterling Award winners to spring. Montero was honored as Pitcher of the Year, and Player of the Year Wilmer Flores will be there too.
flores is on the 40 man, so pretty sure those guys automatically are included in ML camp.
Off Topic: Valdespin just hit a 2 out opposite field double in the gap to score 2 runs and getting his team the Leones within 1 as he is now the tying run on base.
Hey MNJ! Do you have a link for that game?
Streams are all at the bottom.
http://realdirtymets.com/2013/01/14/4-games-remain-in-dominican-professional-baseball-league-lidom-round-robin/
Thanks Buddy
Fonzie, how about Mets Gonzalez Germen with a nice job to get out of that 1st and 2nd with no outs hitting 94mph on one pitch according to the broadcasters getting the last out vs former Mets Fernando Tatis on a swinging strikeout?
Hey Mr NJ, don’t you think it’s time for the Mets to finally turn Germen into a reliever? He’s 25 and JUST got into AAA. He doesn’t have a future as a starter and you know we need all the help we can get with the pen.
Well for what it’s worth he looks to only have pitched out of the pen so far during the winter league. He came out of the pen tonight with 2 on and no outs in the 8th as the base runners represented the tying and winning runs so even though it is winter ball it may turn out that you will see him being looked as a reliever in the near future.
I didn’t see it North. I clicked onto the top link and saw the rest of the Aguila game. I did click on after that game ended and saw Jordany fly out to deep RF to end the game. I thought he hit it out. I also saw Manny come up in the top of the 9th and walk. Total pitch around. Good to see baseball again thanks.
Holy crapola, Tatis is still alive ????
valdespin can save a tribe of burning kids from a hut in Africa and get no love from this crowd.
He’s gonna have to hit .350 with 30 HR and 120 RBI for a few years straight to win over these fans.
JDD,
Not everyone has given up on Spin, although it oftens appears that way in the blog world. Don’t know him personaly, but the kid has a lot of talent and probably a little more growing up to do. Sometimes there’s a fine line between cockiness and confidence. He just needs to work hard and find his place amongst his teammates and 2013 can be a big year for him.
The only reason to invite any of these guys is because they fell that they all might have a shot at some point to help the mets.
Montero is a surprise having never pitched above Lucy. However, this should show all the prospects what happens when you attack the zone and throw strikes. Montero’s controll has been impeccable. Since most reports have him as a future number 2,3 starter, maybe they’re looking to break him in at the major league level for the first year or so as a reliever.
All of these guys have aspects that are exciting to think about, other then Centeno. Jaun is small and his bat doesn’t get me excited. Maybe they’re looking to showcase a few of these guys.
“Jaun is small and his bat doesn’t get me excited.”
im just gonna leave that one alone…
Yeah good call! So much to say about that though.
nice to see Den Dekker. I have been high on him for a few years now, and really hope he can take that next step. I love the way he plays CF, and he does have some pop in his bat. If he just hit RH, could be a nice partner for Kirk.
but, he has the chops to play CF right now it seems, so he has to be close.
the other guys, it is more of an honor really, since at some point when the games get “serious” they will be heading to the back fields anyway.
Juan Centeno = the mets best catching prospect not named Travis
I knew you would get excited about this piece of news
what happens if Centeno makes the team…Buck gets hurt…and Centeno Wally Pips him..?
I hope and think Montero will flourish this year. Should start in A ball and move quickly to doulbe A. He is ahead of the game in my view because of his age but most importantly he has control of all his pitches. He has good stuff as well, should be up sometime next year hopefully, who knows maybe he is a possible September call up this year.
I noticed Wheeler wasn’t included in the invitees. I am assuming he and JDA are automatic invites. Or am I missing something?
Wheeler is on the 40 man now, and I assume those are automatic. Not sure about TDA, did he go on the 40 man too?
what on earth has happened to jeremy heffner ???
isnt he viable for our #5 starter?
Right now, he’s the long reliever until better options are available to take him out of the equation.
Heffner had a couple of starts where he was very impressive squeezed in around his other pitching which wasnt, hes only 26, doesnt anyone see potential here?
Everybody on the 40-man roster automatically is invited.
That means Wheeler, D´Arnaud, Flores, Mejia and Familia for example – but also lesser prospects such as Germen, Puello, Robles or Gorski will be in camp with the major leaguers based on being on the 40-man. Same for Jeremy Hefner who is also on the 40-man.
Some minor league free agent signings such as Aaron Laffey or Andrew Brown also will be there.
These new 5 invitees are mostly players who don´t need to be protected for the time being but warranted an invitation because they appear to be pretty close. Satin & Centeno being the only 40-man roster eligibles who made it through the Rule V draft.
In the case of Centeno, the Mets are kind of thin at the C level with only D´Arnaud, Buck and Recker on the 40-man roster as of today, Centeno is an intriguing prospect who could be a very good backup C going forward, playing fine defense and being a pretty tough out. For now, I would expect Centeno to serve as Travis D´Arnaud´s backup at AAA – but if Recker struggles, he could even be a darkhorse for the backup job for Buck. And once D´Arnaud is up, neither Buck nor Recker are safe anyway. There´s a really good chance, the 2014 C combo will be D´Arnaud & Centeno for the Mets. And that combo could last quite a while, especially considering Centeno bats LH.
Montero & Mazzoni both have well above average command and should rise rather quickly. I expect both to open 2013 in the Binghamton rotation. And while neither one needs to be protected on the 40-man roster until after the 2014 season theoretically, both having signed in 2011, they should be ready by the end of the 2013 season – and may be in line for an MLB debut then. Though a looming 40-man roster crunch could delay that until at least early 2014.
Matt Den Dekker also figures to be close. He´s Rule V eligible after 2013 and thus needs to be added to the 40-man after the season anyway. So, he´s a prime candidate to be called up if there´s a need for a LHH bat on the active roster.
By the way, here´s a list of a few more players who will be Rule V eligible after the 2013 season and thus could be pushed a bit more aggressively than other prospects who won´t need to be protected as soon, unless they force the issue:
RH Domingo Tapia
RH Jacob DeGrom
LH Steve Matz
RH Eric Goeddel
3b Aderlin Rodriguez (was eligible already this winter but slipped through the Rule V, being far away from being able to hold his own in the majors)
OF Darrel Ceciliani
OF Corey Vaughn
So, if you add invitees like Montero, Mazzoni, Den Dekker or Centeno, plus maybe Jack Leathersich, a 2011 draftee who also won´t need to be protected until after 2014 but could move quickly and of course, anyone else who enters the big league picture this season – for example one of the ton of upper level reliever candidates such Armando Rodriguez, Ryan Fraser, Adam Kolarek, Adrian Rosario, Hamilton Bennett or Greg Peavey, just to name a few, there may be a bunch of 40-man roster issues to consider after this upcoming season.
Whats the matter Chico Esquella not available???