There’s no way this should be surprising news. Cesar Puello had another monster week for the Binghamton Mets earning him the honor of being named the Eastern League Player of the Week.

Puello’s name has been in the news a lot over the past few days because of news surfacing about the Miami Biogensis clinic, but he hasn’t let those distractions get in the way of his play on the field.

In 24 at-bats over the past week, the B-Mets outfielder is hitting .500 with five home runs, 13 RBIs, and two doubles. He had also recorded at least two hits in a game six straight times before getting the collar in yesterday’s series finale against Altoona. This streak included a two-homer game, as well as four different multi-RBI games.

What he’s been doing over the last two weeks is just insane. Here’s how his season statistics at the plate measure up against the rest of the league:

• .326 batting average (T-3rd)
• .401 OBP (7th)
• .606 Slug% (1st)
• 13 home runs (T-2nd)
• 46 RBIs (T-2nd)
• 17 stolen bases (3rd)

Talk about the complete package. Here’s a look at the grown man home run he hit on June 8th in the ninth inning against Altoona:

Sandy Alderson spoke highly of Puello during an interview with Mike Francesa of WFAN on Monday.

“He’s very young…he’s always been a five-tool guy, a five-tool projection, but not necessarily five-tool performance. This year he’s put it all together and has been phenomenal over the last couple of weeks. Now he’s on the roster. We put him on the roster last year because we wanted to protect those five tools.”

Congratulations on this honor, Cesar! I have a feeling he may be winning some MMN player of the week honors tomorrow…just maybe.

(Photo courtesy of Gordon Donovan)

One of my favorite baseball sites is StadiumJourney.com. Founded by Paul Swaney, Stadium Journey has become the best destination site for sports fans who are planning their own baseball or other sports road trips. Their invaluable tips and ballpark and stadium reviews provide all the information you need to plan ahead and know what to expect. They review everything from the food to the atmosphere and even the fans, to help make your baseball journey the very best it can be.

They recently updated their reviews for Cit Field and NYSEG Stadium, the home of the Binghamton Mets.

Citi Field gets high marks for their food and accessibility, but are at the bottom when it comes to extras and bang for the buck on ticket prices. They aptly point out:

“Through years of disappointment in the franchise, the allure of a new ballpark has worn off. What true Mets fans are left with are inaccessible levels of the ballpark due to being priced out by the fat-cats (who rarely show up themselves). It’s a joke really for the franchise to continue to pretend that there is a market demand for the exclusive seats. No one wants to see a losing team (outside of Wrigley Field) and until the Mets put some players on the field that can get the fan base excited, the Mets owner (Fred Wilpon) might want to invest in some large tarps that he can cover sections of seating that will otherwise go empty.”

In other words… The thrill is gone…

You can read their final thoughts and full review on Citi Field here, and you can read their review on NYSEG Stadium here.

Mom’s Day Starting Lineup

1. Ruben Tejada – SS
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. John Buck – C
7. Mike Baxter – RF
8. Juan Lagares – CF
9. Matt Harvey – RHP

Game Notes

In three of his first 17 career games, Matt Harvey has allowed one hit and thrown at least 7.0 innings…That is the most such games in the major leagues since 1916…Five other pitchers (Anibal Sanchez, Chris Nabholz, Mat Latos, Wally Bunker and Vida Blue) had two such starts in their first 17 career games.

The Mets have recalled RHP Greg Burke from Triple-A Las Vegas and have placed RHP Jeurys Familia on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis, the team announced. Familia will report to the Mets facility in Port St. Lucie to begin rehabilitation.

Ike Davis will bat cleanup Sunday. Davis hasn’t hit there since April 19 and has been hitting out of the No. 7 spot lately. Manager Terry Collins said he wants to put his run producers at the top of the lineup. This comes after a bit of an outburst by Davis after yesterday’s game vowing to ditch the Mets philosophy and hit a first pitch fastball whenever he pleases.

Reliever Frank Francisco is headed to the Binghamton Mets as part of his injury rehab. Francisco should be activated this week.

Numerous Mets will use Louisville Slugger pink bats along with pink batting gloves, cleats and sweatbands today as Major League Baseball honors Mother’s Day and raises awareness and money for breast cancer research. Every team across the league will also use commemorative pink stitched Rawlings baseballs. The game used items will be auctioned off on mlb.com with proceeds going towards MLB charities in support of breast cancer.

Nicole Malato, from Toms River, NJ will be the Mets’ honorary bat girl. Malato was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, 2011. She will take the lineup card out to home plate with Mets Manager Terry Collins. In addition, an all-female military color guard will be on hand for the National Anthem and the Mets will feature Mother’s Day vignettes on CitiVision.

Game Preview

In a common theme this year, Matt Harvey finds himself playing the role of stopper today as he tries to put the Mets back on a winning path. Yesterday the Mets dropped another game to the Bucs due to bad pitching from Niese and another lackluster day at the plate. At least it was Banner Day though. Against Harvey will be Jeanmar Gomez.

Matt had an unbelievable game last time out allowing only hit over 9 shutout innings while striking out 12 batters. Sadly, the Mets couldn’t score any runs, so he was saddled with the no decision. On the season he is 4-0 with a 1.28 ERA while striking out 58 batters of 49.1 innings of work. He has a 0.63 ERA in his last two starts while striking out 19 over 14.1. He has never faced the Pirates and has never faced anyone on the Pirates roster.

The Mets bats look to get things moving for Harvey day as they go up against Gomez who is 2-0 this season over 7 games, 2 starts and 22.2 innings of work with a 2.38 ERA. As a starter, he has pitched 9.0 innings allowing 2 ER and striking out 8 batters. Last season for the Indians he was 5-8 with a 5.96 ERA over 90.2 innings. He has never faced the Mets but has faced Buck, who is 0-3 against him.

Let’s Go Mets!

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3, Binghamton Mets 1

BINGHAMTON, NY (by Tim Heiman) – With the aid of two late home runs, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats beat the Binghamton Mets 3-1 in the home opener at NYSEG Stadium.

Josh Rodriguez doubled down the left field line in the fourth inning, which got the offense started. After he moved over to third base on a wild pitch, he scored the first run of the game on an RBI fielder’s choice from Cesar Puello. Unfortunately, that was the only crooked number Binghamton would put up all night. New Hampshire starting pitcher Deck McGuire held the B-Mets to just one run on two hits in 7.0 innings on the hill, and earned his first win in 2013.

Binghamton starter Logan Verrett worked his way out of trouble nearly the whole night, but lost the lead after he gave up a solo home run to Adam Loewen in the 7th. Verrett ended the night scattering seven hits and one run over seven innings. In the next frame, Kevin Pillar hit the eventual game-winning two-run home run over the left field wall off of reliever John Church to give New Hampshire a 3-1 lead.

Darrell Ceciliani and Josh Rodriguez both reached base to start the bottom of the ninth, but Fisher Cat closer Chad Beck retired the next three hitters to earn his third save of the season. On the night, the B-Mets tallied just three hits; Rodriguez was responsible for two of them.

The B-Mets (4-3) look to even the series tomorrow night in game two of the four-game series at NYSEG Stadium. RHP Tyler Pill (0-1, 7.20) will start for the B-Mets against RHP Tyson Brummett (0-0, 0.00).

Key Stats:

• Josh Rodriguez - 2-for-4, R, 2B
  
• Cesar Puello - 0-for-4, RBI
• Logan Verrett - 7.0 IP, 7 H, BB, ER, 3 K

Las Vegas 51s

For those of you with weak constitutions, you might want to go away now as I talk about blisters…more specifically, the one that Zack Wheeler apparently had on his throwing hand. It unfortunately burst during the Tuesday night start against the Fresno Grizzlies and the Mets were concerned enough to send him for an MRI.

He had been dealing with the blister throughout both of his two starts in 2013, so the question now arises of how or if the blister threw Zack off his game. Sources have stated that the pain was so bad that Wheeler actually was unable to throw his slider.

His stat line might be underwhelming to begin the season, but the intangibles are there and I cannot stress enough the amount of potential that this young man radiates with.

Outside of Zack Wheeler news, Josh Satin hit another moonshot and Andrew Brown continues to impress so far. Wilmer Flores, after starting the year 3-for-3, has gone 1-for-18 since…he is logging some time at second base, however.

Binghamton Mets

The rains came down in Binghamton and their game with Erie was suspended yesterday and pushed to August 9th. The B-Mets were leading 1-0 at the time of the suspension.

St. Lucie Mets

Although St. Lucie dropped their first decision of the 2013 season last night, it was a 1-0 final result. What does that mean? Their pitching continues to be superhuman.

Savannah Sand Gnats

So Savannah came through for themselves on Guaranteed Win Wednesday – so no free tickets are being handed out down there. A converted infielder, Jake Kuebler, was able to pitch his way to earning his first professional save last night. Nice job!

Kevin Plawecki continued his hot hitting, going 3-5 with 3 doubles and raising his batting average to .444 on the season.

I am really starting to like what I see from Matthew Bowman. He was strong against yesterday en rout to the aforementioned Sand Gnats win.

Pitcher Paul Sewald was placed on the DL for Savannah yesterday – and Beck Wheeler will get pushed up from Brooklyn to take his place.

Tweet Of The Day

Well today wasn’t our day but the beauty of baseball is we get to play tomorrow.

— Hamilton Bennett (@Ham_Bone28) April 11, 2013

For those of you that follow the minors extensively, Cubs prospect Jorge Soler is in for some trouble after he grabbed a bat and charged at the opposing dugout.

Have a good day!

Las Vegas 51s

Zack Wheeler made his second start of the season last night for Las Vegas and lasted five-and-a-third innings, allowing four runs (one earned) off eight hits and three walks, while striking out six. A few things to note past that line? First off, Wheeler fields his position pretty well, which is always a positive. Another positive is the fact that his breaking ball looked really strong early and flashed real potential. He recorded 16 outs and 14 of them were via ground-out or strikeout. He still struggled with his command a little – but there’s no rush, Zack. You’ll get it down.

On the other side of the ball, Josh Satin continues to pummel the ball. He has a .480/.800/1.319 slash to begin the season, and he jacked his second home run of the season last night.

Adam Rubin says the Mets have pretty much settled on a position for former shortstop Wilmer Flores. Flores exclusively has manned second base for Vegas, except for one game at DH. A team official said Flores still may get a start at third base or first base “here and there.”

Binghamton Mets

Say what you want about Rafael Montero and I will probably ignore it as I drool over him. A pitcher with strong command and above-average stuff is always someone worth keeping tabs on, and Montero justifies the publicity he has been getting with another solid start last night. The important number? He did not walk a single batter again, putting his K/BB ratio at infinity right now (15:0) through his first two starts.

The B-Mets have gone 6-for-9 in stolen base attempts so far this season. Their six steals have them tied for third in the Eastern League. Daniel Muno and Cesar Puello each have two steals; Cory Vaughn and Josh Rodriguez both have one. Opponents have gone 1-for-2 in stolen base attempts against Binghamton pitchers.

St. Lucie Mets

Michael Fulmer is making progress from March 12 surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. He returns to throwing off a mound this week.

Hansel Robles, who was forced from his first start with St. Lucie with an apparent injury after a pickoff throw, is scheduled to start for the Class A club on turn tonight. Robles experienced a sore upper back.

Are you kidding me, St.Lucie? An 0.57 E.R.A. through your first five games? Is this a video game? I should calm down. It’s not like they’ve won their first five games right? …They have?

Wow. Nice job all around, guys. Kudos to Luis Mateo for a great start, who snagged the #10 ranking on our 2013 MMO Top 25 prospects. He’s going places.

Savannah Sand Gnats

Luis Cessa was strong in Savannah’s victory last night – and Jayce Boyd is absolutely on fire, batting .545 through the first six games of the Sand Gnats’ season.

Minor League promotions are always fun – and Savannah has a good one coming up tomorrow… Guaranteed Win Wednesday. If the Gnats do not win Wednesday, every ticket holder to Wednesday’s game will receive a free ticket to the Gnats’ game on Sunday, April 14^th against the Rome Braves.

Organization Batting Leaders (ESPN)

Average: Jayce Boyd, Savannah, .545; Josh Satin, Vegas, .480; Brandon Nimmo, Savannah, .417; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, .409; Andrew Brown, Vegas, .381; T.J. Rivera, St. Lucie, .378; Cam Maron, St. Lucie, .368; Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, .353; Alonzo Harris, Binghamton, .346; Matt Reynolds, St. Lucie, .316.

Homers: Josh Satin, Vegas, 2; Alonzo Harris, Binghamton, 1; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 1; Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, 1.

RBI: Andrew Brown, Vegas, 8; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, 6; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 6; Wilmer Flores, Vegas, 5; Josh Satin, Vegas, 5.

Steals: Brian Bixler, Vegas, 2; Danny Muno, Binghamton, 2; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, 2.

Prospect Talk

Our Mets prospects are always tweeting! Time to have a little fun and pick some out…

Anyone around here like fishing? Andrew Massie has something for you.

Can you say carp? instagram.com/p/X6W0OoKdAG/

— Andrew Massie (@_AndrewMassie) April 10, 2013

Or maybe you’re a Bob Dylan fan? Stefan Sabol has you covered.

Rock me mama like a wagon wheel, rock me mama any way you feel #heeeyyymamarockme

— Stefan Sabol (@UceDeuces_22) April 9, 2013

But I really hope that like myself and John Mincone, you’re a Knicks fan…

There’s your clincher! #NYK #Taped #Knicks

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) April 10, 2013

Have a great day, everyone.

Notes, Quotes, Tweets, and other assorted Mets Minors news from scouring the web…

Las Vegas 51s

Officially installed as the team’s closer, Jeurys Familia picked up his first professional save in Las Vegas’ 4-3 win at Fresno on Monday night.

The big news today is that Zack Wheeler makes his second start for Las Vegas tonight at 10:05 ET as he looks to bounce back from a rough season debut. He will be opposing former Met prospect Yusmeiro Petit.

Travis d’Arnaud continues to rake, but so is John Buck for the Mets. This is going to be interesting to watch.

Binghamton Mets

After a slow offensive start, the B-Mets rallied to score seven unanswered runs to defeat Erie, 7-2, in the series opener. RHP Rafael Montero will make his second start of the season tonight after a brilliant performance on Opening Day against Akron. Montero struck out eight batters without walking any in 5.2 innings.

RHP Erik Goeddel logged the second quality start of the season by a B-Met starting pitcher as he threw 6.0 innings and gave up two runs in last night’s win. RHP Logan Verrett also went 6.0 innings in his first start of the season. So far, every Binghamton starting pitcher has gone at least 5.0 innings on the mound.

St. Lucie Mets

The Lucie rotation has been as good as advertised and keep throwing up goose eggs.

Savannah Sand Gnats

Logan Taylor tossed five scoreless innings in his Savannah debut last night, but the Gnats lost to Augusta, 6-5. Savannah’s 2-3-4 hitters Brandon Nimmo , Kevin Plawecki, and Jayce Boyd are a combined 26-56 (.464) with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 12 RBI, and 12 bases on balls.

The Gnats send RHP Luis Cessa (NR) to the mound against RHP Jose Reyes in game two of the three-game series Tuesday at 7:05 pm.

Mike Newman says: After scouting Nimmo, he understood the comparison in terms of size and projection. However, Nimmo’s baseball movements are more fluid and easy. When he barrels the baseball, it’s one of the prettier prospect swings scouted in person. His contact skills and present power have me thinking there’s more in the tank as he fills out too.

Newman also took some footage of Plawecki yesterday:

Brooklyn Cyclones

Monday night’s Cyclones Alum of the went to Josh Satin who went 3-for-4 for Las Vegas as the 51s beat Fresno.

The 600 box seats they put on sale for $1.50 in a promotion to honor the birthday of Ebbets Field sold out in less than three minutes. Happy Birthday Ebbets Field!

Tweet Nothings…

Just another day in paradise!

— Gavin Cecchini (@GavinCecchini2) April 9, 2013

@_robbieshields flashes more mitt than Romney. Follow him!

— Matt den Dekker (@UpperDekker) April 9, 2013

Doc just looks lost out on the mound. Hate to see it happen to such a great pitcher, but #LGM!

— John Mincone (@Jmincone) April 9, 2013

Love those blue uniforms.#LGM

— Hamilton Bennett (@Ham_Bone28) April 8, 2013

Akron Aeros 13, Binghamton Mets 3

The Mets may be awesome – but even they can’t win them all, as the B-Mets dropped this game to the Aeros 13-3.

If this game only lasted five innings, the Mets would have walked away with a commanding victory – and although the numbers may look a little rough, there were a lot of positives to take away from Tyler Pill‘s AA debut. After walking the first batter, Tyler Holt, to begin the game, Pill retired the next nine batters straight. This including striking out the side in the third and allowing just two hits and one run through the five innings overall. The run was unearned as well, due to a throwing error in the fourth.

Pill fell apart in the sixth, however, where he allowed three hits, a walk, and a run without recording an out. He was pulled from the game in favor of Mark Cohoon, who allowed all three inherited runners to score, which left Pill’s final line at five hits and two walks through 5+ innings, with four earned runs. Cohoon, unfortunately, struggled on his own as he was on the hook for eight hits and four earned runs after recording only three outs.

The Mets did scratch out three runs on the other side of the ball, as Darrell Ceciliani ripped an RBI double to score Wilfredo Tovar – and Blake Forsythe drilled an RBI double of his own to drive home Ceciliani. Ceciliani was not done either, as he picked up an RBI single in the seventh for the third Binghamton run.

It was a sloppy game defensively though, with Binghamton committing five errors in the field, which led to four unearned runs and a harder time on the already taxed pitching staff. The good thing about baseball is that even when you have games like these, you can shake it off with a great effort the very next night.

The B-Mets start a series with the Erie SeaWolves tomorrow evening at 6:35 PM, where Erik Goeddel makes his AA debut.

Key Stats

• Darrell Ceciliani - 2 for 5, 2B, 2 RBI, R, Err.
• Blake Forsythe - 1 for 4, 2B, RBI
• Richard Lucas - 2 for 4, 2 Err.
• Tyler Pill - 5 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 R (4 ER), 5 K, L.

Click scoreboard to see entire box score

Binghamton Mets 7, Akron Aeros 5

The Binghamton Mets moved to 3-0 on the season after defeating the Akron Aeros again this afternoon at Canal Park. The story of the day is Blake Forsythe, who led the offensive attack going 3 for 4, adding a double, a triple, and three RBI. The B-Mets offense jumped on Aeros starter, Matt Packer, right out of the gate. The offense pounded out thirteen hits, and six B-Mets players had multi-hit games, including Daniel Muno, Alonzo Harris, Darrell Ceciliani, Josh Rodriguez, Cory Vaughn, and of course, Forsythe.

On the mound, Logan Verrett picked up the win and was pitching a masterpiece until the sixth inning. He held the Aeros scoreless through six, only allowing one hit and one walk. However, in the sixth inning you could see some signs that Verrett was tiring. He gave up a deep double to Alex Lavisky, the Aeros’ number nine hitter, which hit off the fence and narrowly missed being a home run. Then, Aeros’ lead off hitter Tyler Holt smashed a wicked line-drive down the third base line which was stabbed by Josh Rodriguez to save a run. Verrett escaped the sixth, but the seventh inning didn’t get any easier. He gave up a hit to the inning’s lead off hitter, Carlos Moncrief, and then a deep home run to right-center field to the second batter of the inning, Jesus Aguilar, which signaled that Verrett’s day may have been over. He then walked the following batter, and then was replaced by John Church.

Verrett pitched an excellent game, and really only made a couple of mistakes the entire game. It was an excellent outing that Verrett will be able to build on. He pitched six complete innings (did not retire an out in the seventh), allowing three runs on four hits, and only walked two batters.

The Binghamton Mets are the only undefeated team in the Eastern League

Key Stats

• Blake Forsythe - 3 for 5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI
• Alonzo Harris - 2 for 4, 2B, R, BB
• Daniel Muno – 2 for 5, 2B, 2 R, RBI
• Josh Rodriguez – 3 for 5, R, RBI
• Darrell Ceciliani – 2 for 5, 2B, 3B, R
• Cory Vaughn – 2 for 4, 3B, 2 R, RBI, BB
• Logan Verrett – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K, W

Tomorrow’s Game

Tyler Pill takes the hill for the B-Mets tomorrow afternoon, as they close out their four game series with the Akron Aeros at Canal Park. The game is slated for a 2:05 PM start.

Rafael Montero headlines the B-Mets 2013 roster.

While, for most of the season, it will be the St. Lucie Mets grabbing the headlines, the Binghamton Mets have an intriguing roster as well. Bingo will feature a solid pitching staff, headlined by Rafael Montero, as well as some prospects that have largely flown under the radar in their careers, but have talent, such as Wilfredo Tovar and Alonzo Harris. The B-Mets will also feature two interesting names who haven’t been able to put it all together yet: Cory Vaughn and Cesar Puello, both of whom have very high ceilings. Now, let’s get to the players.

The Big Names

• Rafael Montero (RHP)- Montero has risen through the minors unusually quickly, playing for seven of the Mets’ minor league affiliates after signing with them before the 2011 season. Although he had a fine 2011 season between the Dominican Summer, Gulf Coast, Appalachian, and New York-Penn leagues, he didn’t really put himself on the map until last season. Last season between Savannah and St. Lucie, he posted a 2.36 ERA in 122 innings, striking out 8.1 per nine while walking just 1.4. Scouts credit his strong secondary pitches for his successes so far in his career. His changeup and slider are both well-developed, which is why he has dominated and moved up so quickly. 
• Wilfredo Tovar (SS)- Until last season, Tovar looked like a weak-hitting shortstop with a good glove, but also a bat that would keep him from the majors. In 2011, Tovar hit .251/.318/.318 in a full season with Savannah. He was moved up a level to St. Lucie last season, in which he started to look like more than a weak-hitting shortstop. In half a season with St. Lucie, he upped his batting line to .284/.377/.385 with 12 stolen bases in 65 games, earning himself an FSL All-Star Game selection. What was especially promising was his strikeout and walk rates, which were better than ever. He walked in 11.3% of his plate appearances, compared to his career-best of 8.0%, and struck out at a 6.6% clip, also the best mark of his career. He struggled in Binghamton last year, which is why he is repeating the league, but if he can harness the patience that we saw out of him over the first half of 2012, he could become a Ruben Tejada-type player.
• Cory Vaughn (RF)- The Mets don’t have many pure power hitters in their system, but Cory Vaughn is one of them, and among the best. He is the definition of a power hitter: getting on base, and hitting a ton of extra-base hits. Last year, he hit 51 extra-base hits in 126 games with St. Lucie, 23 of them home runs. Vaughn, however, has speed that most power hitters don’t have. He swiped a career-best 21 bases last season. Vaughn’s biggest weakness right now is his hit tool. Everything else is there. If he starts hitting for a higher batting average, everything will come together.
• Cesar Puello (RF)- Once dubbed the next Carlos Beltran, Puello may have the best tools in the entire Met system. He has speed, power, and is a solid defender in the outfield. It’s the health that will dictate his future. Last season, Puello hit .260/.328/.423 with 26 extra-base hits in 66 games.

The Sleepers

• Danny Muno (2B/SS)- Muno was suspended for PED use last year, after hitting .355 in Brooklyn in 2011. The 2011 eighth-round pick still put up solid numbers, even after the suspension. He hit for a little bit of power, knocking 16 doubles, two triples, and six homers in 81 games with St. Lucie. He put up a .280/.387/.412 batting line. Muno walked an excellent 14.2% of the time while striking out only 15.1%. Oh, and he stole 19 bases.
• Tyler Pill (RHP)- Pill is seeing his stock rising fast, and although he isn’t put in the same group as Wheeler, Fulmer, or Syndergaard, he has made a name for himself as a top-30 prospect. He only throws in the high-80s, but uses his excellent command to get hitters out. Last season, he put up an impressive 4.77 K/BB rate with a 2.31 ERA in 113 innings between St. Lucie and Savannah.
• Jack Leathersich (LHP)- Leathersich has put up amazing strikeout numbers out of the bullpen since being drafted in 2011 in the fifth round out of UMass-Lowell. Leathersich is on the fast track to the major league bullpen, and will continue to move quickly if his strikeout numbers remain this high. Last season he struck out 14.1 batters per nine. Some call his delivery deceiving, which may explain why his ERA in the Florida State League this year was 4.12. Maybe more advanced hitters are catching on. Perhaps his high walk numbers are hurting him. Or maybe the high ERA was just a result of a small sample size, as so often happens with minor league relief pitchers.
• Alonzo Harris (OF)- Harris, once deemed ruined after an aggressive promotion by Omar Minaya went horribly wrong, has re-gained his prospect status with a much-improved approach at the dish over the last few seasons. Promoted too quickly because of his athleticism and raw tools, Harris hit .224/.270/..342 as a 20 year-old, second-year player in Savannah. He was overly-aggressive and struck out over in over 20% of his plate appearances. Since then, he has seen his walk rates rise and strikeout rates fall steadily and now he has a solid approach at the dish. His success in 2011 in Savannah were attributed to him getting used to the league, but the even better walk and strikeout numbers in 2012 with St. Lucie have some people believing that he’s not done yet.

Other Names to Watch

• Cory Mazzoni (RHP)- Mazzoni was the Mets’ second-round pick of the 2011 draft out of NC State. After a little over a year in the minors, it appears that that Mazzoni, with a limited arsenal, is headed to the bullpen. He will start for the forseeable future to get more in-game action, but his 6.5 K/9 last year leave much to be desired.
• Logan Verrett (RHP)- Verrett only made six starts in St. Lucie after coming back from a shoulder strain, but will move up this year anyway. His 7.15 K/BB ratio last year was stellar. The only concern is the lower strikeout rate in the six St. Lucie starts, which fell to 6.1 K/9 from 9.3 in Savannah.

The pitching was strong again today for the Binghamton Mets (Group 2 Players), as Tyler Pill went 5 1/3 scoreless innings to secure the victory. Pill, a former fourth round pick in 2011, went 9-5 with a 2.31 ERA splitting time between Savannah and St. Lucie. He was also ranked No. 28 in the most recent MMO top prospect list.

The pitching has looked very strong so far this spring with Jacob deGrom and Domingo Tapia also combining for a shutout a few days ago.

Tapia started that game for the B-Mets and allowed one single over four scoreless innings of work before DeGrom followed with three shutout innings of relief.

On the offensive side of today’s contest, the team exploded with three home runs on its way to a to a 6-1 victory over the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins). The offense was powered by Aderlin Rodriguez, and Eudy Pina who both homered for the B-Mets. The team has been off to a hot start this spring, and through four games the have one win, one loss, and two draws.

The Binghamton Mets have seven more tune-ups before heading north to start their season on April 4 in Akron.

The regular season is over for all three upper minors teams. That means no more baseball for the Bisons and B-Mets, and a best-of-three divisional series for the St. Lucie team. Let’s take a look at who finished up the season strong, and who didn’t.

Who’s Hot!!!

• Wilfredo Tovar 2B, Binghamton- Tovar had a strong first half with St. Lucie, but had a tough time adjusting in Double-A Binghamton. However, he was able to finish the season very strong. He hit .417 over his last ten games, driving in six runs and hitting four extra-base hits.
• Dustin Martin OF, Binghamton- Martin is heating up once again with Binghamton. He is hitting .359 over his last ten games to go along with three home runs and six RBI. He has a total of seven extra-base hits over that span.
• Wilmer Flores INF, Binghamton- Flores finished up the season very strong, hitting .359 over his last ten games and hitting .377 over the month of August. He hit five home runs last month, driving in 13 runs.

Honorable Mention: Logan Verrett SP, St. Lucie- Verrett has put together a dominant string of starts since being called up to St. Lucie from Savannah. In six starts in the FSL, he has a 2.09 ERA in 38.2 innings pitches. He has also struck out 26 batters and walked only four over that span.

Who’s Not!!!

•  Brad Emaus 2B, Buffalo- Brad Emaus struggled in Buffalo this season, hitting just .212 in 73 games. However, he finished up the season with a really tough stretch. Over his final ten games, he hit just .156 with a .229 on-base percentage and .219 slugging.
• Adam Loewen OF, Buffalo- Loewen is another guy who has struggled in less than half a season with the Bisons. Loewen is hitting .227 on the season with Buffalo, including a .148 average in his last ten games. He drove in just one run over that span and also struck out in nine of his 27 at-bats.
• Daniel Muno SS, St. Lucie- Muno caught fire after returning from a PED suspension earlier this season, but has struggled recently. He ended the season with a ten-game in which he .167. The good news for Muno is he drew ten walks during that span, making his on-base percentage .395.

Welcome to Who’s Hot, Who’s Not! Every Tuesday, we take a look at the hottest and coldest players from St. Lucie, Binghamton, and Buffalo. Here we go…

Who’s Hot

• Collin McHugh P, Buffalo – McHugh had a rough first couple of starts for Buffalo, but has bounced back and been tremendous for the Bisons since. Over his last ten starts, he has a 2.59 ERA. On top of that, he was named International League Pitcher of the Week for his two performances against Pawtucket. In his first, he hallowed just one run on three hits over 5.2 innings. Then on Saturday night, he shut down the PawSox at Fenway, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing just five hits.
• Danny Muno SS, St. Lucie – After hitting just .229 in the month of July, Danny Muno has come roaring back for St. Lucie. Over his last ten games, he is hitting a stellar .417 with one home run and six RBI. Over that span, he has also stolen three bases.
• Richard Lucas 3B, St. Lucie – Lucas, after hitting under .200 in July, had a decent July, but is having an amazing August. He is hitting .379 this month, including .382 over his last ten games with six RBI. He has also stolen five bases this month, a higher total than any other month this season for Lucas.

Honorable Mention: Wilmer Flores INF, Binghamton- Flores is on another one of his big hotstreaks. He hit just .245 in July, but is hitting over .300 this month and .366 over his last ten games.

Who’s Not

• Josh Satin INF, Buffalo – Satin has had another great season for the Bisons, showing some power and a knack for getting on base. However, the last week or so has been really rough for him. Over his last ten games, Satin is batting .103 and has a .256 on-base percentage.
• Jefry Marte INF, Binghamton – Marte has been very streaky this season, and is in another slump right now. This month, he has a .183 average. His on-base percentage this month is just .243. Hopefully Marte will be able to turn it around and earn a spot on the Buffalo roster next April.
• Dylan Owen P, Buffalo – The Mets’ 20th round pick in 2007, Dylen Owen is having one of the roughest stretches of his career so far. Over his last ten outings, Owen has a 9.53 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs over just 17 innings.Over that span, Owen has struck out just eight and walked 14.

Mark Cohoon

Welcome to the second edition of Who’s Hot, Who’s Not – Upper Minors. Today we take a look once again at the hottest and coldest players from St. Lucie, Binghamton, and Buffalo.

Who’s Hot

• Alonzo Harris LF, St. Lucie – Harris is making a name for himself with an incredible stretch for St. Lucie. Harris is hitting .419 over his last ten games with two home runs and seven runs batted in. He also has a .457 on-base percentage and .674 slugging percentage.
• Wilmer Flores INF, Binghamton – Flores is catching fire once again. His adjustment period to Double-A seems to be over,  as he is catching fire once again. He is batting .359 over his last ten games to go along with a .405 on-base percentage and .513 slugging percentage. Flores, 21, is on track to be in Buffalo sooner rather than later with the way he’s been hitting.
• Mark Cohoon P, Binghamton – Cohoon hasn’t gotten the attention he deserves for the way he’s been pitching in Binghamton this season. On the year, he has a 3.44 ERA in 120.1 innings with the B-Mets, and had his best outing of the season on Friday, throwing a two-hit shutout against Harrisbugh. He was recognized this week by the Eastern League as the pitcher of the week.

Who’s Not 

• Pedro Beato P, Buffalo – After pitching very well earlier in the season for Buffalo, Beato has struggled recently. Over his last three outings, he has allowed ten runs in five innings.
• Jefry Marte 3B, Binghamton – Marte was having a good season with the B-Mets up until a few weeks ago, when he started slumping. Over his last ten games, he has just a .194 batting average and has only walked once during that span. Hopefully, Marte can turn it around and earn himself a Triple-A roster spot for next season.
• Eric Campbell 3B, Binghamton – After a fantastic first half, in which he hit well over .300 and earned himself All-Star honors, Eric Cambell has cooled down lately. Campbell is batting .219 over his last ten games and .211 in the month of August.

Zach Lutz is one of the Mets farmhands heating up.

Welcome to the first edition of Who’s Hot, Who’s Not – Upper Minors! Today, we will look at the hottest (and coldest) players from St. Lucie, Binghamton, and Buffalo.

WHO’S HOT:

•  Dustin Martin- Martin has been one of the best, if not the best, hitters in the Mets organization over the past few weeks. Martin is hitting an astounding .452 over his last ten games, and also has two homers and ten RBI.
• T.J. Rivera- Rivera had a fantastic first half in Savannah, earning him a mid-season promotion to St. Lucie. After a brief adjustment period, Rivera has caught fire. Over his last ten games, Rivera is hitting .386 with nine RBI and three stolen bases.
• Zach Lutz- Zach Lutz has also been hitting very well lately. Lutz is batting .406 over his last ten games. He has also hit three home runs and driven in nine. On top of that, Lutz has been drawing quite a few walks. His on-base percentage over his last ten games is .500, bringing his overall mark on the season to an impressive .416.
• Honorable Mention: Collin McHugh- After an adjustment period going from Binghamton to Buffalo, McHugh ahs turned it around in a big way in Triple-A. His last three starts have been terrific. He has pitched a total  of 18.2 innings, and allowed only five runs on 12 hits over that span.

WHO’S NOT:

• Matt den Dekker- After having a fantastic first half with the B-Mets, Matt den Dekker has struggled in his stint with the Bisons. Over his first 50 games, he is hitting just under .200 and over this past week, things got worse for him. Den Dekker is batting just .136 over his last ten games, and has struck out seven times in 29 at-bats. The strikeouts are a big concern. Den Dekker’s strikeout percentage has been steadily climbed as he moves up through the minor league system.
• Jeurys Familia- A few weeks back, Familia had a stellar stretch of games and looked like he was finally getting over his early-season struggles on the mound. Over his last three starts, however, Familia has not been great. Over that span, he has allowed 15 earned runs in only 10.1 innings pitched. He has also walked eight batters over that span and only struck out six.
• Reese Havens- Havens struggled the first half of the season, but had a big breakout stretch in which he seemed to get his rhythm back. However, he is slumping once again with Binghamton. He is batting just .162 over his last ten games and has struck out 12 times in 37 at-bats.