Brevard County 4, St. Lucie 3

Brevard County held off a Mets rally in the ninth for a 4-3 victory on Wednesday at Space Coast Stadium.

The Mets trailed 4-2 entering the ninth. Aderlin Rodriguez and Travis Taijeron had back-to-back singles to open up the inning. After Charley Thurber‘s sacrifice bunt, Cam Maron had an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 4-3. With Taijeron at third and two outs, Seth Harvey struck out Gilbert Gomez to end the game.

The Mets committed five costly errors in the field, leading to two runs for the Manatees.

Alex Panteliodis suffered the loss despite allowing two earned runs in six innings and scattered seven hits while striking out six.

T.J. Rivera‘s RBI single to center scored Charley Thurber in the third inning to tie the score. The Manatees had a two-run fourth inning and an added a run in the fifth. Rodriguez ripped an RBI double to right-center to score Matt Reynolds from first to cut the deficit to 4-2 in the sixth. Wanel Mesa pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings while Carlos Vazquez retired two batters in the eighth and was able to escape a bases loaded jam.

The Mets will visit the Manatees on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Noah Syndergaard will make the start for the Mets.

Key Stats

Aderlin Rodriguez: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R

Cam Maron: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 RBI

Charley Thurber: 1-for-3, 1 R

T.J. Rivera: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI

Alex Panteliodis: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 R, 2 ER, 6 K

Wanel Vasquez: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 2 K

Carlos Vazquez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

(Team Report)

St. Lucie 4, Brevard County 0

Matt Bowman and T.J. Chism combined for a one-hit shutout as the Mets cruised past the Brevard County Manatees 4-0 on Tuesday at Tradition Field.

Bowman (2-0) pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just one hit while striking out nine and walking one. Bowman retired the final 12 batters he faced and retired the side in order five times. He allowed just a two-out single to Manatees centerfielder Chadwin Stang into left in the third inning.

Chism retired all six batters in two scoreless innings and fanned three.

The Mets jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run single to left by shortstop Brandon Hicks, who played in his first game with St. Lucie. Dustin Lawley‘s two-run double off the glove of Manatees third baseman T.J. Mittelstaedt to left scored T.J. Rivera and Hicks in the third inning.

Rivera finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Hicks also went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs.

The Mets will visit the host Manatees on Wednesday at Space Coast Stadium at 6:35 p.m. Alex Panteliodis is the scheduled starter for the Mets.

Key Stats

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 2 R

Matt Reynolds: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R

Brandon Hicks: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R

Dustin Lawley: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Matthew Bowman: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 9 K

T.J. Chism: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

(Team Report)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas had their game suspended due to rain. 
• Binghamton dropped to Trenton, 5-0. 
• St. Lucie topped Daytona, 6-2. 
• Savannah dropped two games to Hickory, 4-3 and 5-3. 

Prospect News

The Florida State League has announced that St. Lucie Mets outfielder Travis Taijeron was named the league’s Player of the Week for the period of April 29 – May 5.

Taijeron batted .474 and had nine hits, including one home run and six doubles in six games. He had a .600 on-base percentage and .947 slugging percentage.

Taijeron, an 18th round selection out of Cal Poly Pomona in 2011, has hit safely in eight straight games. Taijeron, 24, is hitting .266 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 29 games played .

Prospect Pipeline

• Welcome back T.J. Rivera. We haven’t mentioned Rivera in the Minors Report for a couple of weeks and he was tired of being ignored, so he went out and got five hits in last night’s game. The lead off man now leads St. Lucie with a .292 average and is second on the team with 19 RBI.
• Brandon Nimmo sat out both games of the Savannah doubleheader yesterday as he recovers from a hand contusion. More about Nimmo in the Quote of The Day.
• Cory Mazzoni made his first start in a month for Binghamton last night, and looked rusty. Trenton jumped out to an early four run lead in the first inning, as Mazzoni gave up seven hits in three innings of work, three of which were extra-base hits.
• Hansel Robles looked sharp in his start last night. He only allowed two opposing batters to reach base, both on hits, as he didn’t allow any walks on the night. Opposing batters are now hitting a skimpy .200 against Robles this season.
• Rafael Montero takes the hill for Binghamton tonight. I really want to see how he bounces back after his last outing on May 1, where he gave up seven earned runs. This is just another test for the young prospect. This is exactly the kind of adversity the Mets wanted to see Montero battle through.
• We want to welcome Matt Musico and Wally Murphy to MMO Minor League Team! Matt was formerly the Executive Editor of Rising Apple where he led the site to great heights. Wally has been covering the Savannah Sand Gnats for eight years and has never missed attending a home game in all that time. Two powerhouse additions to an already great minor league team. Welcome Aboard, guys!

Stat Line of the Day

T.J. Rivera: 5-for-5, 2 2B, 1 R

Transactions/Injuries

St. Lucie Mets placed LHP Pedro Feliciano on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to May 4, 2013.

Binghamton Mets placed RHP Tyler Pill on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to May 2, 2013 (right shoulder strain).

Quote of the Day

Brandon Nimmo spoke with Clint Robus, of the Casper-Star Tribune, about the ups and downs he expects to go through in his first full season of professional baseball.

The young prospect started off the season on fire, but things have slowed down lately for the former first rounder. ”I knew this was going to happen,” Nimmo said with a laugh. “So I’m not too surprised.”

“You have to stay even-keeled all the way through the good and through the bad,” Nimmo said.

With regards to adjusting to the everyday grind in the minor leagues, Nimmo said  ”The next day, your body is a little groggy. Your back’s a little stiff, when you get bus you kind of feel like you’ve never walked before. It takes a little bit to get used to.”

Savannah manager Luis Rojas on Nimmo’s little cold spell: Nimmo is just “going through a time. We want him to go through this,” Rojas said. “This is part of his development, and this is the part where he’s going to … figure out a lot more things.”

Rojas goes on to add that Nimmo’s mental approach is special for a player of his age (20), and he has earned respect in the clubhouse for the way he handles himself. ”That’s Brandon right there. Always a smile on his face … happy to be playing baseball,” Rojas said. “He’s going to be giving his best every day.”

Rojas also noted that Nimmo’s hand injury is not serious, and they are keeping him out of games as precaution.

Photo of the Day

Rafael Montero takes the hill tonight for Binghamton. Photo courtesy of MMO contributor Gordon Donovan.

St. Lucie 7, Tampa 1

Rylan Sandoval blasted a one-out grand slam in the top of the sixth inning Monday night, and the St. Lucie Mets cruised to a 7-1 win over the Tampa Yankees.

Robert Gsellman started the game for St. Lucie but lasted just four innings, giving up two hits, no runs to go with two walks and two strikeouts. Jim Fuller came on in relief of Gsellman, tossing two innings and allowing one run to pick up his first win of the season.

St. Lucie (16-8) got on the board in the first inning after Matt Reynolds drove in T.J. Rivera, who led the game off with a single.

The Mets then added a run in the second inning and a run in the third to take a 3-0 lead before Sandoval’s grand slam.

Tampa scored its lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a Dan Fiorito RBI single.

Every St. Lucie batter — save for Aderlin Rodriguez — got at least one hit. Pedro Feliciano returned to action for St. Lucie tonight, tossing a scoreless inning.

Key Stats

Rylan Sandoval: 3-for-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 R

Matt Reynolds: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-5, 2 R

Cam Maron: 1-for-5, 1 3B, 1 R

Charles Thurber: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R

Robert Gsellman: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 2 K

Jim Fuller: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 2 K

Pedro Feliciano: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Chasen Bradford: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 2 K

Lagares To Make MLB Debut? (Photo by Gordon Donovan)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• The Las Vegas/Colorado Springs game was postponed due to cold.
• Binghamton dropped a game to Portland, 8-2.
• St. Lucie defeated Charlotte, 2-1.
• Savannah had an off day.

Prospect Pipeline (Morsels From The Minor League Staff)

• BREAKING: RHP Christian Montgomery of the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets, was suspended 50 games for a second positive test of a banned substance. ”My job is not done and my goals aren’t reached yet, but I’m striving and dedicated to be where I wanna be,” he said to fans via Twitter.
• NEW: RHP Tyler Pill makes his fourth start of the year with the B-Mets. He got his first win of 2013 in his last start, a 4-3 victory over New Hampshire. He threw 6.0 innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, and struck out six batters. On the season, he has struck out 14, and walked four. Opponents are hitting .338 overall against the righthander, and are hitting .438 (7-for-16) against him with runners in scoring position. Pill was ranked the #25 prospect in the Mets organization by Baseball America  prior to the 2013 season. He was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Cal State Fullerton.
• So resident psychic Joe D. gave Juan Lagares a well-deserved shout-out yesterday – and lo and behold, the story broke that he might be making his MLB debut with the Mets ASAP. As for my opinion on the matter, Joe and I are sharing a brain. I know that some people argue that Lagares may be experiencing a little statistical inflation, but I think Lagares has always had the potential to become a successful MLB player. More importantly, he has the tools to do it in CF, where the Mets are desperate for any kind of talent. You never know when a rookie can come up and light a fire under a team with some hard-nosed play, so I wish Lagares the best.
• Wally Backman gave his Lagares a sweet send-off. ”He’s a kid who can play all three outfield positions and he’s got speed. He’s a good outfielder. He throws to the right bases. He has a knack for getting the barrel on the ball. He looks like he’s a real good hitter. I mean, if you just watch him, you say, ‘This kid is going to be able to hit.” It’s almost as if it was taken straight out of my Prospect Spotlight on Lagares. (Joe D.)
• Speaking of sharing a brain, Mitch and I both have high hopes for T.J. Rivera – and he is definitely a feel good story. Rivera added two more hits and RBIs to his stat sheet for the 2013 season last night and is continuing to turn heads. Rivera can flat out hit and it may not be long before he is raking in a Binghamton uniform soon.
• Jacob deGrom was a hard luck loser in his first AA start a couple days back, and he ran into some more bad luck on Monday night as the B-Mets had a ton of defensive issues behind him. His final line was tough, as he somehow lasted five innings, but allowed seven hits and four walks. He was on the hook for six runs, but only one of them was earned. The Jake deGrom that you should expect to see going forward is a lot more like the young man we saw in his first AA start – where he lasted eight innings and allowed only three hits and one earned run.
• Jim Callis recently wrote about a piece about a 25-man prospect roster taking at most one player from each team. He chose Zack Wheeler from NY, but he mentioned that he could have easily gone with D’Arnaud. He also answered a direct question about Rainy Lara, where he stated “He’s also old for low Class A at 22, and unless he adds velocity or develops a quality second pitch, he’s looking at a ceiling as a middle reliever.” Lara, as Callis also mentioned, has gained some respect because of the effectiveness of his sinker, which sits at 89-92 MPH. Lara may not be the sexy prospect right now, but I would advise that you keep an eye on him until he gives you a reason not to. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings pitched so far this season, with a 3:15 BB:K ratio.
• Aderlin Rodriguez may have three home runs and three doubles in 68 at-bats, but he is struggling mightily to keep his batting average anywhere near respectable – it fell to .162 last night.
• Shout-out to T.J. Chism, who picked up his second save of the season for St. Lucie and has a 1.59 ERA so far this season.
• Adam Rubin tweeted on Monday that his next farm report would feature Steven Matz…a fun fact? The Mets, as an organization, have only five left handed starting pitchers listed in contrast to 22 right handed starting pitchers according to their organizational depth chart. Jon Niese and Aaron Laffey make up two of them. Angel Cuan, Darin Gorski, and Steven Matz are the other three. Matz’s 1.29 ERA through 14 innings is tops in the Mets Minors right now.
• It’s no fun when Savannah has an off-day and you’re all ready to gush about Kevin Plawecki and Brandon Nimmo. For all the talk about Las Vegas inflating offensive numbers, the top three batting averages in the Mets Minors belong to three Savannah players: Nimmo’s .424, Boyd’s .388 and Plawecki’s .381 who all play at one of the toughest places to hit – Historic Grayson Stadium..
• T.J. Rivera is a well-oiled, finely tuned hitting machine at the plate. After another two-hit game, he’s now swinging a .310/.383/.394 slash and at 24, you’ll soon be seeing him at a Bingo hall near you and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it to Sin City and even to that other Citi for a September cup of coffee. (Joe D.)
• You know how I’m always harping on Zack Wheeler‘s command? If only he could put up strikeout to walk ratios like Jake deGrom 21:3, Rafael Montero 27:1, Steven Matz 18:4. Then you’ll know you really have a can’t miss prospect. Wheeler’s K/BB ratio is 21:12 if you want to know how that would translate in the Majors, take a look at Oliver Perez‘s career. I still maintain that Montero is more MLB-ready than Wheeler is (not so crazy now, huh?), but it won’t stop the frenzied fanbase from forcing Wheeler up based solely on his heightened legendary-status that’s being driven by SNY –  who happens to be owned by Fred. Once attends shrivels up some more, you’ll see Wheeler in Flushing – ready or not. Hopefully it won’t lead to his unravelling. (Joe D.)
• The executive producer of SNY told me last week that 99% of Mets fans only care about Wheeler, Nimmo and D’Arnaud, and that nobody cares about Montero, Flores or Lagares. I was asking him why they only cover the same 4-5 prospects day after day and ignore 3-4 dozen other great names and rattled off the three I mentioned. Toby Hyde jumped into our conversation and said, “Bingo!” Whose Minor League coverage would you rather read after seeing a mindset like that? (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Day

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB

Tweet Of The Day

Pretty sure I just saw a commercial for a farmers-only dating website. The farmer’s daughter cliche must really be struggling these days.

— Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) April 23, 2013

I thought we had the market cornered here at MetsMerized with pictures of hot farm hands… We may now have some competition. This tweet had some competition from @JohnStrubel, who noted that Jason Bay flew out to Fernando Martinez to end an inning – right before Oliver Perez entered the game…

Transactions/Injuries

• Pedro Feliciano was placed on the temporary inactive list down in St. Lucie. Feliciano left the team to deal with a personal issue in Puerto Rico.
• Darwin Frias was called up to St. Lucie from Brooklyn.
• Shaun Marcum threw 52 pitches over 5.0 innings in an extended spring training game for St. Lucie yesterday. He is scheduled to be promoted to the Mets and start Saturday against the Phillies.
• Mets announced they have signed RHP D.J. Mitchell, who was released by the Seattle Mariners. He’s only made one start for Tacoma (AAA) this year and allowed three runs in four innings. He was assigned to Mets extended spring training camp.

Comment Of The Day

Buddy3 asked… “Do you see Matt Reynolds and TJ Rivera jumping over Tovar and Muno at some point this year or next at the double play combo? Seems like Reynolds is going to push Tejada, not Tovar.”

I love this question. First off, remember not to count Phillip Evans out – the Mets have invested a lot in him financially and he is pretty talented. Now, although Matthew Reynolds always profiled defensively as a third baseman, it was unlikely that his offensive capabilities would progress to match the expectations for that position – so the move to short should benefit him in the long run.

Reynolds may have a good glove, but Wilfredo Tovar has an elite glove…so although Reynolds will likely work out to be a better offensive contributor than Tovar, he is fighting an uphill battle. Rivera can flat-out hit and that statement will be said so many times this year that it will be drilled into most readers’ minds. I actually do believe T.J. Rivera will eventually overtake Daniel Muno when projecting the future, but Tovar’s defensive wizardry will likely keep him in the conversation over Reynolds for now.

Photo Of The Day

Don’t mind me, I’m just watching some Mets Minors baseball…

St. Lucie 6, Fort Myers 5

Domingo Tapia allowed zero earned runs over seven innings and put St. Lucie on the path to victory on Saturday evening.

Tapia was on his game for St. Lucie, as he allowed just four hits and a walk across seven innings while striking out six. He was on the hook for two unearned runs, the first of which scored on a ground out after the baserunner Miguel Sano advanced on a passed ball by Albert Cordero. The seventh inning saw Sano score again, this time directly on an error by Dustin Lawley. Overall, Tapia was in complete control for most of the game and it was his longest outing of the year to date.

Frank Francisco pitched another rehab inning in relief of Tapia on Saturday, and he got through it with no issues at all, allowing no baserunners and striking out one. Randy Fontanez was brought on to finish the game, but struggled mightily and was unable to pick up a single out while allowing a hit and three walks. After Fontanez walked home a run, Hamilton Bennett took over with the bases loaded and none out. He allowed two runs to score, but danced out of danger and St. Lucie narrowly escaped.

Offensively, it was the four-run seventh inning that sealed the deal for St. Lucie, where T.J. Rivera ripped a three-run double that unloaded the bases with one out, and Rivera was driven home by Matt Reynolds later in the inning. Rivera scored earlier in the game on a wild pitch in the third inning. Travis Taijeron drilled an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to cap off the scoring for the Mets.

Key Stats

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R

Matt Reynolds: 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Rylan Sandoval: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R

Travis Taijeron: 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R

Domingo Tapia: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 R, 0 ER, 6 K

Frank Francisco: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 1 K

Randy Fontanez: 0.0 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 3 ER

Hamilton Bennett: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K

Fort Myers 14, St. Lucie 2

It was a rough night for St. Lucie on Friday, where they allowed 14 runs, and their offense was stifled by Fort Myers’ pitcher D.J. Baxendale.

Angel Cuan started tonight for St. Lucie and gave up a lead-off homerun to Adam Pettersen on the third pitch of the game. Cuan yielded an RBI single to Pettersen in the top of the third inning, but in the bottom half, Travis Taijeron responded by blasting a solo home run to left field to make the score 2-1.

It all unraveled for Cuan in the fourth inning, however, where he gave up seven earned runs and three home runs in the inning. Estarlin Morel pitched in relief of Cuan and allowed two runs while retiring only one batter. Morel was ejected for throwing a pitch high and inside that almost hit Fort Myers’ third baseman Kennys Vargas.  Manager Ryan Ellis was also ejected. Wanel Vasquez came in and induced a grounder to the second baseman to finally put an end to the inning. The Miracle scored a total of nine runs in the inning. It was over for St. Lucie at that point, with the score standing at 11-1.

St. Lucie will look to rebound tomorrow in the final game of the series against Fort Myers.  The pitching matchup will be Domingo Tapia vs. Tom Stuifbergen.

Key Stats

T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Travis Taijeron: 2-for-3, HR, 1 RBI, 1 R

Angel Cuan: 3.1 IP, 11 H, 4 HR, 1 BB, 9 ER, 2 K

Estarlin Morel: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER

Wanel Vasquez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER

T.J. Chism: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Chasen Bradford: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 ER, 1 K

Noah Syndergaard strikes out eight for St. Lucie on Saturday. (Photo: Michael Baron, SNY)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Savannah (5-4) topped Rome, 8-6
• St. Lucie (6-3) dropped to Palm Beach, 4-3
• Binghamton (5-4) lost to New Hampshire, 6-1
• Las Vegas (5-5) dropped slugfest to Fresno, 11-6

Prospect Pipeline

• I just learned that we have some exciting phone interviews lined up with T.J. Rivera, Travis d’Arnaud, Cory Mazzoni, Brandon Nimmo and Cam Maron coming up. April will be fun around here as we continue to bring you as much information as we can on our incredibly improving system. Yesterday, Mets GM Sandy Alderson glowed when our Senior Writer Matt Balasis asked him about how far the Mets farm system and organizational depth has come in such a short time. (Joe D.)
• In FanGraph’s weekly prospect chat, Mike Newman said that he expects Zack Wheeler to replicate what we saw from Matt Harvey last season – about ten starts with similar production. Wheeler’s curveball is also improved from the inconsistent breaking pitch he scouted in 2010 and that so far this season he has “frequently popped 96 MPH on the radar gun with ease.”  (Joe D.)
• Mets power hitting prospects Wilmer Flores, Travis d’Arnaud, Aderlin Rodriguez and Brandon Nimmo have combined to hit zero homers, 11 games into the season. Meanwhile, underrated Josh Satin hit his fourth home run last night and is batting .474. Am I the only one who thinks he has nothing left to prove in the minors? If I’m Ike Davis, I’d be concerned. (Joe D.)
• First baseman Jayce Boyd hit his first home run of the season after some near misses. It was a three-run jack and it was a no-doubter. Boyd, 22, is one of our top ten sleepers, and is batting .412/.512/.618 with a great eye at the plate (7 walks, 6 strikeouts) in 42 plate appearances. (Joe D.)
• T.J. Rivera continues to hit. He already leads St. Lucie in hits, RBI, batting average, OBP, and slugging percentage, and added two more hits last night. On a team known for it’s pitching staff, Rivera has been the backbone of the offense. I’m very high on Rivera. He reminds me of another prospect in the Giants organization named Joe Panik. Their games are very similar, except Panik was a first rounder, and Rivera was signed as a free-agent out of college. That’s what you would consider “a steal.”
• Jack Leathersich is also very high on Rivera. In a recent interview with MMO, this is what he had to say about his former teammate: “Oh yeah, definitely T.J. Rivera - he’s the one. He’s the real deal. I’ve never been around a kid who prepares as well as he does. He just really loves the game and it seems like every time I see him he’s out on the field working on something. Rivera plays hard and is completely balls to the wall – he’ll do anything to make sure we win. He’s a great teammate and obviously a great player and everybody should be real excited about him. If he continues the great things he did last season, and I’m pretty sure that he will, he’ll be a lot of fun to watch.” You can read the Leathersich interview in it’s entirety here.
• I mentioned in yesterday’s notes that Binghamton manager, Pedro Lopez, stated that he was expecting some tough offensive nights as his team goes through a transition period adjusting to Double-A. It looks as if Saturday was one of those days he was speaking about. After hammering out thirteen hits and fifteen runs on Friday night, the bats were as cold as the Binghamton air temperature on Saturday, as they only managed one run on five hits.
• Noah Syndergaard, whose fastball routinely sits in the mid-90s and can touch triple digits, reminds St. Lucie pitching coach of Kerry Wood. “He reminds me of Kerry Wood,” St. Lucie pitching coach Phil Regan said. “A lot like him, but a better body. He has that tall Texan style.” St. Lucie manager, Ryan Ellis, also likes what he sees: “He has a nice fastball and seems to get stronger. He only threw four innings but he seemed to get stronger in the third and fourth. His breaking ball is really sharp and he’s pitching it with a lot of depth.” Having a combination of Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard at the top of the New York Mets rotation, is starting to become a scary reality.
• The St. Lucie Mets pitching staff has lived up to lofty expectations so far this spring. They currently lead the Florida State League with a 2.20 ERA, and second in the league 75 strikeouts. The scary thing is, these stats could have even been better, but Domingo Tapia’s hiccup on Thursday night drove the ERA a bit. Tapia didn’t make it out of the first inning that night, allowing three runs on one hit, also giving up four walks and throwing two wild pitches.

Stat Line of the Night

LHP Steven Matz: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB

Tweet Of The Day

Binghamton’s left-handed fireballer, Jack Leathersich, is going to give away a glove to one of his followers when he hits 3,250 followers. He is currently at 2,952 followers. I wonder what he would be willing to give away for 10,000 followers?

PPL the glove giveaway is still going on.Brand new glove from this year when I hit 3250 followers.lets make it happen! #Mets

— Jack Leathersich (@LeatherRocket) April 13, 2013

Probable Starters

Las Vegas sends Zack Wheeler (0-1, 3.15 ERA) to the mound for tonight against Colorado Springs at 10:05 PM.

Rafael Montero (1-0, 1.54 ERA) of the Binghamton Mets takes on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM.

St. Lucie sends Angel Cuan (1-0, 0.00 ERA) the mound this afternoon against the Bradenton Marauder’s at 1:05 PM. .

Savannah sends Rainy Lara (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound in series finale against Rome at 2:00 PM.

St. Lucie 3, Bradenton 4

The Florida sun wasn’t the only thing bringing the heat down in Bradenton this evening. Noah Syndergaard made his second start for St. Lucie, and was giving the sun a run for his money after having his fastball clocked in the mid-90s during tonight’s loss. Syndergaard pitched five innings, surrendering two runs before turning the reigns over to Estarlin Morel. More than half of Syndergaard’s outs came from his eight strikeouts. The one eye sore was Syndergaard’s four walks, but due to his eight strikeouts, his strikeout to walk ratio was still excellent.

Offensively, the Mets were led by T.J. Rivera and Gilbert Gomez who both had two hits on the night. St. Lucie jumped out to an early two run lead in the top of the first inning, but they were unable to hang on to it. They scored a run in the seventh to jump back out in front, but Bradenton scored a pair of their own runs in the bottom half of the inning, and never let go of that one run lead. Morel picked up the loss for St. Lucie, after giving up two runs on four hits. Cam Maron, Matt Reynolds and Travis Taijeron also added hits for the Mets in the loss.

Key Stats

• T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, R, RBI
• Gilbert Gomez: 2-for-3 
• Matt Reynolds: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
• Noah Syndergaard: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K

St. Lucie Mets 4, Palm Beach Cardinals 7

Pitching has been the story for St. Lucie in 2013 thus far. Everyone has praised the pitching staff as being one of the best in the minor leagues, and we’ve told tales of their dominating performances to start the season. That all came to a screeching halt last night.

Domingo Tapia, a consensus top fifteen Mets prospect, took the hill in yesterday’s game against Palm Beach. He didn’t make it out of the first inning. Tapia gave up a lead off triple, then walked four batters and threw two wild pitches. He managed to strike out one batter, but was removed from the game before he could retire the third out in the first inning.

Offensively, the Mets were led by T.J. Rivera, who had three hits and three runs batted in. Rivera raised his average to .360 on the year, and he now leads the team in hits, average, RBI, and on base percentage. I recently did a Prospect Pulse on Rivera, where I pointed out that he is an “under the radar” prospect, but he’s definitely making the case to get his name included in top prospect conversations.

Gilbert Gomez also had two hits in the loss.

Key Stats:

T.J. Rivera – 3-for-5, 3 RBI
Gilbert Gomez – 2-for-4, BB, 2B, 1 RBI
Domingo Tapia – .2 IP, 1 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 K, 4 BB, 2 WP, L

Noah Syndergaard will headline one of the best rotations in the minor leagues.

The roster of this year’s St. Lucie Mets team is packed with some fantastic talent. This year, St. Lucie will showcase some of the finest pitching pitching prospects in the Met system, and even some of the finest in the minor leagues. This year’s team will likely be the most potential-packed of any in the system. Let’s see who will make this season one to watch.

The Big Names

• Noah Syndergaard (RHP) – The hard-throwing right-hander was only the second biggest name in the R.A. Dickey trade this winter, but by no means should he be overlooked. While he may have been overshadowed by Travis d’Arnaud, Syndergaard also has scouts drooling over his potential. In the Midwest League last season (the equivalent of Savannah), Syndergaard tossed 103.2 innings, putting up a 2.60 ERA and a 10.6 K/9 rate. That went along with an above-average 2.7 BB/9 rate, which is also his career minor league average. Syndergaard was ranked the 29th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com this spring and 54th by Baseball America. After d’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler graduate to the big leagues, all eyes will turn to Syndergaard, who thus far has everyone excited about his future.
• Michael Fulmer (RHP, torn meniscus) – Fulmer is one of the many young and promising arms the Mets have in the lower minors. 20 years old, Fulmer had a terrific season last year with Savannah, posting a 2.74 ERA in 21 starts (108.1 innings) while striking out 101 and walking 38. Fulmer was drafted in 2011 from Deer Creek High School in Oklahoma  He was well-regarded before last season, but he put his name towards to top of every prospect guru’s list with a very impressive season. He will miss most of, if not all of the first half of the season with a torn meniscus, but will return some time this summer.
• Luis Mateo (RHP) – Luis Mateo will do something this year that not many pitching prospects in the Mets system do: skip Savannah. Mateo, 23, had a fantastic season for the Cyclones last year, and along with Hansel Robles, will skip A-Ball and go straight to Advanced A-Ball St. Lucie. Mateo put up a 2.45 ERA last season in 12 starts, striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings while walking only 1.1 He has incredible stuff and is someone you will hear a lot from in the near future.
• Domingo Tapia (RHP) – Domingo Tapia’s two-seam fastball may be one of the best pitches in all of the minors. It has heavy sinking action and sits in the mid to upper 90s. He doesn’t have a breaking pitch, and may end up in the bullpen by the time he reaches the majors, but he is nonetheless a very intriguing pitcher. Tapia threw 108.2 innings last season and posted a 3.98 ERA. He slaso struck out 8.4 batters per nine innings (an increase from 5.8 K/9 in 2011) with 2.7 walks.
• Aderlin Rodriguez (3B) – Rodriguez may already have, at age 21, the most power in the entire Mets farm system. Rodriguez hit a meager .221/.265/.372 in 131 games as a 19 year-old in Savannah in 2011, with the only positive being his 17 home runs. Last year, however, repeating the league, Rodriguez started hitting like he never had before. He hit .274/.336/.497 with 16 dingers in only 83 games before earning a promotion to St. Lucie. Looking deeper into his splits from Savannah, you see that although he hit just .233/.309/.473 in 40 games at home at Grayson Stadium, he hit eight home runs. That;s notable considering that Savannah is not only the toughest park in the South Atlantic League to get a hit in, but it is also the most difficult park in the entire minor leagues to hit home runs. If Rodriguez can hit for power there, he can do it anywhere.

The Sleepers

• Jacob deGrom (RHP) – Coming off six so-so outings in Kingsport in 2010 and Tommy John surgery, Jacob deGrom broke out in a big way last year in Savannah. Overall, he made 15 starts there and put up very impressive statistics: 2.51 ERA, 7.8 K/9, and 1.4 BB/9. He then made four starts in St. Lucie, allowing five earned runs in 21.2 innings. A lanky 6’4″, 185 pounds, deGrom has the physical profile that scouts look for in a young pitcher. Watch out for him this year.
• Hansel Robles (RHP) – In a bit of a surprise, the Mets sent Hansel Robles to St. Lucie for the start of the season instead of Savannah, where he was projected to go. Robles, 22, was the ace of the excellent Brooklyn Cyclone pitching staff last season, posting a 1.11 ERA in 72.2 innings to go along with excellent 8.2 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 rates. 
• T.J. Rivera (2B) – Rivera doesn’t have any tools that stand out in particular, but he has put up very good numbers ar every level he’s played. Although he hasn’t hit for much power, he has hit at least .290 in every league he’s played in. Last season in 128 games between Savannah and St. Lucie, he hit .320/.372/.444.
• Alex Panteliodis (LHP) – A ninth-round draft pick in 2011 out of the University of Florida, Panteliodis put up a 3.64 ERA in 22 starts in Savannah last year in 108.2 innings.

Other Names to Watch

• Chasen Bradford (RHP) – A reliever out of UCF, Bradford posted an excellent 2.47 ERA in Savannah last year in 51 innings, all out of the bullpen. 
• Camden Maron (C) – Maron may be the second-best catcher in the Mets’ system after hitting .300/.403/.408 in Savannah last year. He didn’t hit for much power (five home runs), but his 13% walk rate was very impressive.

Now that the season has begun, and all of our regular readers are returning from their offseason slumber, I’m going to re-post many of our interviews that you may have missed.

I can’t think of a better Mets prospect to lead things off with than lefty fireballer Jack Leathersich. Enjoy…

After being taken by the Mets in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB draft, Jack has now completed two solid and exciting years as a pro, and has quickly risen up the ranks of many a Mets top prospects list. The talented southpaw has posted some dazzling strikeout numbers at each level as he quickly moves through the Mets system.

Jack, 22, is a well grounded young man who loves the game and has a profound respect for the art of pitching. He sees each new challenge as another opportunity to learn more about his craft and improving his approach. In my conversation with him, I could tell how important winning was to him and he often mentioned how much he wants to help his teammates and the team succeed.

In our interview, we discussed how far he has come in the last two years in terms of his development and what his goals are for this season. I asked him who he likens himself to, some of the players he’s looked up to, the things he’s learned as a pro, and a host of other subjects. Enjoy the interview…

Joe D. – First of all congratulations on a successful second pro season last year and for helping St. Lucie get into the FSL playoffs. It must have been quite an exciting year for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. Here goes and reply back at your convenience.

Joe D. – When did your workout schedule begin and can you describe your regimen and how you stay in shape in the offseason?

Jack - I started working about September 10 which was about five days after the season ended. I work out and train at Cresse Performance where they have a new facility with everything we need. I know Eric Cresse personally and he’s the best of the best. It’s a large facility and a lot of the pros all go there — they have two cages and two mounds, a full staff and all the workout equipment you need.

Joe D. – What specifically do you work on when you’re Cresse’s, do you have a specific program or regimen that you go through?

Jack – They designed a personal workout program that is suited to my needs and goals. It focuses on heavy legs, shoulder care, and of course arm care. After a long season, stuff starts to break down and you need to get it back to full strength.

Joe D. – How was your stamina at the end of the season?

Jack – It was good. After my first year in 2011, going from my final college season and then onto Brooklyn, I got very tired at the end of the season and I just broke down. I learned how hard a season can be and how long it is. That offseason I learned that there are things I can do that will help me stay strong all year. I don’t really take a long break after the season ends and I prefer instead to workout and build my strength and stamina. I did a pretty good job last year and I stayed strong and felt better because of it. That’s why it was important for me to continue what I started as far as working out after the season. so that I could take care of my arm so that I could keep it as fresh as it can be. Having a tired arm my first year was one of the worst things.

Joe D. – What was the most important lesson you took from last season?

Jack – Being more consistent. Last season I was blessed because I got to work with two great pitching coaches, Frank Viola and Phil Regan. Those two are the best of the best and there aren’t two better pitching coaches anywhere. Sometimes I can get a little inconsistent with my mechanics and that’s always been my biggest downfall. But those two really helped me to become more consistent with my delivery. Also, I sometimes have a tendency to start flying open a little bit and I end up leaving too many balls up which can get me into trouble. But they taught me how to keep the ball down more consistently and especially with my breaking ball and changeup.

Joe D. - Describe your arsenal for me.

Jack - I only throw a four-seam fast ball, I don’t throw a two-seamer any more because it was slower and flatter, so now I just stick with the four-seamer. My other two pitchers are a slider and change-up, I guess you’d say that’s pretty standard for a lefty.

Joe D. - What kind of action and movement do you have on your fastball, it’s obviously missing a lot of bats.

Jack - It runs in late and has nice action. I try to keep it low in the zone and outside with it early, and then I like to come in on a hitter late in the count. My goal is to try and catch the hitter off guard.

Joe D. - Are you working on any new pitches or are you going to stick with those three for now?

Jack - Obviously I’ve thought about it and I’ve thought about a cutter or something like that. But I don’t really believe that the more pitches you can throw the better you are. I’ve really worked hard this offseason to make my three pitches the best that they can be. Trying to work on a new pitch can make you lose sight of making the pitches you already throw, better. I think it’s important for me right now to focus and just work on refining the pitches I already have. It would be great to come into a game and have all three of them pitches working like they’re supposed to all at once.

Jack Leathersich (Photo by Michael G. Baron, SNY)

Joe D. – Do you have a particular way that you like to go after hitters? What is your mindset when you take the mound? Do you have the same approach whether there are runners on base or not?

Jack – No, not really. I go up there and I’m just trying to get ahead in the count and get some outs. I’m not afraid to let them hit the ball, especially at this level where I know my teammates have my back and so far they have been unbelievable. They are out there making all the plays and I trust them. I try not to think about the situation and I pretty much prefer to just go after guys and attack that situation pitch by pitch. I try to stay calm and my goal is to keep my team in it and hopefully we end up with the “W” after the game.

Joe D. – So Basically you’re telling me you like to get up on the mound and just start pounding the zone, going after each hitter one at a time, and not being afraid to pitch to contact? You’re pretty much telling the hitter, “here’s my best pitch, take your best shot at it?”

Jack – Absolutely. Exactly. But don’t get me wrong… If I read the pitching report and I know that a hitter can’t hit a breaking ball then he’ll get the best breaking ball I can throw. I’m not trying to over-think things, I try to stay focused on how to get a hitter out. I believe that if I can make good pitches, I’m gonna get most guys out. I trust all of my pitches.

Joe D. – Are those pitching reports a big part of your preparation before each game?

Jack – Oh yeah. At the higher levels from what I’ve noticed you pay attention to details more and I learn a bunch about hitters from my teammates as well. I like to hang around the older guys who come to St. Lucie to do their rehabs – you can really learn so much from them and they are always willing to help. There’s a lot that goes into pitching. But the bottom line is that you really have to use your head out there and not over-think everything so much.

Joe D. – Normally, when you look at a lefthanded reliever and check out his splits you expect to see that he dominates lefthanded hitters more than righthanded hitters. Last season, LH hitters hit only .256 against you in St. Lucie, not bad. But you held RH hitters to a .205 average. Is that normal for you?

Jack – Actually, I didn’t even know those numbers. I don’t think about that too much. Obviously I have a different game plan for left-handed and right-handed hitters, but I basically try to stick with the same stuff – try to attack with my fastball and use my offspeed stuff when I need to. I mean lefty or righty, it doesn’t really make a difference to me – I don’t really mind facing either and you do have to get good at facing both of them.

Joe D. – We often see many left-handed relievers steered towards careers as a bullpen specialist in the majors or pigeon-holed into a LOOGY role. But sometimes you come across a southpaw like you that possesses great crossover stuff and is highly effective against both leftys and rightys. A lot of us are excited about the possibilities of your future moving forward with the Mets.

Jack – Thank you.

Joe D. – You started out last season with a bang, I mean you were untouchable. Then you had a couple of bumpy months in June and August, but you finished extremely strong and held the opposition to a .194 batting average in your last ten appearances with 24 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. Did you make some sort of an adjustment toward the end?

Jack – It’s a long season and I’ve learned a lot last year about myself and about pitching. I went through a little rut those months and at the time it was really frustrating and I was being really hard on myself. But as I look back, it made me a lot better in the long run. It’s a learning process — there’s a reason why every pitcher doesn’t have a zero ERA. You’re gonna get hit at some point and what’s important is how you bounce back and that you are better because of it. I was unhappy at times obviously, but it was good and I’m happy now because I went through it and learned a lot from that last year. It was good.

Joe D. – From many of the other players I’ve watched and spoken to over the years, one of the common things I hear about when they are going through a rut, is that eventually they came out of it once they stopped thinking so much about it. The ones who come out of it quickly are the ones who stay positive, go back to basics, keep within themselves and basically start having some fun again.

Jack –  Absolutely. Baseball is a game, but I also understand that it’s my job and I take that very seriously. What matters most to me is that the team is winning. No matter what I will always give my best effort when I’m out there so that me and my teammates win as many games as we can. I try to keep my emotions to myself and try to think positive all the time. Negative thoughts are not only going to make it tough on you, but it also makes it tough on your teammates and you don’t want to do that. Just like you said, it’s all about staying positive, keeping it fun and remembering it’s a game.

Joe D. – Don’t ever forget that, Jack.

Jack – Definitely, I won’t.

Joe D. - This will be your second spring with the Mets. What do they have you doing this spring? What do they have you focusing on?

Jack – I haven’t had a chance to discuss what the plan is with my coaches yet, but I can tell you that I’m in the best shape I can possibly be in and that my arm feels great and I’m ready to go. It doesn’t really matter to me what their plan for me is, I’m more focused on doing what ever they need me to do to help the team win. Wherever I end up this season, my mindset never changes, I want to help my team win.

Joe D. – Speaking of where you end up, I have every reason to believe that we’ll be seeing you at Double-A Binghamton – perhaps even to begin the season. Going from High-A to AA is probably the biggest and most challenging jump for any prospect. How do you prepare for something like? What do you need to focus on to excel at that next level?

Jack – I try not to think about that too much. I’m just going to always try and put myself in a situation where I’m playing at my best and then see what happens from there.

Joe D. – So what are you saying – you’re a “take-it-as-it-comes” type of guy?

Jack – Absolutely. But look, I’ve heard that Double-A is a big jump and the that hitters are so much better up there and harder to get out, but that’s why I’ve been working on improving my offspeed pitches this offseason. And that’s why I’m very focused on trying to refine everything right now especially my offspeed stuff.

Joe D. – Since the end of last season, I’ve been telling anyone that will listen that you are the best left-hander in the system AND that I wouldn’t be shocked to see you in the majors as soon as 2013. Fast forward three months later… During a Q&A with season ticket holders at Citi Field in February, Mets Exec J.P. Ricciardi was asked what prospect he was most excited to see this season. Dude, he picked you! And not only that, he said you’re one of the prospects who could get a taste of the big leagues at some point this year. What have you got to say about that?

Jack – (After a nice chuckle) You know thanks so much, and J.P. – well he’s a great guy, and we have a pretty good relationship. That’s great, but it doesn’t really mean anything until I can go out there and do it and prove that I belong. I need to go out there this season and do my thing. I need to show them that I deserve to climb the ladder. Actions speak a lot louder than words. I’m gonna show up, let them know that I’m happy to be here, and that I’m ready to go. Let’s see what happens.

Joe D. - You spent some time in Savannah to start last season before finishing up in St. Lucie. Tell our readers what teammate you were you most impressed with last season and why? Who really stood out to you last year and who should Met fans be really excited about?

T.J. Rivera batted .320/.372/.444 for Savannah and St. Lucie in 2012.

Jack - Oh yeah, definitely T.J. Rivera - he’s the one. He’s the real deal. I’ve never been around a kid who prepares as well as he does. He just really loves the game and it seems like every time I see him he’s out on the field working on something. Rivera plays hard and is completely balls to the wall – he’ll do anything to make sure we win. He’s a great teammate and obviously a great player and everybody should be real excited about him. If he continues the great things he did last season, and I’m pretty sure that he will, he’ll be a lot of fun to watch.

Joe D. – What baseball team did you root for growing up? Who is your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself pitching like someday in the majors?

Jack – I was a Boston Red Sox fan growing up, but my favorite player has always been Tom Glavine actually.

Joe D. – No kidding? Glavine huh… Most Met fans are very familiar with that guy. What are some of the comparisons you’ve heard about yourself?

Jack – Obviously every pitcher is different, but I hear the name Billy Wagner a lot, although I must admit I don’t have the stuff he has.

Joe D. – Don’t sell yourself short. In preparing for this interview I discovered your numbers compared amazingly well to Billy Wagner at the same age and level, and you both have similar builds and height. Your strikeout  and walk rates, and your WHIP, BAA, K/BB are actually all significantly better, and I for one am very excited about that.

Jack – I mean that’s what I’ve heard too, but I’m just trying to be my own player. Billy Wagner, man I loved watching him on the mound, he was just fearless every time he pitched. He couldn’t care less who was up at the plate because he knew he was going to get that batter out. And as for Tom Glavine, his command was ridiculous – he could the ball anywhere he wanted. I remember the times my dad and I would sit on our couch to see him pitch – analyzing everything about the way he pitched. He was fun to watch.

Joe D. – Give me a message for the fans… What do you want to tell them as we wrap this baby up?

Jack – I just want to win this year, wherever the team decides to put me. I’m committed to winning. I owe that to myself and my teammates. I’m going to go out there and do my job and that is to get outs  - pitch by pitch. My desire is to win and I want to represent the Mets organization well.

Joe D. – Thanks so much, Jack. Go out there and have a kick-ass season….

Jack – You bet, it’s been a pleasure

For more analysis on Jack Leathersich, check out Mitch Petanick’s recent Prospect Pulse feature on him.

You can follow Jack Leathersich on Twitter at @LeatherRocket.

Special Note: Next week I’ll have a couple of nice surprises as we’ll be interviewing two more fascinating young players and introduce you to a couple of our newest Mets prospects. Stay tuned to Mets Merized Online for all of your comprehensive Mets minor league coverage.

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.