Rafael Montero Is Heading To AAA (Photo by MMO Contributor Gordon Donovan)

The Mets have promoted RHP Rafael Montero to Triple-A Las Vegas, according Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

Lynn Worthy of Press and Sun Bulletin, later reported that this was likely just a spot-start situation, as the B-Mets expect to have Montero back in their rotation for the end of next week. He did note, in a later tweet however, that nothing is set in stone – and referenced Collin McHugh’s performance in AA in the past when he was only supposed to be up for one start.

Well, we’ve been calling for some movement in the field of Rafael Montero for a little while now as he has dominated in Binghamton for the most part. The Mets organization has responded to Montero’s excellent performance so far this year with a promotion to AAA, where he will join the Las Vegas rotation as he perhaps progresses to an MLB call-up later this year.

Montero was one of my favorite prospects to cover last year because he had such amazing command and what I described as a bulldog mentality on the mound. He is intimidating when he pitches with great stuff, mixing in a slider, change-up, and occasional curve in with his fastball that has exceptional late movement.

I am part of the camp that believes Montero should have had some work in AA and then skipped Las Vegas, but regardless, he will get some time to fine tune himself before making a major league appearance. He’s knocking on the door…

So far in 2013, Montero is 4-3 with a 3.47 ERA through 46.2 innings, where he has allowed 40 hits – and only two home runs. He has walked just six batters, in contrast to his 54 punchouts. Those Las Vegas fans are lucky – Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero in the same rotation!

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas defeated Omaha, 7-3.
• Binghamton took down Portland, 6-3.
• St. Lucie was edged by Bradenton, 5-4.
• Savannah was one-hit by Augusta, 11-0.
  

Prospect Pipeline

• Jenrry Mejia made his first “real” rehab start in St. Lucie last night where he lasted three innings. He threw only 61 pitches, and threw 41 of them for strikes, which was a good sign. He allowed five hits and three walks, which led to two earned runs, and struck out six batters. Striking out six batters over three innings is encouraging, although the three walks over the same span is not. I’m very much on the fence with how I think the organization should proceed with Mejia. I get the feeling he will end up being a bullpen arm – and a good one at that, but since we have the time, we might as well work him back as a starter. I’d like to see him rehab and work his way into the starting rotation at Binghamton.
• It might be old news by today, but Zack Wheeler hit the 7-Day DL and should only miss one start – which would have been today. Matt Fox, recently claimed on waivers, was added to the team to bolster the rotation in his absence, and did his job last night. He allowed two home runs over five innings, but held the opposition down to only three earned runs. Josh Edgin looked very impressive in his inning of work, lighting up the radar gun and striking out three batters in his inning of work.
• Cesar Puello has tried to turn it up an extra gear recently and is batting .306 over his last ten games, with three multi-hit games in his last four starts – including one last night. Puello is in the midst of a solid campaign, batting .294 over 109 ABs with five home runs, seven steals, and 24 runs driven in.
• Fellow B-Mets outfielder, Alonzo Harris, managed to put together a nice game as well with two steals. He now has 13 on the year. He has been batting eighth in the lineup recently as opposed to leadoff because of a heavy slump, but it looks like the move down has sparked the Sterling Award winner once again.
• I highlighted Dustin Lawley for his streaky work earlier in the year – and right now, he’s on a torrid hot streak. His last ten games have seen him bat .349 and go deep four times. Lawley is actually second in the FSL with nine home runs, behind only Miguel Sano‘s 11. Aderlin Rodriguez is fifth in the league with seven home runs after he hit another home run last night.
• Jeff Walters struck out the side for his 11th save last night in Binghamton and lowered his ERA to 0.57. We may actually have some potential future depth in this young man.
• On an unhappier note, Phillip Evans is really struggling in the field, as he made his 12th error of the year last night.

Stat Line of the Day

Dustin Lawley: 2-for-4, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

Transactions/Updates

• Zack Wheeler and Kai Gronauer were both placed on the 7-Day DL in Las Vegas.
• Brandon Hicks and Matt Fox were added to the 51s team roster in corresponding moves.

Photo of the Day

Yes, Matt Harvey is truly becoming the new King of Queens… (Photo credit goes to Gordon Donovan)

Photo by Michael G. Baron of SNY.

Updated by Mitch Petanick on May 17, 2013

Adam Rubin has reported that Zack Wheeler is scheduled to start throwing again today, and is back with the team in Las Vegas. He was placed on the seven day DL, retroactive to his last start. He will rejoin the rotation next Wednesday when the team is in Iowa.

Wheeler received a cortisone shot last Wednesday after being diagnosed with inflammation of the AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He is still expected to only miss one start, which would have been on Saturday of this week.

Updated by Joe D. on May 15, 2013

Zack Wheeler has been diagnosed with slight inflammation in the AC joint in his shoulder, and will miss one start, according to Assistant GM John Ricco.

Wheeler received a cortisone shot at the Hospital for Special Surgery in his right shoulder and is flying to rejoin his team at Triple-A Las Vegas.

We spoke to his agent a few minutes ago who said there is no structural damage and that he is in good spirits.

That said, until I see Wheeler back on the mound pitching again, I will remain concerned.

It’s just the Mets fan in me.  :-)

Get back on that mound soon, Zack…

Original Post May 14, 2013

Zack Wheeler has a sore right clavicle, and will fly to New York to be examined by team doctors tomorrow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

“I think we’re being a little conservative,” assistant GM John Ricco told reporters about the Mets top prospect. Wheeler had already met with the team doctor in Las Vegas.

That said, Ricco added that Wheeler will not make his scheduled start on Saturday in Omaha.

Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Wheeler will undergo an MRI exam on his collarbone while in New York.

Terry Collins commented on this and said:

“From what I’ve heard today, it doesn’t sound serious. But any time you miss a start, it’s for the best interest of the player. We’ll wait to hear the doctor’s report and go from there. If it’s only one start, that’s certainly something we can handle easily.”

After a rough start to the season. Wheeler made a mechanical adjustment and has had incredible success over his last three starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and walked only three while posting a 1.35 ERA.

Overall, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA for the season with 18 walks and 47 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched.

While the team calls this precautionary and conservative, any kind of soreness in the surrounding shoulder area should be a cause for some concern.

Thoughts From Mitch Petanick:

I’m hoping for the best here, but preparing for the worst. What I am worried most about is the fact that Zack Wheeler pitches using a delivery called the “Inverted W,” which could put added stress on the anterior labrum ligament in the shoulder — it slowly loosens the ligament and can actually lead to tears. Some pitchers use this delivery and go through their careers injury free, but many of them suffer injuries that require surgery…like John Smoltz and Stephen Strasburg.

Wheeler also recently tweaked his mechanics, which is what his improved control is accredited to, but could that mechanical fix in addition with the Inverted W delivery been enough to cause this shoulder discomfort? I guess we will find out after his MRI, but even precautionary MRIs are a cause for concern.

The Inverted W is like playing with fire…you can get burned.

Thoughts from Matt Musico:

Keep it up, kid. You’ll see AA soon…

Noah Syndergaard took the hill for the St. Lucie Mets tonight, and continued to dominate hitters at the Single-A level. He was bringing 96 mph heat, and mixing in his change-up and curve ball all night. The curve ball was the sharpest it’s looked all year, as he snapped off hook after hook that either left hitters frozen in their stance, or left them swinging wildly like they were trying to hit mosquitoes out of the sky.

This was the kind of performance I was waiting to see from Syndergaard, whose main flaw seemed to be that his off-speed pitches needed more development before the season started. Tonight, he used them confidently — they were sharp, and they were getting hitters out.

On the night, Syndergaard struck out ten hitters in 6.2 innings of work, and walked none. That looks like a Rafael Montero stat line plus four extra strikeouts. He gave up two runs on seven hits, a couple of which were infield hits, but the ten strike outs were the most this season for the young fire-baller.

St. Lucie would go on to lose this game, 3-2, after T.J. Chism allowed a two-out RBI double that scored a runner left on base by Randy Fontanez for a Brevard Country walk-off win. Rylan Sandoval was responsible for the two St. Lucie runs, with a sixth inning two-run single.

Syndergaard is getting closer and closer to Double-A, and is the clear cut favorite to be the Mets No. 1 prospect once Zack Wheeler is promoted. As of right now, I would slot Syndergaard behind Wheeler as the No. 2 prospect in the organization. I’m starting to believe that he was the key addition from the R.A. Dickey trade, and not Travis d’Arnaud.

If I had to rank my top five prospects in the Mets organization now, they would be Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, Rafael Montero and Brandon Nimmo. It’s nice to imagine a future rotation that includes Matt Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard and Montero. Barring injuries, if these guys remain on track, good times are right around the corner for Mets fans.

Like many quick-fixes, it will not work. Despite Collins’ outburst, firing him is not the answer as it screams panic.

As the appearance is things spiraling out of control, the Mets desperately need to show signs of stability and reiterate the growth process. Sacking the manager does not achieve this goal.General manager Sandy Alderson needs to take several steps to show the fan base there is a plan, and it has to entail more than asking for patience and talking about a supposedly increased payroll after this season.

The first thing Alderson must do is speak out in defense of his manager. Jordany Valdespin isn’t being hung out to dry, it is Collins. Alderson must say Collins is his man and his job is not in jeopardy.

Supporting Collins also entails ridding the Mets of the topic, which set him off in the first place, and that is Valdespin. If Alderson can’t trade Valdespin, whose value is low, then designated him for assignment. Don’t bother sending him down because you don’t want to pollute a farm team with his selfish, punkish attitude. Get rid of him, and if he comes back to bite the Mets in the butt, so be it.

You will notice an immediate cleansing in the clubhouse. The Mets spoke about changing the culture of the franchise, and that should include getting rid of that kind of attitude. One can’t help but notice neither Collins nor Alderson care for Valdespin, and for whatever talent he has, he’s not worth the trouble.

Next, send down Ike Davis and Lucas Duda until they show signs of understanding how to hit. I keep hearing there’s nothing down below that can help. Well, how will they know unless they try?

Clearly, Davis and Duda aren’t getting it done on the major league level and the pressure is only increasing. When they get home, they will hear boos and that won’t help. It will be like Jason Bay all over again, but in two positions.

The Mets aren’t going to make a trade or sign anybody now, so let’s see what is below. If you don’t want to screw with Wilmer Flores changing positions, I understand. But, let’s look at Josh Satin. Or Zach Lutz. Or any Little Leaguer in the Tri-State area. I’m just tired of watching strikeout after strikeout.

Davis shows no signs of patience or understanding of the strike zone and Duda has regressed from a promising start. Maybe these guys are the future, but they certainly aren’t the present. And, it is obvious they aren’t learning anything up here.

Finally, Alderson should flat out say Zack Wheeler is not coming up and it is because of his contract status. We all know about Super Two, so let’s stop the charade. Putting a date on Wheeler will eliminate the distracting groundswell, which has included Wally Backman’s muddying projection.

Collins’ status, Valdespin, Davis, Duda and Wheeler are all distractions that could be eliminated by forceful actions from Alderson.

Just do it.

Last night’s 4-2 loss to the Cardinals was particularly reflective of the team’s struggles as they lost their sixth straight game for the second time in this very young season. They looked futile and if anything could go wrong for them, it did.

“The game is very cruel sometimes, and right now we’re experiencing kind of the cruelness of it,” said David Wright after the game. “You get a quality start from your starter and there’s just so little room for error that a ball bounces one way, you don’t catch a break here, you don’t catch a break there, you end up losing the game because you have to play near-perfect when the offense is struggling the way it is right now.”

There’s no shame in losing to the best team in baseball, but it’s not just the losing, it’s how they lose that make it all so maddening. When they get a well-pitched game, they can’t score enough runs, and when the do score runs they can’t hold the lead.

David Wright is on the money when he says this game can be cruel sometimes, and it was a good choice of words because only yesterday I said it would be unwise of the Mets to bring Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud into such a cruel environment. There’s nothing to be gained by not waiting until September callups. They’ll both get a month of major league baseball in, and we get to keep them for an extra year which may become very important once we become relevant again.

The decision to not bring in a bona fide bat for the outfield since trading Carlos Beltran two years ago is especially painful during this Cardinals series. Some said that Beltran was done, that he has bad knees, was not a leader, or that he was too soft. Wrong on all counts. Not one day on the DL since he was shuffled off to Frisco and his lethal bat, powerful arm, and gold glove defense have all been on full display in this four-game series which wraps up this afternoon.

There is no quick fix for this team, but therein lies the problem. After three offseasons we should have been able to address at least one need at the major league level, but instead we’ve more than tripled our plight going from four areas of concern to 14 now.

From hearing Terry Collins speak last week, it already sounds like he’s moved on 2014 – a season which will most likely not be here for. The other day he said he has to keep playing Lucas Duda and Ike Davis to know what we have for 2014. After three years, shouldn’t you know what you have in those two and that they certainly are not core players?

Next year was when we were supposed to be seeing the transformation. It will be interesting to see what online bookmakers have to say about it when that time comes. Until then, we’ll just bide our time and wait. Apparently something magical and different will take place this offseason as for years we’ve been told they’d have a fistfull of dollars. In six months we’ll all find out if we were just being sold a bill of goods or if the front office is really going to pull a rabbit out of it’s hat.

His recent comments where he dismissed the fans view on his handling of the Jordany-gate, although brusque, were not off base. Most fans, bloggers and some members of the media struggle to understand what it takes to manage people, much less lead 25 athletes from diverse backgrounds in the biggest city in the world. From a big picture standpoint calling out the fans gets you nowhere. Why fight a battle that doesn’t help you in the long-run?  The bigger concern isn’t the comments, but the fact that he never sticks to a conviction. I am not in the clubhouse, but my view from the outside is one of a placeholder manager that seems to struggle with his leadership role. You get the feeling the Anaheim mutiny is still in the back of his head. That mindset is not going to move this team forward and create the kind of culture necessary for a sustained winning environment.

For as little talent as ownership (notice I said ownership, not the front office) has provided Collins the last two plus years, you can’t forget how his teams have collapsed under his stewardship. The 2011 team was probably the best of the bunch and they were going south when Alderson pulled the trigger on the Beltran-Wheeler deal. Last June, you couldn’t ask for better karma after the Johan Santana no-hitter and R.A. Dickey’s string of zeros. How did they leverage that? With .280 baseball in July. That was the end of the 2012 Mets who, up to that point, were a feel-good story.

Again, lack of depth on the big league roster and in the minors is largely to blame. None of that is Collins’ fault.What he is accountable for is a failure to live up to anything he says for a sustained period of time. A perfect example is last September after the Phillies drubbed the Mets 16-1 at Citi Field.  Asked after the game if he was embarrassed, Collins said, “I am.” Asked if he thought his team quit, he responded, “You have to ask them.”

One of the biggest issues with the organization has been lack of accountability and a culture of failure. One of the main reasons Collins was hired was to purge that stench from the locker room. If there was ever a defining moment in his tenure it was that night. What did he do with that opportunity? He backtracked the next day after the players took exception to the comments. This leads me to believe that he doesn’t have conviction, control or autonomy. The media can be a useful tool to send messages to a ballclub. Collins did exactly what any skipper should do when their club doesn’t compete; especially when it was their ninth straight loss.

Truthfully, all I need for a manager to succeed in this town is to manage a bullpen, run a clean clubhouse and keep the media appeased so there aren’t any peripheral distractions.  Collins is not a long-term solution at a time where the organization needs to sell the future. Also, if Collins was truly in the plans for 2014 and beyond, why wait to extend his contract at the end of the year? The players know he is dead man walking.

So do you sit back and make this get ugly? That’s where it’s headed after a sixth straight loss last night. If bringing up Zack Wheeler and others is necessary to make the future better, why not do the same with the manager? I believe it’s time to do what should have been done in 2010: Hire Wally Backman.

I believe Backman is the kind of manager that could achieve the aforementioned three criteria that I believe makes for a successful manager. He could be the Mets version of Ron Gardenhire or Mike Scioscia: a manager who defines their current club as much as the uniform. We haven’t seen that type of scenario since Davey Johnson came onboard in 1984. In a lot of ways Backman could have a similar impact.

Backman is known to be a great motivator and teacher. He won’t wave a magic wand and make this 4-A squad a contender, but I guarantee the players will maximize their potential- whatever that may be. He can manage a bullpen, and certainly will run a clean clubhouse. He will demand respect and a winning attitude.  The Mets may not win under Backman, at least not right away, but they will compete. This is not what I can say has been the case 100% of Terry Collins’ tenure.

So why wait? Yesterday Collins again flip-flopped during his weekly WFAN segment with Mike Francesa. After calling out the fans for their criticism of how he handled Valdespin, he retracted and couched his comments in a softer manner. People show their true colors when under pressure. The comments that Collins made a day earlier was how he really feels. I would have respected him more if he stood by it instead of playing politics after the fact – just like he did last September.

Does the team really have a choice? When Francesa asked why he thinks things will get better Collins’ responded by saying the “clubhouse is in great shape.” I am glad to hear that everyone is happy and comfortable with the prospects of a fifth straight losing season.

If hope and dreams is the Terry Collins solution then why don’t we just sign up for magic beans and pixie dust? That isn’t going to help Tejada, Davis, Duda or Niese out of their malaise.  It’s time for something real and sustainable. It’s time for the Wally Backman era to start now.

Where would this team be without Matt Harvey?

Is it safe to say that as of this moment, the only proven and legit core player under the age of 30 this team has is The Dark Knight of Gotham?

I like Jon Niese a lot, but is he a core player? Or just an number three pitcher who plays the role of an ace on a very bad team?

I quickly threw some numbers into a spreadsheet and I can’t believe how appalling the numbers are once you take Harvey out of the equation.

Two of our top three starters have ERA’s of 5.93 for Jon Niese and 6.13 for Dillon Gee. Our number four starter, Jeremy Hefner has got them both beat with a 4.28 ERA. You may recall me saying back in January that he would be a sleeper and best choice for fifth starter? (Hey Alex68, remember this? Underrated????? SMH!!!)

Then you have the pitcher who was supposed to help replace R.A. Dickey‘s innings in Shaun Marcum. The Mets gave marcum a guaranteed $4 million dollars and in return he’s already missed one month and since his debut is averaging 4.1 innings in three starts and has a team worst 8.31 ERA.

Mets pitchers are now officially the worst in the National League and second worst in the Major Leagues. And that’s with Matt Harvey who is in the top five in over a half dozen pitching categories.

That’s kind of embarrassing, wouldn’t you say?

Gee has been the latest starter to deliver an abysmal performance after allowing six runs and nine hits against the Cardinals last night in 4.0 innings.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t even know what to say, really. I didn’t feel all that bad tonight”, said Gee after the game. “Physically I feel great. There’s nothing going on there. I don’t know. I’m kind of lost.”

You don’t say?

Gee and Co. is partly why the Mets bullpen has been as abysmal as it has. They are burning through arms at an unprecedented rate. Six weeks in and already eight transactions related to the bullpen alone. And it’s not as if it was a great bullpen to begin with. It was put together with sticks and Krazy Glue.

So while everyone is piling on when it comes to the Mets offense, the truth of the matter is that this team is quite atrocious on all fronts. Take a look at the evidence:

METS PITCHING RANKINGS

METS HITTING RANKINGS

That stinks to high heaven. It’s a shock to the system to even look at those awful, awful numbers.

I can tell you right now that Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud alone are not going to fix that. In fact I think it’s a sin that those two are being setup for an unfair amount of undue pressure, as if trying to stick in the majors wasn’t already challenging enough.

On Wednesday, Sandy Alderson seemed concerned that Wheeler is being looked upon as some sort of savior and he admitted to Mike Francesa that he wasn’t. But the fact that both he and d’Arnaud will be walking into this disaster is going to be something to behold and I don’t mean that in a good way. I wonder how they will handle it, and God forbid if they don’t produce immediate results and hit the ground running.

The other day on Twitter I tossed out the suggestion of just letting both of them stay at Triple-A and don’t bring them up unless this team turns it around. Losing is contagious. I know you all know that. If this is what those two kids are going to walk into, I’d rather wait and call them up in September.

At least in September they can come up without the pressure of having to carry a team that was poorly constructed. It’s bad enough that Matt Harvey has had to deal with this. I totally feel sorry for that kid. On any other team, but the Mets, Harvey would probably be 8-0 right now.

I don’t know if this is rock bottom, but heaven help us if it isn’t and it continues to get worse.

Six weeks into a season that stretches over six months may be a tad early to make pronouncements on expected outcomes for this year’s Mets squad, but the indicators of relative strengths and weaknesses have at least given a reasonable hint of what can be looked for going forward. A sub-.500 record with a propensity for generosity by the bullpen and parsimony on the part of the offense hasn’t inspired a great deal of optimism in fans at this point. Not that there were many of us ready to try to make a convincing case for a division crown going into this season, but as always we remain hopeful and ready to be pleasantly surprised.  The unexpected run toward respectability that occurred during the first part of the 2012 campaign might yet re-surface this year as a second half surge, something that would actually be a more hopeful sign of things to come. As we await the inevitable arrival of Zack Wheeler, Travis D’Arnaud, et al later this summer, it seems worthwhile to evaluate yet again how the overall roster might best be shaped.

The twin issues of a porous bullpen and an impotent lineup seem to be continual matters of concern. Of course, were the rotation more consistent at providing quality outings, the bullpen wouldn’t be as overtaxed as it seems to be and perhaps more able to provide adequate support. On the other hand, a bounty of run production would compensate greatly for less than shutdown outings from the relief corps, but lacking even middle-of-the-pack scoring ability since an uncharacteristic eruption to begin the season, we are left to look for the domination of a Harvey start and cross our fingers in-between.

So, unwilling to write the season off entirely at this point, what strategy best serves management’s multiple goals of major league player development, minor league nurturing, and fielding a product respectable enough to generate sufficient revenue from an increasingly impatient fan base?  Do they continue along the current path, waiting for the team as presently comprised to round into shape and begin playing close to what more bullish expectations had envisioned? If so, where does one finally draw the line if that level of performance isn’t forthcoming before a certain time period has elapsed (let’s say, hmmmm…, the All-Star Break)? Or, if more drastic action is deemed appropriate, who is most directly affected by that action?

So many questions, but not that many readily apparent answers. As the roster is made up largely of relative youngsters with potential  and varying track records of success (Ike, Murphy, Tejada, Duda, Niese, Parnell, Gee, Harvey, Valdespin, Turner, Lagares, Carson, Familia), with an added sprinkling of seasoned veterans (Wright, Buck, Hawkins, Atchison, Byrd, Marcum, Lyon), and role players (Baxter, Brown, Rice, Recker, Hefner), the Mets are in a position that seemingly requires that we all bite the bullet and wait out the unavoidable growing pains of a franchise in the middle stages of a rebuild. Sandy Alderson’s statements in regard to the possible fate of Terry Collins indicate that his expectations are more closely focused on development of young talent than on the team’s won/lost record this year, although one would expect an improvement in the latter as an outgrowth of the former.  From an historic viewpoint then, could we conceive of the 2013 season as being analogous to 1983 as a harbinger of good things to come? One of the keys to the transition of that team from bottom dweller to contender and eventual champion was not only the establishment of later rotation stalwarts Ron Darling and Walt Terrell, but the mid-season acquisition of Keith Hernandez as a consistent veteran presence in the lineup and in the clubhouse. These moves were instrumental in the remarkable year-over-year gain of 22 wins for the 1984 squad, though adding in a couple of pitchers by the names of Gooden and Fernandez didn’t hurt, either.

If there is to be a similar advancement over the next season or so for the Citi-dwellers of 2013, we will need to see results with the ostensible rotation strategy in the form of the debut and successful development of at least two starters from the vaunted arsenal of Met hurlers-to-be. Zack Wheeler’s debut now seems fairly imminent, but it would be a stretch to expect the likes of a Montero or Syndergaard much in advance of late 2014. In the meantime, I would expect more in the form of placeholders like Collin McHugh until the more dominant arms are ready. Ultimately, to make the move from mediocrity to the upper echelon of the league will require contributions from the starting staff in the form of multiple 200+ inning seasons from the majority of the rotation. Such was the case in ’84 when Messrs. Gooden, Darling, and Terrell all achieved the feat. As to the questions of if and when the Mets could expect to receive production of that magnitude from the current crop of arms making their way to Flushing, your guess is as good as mine.

It is worth noting that the 1984 squad received significant production from its outfield corps, getting 60 HR’s and 75 SB’s from the starting trio of Foster, Wilson and Strawberry, and topped that off with solid contributions from Hernandez and Hubie Brooks at the infield corners. The deficiencies of the current Mets outfield have been covered ad nauseum at this point so I won’t rehash them, but suffice it to say that an acquisition or two would appear to be absolutely vital going forward for the balance of the strategy to be effective.  The timing of this aspect of roster construction can be highly variable and opportunistic. The key move for the 1983 team was clearly the Hernandez trade, something that came about largely as a result of a personality clash between Keith and Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog. The acquisition of Ray Knight, a major component in the 1986 championship drive, came about as a near-deadline pickup in late August for the 1984 team as they prepared for that season’s stretch run. The off-season blockbuster that brought Gary Carter into the fold ahead of the 1985 campaign was a more “traditional” type of swap, undertaken by GM Frank Cashen as a means putting the final major piece of the puzzle into place.

The lesson here is that opportunities must be taken when they present themselves, lest similar ones fail to present themselves in a timely manner. Many questions have surrounded the Mets’ apparent refusal to include Zack Wheeler in a deal that would have netted stud outfielder Justin Upton, the type of offensive force that the lineup so desperately needs. If Wheeler becomes another Ace alongside Matt Harvey for years to come, the decision to keep him will seem wise or at least reasonable, depending on how the rest of Upton’s career turns out. If he is spun off in a deal that brings Giancarlo Stanton into the fold, most would consider that a fair alternative, to say the least.

In any event, if the strategy of the current Mets’ regime is to bear fruit in the commonly accepted timeline to contention (2015 by the reckoning of most), we should expect to see some important additions to the roster in the relatively near future. Building a winner takes time, but it also needs the right kind of material. Right now, much of that material would seem to be lacking.

Scott Atchison, who experienced numbness in his fingers while pitching Monday, has been placed on the disabled list according to Assistant GM John Ricco.

Atchison was examined Tuesday in New York by team doctors who said there is “no new structural damage.”

The 37 year old veteran reliever opted not to have Tommy John surgery last year despite a ligament tear in his right elbow.

Collin McHugh has been promoted from Triple-A and is in St. Louis. He will work out of the bullpen while with the team.

In eight starts for Las Vegas, McHugh was 3-2 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. In 49.1 innings, he’s walked nine and struck out 36.

Originally Posted at 9:00 AM

Mets reliever Scott Atchison took the mound pitched last night at Busch Stadium with numbness in the fingers of his right hand, which he classified as a side effect of his torn elbow ligament.

The Mets plan to send Atchison for tests on his elbow, although the reliever is not sure what that will accomplish. He has been pitching with a torn ligament since at least 2009, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

“It’s documented, obviously, with my elbow,” Atchison said. “Some of it’s, ‘What can I handle?’ I feel like I’ve been managing it pretty good all year, and today for whatever reason the tingling came back.”

Atchison, 37, missed more than two months last season after experiencing similar numbness, but opted against Tommy John surgery.

In 19 appearances spanning 18.0 innings Atchison has a 4.50 ERA and allowed 20 hits, 6 walks, six strikeouts and a 1.44 WHIP.

He said he could not feel his fingers last night when he failed to get an out and gave up three hits including a two-run homer to Matt Holliday.

Rafael Montero Looks Intimidating (Photo by MMO Contributor Gordon Donovan)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas dropped to Albuquerque, 5-2. 
• Binghamton topped Akron, 5-3. 
• St. Lucie dropped to Brevard County, 6-5.
• Savannah lost to Charleston, 5-3. 

Injury News

The Wheeler Watch has taken a turn…hopefully not for the worst. Adam Rubin has reported that Zack Wheeler will miss his next start due to discomfort in his clavicle, and is flying to NY to meet with doctors.

I’m not an injury expert, but I do know that Zack Wheeler pitches using the “Inverted W,” which could put added stress on the anterior labrum ligament in the shoulder — it slowly loosens the ligament and can actually lead to tears. Hopefully this is not why Wheeler is suffering from shoulder discomfort. 

Prospect Pipeline

• Wheeler Watch: Based on Sandy Alderson’s comments yesterday, it sounds like we will probably see him before the All-Star Break. It has to be good for both Wheeler and the team, meaning they won’t call up Wheeler until he is ready to face major league hitters (getting close, if not there already), and the team has holes to fill in the rotation (um, yes). It sounds to me as if Wheeler is on the cusp of making his major league debut. I’m not so much concerned with Wheeler getting called up as I am about how the fans will react when he does. Will they expect Matt Harvey-like success — because he was the exception, not the rule. He will now have the pressure of being the top prospect being called up, have to pitch in New York, and has to live up to Harvey’s success…tough.
• The guy likely to get called up when Wheeler is promoted pitched last night in Binghamton. Rafael Montero pitched another six solid innings last night, striking out six and walking none. Montero is the type of pitcher that is going to give up some hits if his secondary pitches aren’t on point. His fastball isn’t overpowering, and when you are around the strike zone as much as Montero, the hitters are going to put the bat on the ball. Consider his control a gift and a curse at the same time, if his off-speed pitches aren’t working well for him. Montero isn’t going to give any teams free runs, but because of the type of pitcher he is, he isn’t going to hold many teams scoreless. Not for the time being anyway. If he can live on the corners, he may be the type of guy that eventually develops into a shutout threat every time he takes the hill.
• Travis Taijeron is having a solid year for St. Lucie. Over the last ten games, Taijeron is hitting .371 with three home runs and a ridiculous .511 on base percentage.
• It has been two games without a double from Dr. Doubles, Kevin Plawecki. He has 19 two-baggers so far this season.
• Hansel Robles gave up four walks in four innings of work last night. He was pretty pedestrian, although he did manage to strike out five opposing hitters.
• I have to admit that Wilmer Flores is not having the type of season I thought he would be having in a “hitter’s league.” I was hoping he would step up offensivley after Travis d’Arnaud went down with an injury, but I’m just not seeing it. I think most would agree that they expected to see more than a .264 batting average and three home runs from the second highest rated offensive prospect in the organization. The good news is, it’s only May, so Flores can still get on track.

Stat Lines of the Day

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

Dustin Lawley: 2-for-5, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R

Transactions

Brandon Hicks assigned to St. Lucie Mets from Las Vegas 51s.

New York Mets optioned Andrew Brown to Las Vegas 51s.

Quote of the Day

Today’s quote of the day is from the interview that Sandy Alderson gave on WFAN yesterday afternoon, regarding Zack Wheeler:

“Bringing Zack Wheeler up here, does it create a second day out of five that fans would have a greater interest in watching us play?” Alderson told WFAN radio Monday. “Yeah, I think initially. But if he doesn’t have success, that won’t last very long.”

It sure sounds like Alderson is tip-toeing around this Wheeler call-up. It almost sounds like he is afraid that things are going to go bad, and then everyone is going to turn and point a finger at him demanding his job.

 

The Howard Hughes Corporation and Play Ball Owners Group form the new ownership group and our beat writer is on the way to the park right now where they are expected to make an official announcement.

This is all part of what MMO’s Rob Silverman reported over the winter about the move to a new, $65 million stadium called The Ballpark at Summerlin Center that will be located in the suburbs of Las Vegas.

The Mets have a two-year player development contract with Las Vegas that will remain in place regardless of the change in ownership.

We’ll tell you more after the press conference.

It was so weird because I was in the middle of setting up phone interviews with Collin McHugh and Zack Wheeler and speaking to Jim when it suddenly sounded like Grand Central Station poured into his office.

“Hold on. We’ve just been sold, Joe.”

I was like huh???

Should be a doozy of a game for Rob tonight.

How many of you are sitting at home tonight, wondering and asking yourselves how long it will be until we finally see Zack Wheeler wearing that uniform and hurling 98 mph fastballs from the mound at Citi Field?

The question is not an easy one to answer and in fact it’s a perfect paradox by virtue of the logical arguments one can make for either side. It’s a conundrum, that much is true, but it’s a wonderful dilemma to be in.

Four starts ago, I talked about his mechanical flaw that kept him from harnessing the command of his four plus-pitches. I even said that a small tweak could fix that flaw and give him a more consistent release point and enable him to spot his pitches better than he had been.

By sheer coincidence, Wheeler did make an adjustment after that start, and while it didn’t completely eliminate that inverted w, it’s certainly no longer as pronounced as it once was. More importantly, his release point is now not lagging behind his plant as drastically as it was before. He’s now throwing the ball exactly where he wants it to go, and it’s no longer the guessing game it used to be. He’s no longer crossing up his catcher. Let me interject that Juan Centeno deserves some credit for this transformation. Calling games and being a top defensive backstop is what Centeno does best.

Anyway, the results have been dramatic.

Over his last three starts, Wheeler has thrown a combined 20 innings and allowed just three earned runs. But the real news here is that Wheeler struck out 19 and walked only three batters – one in each start.

To put that into perspective, that’s three walks in his last 20 innings as compared to 15 walks in his previous 23.1 innings before he tweaked his delivery.

Four starts ago, Wheeler ranked 47th in ERA among qualified starters in the PCL, his 3.74 ERA now ranks 16th and looks so much better than the 7.67 he sported after his first five starts.

To those so-called experts and quasi-analysts who blamed the humidity or lack thereof for his woes, or that it was the altitude playing tricks on his brain, I’ll stand by what I’ve said all along. “None of that stuff matters if you’re pitching great.” The problem was mechanical and not related to all those cop-outs and excuses. Many great pitchers have made it through the PCL just fine as I pointed out last month.

We are now seeing the Zack Wheeler that we’ve all been anxiously awaiting since the middle of the 2011 season. The kid with electric stuff and four phenomenal pitches is now throwing strikes and pounding the zone. He’s hitting the corners, overpowering hitters, and sending them back to the dugout talking to themselves. He’s gone from a great thrower to a great pitcher.

This feels so good, and the timing is beginning to feel right.

In Spring Training, Terry Collins challenged Wheeler and told him, “If you want to be a major leaguer, go to Triple-A and pitch great.”

Guess what, Terry? Zack Wheeler is pitching great.

The Mets sure could use a jolt of enthusiasm and energy on this team right now…

Matt Harvey sure could use somebody to help him shoulder the load in the Mets rotation…

Met fans could use another reason to keep watching…

I couldn’t give a rat’s ass if bringing Wheeler up now will cost the Wilpons a few million dollars over the first seven years of team control. My regular readers know my feelings about Met fans who like to play team accountants. This is New York not Oakland or San Diego.

If Wheeler is ready than he should be called up and to make room for him, I’ll drive Shaun Marcum to the airport myself.

If Wheeler’s dominance continues in his next start, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to join the Mets rotation during the next homestand when the Cincinnati Reds come to Citi Field. Or better yet give him a couple of extra days of rest and have him make his Major League Debut against the New York Yankees on May 27 at Citi Field. I just love the sound of that, don’t you?.

As you know, MMO has been covering every Zack Wheeler start like white on rice. Our reports and analysis are based on our own observations, discussions with scouts, and of course what we learn from Wally and Randy.

The following are some thoughts from Rob and Mitch from last night. But before that I just want to thank the incredible Jay Horwitz for bailing me out yesterday. If you’re reading this Jay, that was awesome, thanks a lot.

Thoughts from Rob

Last night I was at Cashman Field to witness the ace of the Las Vegas 51s and prized prospect Zack Wheeler on the mound. In many ways Wheeler lived up to the hype and pitched as expected. However, what I did NOT expect was the competitive spirit he displayed. His poise is more like what one would expect from a seasoned veteran and not a kid three weeks shy of turning 23.

Wheeler pitched well, keeping Albuquerque batters on their toes all evening long. He tossed 7 1/3 innings, the longest of any 51s pitcher this season, allowing just two runs on six hits and fanned seven while walking just one and throwing 61 of his 91 pitches for strikes, his best ratio this season. No opposing batter reached second base again until the seventh.

It was good to see how Wheeler responded when some pressure and adversity came his way. After Alburquerque outfielder Matt Angle launched a first pitch fastball from Wheeler high into the Vegas night he was unfazed. His manager  Wally Backman showed faith in him and didn’t even come out to settle him down. He didn’t wave to the bullpen either. Instead he gave his young ace a chance to show what he was made of and Wheeler answered the call by striking out the next batter on a knee-buckling curveball. Nasty.

After watching him tonight, it’s clear—as we’ve all been reading and hearing—that Wheeler has “the stuff.” What I learned, however, is that he also has the make-up. He did not get rattled. He did not get flustered. When he had to reach back for something extra, he succeeded.

Another interesting observation about Wheeler was the efficiency he pitches with. He keeps the game moving at a quick clip. He doesn’t take a lot of time between pitches. This obviously keeps the fielder’s sharp. Steve Trachsel he’s not.

It seems like every few years we Mets fans hear about ‘the next’ Tom Seaver or Jerry Koosman. We hear it so much we’be become numb to it. Am I saying Zack Wheeler will be the next Koosman to Matt Harvey’s Seaver? No.

However, after seeing Harvey pitch over the last month and personally witnessing Zack Wheeler last night, maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thoughts from Mitch

Wheeler was locked into cruise control for the majority of the night. He threw 99 pitches, 61 for strikes, and only allowed one walk to his final batter. He gave up a run early in the first inning, but settled down after that and took control of the game.

Wheeler showed poise after he gave up a leadoff home run to Matt Angle in the seventh, but he stuck out the next batter and retired the side in order, looking unphased in the process. He continues to build on his previous performances, and it appears that fixing the mechanical glitch has made the difference. Since the fix, he has only walked three batters, one in each of his past three starts. One more thing, late in the game when he fanned his last batter, he was still hitting 96 mph on the radar gun…wow.

Wheeler’s starting to look like the real deal. (Photo: Michael Baron)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas defeated Albuquerque, 4-3.
• Binghamton was rained out.
• St. Lucie was also rained out.
• Savannah took down Rome, 3-2.

Prospect Pipeline

• Well…he did it again. I’ve been hesistant with Zack Wheeler since the beginning of the 2013 season, but I can hold nothing else against the young man. He is pitching like an ace – with veteran like poise on the mound and in a hitter’s league, no less. I had high expectations for him and he is beginning to get there. I still don’t think we’ll see him promoted until past the Super Two date, but hey, a little more practice never hurt anyone. Except maybe Allen Iverson.
• I make this statement, of course, because Wheeler is coming off yet another good start for the 51s last night. His line was solid, as he allowed two runs over seven-and-a-third innings pitched, while striking out seven batters. Perhaps the most important thing to take away is that for the third straight start – he walked only one batter. Something to note, via my buddy Mitch Petanick… “In his final strikeout in the eighth inning, he was still hitting 96 mph on the radar gun…wow.”
• It was his third straight quality start in a row. Is it conceivable that the mechanical change and removal of his blister actually were the final things needed to flip the switch for Zack Wheeler? Honest to god, I have no idea, but I will take the performances he is providing as of late. The Harvey and Wheeler show might be coming to a wreck of a team near you within a month…
• Speaking of AAA pitching, our current rotation after Wheeler includes Carlos Torres, Chris Schwinden, and D.J. Mitchell – with Collin McHugh being the last man. I know Meija will eventually be back in that mix too, but wow, it is not inconceivable to understand why Buffalo decided not to renew with the Mets. By the way, wouldn’t Collin McHugh be better out there than Shawn Marcum at this point? Honestly. McHugh could get called up if Familia hits the DL, but Greg Burke is also a likely candidate.
• Rainy Lara really needs to be promoted soon. His domination of the league continued Friday with seven strong innings, where he allowed just one earned run and set down eight men via strikeout. His ERA at this point STILL stands at under 1.50 and he really needs a challenge. He does not have dominant stuff and he needs to learn how to work against hitters who won’t be overmatched against his pitches. I see a path for Lara to the MLB in terms of success however, as he could end up being a versatile Jeremy Hefner type guy down the line with better control at the worst. You could make the case for the promotion of Rafael Montero, Rainy Lara, Noah Syndergaard, and Zack Wheeler… what a problem to have, right?
• And on the topic of promotions, I need to start counting the days until they jump Kevin Plawecki to AA. As a player with some college polish, AA should at least serve as a challenge for him – as he is clearly too advaced for A ball. His skillset is shining through, however, and he continued to demonstrate his gap power with a double in last night’s game, his second straight game with a two-bagger. It was his 19th on the year, and he has now reached base in 22 straight games.
• Wilmer Flores is looking like he might be beginning to break out this season, as he slammed his second home run in three games last night in support of Wheeler. Flores has hit all three of his home runs at home so far this season. He is in the midst of a so-so campaign, but is still very ripe at just 21 years of age.
• Seeing Captain Kirk settle down nicely in the PCL with the 51s and bang out a three-hit game on Friday, I can’t help but worry that he is going to end up as one of those AAAA outfielder types. I always saw potential for more from him.
• Danny Muno may have hit a home run on Friday evening – but someone needs to tell him that his twitter was hacked and it sends out spam DMs.
• The Mets played like an MiLB team yesterday, so I should probably give them a mention. There’s a part of me that hopes Matt Harvey drills someone today to show a little support for JV1 out there.

Stat Line of the Day

Zack Wheeler: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER, 7 K

Tweet of the Day

Thank you to all my fans for the support. I love my fans….. #teamJV1 # papivaldy

— Jordany Valdespin (@jordany023) May 12, 2013

Transactions

Chad Zurcher, Savannah’s shortstop, was placed on the 7-day DL yesterday. Robert Gsellman was added to their roster and was effective.

Domingo Tapia was placed on the 7-Day DL on Friday for the St. Lucie Mets with a burnt hand, and Carlos Vazquez of the Brooklyn Cyclones was called upon to take his place in a corresponding move. Jennry Meija was later added in place of him, to start his rehab assignment. Angel Cuan made the start in Tapia’s place on Friday. For the record, Tapia burned his non-pitching hand.

Mark Cohoon will be starting the first game of a double-header for Binghamton tomorrow as they return a six-man rotation with Cory Mazzoni returning from injury. However, Tyler Pill has been shutdown after being diagnosed with a right shoulder capsule injury. You can thank Lynn Worthy for that little tidbit.

According to Adam Rubin, Terry Collins told him that Frank Francisco was supposed to throw a side session yesterday, and did not.

Las Vegas 4, Albuquerque 3

Last night I was at Cashman Field to witness the ace of the Las Vegas 51s and prized prospect Zack Wheeler on the mound. In many ways Wheeler lived up to the hype and pitched as expected. However, what I did NOT expect was the competitive spirit he displayed. His poise is more expected of a crafty veteran than a kid three weeks shy of turning 23.

Wheeler pitched well, keeping Albuquerque batters on their toes all evening. He tossed 7 1/3 innings, the longest of any 51s pitcher this season, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. He fanned 7 while walking just 1. 61 of his 99 pitches went for strikes.

Albuquerque scored in the first. With Elian Herrera on 2nd and two outs Rusty Ryal singled hard to right. Eric Campbell fired a rocket to the plate. Herrera was out by ten feet. However, he avoided the swipe tag by Las Vegas catcher Juan Centeno. Ryal took second on the throw home. Wheeler, however, was unfazed. He turned it up a notch and fanned the next batter. No opposing batter reached second base again until the seventh inning.

In the seventh, with Wheeler and the 51s leading 2-1, he delivered a first pitch fastball that Matt Angle promptly sent high into the Vegas night. Wally Backman showed faith in Wheeler. He didn’t come out to settle him down. He didn’t wave to the bullpen. He gave Wheeler a chance to show what he’s made of and the young pitcher answered the call by striking out the next batter on a knee-buckling curveball.

Eric Campbell’s home run to lead off the home seventh put Vegas back on top, 3-2. Wheeler gave way to Justin Hampson in the eighth after allowing his one and only walk of the night. In the ninth, Hampson squandered the lead and Albuquerque tied the game at 3-3, therefore giving Wheeler a N/D.

The 51s won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a lead-off single by third baseman Zach Lutz followed by a walk to Eric Campbell. A fielder’s choice moved the runners to 2^nd and 3^rd. Omar Quintanilla was intentionally walked to load the bases. Backman had Reese Havens pinch hit. He fell behind quickly in the count, 1-2, but managed to work out a walk. A walk-off walk.

After watching him tonight, it’s clear—as we’ve all been reading and hearing—that Wheeler has “the stuff.” What I learned, however, is that he also has the make-up. He did not get rattled. He did not get flustered. When he had to reach back for something extra, he succeeded.

Another interesting observation about Zack Wheeler is the efficiency he pitches with. He keeps the game moving at a quick clip. He doesn’t take a lot of time between pitches. This obviously keeps the fielder’s sharp. Steve Trachsel he’s not.

2bman Wilmer Flores hit his 3^rd HR of the season in the 4^th and almost hit another in the 6^th, sending the OF to the wall. He also flashed some leather, making a nice diving catch in the hole in the 7th.

It seems like every few years we Mets fans hear about ‘the next’ Tom Seaver or Jerry Koosman. We hear it so much we become numb. Am I saying Zack Wheeler will be the next Koosman to Matt Harvey’s Seaver? No.

However, after seeing Harvey pitch over the last month and personally witnessing Zack Wheeler last night, maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Key Stats

Wilmer Flores: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Eric Campbell: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Zach Lutz: 1-for-4, 1 R

Zack Wheeler: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER, 7 K

Justin Hampson: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K

Zack Wheeler took the hill tonight for Las Vegas, and was locked into cruise control for the majority of the night. He threw 99 pitches, 61 for strikes. Wheeler had seven strike outs and only allowed one walk to his final batter. That last comment is music to a lot of peoples’ ears.

Wheeler looked good the entire night. He gave up a run early in the first inning, but he wasn’t getting knocked around. He settled down after the first, and took control of the game. He did get some help from a couple of guys that swung at pitches after Wheeler got behind them with three-ball counts. One batter swung at a pitch with a 3-0 count which is one of the biggest no-no’s in baseball. If you swing at a 3-0 pitch, it better land on the moon.

Speaking of moonshots, Wheeler gave up a home run to Matt Angle, after Angle jumped all over the first pitch of the seventh inning (fastball). Wheeler showed poise when he retired the side in order after the home run, looking like he wasn’t phased. Regardless of the home run, Wheeler did his job tonight.

Wheeler continues to build on his previous performances, and it really is starting to look as if the mechanical glitch that Wheeler fixed could be the difference. Since the mechanical fix, he has only walked three batters (one in each of his past three starts). He pitched 7.1 innings tonight, which was his longest outing of the season. In his final strikeout in the eighth inning, he was still hitting 96 mph on the radar gun…wow.

Wheeler’s ERA, in a very friendly hitter’s league, is now down to 3.57.

Final Stat Line: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR

We will have even more on Wheeler as Rob Silverman will be sharing his insights from Vegas at the conclusion of the game as well as grab some post game quotes from Wally Backman.

“Personally, I think if he has a couple of more starts like his last start he’ll be headed to the big leagues, and rightfully so,” Backman told Las Vegas’ ESPN radio affiliate.

We’ll have our Las Vegas beat writer Rob Silverman on hand Saturday when Wheeler takes the mound against his former teammate Aaron Laffey – now with the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes.

In his last two starts, Wheeler has rebounded nicely after a rocky start to his season. In 12.2 innings pitched he’s limited opponents to just one run on eight hits and two walks while striking out twelve.

Overall, the Mets’ top pitching prospect has a 4.00 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in seven starts, and the league is batting .246 against him.

Wheeler believes his turnaround was due to an adjustment he made to his delivery. “I was keeping my shoulder square to the plate, which allows me to have a bit better command,” he told MLB.com. “Before, the command was off, and the mechanics allow me to hit spots a little bitter, sharpens up my pitches.”

Kevin Burkhardt of SNY has been calling for Wheeler’s promotion since the season began and last night he said that if he pitches two more starts like his last two, he will be here. Darling and Cohen both agreed with him and spend about 5-10 minutes of every broadcast this season talking up Wheeler with little to no concern about triggering the extra year of arbitration eligibility for Wheeler.

I actually asked one of SNY’s producers about that last month, to which he said “Wheeler is all most Met fans want to hear about regarding the minors. That’s all they care about.”

It’s been widely reported that June 4th is the cutoff this season for avoiding Super Two eligibility for Wheeler.

A team source told Mike Puma of the NY Post, that “it’s highly unlikely” that Wheeler will be a candidate for promotion to the Mets regardless of the results in his next start.

We’ll be looking forward to speaking with both Backman and Wheeler on Saturday, and as usual we will quickly post a full accounting of his performance when his night is done. We’re all hoping for another solid start as he inches closer and closer to joining Matt Harvey in the Mets rotation.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas dropped to Round Rock, 9-5. 
• Binghamton topped Trenton, 3-1. 
• St. Lucie defeated Daytona in extras, 6-5. 
• Savannah had the day off. 

Injury and Health News

After being called a hand contusion and nothing serious, it seems that Brandon Nimmo will be headed to the disabled list after all.

We have our Savannah Beat Writer Wally Murphy at the game right now and he will give us the official report later this evening with his game recap.

Yesterday, Joe D. posted the following in our Mets Minors Report:

Brandon Nimmo still has not returned to the lineup since April 29 because of a hand contusion. The Mets now consider it more serious than initially thought and will have him seen by team doctors with a possible MRI as well. DL stint looming.

According to freelance journalist Robert Brender, Mets catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud is due to be examined in New York on May 17 and currently remains in a walking boot.

“I’m in a boot that I’ve been wearing all the time, except when I sleep,” d’Arnaud said.

“It’s really frustrating. I just want to be out there playing and some freak injury happens and I can’t do anything about it. It just takes away time from playing and being on the field. I was feeling really good and was having fun playing (before the injury). I think just not being able to play is the worst part about it.”

“I already had the last half of last year not playing and now this happens. I just want to get back on the field playing again.”

Baseball’s top ranked catching prospect suffered a fractured first metatarsal in his left foot with Triple-A Las Vegas last month. Depending on how the examination goes, he may be able to begin an injury rehab at the Mets complex in Port St. Lucie sometime this month. He was originally expected to return to games around mid-June.

Prospect Pipeline

• Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, Luis Mateo, and Domingo Tapia are all in the Mets farm system, yet Logan Verrett has pitched the game of the year for the Mets minor leagues, just coming off of one of the more impressive starts I’ve seen in a long time from Montero. As Satish Ram said in the Binghamton Game recap, “Verrett went ahead on Wednesday and tossed perhaps the best game of his career – as he nearly finished the game with a complete game victory. He was taken out of the game after 99 pitches, which perhaps was pitch count related, before he could achieve the final out. At that point, he had allowed just the one earned run in the bottom of the fourth, and was utterly dominant throughout the entire game. His nine strikeouts were demonstrative of that fact.”
• Verrett is flying under the radar this season, but he has been pitching very well. He now has five wins on the year, which is good for tops in the Mets organization, and also tops the Eastern League. He also leads the EL in innings pitched (47.1). Verret is also ranked third in the organization in opposing hitter’s batting average (,207), and fourth in the organization, fifth in the EL, in WHIP (0.97). Pretty impressive. After last night’s performance, it’s safe to say that Verrett is no longer flying under the radar.
• Cesar Puello: All he does is hit home runs? He extended his hit streak to 15 games in grand fashion again by crushing another two home runs last night, one of which was an absolute bomb. His last three hits are now home runs. He’s showing off that power we all have heard so much about and is now batting.296/.360/.531 in 24 games.
• Aderlin Rodriguez has been smoking the ball over the past three games. In that span, he is 7-for-14 with four doubles, two home runs, and eight RBIs. He now leads the Mets organization with six home runs on the year, and he had the walk-off hit to plate T.J. Rivera in the tenth inning of last night’s victory.
• Here is what the Trenton Thunder pitching coach, Tommy Phelps, had to say about Montero after his start on Tuesday night: “Our guys were talking about facing Montero last year in the Florida State League and were very impressed with him…He’s got real good stuff.”
• I’m not sure how many caught this in the transactions section yesterday, but the Mets promoted catcher Xorge Carrillo from Brooklyn, to St. Lucie. This was a major head scratcher here. Kevin Plawecki has earned a promotion at this point, absolutely dominating and overpowering the Low-A pitching in the SAL. What would prompt the Mets to promote a player in Carrillo, who has had 26 hits in 39 professional games? Plawecki has 44 hits alone this season, and showing no signs of slowing down. It’s either the snub of the year, or like I predicted, there serves no point in skipping Plawecki to High-A ball, because the level of competition is not much different. When Plawecki is ready, he will be in Binghamton.
• Adam Rubin reported yesterday that Collin Cowgill and Kirk Nieuwenhuis would both be seeing time in centerfield with Las Vegas this year. Things are going to get real crowded out there once Matt den Dekker returns from his wrist injury.
• Juan Lagares and Andrew Brown were dominating at the Triple-A level, but have looked lost against big league pitchers. The question I raised when I heard they were promoting the two outfielders, was why the Mets would promote offensive players, coming from a “hitter’s league,” when their numbers were inflated, and seemingly ignore the pitchers, because their numbers are deflated due to the same reason. When looking at the PCL players, you have to take the offensive and pitching statistics with a grain of salt, and rely more on good old fashioned scouting when judging whether a player is ready or not.
• I have but one thing to add to this report. Remember back in February when I said that signing Carlos Torres was a useless move that will only create a logjam and keep pitchers at lower levels because of the trickle down effect? Pitchers like Jacob deGrom and Rainy Lara paid the price because they were squeezed into lower levels that would present no challenge to them and that’s exactly what happened. Torres has allowed 23 earned runs in 27.0 innings for a 7.39 ERA. The other two have proven that they should have started at higher levels and one (deGrom) already has been promoted. Lara will be promoted soon as well. Carlos Torres? A 30-year-old flop who was released twice by teams desperately starving for starting pitching? Are you freaking kidding me? (Joe D.)

Stat Lines of the Day

Logan Verrett: 8.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 9 K

Cesar Puello: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

Aderlin Rodriguez: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R (game winning, walk-off hit)

Organizational Leaders

Sounding Off

B-Mets pitching coach Glenn Abbott talks about Rafael Montero’s last start and sheds light on the rest of his dominating pitching staff.

Quote of the Day

Today’s quote of the day comes from the Star-Ledger regarding if Jeremy Hefner is hearing Zack Wheeler‘s footsteps:

“If it was right now, if he came up today, then yeah I would probably be the one that gets sent down,” Hefner, 27, said Tuesday. “I’m realistic enough to know that, but I can’t control that.”

“I came up early and then it was all the talk about, ‘When’s Matt coming up?”’ Hefner said. “And much like Zack, they deserve all that press because they’re that good. What it comes down to is I can only control what I can control. If the effort I give every fifth day is good enough to stick, then it’s good enough to stick. And if it’s not, I have stuff I need to work on. If Zack comes up for me, that’s not going to make me hate Zack Wheeler.”

Photo of the Day

After a long hot day on the farm, I like to chill out with my MMO Mets Minors Report.

Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler headline a handful of budding young pitchers who hope to one day bring the New York Mets organization back to relevance again. Harvey,  in his first full season, is doing his best to do just that–as exemplified by his near-perfect, nine shutout frames in Tuesday night’s walk-off victory by the Whitestone kid, Mike Baxter–and Wheeler is knocking on the door to crack the big-league rotation soon enough. As both develop, the pair continuously leads a youth movement in the organization that look to achieve what this franchise has yet to celebrate in 27 years; a world championship.

Not only someone who was a key cog of a dominant Mets rotation and an integral part of that champion 1986 club, but also someone who interacts and analyzes the likes of Harvey and the team on a daily basis, Ron Darling offers intricate insight on these young arms and his thoughts on their first months of the 2013 season thus far.

Sitting on the back patio of the Irish Circle Tavern in Rockaway Park, Queens — who hosted a luncheon for Hurricane Sandy Relief in which he was a guest of honor with Mike Baxter – -Darling describes to me the way in which he goes about evaluating a pitcher.

“The three things that I benchmark, that I judge pitchers by.” said Darling as jets from the nearby JFK International Airport fly loudly overhead, giving the conversation a true Citi Field vibe. “Their ability to throw fastballs on the corner and both sides of the plate, they can throw a breaking ball over the plate behind in the count, and they have a bulldog and a competitive mentality.”

After explaining his methods of evaluation, Darling goes on to explain how Harvey and Wheeler fit into his equation.

“Harvey has all three.” said Darling. “Wheeler has all three now but not at the major league level. You can’t judge minor league pitchers until they pitch on this stage because it’s just such a big jump. You’re pitching now against people that used to be on your video games. Until that happens I think it is tough to judge guys.”

As shown by his bloody-nose inning and simply his pure demeanor on the mound, the competitive prowess of Harvey is rarely questioned. When it comes to Wheeler however, his “bulldog” isn’t always quite as outwardly apparent. The intangible “bulldog” factor of Darling’s evaluation, he says, comes in all types and varieties.

“A bulldog comes in many shapes and forms. said Darling. “In my day, Dave Stewart was considered a bulldog with the stare, but so was Orel Hershiser without the stare. It comes in a lot of different ways. A lot of guys try to fake it, you can see through it. Zack might have a different way of doing it; he might be quieter about it, as opposed to Matt who may be a bit more overt about it. Matt’s from the East Coast, and East coast kids tend to be a little more overt anyway, and Zack might be a little quieter. It doesn’t mean that they both can’t be pitching assassins in their own way.”

Wheeler’s toughness in-game had begun to come into question, to an extent due, to his rough first month of the season in which he allowed 18 runs in 23.1 innings. Since then, the 22-year old has put together back-to-back dominant efforts and appears to be getting his season on track. Darling, who says he has seen Wheeler pitch live on roughly six occasions or so, believes the slow start was due to his lack of innings in Port St. Lucie after being sidelined with an oblique strain.

“What happened to Zack is that he had a shortened Spring Training, he was playing catch up, and that’s why he had the first bad outings.” said Darling. “Terry Collins said if you want to come up here you’ve got to throw strikes and he has, so sometimes you just need some gentle prodding and I think that was the best thing that happened to him.”

While Collins and the Mets await the proper time to give Wheeler that call to come up, they have been able to revel in the incredible season so far from the Amazin’s other distinguished young arm in Harvey, who has continued to draw up a significant stir across baseball that hasn’t been seen for a rookie arm in Flushing in some time. His career is merely 16 starts long between 2012 and 2013, however Darling explains that the praise for Harvey is well-deserved.

“If he continues the way he’s going, we’re talking about a young man in his first full season having the chance to pitch or start in his home ballpark at the All-Star Game.” tells Darling. “That’s a pretty amazing feat.”

Of the attention in particular,  the now weekly Met holiday known as Harvey Day has become one of the most popular celebrations of the young workhorse.

“You say Harvey Day, I was thinking about Paul Harvey, the great radio icon who used to say ‘good day’ to end his broadcasts.” said Darling, in reference to his chuckle when I mentioned the term Harvey Day in my question. “That’s what Matt Harvey does with his innings when he ends with strikeouts: ‘Good day.’”

Both Harvey and Wheeler will look to have more ‘good days’ than bad as they continue their respective journeys towards making their presence known and leaving those such as Darling “so impressed” in what hopes to be two long, successful major-league Met careers.

I just wanted to thank the Mets, Citigroup and the Irish Circle Tavern for putting together a wonderful luncheon to benefit the continued effort to rebuild following Hurricane Sandy. I would also like to thank Ron Darling who amid a room of fans, reporters and officials not only took time out to  speak privately with me, but gave exceptional insight on two of the Mets greatest young talents.

The July 2012 promotion of the Mets’ second best pitching prospect was met with much fan fair.  Harvey promptly rose to the occasion in the eleven strike out win that was his debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  For an encore, he went on to post an ERA well under three in ten starts comprised of almost sixty innings pitched.  For certain it looked as though the Mets had another quality starter on their hands, but no one could have anticipated what Matt Harvey had in store for the Mets and their fans in 2013.

Entering last night, Harvey’s 2013 campaign featured a 4-0 start which saw him yield more than one earned run on only one occasion over six starts, in route to the National League Pitcher of the Month award for the month of April.  Coming off a full seven day’s rest, Harvey spent Monday night victimizing the White Sox lineup in route to nine scoreless innings of one hit ball with twelve strike outs and exactly zero walks.  This saw Matt drop his ERA to an impressively low 1.27 while assuming the league lead in strike outs with 58.

The stats are impressive enough, but they are easily trumped by the undeniable presence that Harvey brings with him to the bump every night.  Each start celebrated as “Happy Harvey Day” on various social media forums, the fans have fully accepted Matt as the absolute ace of this staff, no questions asked.

Harvey’s rise to what will soon be, if it isn’t already, super-stardom, will make it that much harder for those that come behind him, namely Wheeler.  Having been billed as possessing the best repertoire in the system, its hard to believe that Wheeler can match the ridiculous change-up and slicing slider that Harvey has used to carved through opponents thus far this season.  While the Mets will need Wheeler to be a productive member of the rotation in short order if they hope to stay in the hunt this summer, Matt Harvey has made most, if not all fans forget that someone other than he may be the savoir for the Mets pitching woes.

Recent history has seen pitchers as unproven as Mike Pelfrey toe the rubber as the team’s ace.  Those days, at least for the time being seem to be behind us.  Having been drafted by Omar Minaya in 2010, Harvey will be ineligible for free agency until the 2019 season at the earliest and now represents the youth movement envisioned by Mets general manager, Sandy Alderson.  The franchise will need others to rise through the ranks in order to realize Alderson’s vision, but regardless of whether those who will soon follow his path are able to do their part, Matt Harvey is here and the Mets have their ace.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.