Winter Ball Update
How the Mets in winter ball have fared over the last week.
Wilmer Flores had a nice week going 7-21 with a Homer, 4 RBI and 3 stolen bases. He played SS in all five games and batted cleanup in four of them.
Gonzalez Germen got into two games and pitched 2 scoreless innings. Have to wonder is he loses his 40 spot when the Mayberry signing becomes official.
Johnny Monell was 1-6 with a solo HR and 3 walks.
Jon Velasquez made only one appearance but pitched a clean inning for the save.
TJ Rivera is apparently human after all as he was only 2-14 with 3 RBI this week.
Xorge Carrillo continued his great season going 5-14 with a HR and 3 RBI.
Cesar Puello can’t seem to get playing time and only pinch ran twice this week but did steal a base.
Winter league baseball is big mixed bag of players anywhere from top prospects like Dilson Herrera to old relics like Ramon Castro. There are leagues in Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican. Rosters are huge and are in a constant state of flux making it hard are players to get in grooves.
This off-season the Mets have few prominent players/prospects playing in winter ball but I will still give you a quick rundown of who is playing and how they are faring. Keep in mind that some of these stats are extremely small sample sizes.
Venezuelan Winter League:
Wilmer Flores was recently added to the Bravos roster and has received only 22 AB’s but in last game played shortstop and batted third for Manager Henry Blanco. He is hitting .273/.333/.409 and is 4-6 with RISP.
Alex Castellanos signed with the Mets on November 11th as a Minor League free agent. He played semi regularly for the Tiburones ending on November 14th. He hit .267/.318/.500 with 3 HR’s in 60 AB’s.
Darin Gorski playing on the same Tiburones team has not fared well in his brief stint allowing 10 earned runs in 4.1 innings to give him a 20.77 ERA.
Brandon Allen who recently resigned with the Mets on another Minor League deal has hit well to the tune of a .265/.400/.461 slash line. Also has 4 HR’s and 15 RBI to go along with a 21/29 BB/K ratio.
Jairo Perez who the Mets signed out of Independent Ball before last year has hit .216/.280/.392 for the Cardenales.
Dominican League:
Hansel Robles has been the Mets brightest star in winter ball and it definitely didn’t hurt when it came to making 40-man roster decisions. He has given up only 1 run and 6 base runners in 11.2 innings. He also has 14 strikeouts to go along with his dazzling 0.77 ERA.
Rafael Montero has pitched to a 3.68 ERA in 5 starts covering only 22 innings. However his 7/17 BB/K ratio is concerning for a guy has always been a fantastic control guy(minus his short stint with the Mets). Montero still seems like the most likely of the Mets pitching prospects to get traded this winter.
Rainy Lara is a teammate of Montero on the Leones squad and has continued his rough year of baseball with a 6.10 ERA in 10.1 innings.
Gonzalez Germen has had a rough go of it for the Toros posting a 10.80 ERA in 5 innings pitched. I love Germen’s changeup but he is inconsistent and walks to many guys which will lead to him losing his 40-man spot probably before the season.
Cesar Puello is playing for Toros and having a rough season too, hitting only .240/.269/.280 in 25 at bats. Puello is out of options and looks like he will have a hard time staying with the Mets barring injury. Despite his bad year last year he still mashes lefties and is a good outfielder. The Mets will regret losing him if they do.
Dilson Herrera has only 28 plate appearances and hit .240/.310/.320 in his limited time. He hasn’t played since November 14th because he was shut down by the Mets.
Puerto Rican League:
Johnny Monell was signed this winter to backup Kevin Plawecki at AAA and has struggled for Criollos. He has hit only .247/.333.301, although his line with RISP is much better at .355/.410/.419.
T.J. Rivera doesn’t care where he plays, all he does his hit and hit really well. Continuing his awesome year with a .357/.398/.476 line with Indios.
Jon Velasquez who was an All-Star for Binghamton last year while playing affiliated ball for first time since 2010. He is the closer for Cangrejeros and has 5 saves and a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings.
Mexican Winter League:
Cory Vaughn had a rough year in the Minors and his hitting .226/.336/.415 for Charros. Vaughn is beaming with talent but just strikes outs too much and looks destine to be a AAAA player.
Xorge Carrillo has really opened some eyes this year and his play for Aguilas is only going to open more. He has hit .260/.335/.500 with 7 HR’s and 24 RBI in 150 at bats. Not bad for a guy who is suppose to be an all glove catcher.
It will be interesting to see how much shortstop Flores ends up playing. Remember these teams are all about winning and little about Major League club’s agendas and preferences. Daniel Muno was added to the roster of Yaquis of the Mexican on December 3rd.
As a bonus I would like to share the link to a video of Met great Dae-Sung Koo getting thrown out of a winter league game in Australia last month. Koo is 45 years old and still pitching to a 2.16 ERA!
