June 24
Adam Rubin of ESPN NY writes that Travis D’Arnaud was pulled early from Monday’s 51’s game and informed that he will be returning to the majors. D’Arnaud will be active for Tuesday’s series opener at Citi Field against the Oakland A’s.
D’Arnaud, in 15 Triple A games batted, .436 (24-for-55) with eight doubles, six homers and 16 RBIs.
“It was all mental,” d’Arnaud recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Just focusing in on every at-bat like it’s my last at-bat. Not thinking about a hundred different things. Just focusing on one thing and keeping a solid approach on each and every pitch. I kind of went away from that [before the demotion]. … I feel like my concentration is up and I’m able to focus in easier. I feel good. I’m in a good place.”
Prior to his demotion to Vegas, d’Arnaud was hitting just .180, with three homers and nine RBIs.
But following the suggestions of 51s hitting coach George Greer, d’Arnaud started to make the right adjustments to get back on track
“George moved his back foot closer to the plate,” Wally Backman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He was having a hard time hitting the pitch away, but now he can cover the whole plate. If it was that simple all the time, it’d be great. That’s one of the things he wasn’t doing in the big leagues.”
Backman continued, “He needed to clear his head a little bit, come down here, have some success and get some confidence built back up.”
Rubin adds that the Mets did not announce a corresponding move. They must decide between optioning Anthony Recker or exposing Taylor Teagarden to waivers. Teagarden also has an out if he clears because he has been outrighted before.
June 23
Adam Rubin of ESPN NY writes that Travis d’Arnaud is expected to be promoted during the Oakland series. A team insider also told ESPNNewYork.com that team officials were still weighing which catcher, Anthony Recker or Taylor Teagarden, would be dropped once d’Arnaud is promoted.
A team source also told the NY Daily News that Kevin Plawecki, will move up from Binghamton to Vegas “very soon,” a move that will coincide with d’Arnaud’s recall.
June 20
Travis d’Arnaud was at it again last night for the Las Vegas 51s. The 25 year-old catcher went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and three runs scored to lead Las Vegas to a 6-2 victory. The home run was d’Arnaud’s sixth since being demoted earlier this month.
D’Arnaud has torn the cover off the ball since being sent down, already making a strong case for him to be recalled after less than two weeks in Triple-A. In 48 trips to the plate, d’Arnaud has an austounding batting line of .432/.479/.977. Yes, that’s right: a .977 slugging percentage. During that span, TDA has six doubles, six home runs, and 12 runs scored.
“It was all mental,” d’Arnaud told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Just focusing in on every at-bat like it’s my last at-bat. Not thinking about a hundred different things. Just focusing on one thing and keeping a solid approach on each and every pitch. I kind of went away from that (in the majors).” It seems the pressure of being a top prospect debuting in New York was a bit too much for d’Arnaud to handle.
Las Vegas hitting coach George Greer has made a minor change to d’Arnaud’s stance since the demotion, moving his back foot a bit closer to the plate to help him get to outside pitches. d’Arnaud was hitting .096 on pitches in the outer half of the strike zone compared to .296 on pitches on the inner half in the majors.
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported earlier this week that d’Arnaud will likely be recalled next week when the Mets play the Oakland Athletics at Citi Field on June 24 and 25. That gives d’Arnaud another week to prepare himself for his second shot in the big leagues.
(Photo: MiLB.com)
