I can get used to playing in Savannah, and those BBQ Pork Kabobs aren't half bad.

I can get used to playing in Savannah, and those BBQ Pork Kabobs aren’t half bad.

Breaking News:

As I predicted only two days ago, Jacob deGrom was indeed promoted to Binghamton before Noah Syndergaard.

DeGrom replaces Luis Mateo, who was placed on the DL with a right elbow strain.

Good call by the Mets, and a hearty get well soon to Luis Mateo.

Joe D.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

Prospect Pipeline

  • Brandon Nimmo‘s new nickname is the Human Torch — he is on absolute fire. He had another three hits, one of which was his first home run of the season, and added five RBI in last night’s game. He is now the organization leader in batting, with a .429 average. He is also the only hitter in the organization with a batting average over .400. Nimmo on his home run: “I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I got a fastball inside and drove it well,” he said. “It felt really good. Even in my fourth at-bat, I hit the ball pretty well. I was staying on the ball, seeing it well tonight. You just enjoy these nights.”
  • Travis d’Arnaud hit his first home run of the year on Monday night. So far on the season, d’Arnaud is hitting an even .300, and has six extra base hits and eight RBI. Even more impressive is the fact that he has walked twelve times against seven strikeouts. His on base percentage is an outstanding .488. This kid is ready for big league pitchers.
  • I’ve been saying since last Summer that Rafael Montero could be a viable option for the Mets 2014 rotation. Some scoffed, but I stood my ground. Now I say he’s a lock and we’ll see him by September of this season at the latest. I’m higher on Montero than I am about Noah Syndergaard and I don’t really care what others think about that. Three starts into his Double-A season and Montero already looks like he needs more of a challenge at Triple-A, and no, it’s not too early to say that as I said he was polished enough to start at Vegas even before the season started. Also, what is the big deal about who signed Montero? It’s as if some will root less for him based on who signed him. I swear, I’m seeing more and more fans with this crackpot mentality everyday. Give it a break. (Joe D.)
  • As I wrote in an article yesterday, right-hander Zack Wheeler pitched 5.1 innings, issued no walks and struck out 8 on Sunday afternoon. Improvement? Without a doubt. But for crying out loud stop with all the cries of calling him up. He hasn’t thrown one quality start yet and is completely gassed by the fifth inning. All these scouts that follow him around like puppy dogs never say anything about that. I get it, he has four plus pitches, no need to repeat it every five days. His pitch counts are way too high and while he walked none in this last start, I lost count of how many times he went to three ball counts on batters. One-hundred pitches through five innings is not going to cut it in the major leagues. Stop trying to get the front office to rush him. He has the talent and bulldog mentality that Matt Harvey does, but not nearly the refinement and efficiency. (Joe D.)
  • Collin McHugh gets the ball tonight for Las Vegas. Many people have been calling for McHugh to be called up to Flushing, and rightly so. So far this season, McHugh is 2-0, has an ERA under 1.00, and twelve strikeouts to only one walk. (Hey Mitch, I second that motion. – JD)
  • J.J. Cooper, of Baseball America, answered some fans’ questions about prospects, and why some players got the snub on his Prospect Hot Sheet last week. Here is what he had to say about Nimmo and Travis d’Arnaud: “Nimmo was in consideration more than d’Arnaud…  The catcher’s week was nice, but not really Hot Sheet worthy in a week where 150+ players posted 1.000 OPS or better. And many of them were playing in less hitter-happy environments.” And in regards to Kevin Plawecki: “Thought about it for a little while. Working against him was the fact that he’s a tick old for the Sally League, but the Mets like to take it slow with their draft picks. He still looks to be most likely a backup catcher at the big league level, but he is an intriguing guy to watch.” Here is what he said about the Mets pitcher who impressed him most so far this season, not named Rafael Montero: “Mateo. He was in serious consideration to at least make the team photo. Very nice first outing after a healthy jump up in level of competition.” What about Montero’s chances of pitching at Citi Field in 2013? “Let’s slow down a minute. I know the Marlins just rocketed Jose Fernandez to the big leagues, but that’s a rare case. Montero has two starts in Double-A and only 10 pro starts above low Class A right now. A full season in Double-A is probably best for his development.”
  • Lately, I seem to find myself watching twice as much Mets minor league baseball than regular Mets baseball. I don’t miss any of the Mets games, but in addition to them I’m catching at least two other minor league games a day as well. Sometimes simultaneously. I just find the minor league games to be so much more compelling and it reminds me of the old baseball broadcasts where you could actually hear the sounds of the game instead of three guys in a booth that yap non-stop and then those insane interviews that cut in while players are scoring runs in the background. SNY broadcasts have become way too noisy and distracting to me. Call to the Booth, Tweet the Booth, Text Polls, Cholula Hot Sauce Meters, etc. It’s a wonder they could fit the game in. (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Night

Brandon Nimmo: 3-for-5, R, HR, 5 RBI

Tweet of the Day

Zack Wheeler took Darin Gorski on his first trip to In-N-Out Burger:

Gorski

Picture Courtesy Of Zack Wheeler’s Twitter Feed

Transactions

Retroactive to April 11, Cory Mazzoni was placed on the disabled list due to “Tennis Elbow.” Luis Mateo was called up from St. Lucie to fill in for Mazzoni while he is out. He started last night’s game, and was removed in the fourth inning with an apparent injury. Before leaving the game, Mateo gave up four runs on six hits. He also walked three batters.

In other transactions, Pedro Feliciano joined the St. Lucie roster, Adam Kolarek was moved up from Binghamton to Las Vegas, and Shawn Teufel was added to Binghamton’s roster from extended spring training. Teufel arrived in Binghamton, and then found himself pitching a couple of hours later, coming in to relieve Mateo when he was removed from the game. He pitched two innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

So Sandy is yelling at Terry five times a day?

So Sandy is yelling at Terry five times a day?