Last Night’s Quick Scores
- Las Vegas snuck by Fresno, 2-1.
- Binghamton shutout New Hampshire, 6-0.
- St. Lucie lost the first game of their doubleheader against Charlotte, 2-1. The second game was rained out.
- Savannah shut down Kannapolis, 5-0.
- Both DSL Mets1 and Mets2 won their first games to begin the 2013 DSL.
Prospect Pipeline
- A trio of top pitching prospects took the mound for the Mets organization yesterday: Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero, and Domingo Tapia. The good news is that they all pitched well, and two of them were trying to rebound from less than impressive return starts from injuries. Let’s start the talk with Zack Wheeler, who tossed six effective innings against Fresno. He allowed just three hits, one walk, and one earned run while striking out six. His strike:ball ratio was solid as well — at 62:33 for the evening. His fastball sat at 92-96 MPH. He touched 99 MPH in the second once, and he ripped a double later on in the game. All three of his hits allowed were singles, too.
- Then you have Rafael Montero, who dominated on his way to seven shutout innings. Perhaps no prospect in the system has advanced his stock as far this year alone in the way that Montero has, as his success just continues no matter where or when he is pitching. He allowed just five hits and a walk, while striking out four. Quotable numbers from MiLB.com: “In two outings since that cameo appearance at Triple-A, Montero (6-3) has fanned 12 over 13 scoreless innings to bring his ERA down to 2.72, good for sixth in the Eastern League. One of the keys for the native of the Dominican Republic has been how infrequently he’s issued walks. He’s given up only nine free passes while striking out 66 over 59 2/3 innings for the B-Mets.”
- Don’t sleep on Domingo Tapia either, who made his second start back from the DL yesterday after burning his non-pitching hand. He looked much better than his rough last start, going five innings and allowing just one run. He struck out only four as his low strikeout numbers continue to befuddle everyone.
- Adam Rubin reported that Matt den Dekker is still some time away from returning to the field. He is currently swinging with only one hand, his left hand, as he looks to recover from a right wrist fracture.
- Cory Vaughn homered last night and will likely see some time with the Mets in September since he’ll need to be added to the 40.
- Andrew Brown has started swinging a bat and could return to the 51s within the week.
- Chase Huchingson is having a quietly successful year. He tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Rafael Montero yesterday and lowered his ERA to 2.10 over 30.0 innings.
- Cesar Puello was a late scratch in yesterday’s game, but it was a minor issue, according to Adam Rubin.
- St. Lucie will give the double-header another go today, with the first game scheduled to start at 3:05 PM.
- Oh, for those of you wondering, G. Rosario, the international SS prospect we signed, will likely play in the GCL – not the DSL, which started yesterday.
Stat Line of the Day
Rafael Montero: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 4 K
Transactions
No transactions to report.
Quote of the Day
Today’s Quote of the Day is brought to you by a Johnathan Raymond piece for MiLB.com, which highlights Montero’s recent success statistically and highlights his impressive command.
“He’s done a nice job of very consistently this year locating in and out,” said Binghamton pitching coach Glenn Abbott, who had an 11-year career in the big leagues with the A’s, Mariners and Tigers. “I think he’s ahead of his years. He’s only been in the States here for three years and he pays good attention, has a great idea of what’s going on. Still learning all the time.”
Photo of the Day
Courtesy of @MetsFarmReport, here’s a snapshot from opening day in the DSL.
