Chad Zurcher had it going last night.
Last Night’s Quick Scores:
- Savannah vs Rome was postponed due to inclement weather.
- St. Lucie (5-2) dropped a game to Palm Beach, 7-4.
- Binghamton (4-3) dropped a game to New Hampshire, 3-1.
- Las Vegas (5-3) defeated Fresno in a blowout, 14-3.
Prospecting For Gold (Joe D)
1. Baseball America didn’t have any Mets prospects on this weeks Hot Sheet (damn them!), but they did have rafael Montero in the team picture saying, “The rapid rise of Mets 22-year-old RHP Rafael Montero continues. In his first two starts for Double-A Binghamton, Montero dominated (11.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 15 SO), showing the stuff to be a potential mid-rotation starter with good control and solid stuff across the board.”
2. Binghamton Manager Pedro Lopez doesn’t really care about bruised egos when it comes to his approach to managing. His goal is to produce major leaguers and he’ll do whatever it takes,
“Probably at the end of the year they’re going to hate me,” said Lopez, who led St. Lucie to the Florida State League championship series in 2011. “But guess what? If that means they’re going to get to the big leagues, so be it.”
3. Speaking of Binghamton, B-Mets starters has posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 48-to-13 so far in 2013. The 13 walks are the fewest given up by any pitching staff in the Eastern League. The starting rotation boasts a 34-to-5 strikeout-to-walk mark.
4. St. Lucie pitching coach Phil Regan got his first look at Mateo on Tuesday when the right-hander threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in his Florida State League debut and couldn’t stop raving about him. “His changeup is outstanding,” Regan said. “His fastball is plus. He has three plus pitches. His slider was almost unhittable tonight.”
Regan said the right-hander’s fastball sat around 93-95 mph and featured heavy sink, and his slider — which reportedly hit 90 mph last year — was a go-to offering. Regan, a former Major League pitcher, sees a clear-cut big leaguer in Mateo, noting most of his remaining weaknesses are periphery adjustments.
5. A little story from my Minor League Analyst Teddy:
Hey Joe… Here’s a story about Zach Lutz I want to share. You know how Albert Pujols was found? It was a scout roving around certain community colleges, walking through the batting cages, listening in on balls being hit, when he heard a different sound, a louder bat if you will, coming from Albert. A certain boom and sound of hitting the ball harder that you never heard many others do. He turned out to be the best first baseman in the past decade. When scouts came to see Lutz, they heard the same thing. Just wanted to let you know that one if you hadn’t.
You see why I love our guys?
Back to you, Gare….
Stat Line of the Night:
Zach Lutz: 2-for-5, HR, 5 RBI, R (2-out Grand Slam)
Tweet Of The Day:
Happy Birthday to Tomas Nido, who turns 19 today…
Today … I’m 19 jeez I’m getting old #birthdayboy and it s Gameday!!!!
— Tomas Nido (@tnido24) April 12, 2013
Probable Starters:
Las Vegas lets Carlos Torres (0-0, 3.18) toe the rubber for them tonight against former MLB pitcher Aaron Cook. This is the Vegas home opener at 10:05 ET tonight.
RHP Tyler Pill (0-1, 7.20) will start for the B-Mets against RHP Tyson Brummett (0-0, 0.00) for New Hampshire tonight at 7:05 ET.
St. Lucie sends Jacob DeGrom (1-0, 0.00) to the mound tonight against the Bradenton Marauder’s Matt Benedict.
Savannah has yet to announce their starter after the postponement, but they will play Rome at 7:00 ET tonight if the weather clears.
