Mets Minors Recap: David Peterson Hurls Best Start of 2019

Syracuse (35-35) 4, Charlotte (36-33) 3 Box Score 

• 3B Ruben Tejada: 1-3, R, RBI, BB .355/.440/.495
• LF-1B Dilson Herrera: 2-4, 2 R, RBI  .247/.345/.573

The Syracuse Mets had their game halted due to weather conditions in the seventh inning. Prior to the stop in play, Ruben Tejada continued to add on to his hot start. In the fourth inning, he tied up the game with a solo homer, his third of the season, and even with the considerable amount of middle-infield depth the Mets have collected, Tejada is definitely putting himself into consideration for a promotion the next time there’s an injury. In the tenth inning, Luis Guillorme drilled a go-ahead double to score automatic runner Dilson Herrera.

• RHP Casey Coleman (1-7, 5.82 ERA): 4 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K, BB
• RHP Eric Hanhold (2-3, 5.81 ERA): 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER,
• RHP Tyler Bashlor (2-1, 5.60 ERA): 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 K, BB
• RHP Tim Peterson(W, 2-4, 2.28 ERA): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K

Casey Coleman started the game for Syracuse and had his best start over the last few weeks. It’s been a struggle overall for the 31-year-old journeyman and he should be pitching out of the bullpen, but with a dearth of starting pitching options in the Mets’ upper levels, he’s arguably the best option available. Eric Hanhold has completely lost it this year, his xFIP ranks last among all Mets minors pitchers

With a couple of the Mets’ bullpen arms moving up to Queens, Tony DeFrancesco had to rely on Tyler Bashlor and Tim Peterson to hold the lead. Bashlor failed to do so as he allowed a game-tying homer to Adam Engel. He’s another reliever who’s failed to capitalize on his mid-90’s fastball this year; his current marks of 8.04 K/9, 1.15 HR/9, and 6.48 xFIP all stand as career-worst figures. In his first appearance since being demoted, Peterson held down the fort in the ninth and tenth innings, working around two singles.

Binghamton (34-29) 6, New Hampshire (31-36) 3 Box Score

• DH Barrett Barnes: 1-5, RBI | .252/.389/.457
• SS Andres Gimenez: 3-5, 2 2B, SB | .242/.311/.360
• C Patrick Mazeika: 1-3, 3 RBIs, R, BB | .254/.323/.411

With Binghamton down early, Barnes responded with an RBI single that drove in David Thompson. Barnes might be the Mets’ best minor-league pickup of the offseason. While his signing received almost no fanfare, he’s currently leading the Rumble Ponies in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+. In the fifth inning, Patrick Mazeika and Will Toffey extended the lead to 5-1 with an RBI single and two-run homer, respectively. Andres Gimenez‘s slow start seems to be a thing of the past as he’s gone 4-for-9 with three extra-base hits and a stolen base since coming off the IL.

• LHP David Peterson (3-2, 4.55 ERA): 7 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 K,
• RHP Adonis Uceta (3-2, 2.30 ERA): 2 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 2 K, BB

David Peterson posted his best start of the season, lasting seven innings for the first time since August 26th, 2018. While he did allow nine baserunners, he managed to tip-toe out of trouble for most of the night. It’s been a roller-coaster of a season for the Mets’ 2017 first-rounder; hopefully, he can find some consistency soon.  It was only the second start of the season that Peterson didn’t allow a base-on-balls. It’s not a good sign that Peterson, who was expected to move through the system rather quickly, is having difficulty retiring Double-A batters. After an injury-plagued 2018, Uceta is slowly re-emerging as a late-inning weapon.

St.Lucie(34-34) 4, Lakewood (29-38) 3 Box Score

• CF Edgardo Fermin: 1-3, RBI, | .353/.389/.471
• 2B Mitch Ghelfi: 1-3, 2 RBI, R, BB | . 224/.319/.265

St.Lucie crawled back to the .500 mark thanks to some late-inning heroics.  In the eighth inning, Mitch Ghelfi, who came into the game as an injury replacement for Carlos Cortes, smacked a game-tying two-run homer. Cortes left the game in the first inning after being spiked following a play at second base. Two innings later, Nick Meyer, who was on third, scampered home on a Wladimir Pinto wild pitch to give the Mets an exciting 4-3 victory. Edgardo Fermin made his seasonal debut in center field; he’s played six different positions in his pro career.

• RHP Dedniel Nunez(3-3, 4.20 ERA): 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 K, 2 BB
• RHP Marcel Renteria (0-2, 6.82 ERA): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 K, BB
• RHP Conner O’Neil (2-1, 5.53 ERA): 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, K, BB
• RHP Joe Cavallaro (2-2, 5.48 ERA): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K

Nunez didn’t make it easy for himself, allowing a runner to reach base in every inning, but he did well to limit the damage. The Flying Tigers ended the night going 0-9 with runners in scoring position. Renteria labored through two innings; the converted starter has looked good out of the pen this year and while the results haven’t been there yet, he’s reached up into the high-90s with his heater.

Columbia’s Ronny Mauricio went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored in last night’s SALLY All-Star game.

Brooklyn (4-1) 2, Lowell (3-2) 1 Box Score 

• CF Ranfy Adon: 2-4, R | .200/.200/.240
• LF Raul Beracierta: 0-3, K | .167/.231/.167

The Cyclones got the ball rolling by executing a steal of home in the first inning. After Ranfy Adon led off the game with a single and moved to third on a Wilmer Reyes‘ single, he snapped for home when Reyes attempted to steal second. Ariel Yera delivered the go-ahead knock with a fifth-inning single that scored Yoel Romero.

• RHP Malky Mena(1-0, 1.59 ERA): 5.2 IP, 6 H, R, 5 K
• RHP Justin Lasko (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
• LHP Andrew Edwards (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K

After bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen, Mena made his season debut with Brooklyn’s rotation. He twirled 5.2 effective innings, sitting down five Spinners via the strikeout. The Cyclones’ bullpen continues to dazzle, they’ve pitched to a combined 2.12 ERA throughout the season’s first five contests.

Kingsport(1-0) 8, Greeneville (0-1) 3 Box Score

• C Andres Regnault: 3-5, HR, R, 4 RBIs .600/.600/1.200
• 2B Gregory Guerrero: 1-4, 3B, R, RBI | .250/.400/.750

Yesterday was the Opening Day for the Kingsport Mets! Their roster featured six 2019 draftees. Guerrero made his first appearance in a game since shoulder issues knocked out his 2018 campaign. After destroying the DSL last year Andres Regnault went deep in his first at-bat stateside. Cole Kleszcz, who holds the record for the most homers in collegiate ball, went 2-5 with an RBI in his first professional game. Also making his debut was the Mets’ 2019 10th rounder Scott Ota, who drew two walks and scored a run. There’s a lot of intriguing players scattered through this Kingsport team and it definitely should be a fun squad to follow throughout the season.

• RHP Michael Otanez (1-0, 0.00 ERA): 5 IP, H, 0 R, 8 K, 2 BB
• RHP Yadiel Flores (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 K, BB
• LHP Hector Rodriguez (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K,
• LHP Jefferson Escorcha (0-0, 9.00 ERA): 1 IP, 2 H, R, 1 ER, K

Otanez made his first start in over three years and only allowed one hit over five scoreless frames. He recorded eight strikeouts and as he’s armed with a mid-90’s fastball, he’s a guy to keep an eye on. After dominating the Dominican Summer League to the tune of a combined 1.58 ERA over the last two seasons, Escorcha was finally given a promotion to rookie-level ball.

DSL Tigers II (6-8) 12, DSL Mets II (7-8) 5 Box Score

2B Cesar Berbesi: 4-5, R | .322/.385/.322

The Mets started off the game with a four-run first frame, but weren’t able to keep up with the Tigers’ hot offense. Berbesi raised his OPS by 79 points after his four-hit showing.

RHP Miguel Alfonseca(0-1, 12.79 ERA): 2.2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 K, 4 BB

Alfonseca gave up a four-run lead in the second inning. The pair of pitchers who followed him, Pablo Marinez and Kevin Hernandez, didn’t fare much better, combining to allow seven runs in 1.2 innings.