Though the Mets disappointing season is dwindling down as they embark on their final month of the campaign, there were several bright spots for the organization when the calendar flipped to September.
New York started the day by promoting pitching prospects Jacob Rhame and Jamie Callahan who were acquired in deals for Curtis Granderson and Addison Reed, respectively.
Rhame, 24, appeared in four games for Triple-A Las Vegas after coming over from the Dodgers, pitching to an 0-1 record with a 1.50 ERA.
The Mets No. 23 prospect according to MLB Pipeline is 0-3 with an even 4.00 ERA in 45 games at the Triple-A level this season. He will get an opportunity to prove he can hang with the big boys and be apart of New York’s bullpen next season.
In addition to Rhame, 23-year-old Jamie Callahan will also showcase his talents the final month of the season as he looks to be part of the Mets future plans.
The right-hander was 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in nine games for the 51’s after coming over from Boston at the trade deadline. The Mets No. 30 prospect according to MLB Pipeline is 6-3 overall this season with a 2.94 ERA in 41 games.
Down at the Double-A level, the Eastern League announced today that Binghamton Rumble Ponies starter Corey Oswalt has been voted Pitcher of the Year. The last Binghamton pitcher to win the award was Michael Fulmer in 2015.
Earlier this season Oswalt was an Eastern League All-Star and started the game for the Eastern Division.
Oswalt, 23, is 11-5 with a 2.37 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 11 strikeouts compared to only 39 strikeouts in 23 starts this year spanning 129 1/3 innings. His wins are tied for second in the league while his ERA is first and his WHIP is tied for third.
For the second straight month, Colombia Fireflies right-hander Matt Blackham has been named the South Atlantic League Relief Pitcher of the Month.
In August, Blackham threw 10 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing only five hits, two walks and 14 strikeouts.
The last time that Matt allowed an earned run was on June 27. Since then, he has thrown 25 2/3 scoreless innings with 37 strikeouts and has allowed only one extra base hit in that span.
Blackham missed the entire 2016 season, but has bounced back with a 1.46 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 80 strikeouts compared to only 19 walks in 55 2/3 innings this year.
The 24-year-old is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason.
Photo By Logan Barer (@LBarer32)
It was also a good day for the newest Mets prospects Drew Smith, Stephen Nogosek and Ryder Ryan.
In a game that the aforementioned Oswalt started, Smith tossed two perfect innings in relief, punching out four batters and lowering his ERA to 1.80 in a Rumble Ponies uniform.
The 23-year-old has struck out 17 batters in 15 innings since coming over in July in the Lucas Duda trade and holds a 3-2 record.
Nogosek, 22, who like Callahan came over in the Addison Reed deal, hasn’t fared extremely well since joining the Mets organization, going 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in nine games.
However, the right-hander worked 2 2/3 innings for St. Lucie on Friday striking out one and yielding just one hit.
Lastly, Ryder Ryan who came over from Cleveland in the Jay Bruce deal tossed 1 2/3 clean innings for the Columbia Fireflies on Friday.
Since joining the Mets organization, Ryan has a 2.25 ERA in seven games and has struck out 12 hitters over as many innings. He has also held hitters to a .143 batting average against (BAA).
While things have been nothing short of disastrous at the major league level, there are positives in the minors that can hopefully aid the pitching staff in years to come, and so far, the trades Alderson has made have yielded good results in the farm.
Michael Mayer contributed to this post.
