(Photo by Michael Baron, Just Mets)
I’m pleased to welcome B-Mets beat reporter Lynn Worthy to the MMO community. Lynn, who does a terrific job covering the Binghamton Mets for the Press & Sun Bulletin, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. Enjoy…
MMO: You could probably predict what my first question is going to be. Promoting Michael Conforto to the majors is all the rage again and it appears it’s going to happen as soon as the Mets place Michael Cuddyer on the DL in the next day or two. You’ve watched Conforto play for over a month now, what is your opinion, is he ready or not? Any concerns?
Lynn: I think he’s got a great chance to be a very good player. I also think he’d benefit from more time in the minors, particularly in the upper levels. I wrote a column a few weeks back sort of explaining my thoughts, but it basically boils down to a few things for me.
One, this is his first full season of professional baseball, and he has played less than 50 games at Double-A.
Two, he’s just now getting to where he is playing teams for the second or third series – his first 30 games they did not play a second series against a team – and he needs to face the challenge of making adjustments to pitching staffs that have adjusted to him.
Three, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect him to be a savior of the offense on the major-league level. If he goes up now, that’s what folks will expect. While some rookies have immediate success, that’s never a given.
MMO: With all the excitement over Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard you almost forget about right-hander Michael Fulmer. He seems to be having a very solid season for the Binghamton Mets. What can you tell us about him that we may not already know? Do you think his current success will translate to major-league success one day?
Lynn: I think injuries were a big part of what slowed him down earlier in his career. This season, he has been healthy and impressive. He got to Binghamton late because he started off at extended spring training, but he has a mid-90s fastball as well as a slider that can be nasty. When he commands his fastball and has his changeup working as a third offering, he has dominated some Double-A lineups.
Fastball command has been the key for him. The games when he has had it, he has gone deep into games and looked great. When he hasn’t, he has had shorter outings and had to work with men on base a lot. I think he could definitely have success as a reliever, and even as a starter if he continues to work on his changeup.
MMO: Besides Fulmer, is there another starting pitcher who you’ve been impressed with this season?
Lynn: While he was here, Luis Cessa was impressive. He really took off after his first five starts. Early in the season, he let the game speed up on him a bit and he’d fall victim to big innings. He also had to adjust to Double-A hitters. Cessa told me that B-Mets pitching coach Glenn Abbott really got him to understand that he needed to use his off-speed more often. Once he did that, he had a stretch of nearly 20 innings where he allowed just one earned run.
He’s at Triple-A now, and he’ll probably have to make more adjustments to the level of hitters there and the hitter-friendly environment of the PCL.
MMO: Paul Sewald isn’t a particularly hard thrower ranging around 92-93 mph, but he’s having an impressive season and is striking out a ton of batters. What are your thoughts on him and can he be a serviceable reliever in the majors?
Lynn: I think what he is able to do whenever he gets to Triple-A will tell us more about his potential as a big-league reliever. He doesn’t have overpowering velocity, but hasn’t walked very many batters while striking out about one per inning. I think he has a chance, but some of the other relievers who’ve been very good here have had their ups and downs in Las Vegas.
MMO: Gotta ask about Gavin Cecchini. It looks like he’s finally starting to put it all together at the plate, is he? And what about his defensive game?
Lynn: Offensively, he has been steady at the plate. Minor League Hitting Coordinator Lamar Johnson told me early in the season that he has a lot of success when he hits line drives and isn’t hitting a lot of fly balls. That has proven true this season. When he has his multi-hits games it tends to be when he is hitting line drives to all fields. He has also reduced his strikeout rate this year compared to past seasons.
Defensively, he seems to get to balls well. His throws, sometimes rushed, have led to a large chunk of his errors. Some scouts who’ve seen him this year have said they like him better as a potential second baseman, but he is just 21 and the Mets seems to want to keep him at shortstop for now.
MMO: One player I’ve always been intrigued by is T.J. Rivera. He’s never looked at as a top prospect and yet he’s batted over .300 at every level and every season since be turned pro in 2011. You got to see him a little before he was promoted to Las Vegas. Care to share any thoughts?
Lynn: I like T.J., and he certainly hits. He hits for a good average, and he hits with men on base. He can play multiple positions on the infield. The things that I think might work against him is that he doesn’t draw a lot of walks, and he also doesn’t hit for a lot of power. He walked 25 times last season between Double-A and High-A in 115 games. Compare that with a guy like Brandon Nimmo who walked 86 times in 127 games in 2014. I think if he continues to hit, he may earn himself a chance. However, the lack of walks or big power numbers may have been what gets him overlooked.
MMO: Who is this kid Josh Smoker that was recently promoted to Binghamton from St. Lucie? He seemed to be getting a lot buzz when he was pitching in the FSL.
Lynn: Josh was a highly-touted prospect in the Washington Nationals farm system. He got drafted out of high school as a starter, but eventually moved to the bullpen. He had recurring shoulder issues with the Nationals that cost him large chunks of three seasons. He spent last season out of affiliated ball, and pitched in the Frontier League.
The Mets signed him this off-season and made a change to his motion. Smoker, now 26, told me he feels in control on the mound for the first time in his entire career. He’s a left-hander out of the bullpen throwing 95-96, and he also throws a split-finger and a changeup. He gets plenty of swing and miss.
MMO: Is there one player we haven’t mentioned that has really impressed you and caught your attention this season?
Lynn: Several players have had their stretches throughout the season where they’ve shown flashes such as pitchers Gabriel Ynoa and Seth Lugo. Brandon Nimmo is hitting for better average, and hitting against left-handed pitching. Though the month he missed with a knee injury may have set him back some.
Second baseman L.J. Mazzilli is a guy who had shown ability to hit with some pop. He started off the season on suspension, but he is coming around of late. Mazzilli has looked really good at the plate in recent games.
MMO: I’m always reading so many good things about manager Pedro Lopez. What’s he like? Does he run a tight ship? What do the players say about him? Is he big on fundamentals?
Lynn: Pedro is mostly calm and confident in his players, but he also can be fiery if he sees something he doesn’t like. Despite being in the minors, he cares a lot about winning. He doesn’t accept losing easily.
His first season at Double-A, I think he admitted he left some things pre-game up to guys because a lot of them had more experience. Now, he is slightly more regimented about making sure guys get their work in or extra work in.
He is big on preaching the organizational philosophy on hitting and approach at the plate, but also stresses the need for individuals to recognize what the opposition is doing and make adjustments within a game.
MMO: Lynn, I’ve been following your excellent and comprehensive coverage for years now, how long have you been at it now? What got you started in this field? And what do you love most about your job?
Lynn: I’ve been at the Press & Sun-Bulletin and Pressconnects.com for almost five years. Previously, I worked in Lowell, Mass. I was a stringer for sports as well as an intern and part-time weekend news reporter in Lowell while working on my master’s degree. I got a full-time job in the sports department there, and I spent just shy of five years covering high school, college and professional sports, including the Boston Celtics’ most-recent championship run.
My favorite parts of the job include sharing the behind-the-scenes sights, sounds and overall atmosphere that fans don’t regularly get to see, as well as the insight from participants and decision-makers fans might not otherwise get hear from. I really enjoy sharing the richly-layered stories of individuals who we might only see on game days or know through statistics in box scores.
MMO: Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to reading more of your B-Mets coverage throughout the season. You can find Lynn on Twitter at @PSBLynn.
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