Terry Collins said before the weekend, that it was unlikely that prospects Jacob deGrom, Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard will break camp with the team to open the 2014 season.
It’s not very surprising to be perfectly honest as money still guides every decision this franchise makes. The Mets will attempt to keep all three at bay no matter how well they perform this Spring or how hot of a start they get off to in Triple-A Las Vegas. We won’t see any of them until they are each safely past the Super Two deadline.
Actually, it’s been hinted rather strongly to me, that we won’t see Syndergaard at all in 2014 as the Mets want to avoid a situation where him, Montero, Wheeler and Harvey all become eligible for free agency in a one year window. So I wouldn’t count on Syndergaard until September and the Mets like to have their pitching prospects throw 150 innings at the upper levels of the minors before promoting them anyway.
I don’t know what else Montero has to prove in Triple-A after outperforming both Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey‘s stints in Las Vegas, but it is what it is.
Money guides everything this organization does and the way they watch their pennies is a clear signal that all isn’t as bliss as they would like the fan base to believe.
Montero pitched fearlessly in a known hitters’ league and home park, posting a 3.05 ERA in 16 starts for Las Vegas after compiling a 2.43 ERA in 11 starts with Double-A Binghamton. Between the two levels, he had a 2.78 ERA and 150 strikeouts over a career-high 155⅓ innings.
Syndergaard went 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 11 starts over 54 innings for the Double-A Binghamton, after he was promoted from Advanced-A St. Lucie where he went 3-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 63.2 innings.
Both pitchers were honored this week by the organization and were Sterling Award recipients.
