Of course the name that jumps out at you here is 2008 first rounder Brad Holt who was once held in the same regard as Michael Fulmer and Noah Syndergaard are today.

I remember how he blew away everyone in his first spring camp and how coaches and players would stop what they were doing and gather around whenever the right-handed phenom was on the mound.

They would all be making the same exclamations you hear now about Zack Wheeler. There were even whispers that he could move quickly and be in the Mets rotation by 2010. Scouts drooled over the late movement on his fastball, and what a fastball it was.

The 21-year-old, got his first taste of pro ball in 2008, and the kid didn’t disappoint. Holt had a spectacular debut with the Brooklyn Cyclones where he led the New York-Penn League with a 1.87 ERA and racked up 96 strikeouts in 72 innings for an 11.9 K/9. It seemed like everyone was right and Holt would be with the Mets in no time. It looked like the Mets netted themselves a first rounder with true ace potential.

But then injuries and a failure to develop his secondary pitches all caught up with him and eventually it all came crashing down.

Holt represents a good example of how quickly things can change without those all-important secondary pitches and why so many other young phenoms hit a brick wall once they get to Double-A – that’s the level where you separate the men from the boys.

Let’s hope that all those great, young, Mets right-handers we keep hearing about, don’t suffer this same disappointing fate.

The post Mets Release RHP Brad Holt; A Disappointing End To What Began As A Promising Career appeared first on Metsmerized.

Chris Schwinden was drafted first by the Detroit Tigers in 2004 out of high school in the 43th round. He was a draft and follow for the Tigers as he went on to the College of the Sequoias. Schwinden went 5-4 with 1.78 ERA (32 runs/19 earned runs) in 14 appearances (13 starts) with the Sequoias during his freshman season and posted a 15:75 BB:K ratio in 96 innings with 79 hits allowed, but wound up not signing with the Tigers and continued his college career. For his senior season Schwinden transferred the Fresno Pacific University and excelled.

In his only season at Fresno Pacific Schwinden performed like the team’s ace and went 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA (28 runs/25 earned runs) in 13 starts. He threw three complete games and had a total of 90.2 innings in which he allowed just 63 hits and 22 walks, while setting a school record at the time with 96 strikeouts. The Mets took notice and he was drafted for a second time of his career in 2008 when he went in the 22nd round. Being a small school senior sign, he got an extremely small bonus that was barely enough to cover the cost of a wedding ring.

Schwinden was sent to Short-Season A Brooklyn Cyclones for the remainder of the 2008 season and started in the pen, but pitched his way into the rotation and wound up becoming one of the best pitchers on the staff. Among starters his 2.01 ERA was the second lowest just below Brad Holt and his 10.9 K/9 was again second best just behind Holt. He displayed outstanding command and led the team with a 1.7 BB/9 and a 5.83 K/BB.

He opened 2009 in Savannah and was in and out of the rotation until June when he earned a full-time role as a starter. He had a pretty solid season in the Sally, displaying outstanding command once again, but he did not wow anybody. He made 17 starts and posted a 3.28 ERA over 115.1 innings, although he got hit pretty hard. Batters posted a .297 batting average off him with 126 hits and his 88 strikeouts were very mediocre. He got a cup of coffee in St. Lucie at the end of the season and had one good start and one bad start.

Schwinden remained in St. Lucie briefly to open up 2010 before being promoted to Binghamton. While five of his seven appearances in St. Lucie were out of the bullpen he was pitching three to five innings in relief and wound up going 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA. His time in Binghamton was not as pleasant to him. Over 17 appearances (14 starts) he got hit harder than ever before to the tune of a 4-7 record with a 5.56 ERA. His control held up and his K/9 even increased, but he averaged under five innings per start and hitters were even better against him with a .306 batting average against. His BABIP was extremely high at .365 and his FIP was much lower than his ERA at 3.64, yet he remained nothing more than an organizational filler.

He was set to repeat Binghamton in 2011 and made two appearances out of the bullpen, but when Dillon Gee was promoted to fill in for Chris Young Schwinden got a chance to make a spot start for Buffalo. Schwinden was magnificent in that game and struck out nine in five innings, while allowing just a run. Ever since then Schwinden stayed up in Buffalo, remained in the rotation, and has thrived. In late May Schwinden had a 10-day layoff in between starts because the Mets needed him as insurance for R.A. Dickey, and the layoff appeared to affect him for a few starts, but he now looks to be back in form. He is having one of his best seasons at the moment with a 2.87 ERA in 15 starts spanning 87.2 innings and has pretty nice peripherals with a 30:75 BB:K. The walks are up and his BABIP is much lower than his career average, but his FIP is a solid 3.54.

There is every chance that this season is an apparition and his numbers will regress when his stats balance out, but I am not so sure that some of this success isn’t for real. Schwinden has been pitching away from contact more this year than I remember from his days in Buffalo and while his walk rates are up he is still commanding his pitches well.

He works mainly off a 88-91 mph fastball, topping out at 93 mph, that he is able to paint almost always on the black on either side of the plate. The fastball is a little straight for my liking, although he does get some nice arm side run when he elevates it in the zone to get some swings and misses. I have read a bunch of reports that state his changeup is his best secondary offering, but in my opinion the hammer curve is that pitch and his favorite to throw. It comes in mid-to-high 70’s and while at times the pitch can get a bit loopy when he leaves it high in the zone, when it is at its best he keeps it down in the zone and gets a late, hard 12-6 break. His changeup doesn’t get enough separation from his fastball and he leaves it up in the zone far too much to be a plus pitch, but it is still a serviceable third offering. While his slider doesn’t have a lot of break, it has tight movement at 85-87 mph and at times almost functions as a cutter. Although he doesn’t throw the pitch very often, he usually commands it well and keeps it down in the zone. He likes to throw it mostly to the left side of the plate and could benefit from starting it at right-handed hitter’s knees or trying to backdoor lefties.

While Schwinden isn’t the most overpowering pitcher on the planet, I do not like when people refer to him as not having enough “stuff” to get Major League hitters out. He is much like Gee, in that the overall command of his fastball and good off-speed pitch should be enough to keep hitters honest at the next level. In Gee’s case the pitch is a changeup, but for Schwinden it will be good old Uncle Charlie and being a guy who gets a lot of flyballs he could benefit greatly from pitching in Citi Field. He is still just a C prospect, but I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibility for him to have a Gee type of impact at some point this season or next.

The post Mets Prospect Spotlight: Chris Schwinden, RHP – Buffalo appeared first on Metsmerized.

BUFFALO 5, INDIANAPOLIS 1:

Brian Sweeney shut out the Indians for six innings, helping the Bisons to a 5-1 win in Indianapolis Thursday. Sweeney allowed just one run, a solo homer by John Bowker in the seventh inning. He left after that inning, allowing four hits and striking out four with no walks. After three starts with Buffalo, Sweeney is 1-2. Valentino Pascuccui went 2-for-2 with three walks and three RBI, including a two-run double in the first inning off of Indians starter Sean Gallagher. In the third, Gallagher allowed a double to Luis Figueroa before an RBI single by Michael Fisher. The pitcher loaded the bases, walking Pascucci and hitting Herd catcher Mike Nickeas in the wrist. Raul Chavez then replaced Nickeas at first and caught the final seven innings. Gallagher avoided major harm in the third, getting Jesus Feliciano to ground into an inning-ending double play. Fisher, who went 4-for-5 with two runs, added his second RBI of the day with a solo shot off of Gallagher in the fifth. Gallagher left after five, allowing four runs (all earned) on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Sweeney helped his own cause with a sixth-inning double off of reliever Dan Meyer, but was caught in a rundown when Figueroa grounded out to end the inning. Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 2-for-4, scoring twice. After Pascucci scored Nieuwenhuis in the seventh, the Bisons again left the bases loaded, but held on for the victory with relievers Dale Thayer and Justin Hampson shutting out the eighth and ninth, respectively. The Bisons close their eight-game road trip Friday night in Indianapolis, looking for a win to salvage a split with the Indians. BOX

NEW HAMPSHIRE 7, BINGHAMTON 2:

Brad Holt labored through four innings with a career-worst eight walks to take his second straight loss. The defeat gave New Hampshire a sweep in the three-game series. The B-Mets have now lost four straight and seven of eight overall. New Hampshire (25-14) tallied three runs in the first. Holt retired the first two hitters of the frame, but walked Anthony Gose to extend the inning. Gose stole second, was wild pitched to third and scored on a Holt balk to give the Fisher Cats a quick 1-0 lead. Holt eventually walked Mike McDade and Moises Sierra, which brought Ricardo Nanita to the plate. Nanita dropped an RBI single into center to score McDade, and Sierra would follow on a throwing error by catcher Jean Luc Blaquiere, which made it 3-0 New Hampshire. John Tolisano increased the lead to four runs with a solo homer to right-center in the second inning, his first of the year. Holt ran into trouble again in the third after walking Gose and McDade. A wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position and Gose scored on a Nanita sacrifice fly to right, which upped the lead to 5-0. Binghamton (13-24) got on the board in the fifth against the Eastern League leader in ERA, Rey Gonzalez, who started for the Fisher Cats. Carlos Guzman and Blaquiere singled to start the inning. Lorenzo Scott moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Jordany Valdespin followed and brought Guzman in to score with a sac fly to left, which cut the deficit to four runs. Holt exited after four innings to his third loss. He was charged with five runs (four earned) on two hits. Brandon Sage replaced him and gave up two more runs in the last of the fifth on a two-run homer from Sierra. Gonzalez tossed his seventh consecutive quality start for his fifth win. The righty worked six innings and allowed a run on four hits. The B-Mets got their final run against the bullpen with a two-out rally in the eighth. Brahiam Maldonado doubled off Evan Crawford to start it. After Crawford walked Allan Dykstra, Eric Campbell looped a broken-bat RBI single to center which chased home Maldonado, who was 2-for-4 in the game. Binghamton went a disappointing 1-6 on its seven-game road trip, but returns home Friday for a 7:05 p.m. game with the Harrisburg Senators. Left-hander Robert Carson (1-4, 3.96) will start for the B-Mets. BOX

TAMPA 6, ST. LUCIE 4:

Michael Powers dropped to 1-4 after surrendering two seventh-inning runs that broke a tie. Matt den Dekker and J.B. Brown had three hits apiece for St. Lucie. Brown drove in three runs. BOX

Compiled from team reports.

Email Andrew O’Brien at aobrien7@gmail.com or follow him on at www.twitter.com/aobrien7

The post Minor League Report: Sweeney Shines For Buffalo; Binghamton and St. Lucie Lose appeared first on Metsmerized.

Brad Holt was the Mets first round pick in back in 2008, 33rd overall. He burst onto the scene with the Brooklyn Cyclones and turned heads in his first pro season. In 14 starts he struck out 96 batters in 72 innings, going 5-3 and pitching to a 1.87 ERA.

In his second pro season he started out in Single-A Port St Lucie and pitched his way up to Binghamton. After going 4-1 in Port St Lucie with a 3.12 ERA, he went 3-6 with a 6.21 ERA for Binghamton as he was clearly over matched.

Holt’s 2010 was a season to forget as he struggled right out of the gate.  He went back down to Port St Lucie and went 2-9 in his first 14 starts with an ERA of 7.48.  His lost command of his pitches and was all over the place, as he walked 56 batters in 65 innings.  To give him a change of scenery he was moved to double-A Binghamton, where for the second consecutive season he looked over matched.  He made 9 starts in Double-A, and went 1-5 with an ERA north of 10.  He continued to walk batters at a clip of almost a batter an inning, with 23 in 30 innings.  His overall numbers for the 2010 season were a sight for sore eyes.  He went a combined 3-14, with an 8.34 ERA, and allowed 79 walks and 111 hits, totaling 190 base runners in just 95 innings.

After a season of Struggles both mentally and physically, Holt and the Mets thought it would be good for his development if he participated in winter ball.  He impressed in 4 starts, going 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA.  During the his time in winter ball he worked on his command and added a cutter to his repertoire with the help of Mets Triple-A pitched coach Ricky Bones. Holt’s arsenal now features a four seam fastball, cutter, curve ball and change up. “The biggest thing coming off of last season was not having any type of command, so all the wildness was making all my thoughts jumbled,” Holt said, “I cleared my thoughts and I started to do what felt comfortable out there, and I think that has played a big part in me getting back in the zone and throwing strikes.”

Coming into the 2011 season Brad Holt knows that he needs to take one step at a time.  “My goals are plain and simple, and that’s to command my pitches.  Holt says, “I just need to keep working and focus on keeping everything down in the zone.”  Taking lessons from the past few seasons Brad has gotten off to a fast start here in 2011.   He has started this season where he left off getting pummeled last season, as a member of the Double-A Binghamton Mets.  He has pitched like someone who has regained his confidence and has something to prove.  In his 3 starts so far this season he has pitched a total of 18 innings.  Brad has allowed just 2 runs, 1 Earned, and currently sports an ERA of 0.50.  He has only surrendered 9 hits, walked 5 and struck out 14.  He has not figured into any decisions as of yet, but he seems to have regained the form that warranted a first round pick back in 2008.  While Brad may be behind where many people thought he would be in terms of his development, and estimated arrival date in Flushing, its is still possible to see him there sometime in 2012.

The post Brad Holt’s Long Winding Road Through The Mets Farm System appeared first on Metsmerized.

[tweeted]https://twitter.com/#!/SI_JonHeyman/status/6073109241139200[/tweeted]

The Mets have told Rudy Terrasas he will no longer be director of scouting, but that he might still be reassigned within the organization.

Paul DePodesta said via text “there is a good chance that Rudy will remain with organization.”

Rudy Terrasas, was a close friend of Omar Minaya and was largely responsible for running the Mets MLB Amateur Drafts.

He was still under contract until the end of the 2011 season, and played a large role in Mets player development and amateur scouting.

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York summarized the Mets top three picks since 2006, when Rudy came on board.

2006
Kevin Mulvey, RHP, second round
Joe Smith, RHP, third round
John Holdzkom, RHP, fourth round

2007
Eddie Kunz, RHP, first-supplemental
Nathan Vineyard, LHP, first-supplemental
Scott Moviel, RHP, second round

2008
Ike Davis, 1B, first round
Reese Havens, SS, first round
Brad Holt, RHP, first-supplemental

2009
Steven Matz, LHP, second round
Robbie Shields, SS, third round
Darrell Ceciliani, OF, fourth round

2010
Matt Harvey, RHP, first round
Blake Forsythe, C, third round
Cory Vaughn, OF, fourth round

The post Mets Fire Scouting Director Rudy Terrasas appeared first on Metsmerized.

After starting off his stint in the Dominican Republic Winter League with an underwhelming 0-8 at the plate, Murphy exploded with a big performance in his third game for the Aguilas.

Last night he helped spark a three run comeback victory by going 3-4 and two RBIs. All three hits were doubles and he drew a walk as well.

Murphy missed the entire 2010 season because of a pair of MCL injuries to his right knee including a collision while playing second base for the Buffalo Bisons last season while on the comeback trail to the majors.

Going into the 2011 season, Murphy could compete with Ruben Tejada and Justin Turner for the second base job this spring. The Mets are hoping he adapts well to the position and some scouts who are watching him play in D.R. have said he has looked good and has made all the routine plays. Another said, he has been working hard in practice and it seems to be paying off.

Given that Murphy is lefthanded, there is a possibility he may end up in a platoon with Tejada, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

What do you think? Do you see Daniel Murphy assuming a vital role with the Mets next season? Would you rather see the Mets sign a veteran second baseman? Should the Mets give Ruben Tejada the everyday job until Reese Havens is ready, whenever that will be?

* * * * * *

Brad Holt is also making news again after retreating into absolute obscurity last year. It seems he has found happiness in the Arizona Fall League as well as his control and velocity.

The 2008 first-round Draft pick tossed three more scoreless innings on Saturday as the Mesa Solar Sox beat the Surprise Rafters 7-2. That now gives Holt nine scoreless innings.

 Holt is trying to rebound from a disastrous season that saw him go 3-14 with an 8.34 ERA in 24 appearances between Class A Advanced St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton.

Holt said he is now feeling more comfortable on the mound. Some scouts see Holt as a solid reliever in the major leagues, but the Mets will continue to groom him as a starter with the hope that his secondary pitches will improve.

The post Don’t You Forget About Me appeared first on Metsmerized.

There are whispers in the organization that the time has come to bring up prospects like pitchers Brad Holt and Jenrry Mejia, as well as infielder Ruben Tejada.

I hope the Mets are not really considering such drastic actions, because bringing up these young players now would be costly in terms of harming their development. I would understand the move if the organization really believed these players were ready to make the jump, but they know fully well that that is not the case. Neither of these three players are ready to pitch or play at this level, and the Mets know it.

The only thing motivating them right now is their greed. They are willing to risk the development of these prospects as long as there is money to be gained by it.

The biggest concern for the Mets right now is trying to keep the fans coming out to Citi Field. As the team’s season dwindles away into nothing, they need to find new ways to keep selling tickets. They could have achieved that with a Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Matt Holliday or even Roy Halladay, but instead hey sat on their hands. Of course they said they wanted to protect the farm, but the truth is they wanted to protect their fat pockets.

So now they are ready to hit the panic button and blow up the farm they are charged with protecting, all for the love of money.

The closest thing the Mets had to prospects that were major league ready for this season, were Nick Evans and Fernando Martinez. We all saw how that turned out.

Now they want to reach down to their teenage sensations and put the world upon their shoulders. Sink or swim… A literal baptism by fire.

On Saturday, rookie reliever Bobby Parnell will be thrust into the starting rotation after only being stretched for three innings just once in his last appearance. Could you imagine the Red Sox or Yankees doing something like that to one of their prized arms?

It’s a desperate act that wreaks of the stench of an ill-conceived plan and a poor and ineffectual team philosophy. Even if you were to ignore the potential injury risk this poses for Parnell, what exactly has Parnell done to merit such a promotion? Hitters are batting .286 against him and he has a 1.60 WHIP which ranks in the bottom 10% of all MLB pitchers.

Brad Holt was moving along nicely since being drafted in 2008, but the Mets decided to rush him to AA in June and  now he’s struggling and has a 5.35 ERA to show for it. Jenrry Mejia was pushed to AA also in June and after a sizzling 1.94 ERA at St. Lucie, he is now having a tough time keeping his ERA under 4.00 and has yet to win a game. Ruben Tejada might be the best prepared for such a jump, but what will a .282 average in Binghamton  translate to in the major leagues?

Minaya told us that we didn’t a need a trade because all our guys were coming back. So where are they? Was it just another cover story for a failed season?

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of delving into this subject with Kerel Cooper of the excellent Mets site, “On The Black“. You can hear us discussing the wisdom of bringing up the kids and other Mets issues.

The Mets are ultimately going to do whatever the Mets want to do. I urged them to trade Luis Castillo and Gary Sheffield when they had the chance, but they wanted to maintain the pretense that they were buyers when in fact they had no intention of buying anything. Even after the trade deadline, Omar continued to insist he had some things in the works and that there would be some solid players that would become available via waivers. Where are they?

It’s one big fallacy after another. You don’t even know what to believe anymore. Unfortunately, you CAN believe that the Mets will indeed bring up their prized prospects, especially if it can resuscitate dwindling ticket sales. However, in my opinion, this would be more egregious than taking off their shirts and challenging the prospects to a fight.

The post Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures? appeared first on Metsmerized.

The 2008 supplemental first round draft pick, has impressed scouts with his plus fastball and his other pitches continue to improve. I asked Adam Rubin of the Daily News about him on Tuesday, and he now has him ranked among the top three prospects in the Mets organization.

Last week, Baseball America released their mid season prospect rankings and Brad Holt was the highest ranked Met at number 40 overall.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, John Manuel of Baseball America penned an article about some players he feels should be untouchable, and he included Brad Holt among them.

The Mets’ problems are obvious. It’s probably too late for them to become buyers, and a huge problem with this season’s team is the lack of upper-level minor league talent to fill gaps on the big league roster caused by injuries. Holt, last year’s supplemental first-round pick, looks close to being ready to help a rotation that has given 27 starts to the likes of Livan Hernandez and Tim Redding. The best homegrown arm in system has reached Double-A in his first pro season and is comparable stuff-wise to Mike Pelfrey, only with a better breaking ball.

Just last week, Brad Holt was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week. Holt notched two wins going 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13.2 innings. Eastern League hitters are batting just .216 against him on the season.

It’s a little bit of good news in a week where good news has been pretty scarce.

The post Brad Holt Too Valuable To Be Traded appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets did appear at number numbers 40 (RHP Brad Holt) and number 47 (RHP Jenrry Mejia).

The Philadelphia Phillies had three players in the Top 25. Here is the complete list…

Mid-Season Top 25 Prospects
1. Jason Heyward, of, Braves
2. Mike Stanton, of, Marlins
3. Jesus Montero, c, Yankees
4. Justin Smoak, 1b, Rangers
5. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Giants
6. Buster Posey, c, Giants
7. Carlos Santana, c, Indians
8. Chris Tillman, rhp, Orioles
9. Brian Matusz, lhp, Orioles
10. Logan Morrison, 1b, Marlins
11. Freddie Freeman, 1b, Braves
12. Jarrod Parker, rhp, Diamondbacks
13. Neftali Feliz, rhp, Rangers
14. Alcides Escobar, ss, Brewers
15. Yonder Alonso, 1b, Reds
16. Wade Davis, rhp, Rays
17. Dominic Brown, of, Phillies
18. Desmond Jennings, of, Rays
19. Jason Castro, c, Astros
20. Tim Beckham, ss, Rays
21. Brett Wallace, 3b, Cardinals
22. Matt LaPorta, 1b/of, Indians
23. Michael Taylor, of, Phillies
24. Kyle Drabek, rhp, Phillies
25. Michael Saunders, of, Mariners

The post No Mets In Baseball America Top 25 Prospects appeared first on Metsmerized.

Last years top draft pick for the New York Mets, first baseman Ike Davis, got a special mention in this weeks Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet.

The Mets used the 18th overall pick in last year’s draft to select Arizona State 1B Ike Davis mostly on the strength of his power projection. The key word is “projection,” because the 6-foot-5 lefthanded batter provided precious little power in the short-season New York-Penn League in his debut, batting .256 with zero home runs in 58 games. With high Class A St. Lucie this season, the 22-year-old Davis has just four home runs, but his 16 doubles are tops in the Florida State League. He did launch two homers this week, however, in batting .350/.458/.800 (7-for-20) with a double, a triple, six RBIs and a 4-to-3 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

We really haven’t heard much from Davis due mostly in part to a tough first season where he failed to register even one homerun. So it feels good to actually see some positive news on him.

One name that we write a lot about on Mets Merized, is righthander Brad Holt who as we reported last week, was promoted to Class-AA Binghamton.  Holt made his AA debut last night and had a solid outing, he gave up 3 runs (2 earned, due to his own error) on 2 hits and 3 walks in 6.1 innings. He is moving quickly and maybe even faster than Mike Pelfrey did. I am not ruling out the possibility that Holt could find his way into the Mets rotation as soon as this season.

Finally, Josh Thole continues to light it up at Binghamton. The young catcher of the future for the Mets is scorching the ball with a .354 batting average and .903 OPS. His on-base percentage is .423 and he leads the team in hits, doubles and total bases. That’s another player we like and are keeping a close eye on.

The post Mets Minors – Brad Holt Makes AA Debut, Ike Davis, Josh Thole appeared first on Metsmerized.