Photo: Allen Greene, Kingsport Mets

Reno 7, Las Vegas (51-49) 4  Box Score

• Dilson Herrera 2B; 1 for 4, R, BB, .278
• Brandon Nimmo CF; 3 for 4, 2 R, HR (7th), RBI, .338
• Gavin Cecchini SS; 2 for 4, 2B, RBI, .319
• Kevin Plawecki C: 2 for 4, 2B, .307

Brandon Nimmo has been on a absolute tear since returning from a brief major league stint. He has produced four multi-hit games since his return on 7/18 and is batting .419 in his last ten AAA games. The 51s had nine hits and scored four runs (including Nimmo HR) off Shelby Miller in his second start for Reno.

• Darin Gorski LHP; 5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (3.38)
• Jeff Walters RHP; (H, 3) 0.2 IP, 0 H 0 ER, 0 BB , 2 K (7.05)
• Beck Wheeler RHP; IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, K (14.85)
• Chasen Bradford RHP; IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, K, L (4-2 4.69)
• Chase Huchingson LHP; IP, H, 0 ER, BB, (6.75)

It has been a rough start to the AAA level for Beck Wheeler. He has allowed nine earned runs in just 5.2 innings.

Binghamton (47-52) 2, Portland 1 Box Score

• Matt Oberste 1B; 1 for 4, .296
• Amed Rosario SS; 1 for 4, 1 2B .354
• Jayce Boyd LF; 2 for 4, 2B .264

Dominic Smith was given the day off. Rosario collected another hit and he now has 35 at the AA level.

• Tyler Herron RHP; 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2-1, 5.28)
• Kevin McGowan RHP; 2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K (1.90
• David Roseboom LHP; Perfect 9th, K, S (6th save, 2.23)

The Akeel Morris trade has given Roseboom an opportunity to close out games and he certainly has made the most of it. B-Mets pitching held MLB top prospect Yoan Moncada to a 0 for 5 night with five strikeouts.

Lakeland 9, St. Lucie (52-45) 3 Box Score

• Kevin Kaczmarski LF; 1 for 5, 2B, R .391
• David Thompson 3B; 1 for 5, 2B, 1 RBI, .296
• Jhoan Urena 1B: 1 for 4, R, .220

Thompson collected another RBI and now has 70 on the season between A and A+.

• Casey Delgado RHP; 4.1 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, L (4-1, 3.19)

Lexington 12, Columbia (44-55) 11 Box Score

• Eudor Garcia 1B; 2 for 5, 2 R, HR (3rd) .224
• Dash Winningham DH; 3 for 5, 2B, R, HR, 3 RBI, .248
• Enmanuel Zabala CF; 3 for 5, R, RBI, .293
• JC Rodriguez 2B; 2 for 5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, .240

The Fireflies bats came alive in this one, slugging three home runs but it was not enough as the pitching staff had a horrible performance blowing a 7-4 lead in the 8th and then giving up the game winning run in the bottom of the 9th after tying it up 11-11.

• Gaby Almonte RHP; 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K,  (6.19)
• Craig Missigman RHP; IP, ER, L, (1-2 2.98)

Brooklyn (17-19) 3, Staten Island 0 Box Score

• Desmond Lindsay DH; 1 for 4, RBI
• Peter Alonso 1B; 1 for 3, 2B, BB, .315
• Jay Jabs LF; 2 for 4, 2B, R, .216
• Michael Paez SS; 1 for 4, RBI, .194

Desmond Lindsay made his second start at Brooklyn as a DH. It appears Gamboa is easing the top prospect back into the flow of things after another hamstring injury.

• Thomas Szapucki LHP; 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (1-0 debut)

Szapucki was making his first Brooklyn start and had another stellar performance. This guy is missing a lot of bats, striking out 55 batters in 34.1 innings.

For the rest of the recap head over to MetsMinors.net.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Nimmo Homers, Szapucki Continues to Dominate appeared first on Metsmerized.

Juan Lagares continued some of his offensive trends from the regular season with the Mets right into winter ball action with the Aguilas Cibaenas. He hit .276/.333/.293 overall but was great against left-handed pitching going 7 for 13 without a strikeout. However, he was just 9 for 45 against righties with 11 strikeouts.

He did have an eight-game hitting streak that was snapped in what will be his last game of the winter season with the Aguilas not making the playoffs. More importantly though is the fact that Lagares had two outfield assists in his last game including throwing out a runner trying to score from second on a single.

Lagares had seven runs scored, five RBI, five walks, double, and two stolen bases in 16 games for the Aguilas. Here are some highlights from his time in the DWL, game-winning bloop single, go-ahead single to right field, and this nice lunging play in center field.

Here are the rest of the Mets affiliated players regular season stats:

• John Mora – Got into only one game for the Aguilas without receiving an at bat.
• Yeixon Ruiz – Was 0 for 1 in the only game action he saw for the Estrellas de Oriente.
• Jhoan Urena – Went 1 for 4 with a double in his only game for the Gigantes del Cibao.
• Jean Rodriguez – Played only one game for the Leones del Escogido going 1 for 4.
• Dario Alvarez – 3.97 ERA, 1.76 WHIP with eight strikeouts/eight walks in 11.1 innings (21 games) split between Aguilas and Toros del Este.
• Chase Huchingson – 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings (5 games) for the Tigres del Licey.
• Rainy Lara –  Pitched seven games (one start) for Leones going 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.55 WHIP with seven strikeouts compared to five walks in 11 innings.
• Luis Mateo – Allowed two runs on two hits with one strikeout in two innings for Leones.
• Jenrry Mejia – Made 9 appearances (8 starts) for Tigres going 1-3 with a 3.92 ERA, 1.33 WHIP with 26 strikeouts/12 walks in 39 innings.
• Stolmy Pimentel – Had a 3.18 ERA, 1.41 WHIP with two strikeouts/walk in 5.2 innings for the Estrellas before being shutdown with bicep tendonitis in his throwing arm.

Rafael Montero made his winter ball debut for Leones on Monday pitching one inning allowing a solo homerun and striking out two. The team announced that the Mets want him to be used as a reliever and he could be active for the playoffs.

The Dominican League playoffs started last night with the four qualifying teams starting their 18-game round robin. The two teams with the best records in the round robin will then play in a best-of-nine series for the championship.

Alejandro De Aza made his winter ball debut for the Toros del Este last night going 0 for 3 with a walk as the designated hitter in their 3-2 win in game one of the playoffs.

(Photo by laradio247fm.com)

For more winter ball coverage head over to MetsMinors.net.

The post Final Mets Dominican Winter League Regular Season Stats appeared first on Metsmerized.

Col. Springs 8, Las Vegas (29-19) 3

The 51’s offense outside of Alex Castellanos who had half the teams hits and either knocked in or score each of the three Las Vegas runs. Castellanos who was playing CF for the 3rd time in 4 games was 2-4 with his 10th HR, 14th double, scored twice, and knocked in two runs giving him 33 RBI’s on the year. His homeruns are good for 4th in the PCL, doubles put him in 5th, the RBI’s 6th, and his .642 SLG is 2nd in the league. Travis Taijeron was the only other Las Vegas position player to get a hit driving in Castellanos with his 7th inning double (4th) giving him 21 RBI’s for the year. Johnny Monell walked and scored on Castellanos 2-run blast while Wilfredo Tovar was 0-2 walking once then stealing his 12th bag of the year. Pitcher Matthew Bowman was 1-2 with a single while Wally Backman used a pitcher as a pinch hitter for the 2nd straight night. Matt Reynolds was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts seeing his average drop to its lowest point since it was .250 on April 17th.

Bowman has struggled severely against left handed hitters this year as they are hitting .390 against him with 9 homeruns in just 21.1 innings. The Sky Sox knew this bolstering their lineup with 6 left handers and it worked as they had 6 of the 7 hits including two HR’s and two doubles. As the plus side Bowman held righties to a 1-8 night, settling down to retire 10 of the last 11 hitters he faced other than a solo HR by former Met farmhand Matt Clark. Scott Rice came in to pitch the 7th almost starting a brawl after bouncing a pitch near Scooter Gennett‘s feet then sailing the next pitch behind him. The Sky Sox bench and manager were upset that no warning was given prompting them to start coming on the field, which led to some of the 51’s players coming onto the field. Other than Sky Sox manager who proceeded to argue until he was tossed, cooler heads prevailed and nothing came of the incident physically. Rice ended up pitching a scoreless inning while striking out one. John Church had a rough 8th inning giving up three runs including giving up the 2nd HR of the night to Shane Peterson (hit 1st off Bowman in 1st). Jon Velasquez pitched a scoreless uneventful 9th inning in his 6th appearance since being promoted to AAA. Box Score. Here is video of the Castellanos HR.

Binghamton (25-22) 2, Portland 0

The B’Mets snapped their 4-game losing streak thanks to a combined shutout from Luis Cessa, Chase Huchingson, and Paul Sewald. Cessa threw 6 scoreless innings allowing just three hits and walking none while striking out five picking up his 4th win of the year. Cessa retired 13 out of the last 14 hitters he faced after needing 49 pitches to get through the first two innings. Cessa was effectively using all three of his pitches, even getting a strikeout on his seldomly used curveball. Huchingson had two much needed scoreless innings with three strikeouts to bridge the gap to shutdown closer Sewald. Sewald let Portland get the tying runs on base with two outs via singles before getting Aneury Tavarez to pop out to Josh Rodriguez in foul territory to end the game and pick up his 8th save.

The B’Mets went just 2-10 with runners in scoring position on the day but needed only Aderlin Rodriguez‘s two-run double in the 6th to come out with the victory. Rodriguez has four hits and five RBI’s over his last 3 games since he found out he was back to playing everyday with David Cooper retiring. Gavin Cecchini was 3-4 on the day with his 10th double of the season, his slash line is now .298/.355/.468. He is thriving leading off in the first inning going 8-17 with only one strikeout in that situation. Jayce Boyd was 1-4 with his league leading 16th double which could be his last in AA as he was promoted to Las Vegas after the game. The B’Mets are now down two position players with glaring wholes in left field and second base. Box Score. 

The B’Mets start a series in Altoona tonight at 6:00 ET with Michael Fulmer (1-0, 2.95) making the start.

Lakeland 4, St. Lucie (22-25) 3

Dominic Smith had a great at bat with nobody on with two outs in the 9th down two runs working himself out of a 0-2 whole to double down the left field line and keep the Mets alive. Amed Rosario followed with a RBI single. moving to 2nd on a wild pitch giving Yeixon Ruiz a chance to tie the game with a single. Ruiz made solid contact on a liner to center field but it hung up too long with the center fielder securing the catch to end the game. Smith’s double was his 12th of the season and his 9th in the last 12 games. Smith also singled in the 5th inning that extended his hitting streak to 10 games the longest in the Mets minors right now. Smith was hitting .143/.194/.159 on May 7th and has raised that to .250/.298/.341 in the last three weeks. Travis d’Arnaud was the DH for 7 innings going 0-3 on the night with a walk and a RBI groundout but has yet to hit the ball out of the infield in two games. Rosario was 2-4 with a walk, his 8th RBI raising his slash line to .277/.323/.373 on the year. Rosario has hit .309/.368/.433 in May with 8 walks, not bad for 19-year old who skipped Low-A. Jeff McNeil had his 20th multi-hit game of the season going 2-3 with two walks, 6th double, and scored a run, improving his league leading average to .352. Michael Conforto was 0-5 on the night but hit three long fly ball outs including a 400 foot one in his 2nd at bat.

Robert Whalen had a 2-0 lead heading into the 5th before he gave up a three-run HR to Raph Rhymes giving the Flying Tigers the lead for good. Three batters later Whalen gave up a single after a two-strike pitch he thought should have been a strike. Whalen then walked off the field and straight into the clubhouse without either the announcer or official scorer knowing what happened until an inning later when they got word he had been ejected by the homeplate ump. Whalen went 4.2 innings giving up the three runs on six hits, three walks, while striking out four and taking his 3rd loss of the year. Box Score

Kevin McGowan (3-3, 5.11) gets the start for the Mets tonight at 6:30 as they host Lakeland at Tradition Field.

Savannah (22-25) 2, Charleston 1 WALKOFF

The Sand Gnats won a walk-off solo homerun by Jon Leroux in the bottom of the 9th for just his 2nd HR off the year. The other big story of the night was the affiliated ball debut of right hander Casey Delgado who threw 4 scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win. Delgado allowed just one hit, three walks, and struck out seven in his Sand Gnats debut. Delgado had been pitching in the Frontier League for the Traverse City Beach Bums where he started two games this year going 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA. This was the 24-year olds 3rd year straight year pitching for the Bums starting in 34 of his 36 appearances going 10-13 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.245 WHIP. In just his 2nd start of the season Ricky Knapp went 5 innings giving up just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven.

Leroux was 0-3 on the night before his big hit and is currently hitting just .198 on the year. The Sand Gnats won despite not having a hit with runners in scoring position going 0-6 leaving 7 runners on. Jean Rodriguez played SS with Luis Guillorme getting the night off collecting two hits including his 4th triple of the year and stealing his 6th base. He is now hitting .290/.324/.401 thanks to his current hot streak that has seen him hit .353 over his last 10 games. Wuilmer Becerra was 0-4 with two lineouts while Eudor Garcia went 0-4 with two strikeouts.  Box Score

The Sand Gnats play tonight at 7:05 against Charleston with Martires Arias (2-3, 3.51) on the mound.

News and Notes

Robert Gsellman will make his AA debut for Binghamton on Saturday against Altoona at 6:00 ET. Vic Black and Bobby Parnell traveled with the B’Mets after the game to Altoona so it looks like their rehab assignments will continue. Boyd will meet the 51’s in Nashville today after his promotion following yesterday’s day game. The B’Mets manager Pedro Lopez said he is expecting two position players to be added to the roster soon. The B’Mets offense needs a boost after losing Nimmo and Boyd with Conforto & McNeil making the most sense given the needs in LF and 2B.

The post Mets Minor League Recap: Boyd Promoted, Smith Streak To 10 Games appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Rule 5 Draft is now concluded and the Mets have selected 25-year old right-hander Seth Rosin from the Phillies organization in the major league phase of the draft. The Phillies surprisingly didn’t protect Seth Rosin who went 9-6 with a 4.33 ERA and 1.22 WHIP last season for Triple-A Reading.

However, the turned around and traded Rosin to the Dodgers for a player to be named later according to Seth Gurney of MLB.com. (Hat tip Matt Balasis)

The Mets didn’t lose anyone in the MLB phase of Rule 5 Draft so Cory Vaughn, Chase Huchingson, Joel Carreno all remain in the organization.

In the minor league phase of the draft, the Mets selected RHP Jon Velasquez from  the Twins organization. Last season for Double-A New Britain, the 28-year old righthander posted a 1.95 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 73.2 innings of relief.

The Mets lost three players in the minor league phase of the draft. The Astros selected LHP Carlos Vasquez, the Twins selected Mets’ RHP James Fuller, and the Nationals selected RHP Martires Arias from Double-A Binghamton.

The post Rule 5 Draft: Mets Select RHP Seth Rosin, Trade Him To Dodgers For PTBNL appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Eastern League announced that Binghamton Mets reliever Chase Huchingson was suspended for 50 games today without pay, after his second violation of the league’s drug abuse policy. (marijuana, cocaine, etc,)

This news comes on the heels of two scoreless innings from Huchingson yesterday — and in fact, a spectacular season in relief for Binghamton overall.

He has appeared in 45 games for Double-A Binghamton, while posting a 1.61 ERA and a 29/68 BB:K ratio. The young left-hander had finished 15 games for Binghamton in 2013, earning one save, and his 45 appearances have spanned 67.0 innings.

The post Leathersich Assigned To Binghamton To Replace Huchingson appeared first on Metsmerized.

Like two peas in a pod, Adam Kolarek and Chase Huchingson have been bedrock solid out of the bullpen for Binghamton this year. The left-handed pitching specialists have several similarities; both tall and imposing on the hill, both with multiple pitch weaponry anchored by low 90’s fastballs, and both almost automatic outs, especially against lefthanded batters.

Although Kolarek and Huchingson share many similarities on the pitching hill, they took very different paths to arrive in Binghamton. The 6’ 3,” 215-pound Kolarek’s baseball resume models consistency. The B-Met lefty has an advantage over many minor league pitchers who work out of the pen in that he pitched in relief at Maryland in college before signing to play professionally. Many minor league pitchers are converted starters meaning Kolarek has profited from a season-by-season refinement of the nuances the come with relief pitching.

Kolarek, too, has benefited from an at home pitching mentor in his Dad, Frank, who paved a patch for his son playing ball at Maryland and spending several seasons catching in the Oakland A’s minor league system. Kolarek soaked up the knowledge and preparation his Dad could offer on his baseball journey. “As a catcher he learned how pitcher’s prepare physically and mentally and how to attack hitters with certain pitches in certain counts, and that’s something I never take for granted,” Kolarek told David Smith in an on-line post earlier in his career.

An even-keeled guy with an unchanging temperament, Kolarek doggedly pursues pitching goals counting on meticulous preparation and consistency in approach to attain success. A low 90’s fastball that is quick out of his hand, moves away from left-handed batters and has some late sink, is Kolarek’s go-to pitch. The lefty relief specialist has used a solid change-up since college, but saw his outputs soar when he added a slider to his repertoire since pitching professionally. Improved command of the slider allows Kolarek to use the pitch to quickly get ahead of batters or, when ahead in the count, to lure batters of offer at sliders placed intentionally off the plate or in the dirt.

Kolarek, used primarily as a set-up man as a B-Met, is 3-3 out of the bullpen with a 1.96 ERA, a 9.05 strikeout rate per 9 innings and a very respectable 1.12 WHIP. Kolarek has fanned 9.71 batters per nine innings over 224.1 innings of his minor league career.

Compared to Kolarek Chase Huchingson’s baseball ride followed the up-and-down trajectory of a whitewater rapid ride. For starters, Huchingson chose the pitching route later on his baseball journey converting from the outfield to the hill. Raised in the college town of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Huchinson work high school play caught the eye of coaches from the University of Arkansas who offered him an early scholarship. But, Huchingson opted to consider all options, eventually signing with the fabled college baseball factory at Arizona State.

Arizona State changed pitching coaches after the 6’5” lefty had signed and the new coach, after watching Huchingson pitch in a summer league wasn’t impressed. Arizona State couldn’t pull back the scholarship offer but informed the young left-hander they would be reducing the amount of his scholarship after the first semester. That disappointment and prohibitive out-of-state tuition costs saw Huchingson take his baseball game the JUCO route to the University of Arkansas Fort Smith.

After a lights out first season where he nearly led the conference in ERA at Arkansas Fort Smith, Huchingson was drafted in the 23rd round by the Astros but could never come together with the National League team on terms of a contract. Things spiraled in the opposite direction when Huchingson subsequently struggled at Arkansas Fort Smith and was not named again in the draft.

Pitching for a summer league team out of McKinney, Dallas in the Texas Collegiate League, a wood bat league, saved Huchingson’s career. The tall lefty didn’t allow an earned run all summer long and caught the eye of a Met scout attending games to check up on another pitcher the Mets had signed who threw for McKinney. Huchingson agreed to sign with the Mets after he finished his senior year of college.

Huchingson has changed roles from relief pitcher to starting pitcher early in his professional career. After a promising year pitching as a sometime starter and other time relief pitcher in Savannah, Huchingson was used almost exclusively in the starting rotation in 2012 in St. Lucie.

Perhaps, Huchingson’s brilliant work out of the pen this year in Binghamton has finally landed a steady baseball role. A 3-2 win/loss record with a shining 1.71 ERA and just over one strikeout per inning in 65 innings of work should make Huchingson a contender for a future spot in the Met bullpen.

Towering and lanky with a funky like pitching delivery, Huchingson is fun to watch. Huchingson hides the ball well in his delivery making it tough to pick up, especially for left-handed batters. His fastball has movement and sink and generally arrives at between 88-91 mph. A good mix of pitches includes a solid change-up and emerging breaking ball. A student of the game, Huchinson is a competitive guy who relishes every opportunity to get the ball.

Although the paths they took to Binghamton may have differed, in the late innings Kolarek and Huchingson bring a similar approach to the NYSEG Stadium mound. Both lefties pitch to their strength and aggressively attack batters. Both use their fastball as the foundation of their battle plan, working to get ahead in the count so they can best employ their other pitching options. And both left-handers, provide B-Met skipper Pedro Lopez with two, big, similar left-hand options from the bullpen, a huge consideration in Binghamton’s 2013 Championship baseball run.

The post Two Mets Relief Prospects On The Rise: Chase Huchingson and Adam Kolarek appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets play a doubleheader on Friday in Washington, and will need an extra pitcher on Saturday.

Also being considered, but I view as extreme long-shots, are Chris Schwinden, Jacob deGrom, and Rafael Montero – neither of whom are on the 40-man roster.

MMO Prediction: Mejia will make his 2013 debut and have a solid performance after a long road back from rehab and TJS.

Read more about his start last night from my earlier post below.

Original Post 12:30 AM

The Binghamton Mets matched a season-high with 15 hits and Jenrry Mejia struck out eight over six innings in a 10-2 victory over the New Britain Rock Cats on Saturday night at New Britain Stadium. Cesar Puello doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead a B-Mets offensive attack that saw every player collect at least one hit.

Mejia had a two-run cushion before he even threw his first pitch. Danny Muno got the attack against Rock Cats starter Trevor May started immediately by leading off the game with a one-hop double off the right-field wall. Puello brought him home by skipping an RBI single past Eddie Rosario at second base. After swiping second, his 22nd stolen base of the year, Puello scored when Rhyne Hughes blistered a two-out RBI single up the middle.

Mejia set the tone in his second rehab appearance with the B-Mets by retiring the first eight batters he faced. The right-hander side-stepped a bunt single and a walk in a scoreless third and worked around a one-out single in a shutout fourth.

Nate Hanson put the only blemish on Mejia’s night by ripping a home run over the left-field wall to lead off the fifth inning. Mejia bounced back and retired six of seven to cap his night. Chase Huchingson took over in the seventh and allowed one on three hits over two innings of relief. Chasen Bradford closed the contest with a perfect ninth.

Mejia (2-0) surrendered just one run on three hits over six innings in the victory. His eight strikeouts were the most in one game since he fanned nine as a Buffalo Bison on 8/30/10 against the Syracuse Chiefs..

The post Jenrry Mejia Likely To Make 2013 Debut Against Nationals appeared first on Metsmerized.

Disclaimer: I am not necessarily in favor of trading Bobby Parnell, but since there’s a recent post for the opposite side of this argument, I figured I could play a little devil’s advocate.

Bobby Parnell is arguably one of the hottest names on the back-end relief market right now. He hasn’t allowed a home run all year, his WHIP is under 1.00, and his ERA sits at 2.30 with 17 saves. In his first full year as the Mets closer, Parnell has more than lived up to the task, despite what his 5-4 record might say. Proficient late-inning relievers are always a hot commodity in the second half of July because contending teams could always use an extra arm, for the 7th, 8th, or even 9th inning. Very few people seriously think that the Mets will trade Parnell, but here are a few reasons as to why it might be a good move.

His Age

If Bobby Parnell were a few years younger, then there would be no conversation. However, he’s 28, turning 29 in September, having his career year. Typically, this age range is when many players peak, and there’s obviously no way of knowing how Parnell is going to pitch even beyond this month. Many pitchers have all of a sudden lost their stuff and been relegated to middle relief or even the minor leagues. If Sandy Alderson has some concern about Parnell’s 2013 being somewhat of a flash in the pan, he could consider moving him to a contender who might overpay, which leads to…

The Return

When the Mets traded Carlos Beltran to the Giants in 2011, it was widely agreed upon that Sandy Alderson fleeced San Francisco in getting Zack Wheeler back in the deal. There’s admittedly no way that he could pull off a trade of equal magnitude for Bobby Parnell, but Alderson and the scouting team could do well to find a diamond in the rough outfielder or middle infielder who could help the Mets out sooner rather than later. It’s a bit of a stretch, but crazier things have happened. If it does happen, trading Parnell would be another large step towards…

The Future

The Mets farm system is relatively strong in the pitching department, and not just for starters. There are a handful of relievers waiting to get their turn to come to Queens and prove that they can be a part of the plan moving forward. A long list of guys all over the system are making strides towards being a part of the future Mets bullpen, including but not limited to: Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Jack Leathersich, Chase Huchingson, Rainy Lara, Adam Kolarek, and Chasen Bradford. Bobby Parnell may be in the midst of a career year, but there are other guys who can come up to help fill the void if he gets moved.

The Mets shouldn’t necessarily trade Bobby Parnell this month, but it would be foolish not to field some calls. If someone brings an attractive offer to the table, Sandy Alderson has to at least give it a listen.

The post The Case For Trading Bobby Parnell appeared first on Metsmerized.

As we look forward to the eventual arrival of promising talent from the Mets’ farm system, there are those that contend the major league club would benefit from an immediate infusion. However, they may not have considered the ramifications of these proposed moves due to the requirements of getting players onto the 40 before they can be called up. Josh Satin, for instance, who many have lobbied to install as at least a platoon partner if not outright replacement for Ike Davis, does not presently have a place on the 40. If management were to make a move to bring him up from Las Vegas, he would have to be added and someone would have to be removed as the Mets presently have a full slate of players already occupying those slots (plus 3 more on the 60-day DL).

Removing a player from the 40 requires that they be designated for assignment (DFA’d) and the team then has 10 days to trade, release, or send them to the minors provided they clear waivers. Without going into undue detail over the waiver process, suffice it to say that if a team doesn’t want to risk losing a player altogether, they will strive to avoid exposing them. This was the concern recently with the promotion of Quintanilla as, out of options, he will have to clear waivers if the Mets want to return him to Vegas when Ruben Tejada is ready to return to active duty.

Judicious management of the 40 is a crucial element to a GM seeking to provide his field manager with the tools needed to compete.  Often hard choices must be made- when deciding to protect a player in the farm system who may still be years away from contributing at the major league level, a degree of flexibility with the active roster is surrendered.  To some extent, this can be pointed to as an issue with the current Mets team.

A look at the current state of the Mets’ 40 reveals how certain players are regarded within the organization and, to a degree, by baseball insiders. The 15 players beyond the active roster include those who have previously appeared on it this year (Atchison, Familia, Tejada, Brown, Cowgill, Edgin and Nieuwenhuis), and a mixed bag of prospects consisting of infielders Zach Lutz, Wilmer Flores,  and Wilfredo Tovar, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, outfielder Cesar Puello, and pitchers Zack Wheeler, Hansel Robles, and Gonzalez Germen.  Aside from Atchison, Tejada and Familia who are currently on the 15-day DL, the bulk of these players consist of fringe major league talent (or “AAAA” players) who can provide coverage in the event of injuries, and legitimate prospects who the front office clearly needs to protect.

This list says as much about those who are not on it as it does about those it includes. As mentioned before, Josh Satin did not rate a slot, and the front office is apparently content to keep him as AAA roster filler or allow him to leave next year as a six-year free agent. They have not worried about another organization drafting him, so that should tell you something about how he is regarded by the other 29 MLB clubs as well. Still, you never know, someone may yet give him a shot as a role player somewhere.

I do have some questions with respect to some of the other players who have been allotted space here. Lutz turns 27 this month, a bit old for a “legitimate” prospect, and is kept around apparently to provide insurance in the event of an injury to David Wright. He has been fairly consistent in his level of play as he has made his way up the ladder and projects as someone who would hit about .250-.260 with maybe 15-20 HR’s over a full season while providing less than stellar defense. Assuming, of course, he could stay healthy himself, something that has been a bit of an issue in the past.  In other words, he could be a decent fill-in but not a player you would tag for stardom. His place on the roster is to provide depth and were Ike Davis to be demoted, he would be the likely call-up despite a relative lack of experience at first base. His ability to play third probably gets him the edge on the roster over Satin despite the latter’s somewhat better numbers over the past few years.

The other players holding down slots that might raise an eyebrow are Tovar and Germen. Tovar, despite his youth and ability to play a key position (shortstop), apparently projects at best as a utility guy according to scouting reports. If the team is simply trying to provide depth at the position, they might have considered going with Tovar’s Binghamton teammate Josh Rodriguez, a more veteran player at age 28 who has shown flashes of power throughout his minor league career. As of this writing, Rodriguez leads the B-Mets in hits and has an OBP of .439, numbers that greatly overshadow those of Tovar to this point. Germen is a 25-year old middle reliever with decent if somewhat unspectacular numbers at Las Vegas. He has put up some nice K/9 and hits per innings numbers in the past though, and pitchers can develop later than position players so I’m willing to assume they know what they are doing with him. Still, if Jack Leathersich is bumped up to AAA at the season’s mid-point and continues to blow away the opposition like he’s been doing so far, I’m sure we would all like to see a September call-up and somebody will have to make space on the 40. In addition, Chase Huchingson’s performance out of the same bullpen has put him in the picture as a lefty relief option as well.

Clearly roster management is an inexact science that involves some guesswork. Like many, I’ll be watching the shuffling that is due to occur ahead of the Rule 5 in December.  Let’s hope for some wise decisions and for some player performances that help make those decisions easier to make.

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Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas snuck by Fresno, 2-1.
• Binghamton shutout New Hampshire, 6-0.
• St. Lucie lost the first game of their doubleheader against Charlotte, 2-1. The second game was rained out.
• Savannah shut down Kannapolis, 5-0.
• Both DSL Mets1 and Mets2 won their first games to begin the 2013 DSL.

Prospect Pipeline

• A trio of top pitching prospects took the mound for the Mets organization yesterday: Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero, and Domingo Tapia. The good news is that they all pitched well, and two of them were trying to rebound from less than impressive return starts from injuries. Let’s start the talk with Zack Wheeler, who tossed six effective innings against Fresno. He allowed just three hits, one walk, and one earned run while striking out six. His strike:ball ratio was solid as well — at 62:33 for the evening. His fastball sat at 92-96 MPH. He touched 99 MPH in the second once, and he ripped a double later on in the game. All three of his hits allowed were singles, too.
• Then you have Rafael Montero, who dominated on his way to seven shutout innings. Perhaps no prospect in the system has advanced his stock as far this year alone in the way that Montero has, as his success just continues no matter where or when he is pitching. He allowed just five hits and a walk, while striking out four. Quotable numbers from MiLB.com: “In two outings since that cameo appearance at Triple-A, Montero (6-3) has fanned 12 over 13 scoreless innings to bring his ERA down to 2.72, good for sixth in the Eastern League. One of the keys for the native of the Dominican Republic has been how infrequently he’s issued walks. He’s given up only nine free passes while striking out 66 over 59 2/3 innings for the B-Mets.”
• Don’t sleep on Domingo Tapia either, who made his second start back from the DL yesterday after burning his non-pitching hand. He looked much better than his rough last start, going five innings and allowing just one run. He struck out only four as his low strikeout numbers continue to befuddle everyone.
• Adam Rubin reported that Matt den Dekker is still some time away from returning to the field. He is currently swinging with only one hand, his left hand, as he looks to recover from a right wrist fracture.
• Cory Vaughn homered last night and will likely see some time with the Mets in September since he’ll need to be added to the 40.
• Andrew Brown has started swinging a bat and could return to the 51s within the week.
• Chase Huchingson is having a quietly successful year. He tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Rafael Montero yesterday and lowered his ERA to 2.10 over 30.0 innings.
• Cesar Puello was a late scratch in yesterday’s game, but it was a minor issue, according to Adam Rubin.
• St. Lucie will give the double-header another go today, with the first game scheduled to start at 3:05 PM.
• Oh, for those of you wondering, G. Rosario, the international SS prospect we signed, will likely play in the GCL – not the DSL, which started yesterday.

Stat Line of the Day

Rafael Montero: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 4 K

Transactions

No transactions to report.

Quote of the Day

Today’s Quote of the Day is brought to you by a Johnathan Raymond piece for MiLB.com, which highlights Montero’s recent success statistically and highlights his impressive command.

“He’s done a nice job of very consistently this year locating in and out,” said Binghamton pitching coach Glenn Abbott, who had an 11-year career in the big leagues with the A’s, Mariners and Tigers. “I think he’s ahead of his years. He’s only been in the States here for three years and he pays good attention, has a great idea of what’s going on. Still learning all the time.”

Photo of the Day

Courtesy of @MetsFarmReport, here’s a snapshot from opening day in the DSL.

The post Mets Minors Report 6/2: Wheeler/Montero Shine, den Dekker Still Recovering, DSL Began Yesterday appeared first on Metsmerized.