Bryce Montes de Oca. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

One of the top candidate to fill out the New York Mets’ bullpen is scheduled to undergo imaging. After the game, manager Buck Showalter mentioned Bryce Montes de Oca‘s forearm as the potential ailment. The six-foot-seven flamethrower was one of two Mets (Starling Marte) to leave Sunday afternoon’s game early with injury.

In the ninth inning, de Oca loaded the bases via three walks before inducing a fly out to left field. He was then met on the mound by manager Buck Showalter, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, and the trainer before being removed. His fastball velocity dipped considerably during the outing, averaging only 97.7 MPH in lieu of his 100-MPH plus in previous outings.

Before Sunday’s ugly outing, de Oca seemed to position himself well to earn one of the remaining bullpen spots. The 27-year-old threw two scoreless outings with four strikeouts before today. His tantalizing 100-MPH plus fastball with extreme movement caught the eyes of many. If he is able to get this walk issues under control, he can very well be a very useful piece for New York this year.

Unfortunately, for now, it appears the Opening Day roster aspirations has been put on hold. As mentioned above, the next step for de Oca is imaging to determine the extent of what he suffered.

The post Bryce Montes De Oca Headed For Imaging After Early Exit appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Chris Simon

Citi Field was rocking on Saturday night when Edwin Díaz got the early call to relieve Jacob deGrom in the seventh inning. Behind three ground-outs, Díaz held the Mets then 3-2 lead and went back to the dugout to await his second inning of work. The Mets’ offense, however, exploded in the bottom half of the seventh and Díaz sat for 46 minutes while his team scored five runs to pad the New York lead to 7-2.

Staked to a five-run lead and six outs away from a potential Game 3 on Sunday, Buck Showalter opted to go back to his closer, who had thrown 19 pitches the prior inning, for a consecutive inning of work. Díaz rewarded his manager and retired two more batters before being pulled from Game 2.

Now, with only four outs away from glory, Showalter demonstrated he was not taking anything for granted and called upon Adam Ottavino the finish the game. However, the usually reliable reliever was not able to lock down the game for New York and got into a bases-loaded jam. After walking in a run and bringing the tying run to the plate, Seth Lugo came into the game to retire Josh Bell and secure Game 2 for the Mets.

Besides the blip from Ottavin0, the Mets’ bullpen has been lights out in the National League Wild Card Series. In Game 1, Trevor May, Lugo, David Peterson, and Mychal Givens did allow a run in a combined 4 2/3 innings of work. Game 2 was more or less the same story and Díaz, Ottavino, and Lugo combined for three innings and never surrendered the lead.

However, due to the managing of the bullpen in Game 2, Showalter will have his back against the wall with his relievers in Game 3. Díaz threw 28 pitches for five outs in Game 2 and never pitched in consecutive games in 2022 after working multiple innings. Lugo and Ottavino are questionable to be available in Game 3 due to Lugo working two consecutive nights and Ottavino throwing 35 pitches on Saturday.

With Joely Rodríguez on the injured list for the remainder of this series and potentially the NLDS, Showalter is left with Drew Smith, May, Peterson, Givens, and Tylor Megill as options to get the ball to Díaz. Despite it not going well in the past, Lugo may be available as well.

While Smith, May, and Givens all had reliable Septembers, none of them have been consistent in high leverage spots this season for the Mets. Peterson looked comfortable out the bullpen in September and can provide long relief in the worst case scenario in Game 3, but he is the Mets only left handed reliever and will most likely be used as a specialist. Megill, on the other hand, has struggled mightily since joining the Mets’ bullpen and gave up four earned runs in six innings this season. It would be shocking to see Megill in any scenario in Game 3.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

If all goes right for the Showalter and the Mets in Game 3, Chris Bassitt will provide length and eat most of the innings himself. Bassitt faced the Padres twice this season and the starts were drastically different. In San Diego, Bassitt lasted only 3 1/3 innings and gave up seven earned runs. Meanwhile, at Citi Field against the Padres, Bassitt struck out a season high 11 batters and gave up one run over seven innings of work.

If Bassitt can go six, or seven innings, it would set the Mets’ bullpen up for success. Regardless, expect Drew Smith to play a pivotal role, as he is the most rested of the bunch. Certainly, a situation to monitor.

The post Analyzing The Mets Bullpen Situation Headed Into Game 3 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mike Vasil, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

With the Arizona Fall League set to kick off in just a few weeks, the rosters for the six teams in the league were released on Friday. The Arizona Fall League offers minor leaguers an opportunity to get extra reps right at the start of their offseason and can prove to be especially valuable for players who missed time during the regular season due to injury.

Nine prospects in the New York Mets system made it onto the roster of the Peoria Javelinas, and Binghamton Rumble Ponies manager Reid Brignac will manage the team. Among that crop of players is one of the organization’s premier pitching prospects, as well as a few pitchers with a shot at making the major league roster in the immediate future.

Perhaps the most exciting Mets prospect to make the roster is Mike Vasil, the team’s eight-round pick in the 2021 draft. Vasil made 17 starts and one relief appearance across three levels in the organization during the 2022 season, recording a 3.53 ERA in 71 1/3 innings. He stumbled a bit with Brooklyn and spent almost two months on the shelf, so this will be a much-needed chance for the highly-touted 22-year-old to make up for that lost development time. Vasil is ranked as the Mets’ No. 13 prospect on MMO’s most recent list.

Grant Hartwig had an impressive season across three levels, pitching to the tune of a 1.84 ERA in 37 appearances with St. Lucie, Brooklyn, and Binghamton. He struck out 79 batters in just 53 2/3 innings, and he seemed to improve as his level of competition got better. Hartwig went undrafted out of Miami University (OH) and only just completed his second professional season, but his current trajectory would suggest the 24-year-old could get the call to the majors as early as the 2023 season.

Christian Scott is another pitcher with just two professional seasons under his belt, but the 2021 fifth-round pick has shown flashes of brilliance when he has been able to take the mound. Scott posted a 4.45 ERA in 18 appearances with St. Lucie and Brooklyn this past season. His strikeout rate went down a bit after his Brooklyn call-up, but he still managed to strike out 77 batters in 58 2/3 innings. He was used predominantly as a starter in Brooklyn, and as long as he can stay healthy, he will likely stay in the rotation as he progresses through the organization. Scott is ranked No. 23 on MMO’s Top 30.

Stanley Consuegra, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

The remaining prospects that will feature in the Arizona Fall League this year are right-handed pitchers Franklin Sanchez and Troy Miller (taxi squad), utilityman Kevin Kendall, infielder Luke Ritter, and outfielders Brandon McIlwain and Stanley Consuegra (taxi squad).

Consuegra earned an early-season call-up after a strong start to the year with St. Lucie (.251/.324/.431 with eight homers and eight steals in 66 games), but his numbers dipped with Brooklyn. Consuegra is listed No. 17 on MMO’s updated Mets prospect list.

It was a similar story for McIlwain, who posted a .861 OPS in 48 games with Brooklyn but just a .636 OPS in 48 games with Binghamton.

Sanchez had a 3.79 ERA this season and touches 100 mph with his fastball. Miller missed the entire 2022 season as he continued to recover from Tommy John surgery. Kendall missed most of the year with a wrist injury but put up a .872 OPS with St. Lucie in 2021. Ritter just had a big moment for Syracuse with a walk-off double on Thursday but has just a .680 OPS this year.

The Arizona Fall League will start on Monday, October 3, with the regular season running to early November and the championship game being played on November 12. The league will implement the major rule changes approved for the 2023 major-league season, including a pitch clock, shift restrictions, and bigger bases. The league will also give managers three challenges to be used on ball-strike calls, with an automatic strike zone determining the correct call.

The post Vasil Headlines Nine Mets Prospects Headed to AFL appeared first on Metsmerized Online.