The Mets finally have at least partial clarity to what has kept Jed Lowrie off of a major league field for the better part of two seasons. It’s far from conclusive, but a second opinion revealed what GM Brodie Van Wagenen referred to as ‘PCL laxity,’ or limited strength in the posterior cruciate ligament. “When he wears his larger brace, that pain is mitigated,” Van...
According to Adam Rubin of ESPN, the Mets will probably go outside the organization to replace Wally Backman as manager of their AAA affiliate in Las Vegas, despite having some internal options. The Backman, 56, was let go from his managerial position after the 51s posted a 70-74 season in the PCL. The former second baseman parted ways with the Mets organization to “move on and look for other...
Sandy Alderson will be heading out to Las Vegas this weekend to discuss the club’s affiliation with the Las Vegas 51s, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets and 51s have had an affiliation agreement since the 2013 season, after the Buffalo Bisons ditched the Mets for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets were essentially stuck with Las Vegas, which has caused all sorts of problems....
‘Put on your running shoes’ could be the motto for Wally Backman’s Las Vegas 51’s this summer. The scrappy 2014 PCL Manager of the Year has used the running game as a weapon in leading his team to a possible first place finish in the Southern Division. Las Vegas ranks fifth out of sixteen PCL teams in stolen bases this year, a huge leap over the previous two seasons when the club finished second...
Here’s a look at the Mets minor league starting pitching leaders which features strong showings from Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, Robert Whalen, and Casey Meisner who all pitched this weekend. I left out Noah Syndergaard’s strong 3-0 start with 1.82 ERA, 0.944 WHIP, and 4.25 SO/W ratio because he is in the bigs now and hopefully has seen the last of the Minors. A breakdown for the...
The Mets (20-12) and Cubs (16-15) play game two of their four-game series at Wrigley Field on Tuesday at 8:05 PM Noah Syndergaard will make his major league debut and will oppose RHP Jake Arrieta (3-3, 3.41) for the Cubs. Syndergaard was 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA (six earned runs/29.2 innings) in five starts for Triple-A Las Vegas this year. He ranked fourth in the PCL in ERA and fifth with 34...
Sandy Alderson told reporters that he expects to lose multiple players in the Rule 5 Draft, particularly during the minor league portion. Joel Sherman adds that the Mets are expected to lose RHP Logan Verrett during the MLB portion of the draft. Verrett, 24, went 11-5 with a 4.33 ERA and 1.370 WHIP for Triple-A Las Vegas last season. In 162 innings pitched he walked 34 and struck out 115...
Today Baseball America completed their league-by-league Top 20 Prospect lists by posting both the International and Pacific Coast League. In the Pacific Coast League, three Mets prospects made the grade with Noah Syndergaard ranking 5th, Rafael Montero ranking 14th, and catcher Kevin Plawecki coming in at 16th. This is what they had to say: 5. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Las Vegas (Mets) Managers and...
On Monday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Allan Dykstra won the 2014 Pacific Coast League Home Run Derby. Ironically, Dykstra beat former Mets farmhand and teammate Francisco Pena to claim the belt. “My goal was to make sure I beat Frank,” jokes Dykstra about squaring off against his former teammate. “I have enough power to have fun in this kind of competition,”...
Back in November, I wrote a piece here on MMO entitled Montero is Better Than People Think. You can read that post in its entirety below, but it’s nice to see that Montero is starting to get the kind of recognition he deserves. Montero was recently ranked on MLB’s Top 100 prospect list at No. 85. This ranking is still too low according to MILB.com’s Sam Dykstra. Dykstra states...
There has been some buzz this offseason regarding Cory Mazzoni possibly making the Mets’ Opening Day roster as a reliever. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the Mets do have to fill some holes in the bullpen and many have seen Mazzoni as a player that could transition to the pen now that there is such a strong stable of arms in the Mets’ farm system. Mazzoni was drafted in...
There has been some buzz this offseason regarding Cory Mazzoni possibly making the Mets’ Opening Day roster as a reliever. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the Mets do have to fill some holes in the bullpen and many have seen Mazzoni as a player that could transition to the pen now that there is such a strong stable of arms in the Mets’ farm system. Mazzoni was drafted in...
