Brandon Sproat looked extremely sharp in his start against Norfolk, tossing five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He allowed just one hit and one walk. Sproat has now thrown 23 innings in his last four starts and has not allowed a single run in that span. He has since lowered his ERA to 4.34.

Despite the short week, let’s look at how the rest of the minor league affiliates did. Also, make sure to check out Mike Mayer’s midseason Top 50 prospects list ahead of the trade deadline!

Brandon Sproat. Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets took two of three games from the Norfolk Tides in their most recent series. It was a high-scoring set of games, with the Mets outscoring the Tides 28-19. Syracuse is now 15-6 in the second half of the season and 46-50 overall.

Francisco Alvarez had another ridiculous series torching Triple-A pitching, prompting his call-up back to the major league team. Alvarez went 4-for-10 with three home runs, six RBIs, four walks, and five runs scored against Norfolk, good for a 1.871 OPS. He had an absurd 1.129 OPS in 21 games with Syracuse this year.

Gilberto Celestino also had an excellent series, going 4-for-11 with a double, a home run, four walks, two stolen bases, and four runs scored. Celestino has had a decent year in Syracuse, accumulating a .765 OPS.

José Buttó made a couple of rehab appearances as he looks to work his way back to the major league squad. Buttó threw two scoreless innings with two hits allowed and two strikeouts. It’s expected that he’ll be back in the big leagues shortly, potentially as soon as today after an off day Monday.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies also won a relatively high-scoring series, taking two of three games from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Binghamton and New Hampshire each scored 21 runs. Binghamton continues to roll as they are 14-7 in the second half of the season and 59-29 overall.

Carson Benge had an excellent series, going 6-for-12 with a double, three walks, a stolen base, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Benge has arguably been the best position player prospect in the Mets’ system this year, and he raised his Double-A OPS to 1.005.

Jacob Reimer had a pair of extra-base hits, going 3-for-11 with a double, a home run, a walk, and three runs scored. Like Benge, Reimer has done well in Double-A, raising his OPS with Binghamton to .840.

Kevin Parada also had another good series, going 4-for-9 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Parada has been swinging the bat extremely well lately, owning a 1.017 OPS in his last 32 games. It’s been quite the turnaround at the plate for the former first-round pick. His OPS for the year is .763.

Jonah Tong delivered the best start of the series for the Rumble Ponies, going 5 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Tong’s ERA lowered to 1.71 through 16 starts on the year.

Jack Wenninger also had a good start, allowing two runs (one earned) in 4 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Through 18 starts, Wenninger owns a 2.96 ERA.

Jack Wenninger. Photo by Kylie Richelle

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones dropped their series to the Hub City Spartanburgers, winning just one of the three games. The Cyclones have been stumbling in the second half with a 12-12 record, bringing their overall record to 58-32.

Troy Schreffler, who has struggled mightily in 32 games this year, had a fantastic series against Hub City. Schreffler went 3-for-8 but hit two home runs, his first two of the year, and recorded five RBIs and three runs. Schreffler still has just a .532 OPS on the year.

A.J. Ewing led the team with six hits in 11 at-bats, recording two doubles, a triple, two walks, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Ewing has been one of the breakout stars in the Mets system this year, and he owns an .802 OPS in Brooklyn after a scorching start to the year in St. Lucie.

Ronald Hernandez also had a solid series, going 5-for-11 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base, three RBIs, and a team-high five runs scored. Hernandez has not had a good year as he still owns just a .681 OPS for the season.

Brendan Girton was one of the better performers in the Mets’ system, shoving for 4 2/3 innings in his start and not allowing a single baserunner. He also struck out nine batters. Girton has been phenomenal this season, especially in his last six games, where he has a 1.14 ERA. On the season, he owns a 2.49 ERA in 17 games for the Cyclones.

In addition to Girton, Will Watson also tossed 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits, two walks, hitting a batter, and striking out four. Watson, like Girton, has shone this year and has a 2.29 ERA in eight games since being promoted to Brooklyn.

Wellington Aracena. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets won just one game in their last series against the Palm Beach Cardinals to drop the three-game set. The Mets are now 15-8 in the second half of the season and 49-39 overall.

Trace Willhoite was the lone standout batter for the Mets in this series. He had just seven at-bats, but he recorded three hits, including a home run, with five walks, four RBIs, and three runs. Willhoite has been great all year for St. Lucie, and he now owns an .856 OPS for the season.

Wellington Aracena continued his excellent stretch with another scoreless outing, going 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts. Aracena now owns an 0.81 ERA across 22 1/3 innings in his last five games, and he owns a 2.38 ERA in 17 games for the season.

Alfred Vega and Franklin Gomez each made one appearance out of the bullpen and looked great. Vega threw three perfect innings with four strikeouts, while Gomez tossed four scoreless innings with three hits and two walks allowed with three strikeouts. Vega has a 2.54 ERA across three levels this year, and Gomez has a 2.06 ERA in 13 games with St. Lucie.

FCL Mets

The FCL Mets went 3-2 this past week to improve on the season to 24-27. They remain in third place in the Florida Complex League East division, 11 games behind the first-place team.

Edward Lantigua had the team’s best week at the plate, going 4-for-12 with two doubles, two RBIs, and three walks. Lantigua has looked solid for the FCL Mets, owning a .780 OPS in 47 games.

On the mound, Paul Blackburn made a rehab start and looked solid, allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings while striking out eight. Blackburn is scheduled to make his next rehab start in Syracuse on Tuesday.

Jose Guevara had an excellent start, tossing three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Guevara has not had success this year, owning a 5.50 ERA in 11 games.

DSL Mets

The DSL Mets Orange went 2-3 this past week to move to 21-14 on the season. The DSL Mets Blue had an even worse week, going 0-4 to drop to 15-20.

Elian Peña had a great week for the Orange squad, going 6-for-15 with two doubles, four walks, three stolen bases, two RBIs, and three runs. Peña now owns a strong .829 OPS in his first professional season. On the mound, Jose Lopez allowed two runs (one earned) in six innings while striking out seven. Lopez owns a 5.56 ERA in six starts.

The Blue squad had a really rough week as they had just two extra-base hits total, and no batter with more than five at-bats had an OPS above .762 (Jhonael Cuello, who went 2-for-6, hit that mark). On the mound, Christopher Rochin threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts. Rochin now owns a 3.10 ERA in nine games.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

AVG – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – .315

OPS – Carson Benge (BRK/BNG) – .919

HR – Ryan Clifford (BNG) – 17

SB – A.J. Ewing (STL/BRK) – 55

Pitching

ERA – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 1.71

SO – Jonah Tong (BNG) – 132

WHIP – Zach Thornton (BRK/BNG) – 0.812

Players of the Week

Offense – Francisco Alvarez, C Syracuse

Francisco Alvarez did everything he needed to and more to earn a promotion back to the big league club. He hit immediately upon his arrival to Syracuse and continued to hit until he was called back up, mashing home runs seemingly every day. If that means he can turn it around at the major league level, his initial demotion will be deemed a brilliant move.

Pitching – Brendan Girton, P Brooklyn

Brendan Girton was perfect in his latest outing, and he’s been outstanding all season. The 23-year-old has excelled at the High-A level, and conquering the Double-A level will be his next challenge whenever his eventual promotion arrives.

Upcoming Schedule – July 22-27

• Triple-A Syracuse: vs. Omaha
• Double-A Binghamton: @ Reading
• High-A Brooklyn: @ Greensboro
• Low-A St. Lucie: vs. Daytona/@ Jupiter

The post Minors Weekly Report: Brandon Sproat Continues Scoreless Streak appeared first on Metsmerized.

The season continues for Syracuse and Binghamton, who both lost their series this past week. Binghamton’s series loss was at no fault of Jonah Tong, who didn’t allow a hit or a walk in six innings in his Double-A debut.

Jonah Tong. Photo by @ITSDMPhotos via Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Triple-A

The Syracuse Mets’ second-half freefall continued in their series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, as they dropped five of six games including an unbelievable 19-0 loss on Saturday. In the six games, Syracuse allowed 60 runs for an average of 10 allowed per game while scoring 32 runs of their own. The Mets are now 26-36 in the second half of the season and 72-64 overall.

Despite getting embarrassed in this series, Syracuse still had some positive individual performances at the plate. Luke Ritter was phenomenal, going 8-for-21 with two doubles, a home run, five walks, and a stolen base. Ritter’s home run was his 26th of the year, and he also extended his International League RBI lead by recording four to give him 88 on the year. His OPS as the season comes to an end sits at .881.

Carlos Cortes led the team with three home runs in the series, with four of his seven hits going for extra bases. Cortes also stole a base and drove in four runs, while also leading the team with five runs scored. The 27-year-old owns an .814 OPS on the season.

JT Schwartz recorded four hits in the series including a double and a home run. He also walked three times and stole a base in what was one of his better weeks in Syracuse. The first baseman owns a .637 OPS with the Mets and a .766 OPS on the entire season between Binghamton and Syracuse.

Many of Syracuse’s regular starters struggled mightily in this series, with the one positive start coming from Paul Blackburn on a rehab assignment. He tossed 6.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out six in the process. It was expected to be Blackburn’s first and only rehab start before getting called back up to the majors, but he did not make his expected start in Toronto on Monday night.

The other starts of the week, all of which were not good whatsoever, came from Dom Hamel (4.1 IP, 9 ER), Mike Vasil (3.1 IP, 7 ER), Brandon Sproat (4 IP, 5 ER), Joander Suarez (5 IP, 8 ER), and Blade Tidwell (1.2 IP, 7 ER).

Shintaro Fujinami shined out of the bullpen, striking out four in 3 2/3 perfect innings. Fujinami, who was so wild and inconsistent earlier in the year, has been untouchable lately. The flamethrower has not allowed a run in his last eight appearances, striking out 15 and walking two over 11 2/3 innings in that span. Perhaps even more impressive is his slash line against during this span of .027/.100/.027/.127. He could be a late-season call up for the Mets if they need bullpen help.

Justin Jarvis also looked solid out of the bullpen, allowing two runs over 5.1 innings across two appearances. The righty, who was acquired a year ago for Mark Canha, has a 5.40 ERA in 16 appearances in Triple-A, but a 4.15 ERA overall between Binghamton and Syracuse.

Luke Ritter. Photo by Herm Card

Double-A

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Somerset Patriots played a seven-game set as the two teams made up a previously postponed game. It was a rough series for Binghamton, as they dropped five of the seven games and were outscored 32-20, averaging under three runs per game. Binghamton is now 30-33 in the second half of the season and an even 65-65 overall.

Depite the lack of offense, two players stood out:

• Jaylen Palmer played both corner infield positions and center field while going 6-for-17 with two doubles and two home runs. With his effort, Palmer increased his season OPS to .763.
• Jeremiah Jackson also had a good series, matching Palmer with two home runs of his own. Jackson now has 18 home runs on the year, tied for second in the Eastern League. He also stole two bases against Somerset to give him 11 on the year. While he’s shown off decent power this year, it’s been a struggle otherwise for Jackson who has a .608 OPS.

Jonah Tong was untouchable—literally—in his Double-A debut. He would have tossed six perfect innings if not for a throwing error. Instead, he’ll have to settle for six hitless innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. Tong, who started the year in Low-A, has raised his stock about as much as anyone this season. Between St. Lucie, Brooklyn, and Binghamton, he owns a 2.87 ERA with an incredible 12.7 SO/9.

Jonathan Pintaro also tossed six scoreless innings, though he did give up two hits, a walk, and a hit batsman. Pintaro struck out seven in the effort as he continues to just shine in the Mets organization. He has a 3.18 ERA in seven starts in Binghamton and a 2.83 ERA overall. Pretty good for a guy who was in independent ball as recently as this year.

Nolan McLean also continues to get better and better. The former two-way player allowed one run in five innings of work, striking out five. McLean now owns a 4.52 ERA in Binghamton and a 3.99 ERA overall on the year. He’s allowed one run or fewer in four of his last five outings.

Cam Robinson and Wilkin Ramos were incredible out of the bullpen for the Rumble Ponies. Robinson struck out seven in three scoreless innings, though he did allow an unearned run. Meanwhile, Ramos struck out five in four scoreless innings. Robinson owns a 3.29 ERA in 27 appearances, while Ramos has a 1.71 ERA in 22 appearances with Binghamton this year.

High-A

The Brooklyn Cyclones finished their season with a series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, taking the series by winning four of six games. It was a disappointing year for the Cyclones, who finished 32-34 in the second half and 65-67 overall. They were the fifth-place team out of six teams in the South Atlantic League North division.

Christopher Suero finished his season on a high note, going 8-for-19 with a double, two home runs, five RBIs, a walk, and two stolen bases. The 20-year-old played catcher, first base, and left field in the series. In 87 games with Brooklyn, he owned a .703 OPS but had a .730 OPS overall between St. Lucie and Brooklyn.

Boston Baro was tied for the team lead with four extra-base hits, three of which came in the series finale. Baro went 7-for-24 with three doubles, a triple, four RBIs, three walks, and a stolen base. Despite the strong finish, Baro recorded a .604 OPS in 11 games with Brooklyn, but he had a .767 OPS in 84 games for most of the season in St. Lucie.

Nick Morabito matched Baro with three doubles and a triple, though he walked just twice and didn’t record an RBI or a stolen base. Morabito finished with the most for a player in a season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, an amazing feat considering he spent 24 games early in the year with St. Lucie. Morabito finishes the year with a .747 OPS in Brooklyn and an .801 OPS overall.

Jefrey De Los Santos also had a notable week, going 5-for-14 with two doubles, three RBIs, and a walk. De Los Santos finished on a strong note despite ending the season with a .613 OPS.

Jack Wenninger was absolutely phenomenal in his start, striking out 10 and allowing just one run on one hit and two walks in six innings. The 2023 sixth-round pick ends the year with a 3.12 ERA in 10 appearances with Brooklyn, though a rough stint in St. Lucie earlier in the year has his overall ERA at 4.30.

Saul Garcia tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out seven. It was his first start for Brooklyn after recording a measly 5.43 ERA in 23 appearances with St. Lucie.

Gregori Louis continued his phenomenal season out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 hitless innings with five strikeouts. The 21-year-old was didn’t allow a single home run in 54.1 innings across 28 appearances between the FCL, Low-A, and High-A. His ERA in Brooklyn across six appearances was 1.08 and his overall ERA in his 28 appearances was 1.33.

Carson Benge. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Low-A

The St. Lucie Mets also finished their season this week, and they dropped three games of a rain-shortened five-game series. The Mets end their season with a 23-40 record in the second half and a 45-84 record overall.

There was very little to be excited about on the offensive side of things this week, as the team didn’t record a single home run. Carson Benge played in four games, going 3-for-14 with two doubles and three walks while striking out just once. Benge lowered his OPS to .856 through 15 games in his first taste of pro ball.

Corey Collins only had two hits in 11 at-bats, both singles, but he did walk six times. Collins owns an .805 OPS with more walks than strikeouts in nine games.

Nick Roselli led the team with four hits, going 4-for-16 with two doubles, two RBIs, two walks, and a stolen base. Roselli ends the year with an .869 OPS.

Eli Serrano III only recorded nine at-bats, but he went 3-for-9 with a triple, also walking once. He ends with a .777 OPS.

Christian Rodriguez was St. Lucie’s most impressive pitcher, tossing four scoreless innings and recording a save in his lone appearance of the week. That lowered the 19-year-old’s ERA to 1.69 through four games in St. Lucie, and he owns a 3.16 ERA overall in 17 appearances between rookie ball and Low-A.

Irving Cota, who also started the year in rookie ball, threw three perfect innings without striking anyone out. The 20-year-old owns a 2.08 ERA in seven appearances with St. Lucie and a 2.96 ERA in 17 appearances overall.

The St. Lucie season can be put to rest.

Organizational Leaders

Batting

(Among Qualified Players)

AVG – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – .312

OPS – Luke Ritter (SYR) – .881

HR – Luke Ritter (SYR) – 26

SB – Nick Morabito (STL/BRK) – 59

Pitching

(Among Qualified Players)

ERA – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK/BNG) – 2.87

SO – Jonah Tong (STL/BRK/BNG) – 155

WHIP – Brandon Sproat (BRK/BNG/SYR) – 1.08

Players of the Week

Offense – Luke Ritter, IF/OF Syracuse

Luke Ritter has been about as good as you can be for the Syracuse Mets this year. He continued his excellence this past week with three more extra-base hits including his 26th home run of the year. He leads the entire International League in RBIs. The 27-year-old arguably should have been called up by the Mets by now, especially with the rosters expanded in September, but as long as he remains in Syracuse, he’ll continue to keep mashing.

Pitching – Jonah Tong, P Binghamton

Naturally, Jonah Tong is the Mets minor league pitcher of the week after being named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week in his Binghamton Rumble Ponies debut. Tong was sensational through six near-perfect innings, the only baserunner allowed not by his own volition. Like all pitchers do, Tong has experienced ebbs and flows this year, but his flows have been minor and his ebbs have been otherworldly.

The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick in 2022 and has outperformed that draft slot by a mile. Tong is currently ranked as MMO’s no. 7 prospect in the system.

Upcoming Schedule – September 10-15

• Triple-A Syracuse: @ Worcester
• Double-A Binghamton: @ Portland

The post Minors Weekly Report: Jonah Tong Near Perfect in Binghamton Debut appeared first on Metsmerized.

David Peterson. Photo by Ed Delany of MetsmerizedOnline

David Peterson really wants to be in the Mets’ opening rotation.

There might not be a better pitcher in any team’s camp than him right now.

Whether it’s extra motivation or he’s reached what the Mets saw when he was their first-round pick in 2017, Peterson is absolutely dealing on the mound.

On Monday, his flawless spring continued against the Cardinals.

Peterson pitched four innings, allowed one hit, and struck out four. Although his walk count spiked to four even though he threw 40 of 66 pitches for strikes.

“I have mixed feelings about it, good and bad,” Peterson said. “There’s stuff I need to clean up and stuff that I thought I did well, but overall I got my pitches in and thought I did well and felt good about where we are headed.”

This spring, Peterson has pitched 12 innings, struck out 13, allowed zero runs, and a WHIP of 0.75. He’s allowed just one hit, a leadoff bunt single to Brendan Donovan yesterday.

It’s a race between Peterson and Tylor Megill for the rotation spot that opened with Jose Quintana‘s injury. Megill was reported as the Mets favorite in the race but Peterson has outperformed his teammate.

Megill did not start Monday’s game, he came out of the bullpen. It’s possible the Mets see that as a better role for him in the intermediate with the flurry of injuries to the Mets relievers.

Megill’s day was rough. In 3 and 2/3 innings, the Cardinals scored six runs, three earned, and he walked five batters while striking out two.

Maybe more concerning than his location issues was his velocity dip. Megill was down almost two miles per hour on his fastball and there were even greater drops on his off-speed pitches.

“Not my best day to say the least,” Megill said. “I couldn’t really locate a slider today, so that was a big problem and it was a little bit all over the place. I had a good curveball today and threw some good fastballs to the top of the zone, I was trying to work today, but more walks than necessary.”

Megill was not able to generate swing-and-miss stuff. Batters swung 15 times at his fastball and missed twice. They swung seven times at his slider and missed once.

“They are both fine,” manager Buck Showalter said. “They are physically in a good place, they got their pitch count up and I am OK with where both those guys are.”

Megill said his drop in velocity is more due to lasting longer in game but he also attributes it to the more relaxed atmosphere of spring training versus being on the Major League stage.

A six-man rotation is still possible for the Mets, and they’ll have these two piggyback one another next week before making a choice.

“Today I didn’t [pitch] to the best of my ability, so obviously I am going to be more frustrated with myself at that for the result,” Megill said. “But me and Peterson, I’m not thinking about that — just individually, what my performance was.”

The post David Peterson’s Perfect Spring Continues appeared first on Metsmerized.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Team Puerto Rico defeated Team Israel 10-0 in eight innings, throwing the first perfect game in World Baseball Classic history.

Four pitchers, Jose De Leon, Yacksel Rios, Edwin Diaz, and Duane Underwood Jr. combined for the feat.

The Puerto Rican national team reached the 10-run mercy rule threshold in the bottom of the eighth inning. Enrique Hernandez singled on a ground ball to left field to score Martin Maldonado.

WALK OFF. PERFECT GAME.

A historic performance for Team Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 pic.twitter.com/FGKQic4cxH

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 14, 2023

Puerto Rico scored three runs in each the first, second, and fifth innings. Francisco Lindor went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Javier Baez was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Emmanuel Rivera and Eddie Rosario drove in the other two runs.

Puerto Rico Captain Francisco Linder with a bases-clearing triple.

pic.twitter.com/KpqjOgHUVI

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 14, 2023

Of course they couldn’t have done it without the pitching staff.

De Leon pitched the game of his life. Even with the 65-pitch limit, he went 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Rios relieved him to get the final out of the sixth inning, a strikeout.

Diaz made his first appearance in the WBC in the seventh, needing 10 pitches to retire three batters, striking out one. Underwood Jr. closed the game needing 10 pitched himself to get the final three outs.

Puerto Rico is now 2-1 in Pool play and sets itself up well to advance to the quarterfinals.

The post Puerto Rico Throws First Perfect Game In World Baseball Classic History appeared first on Metsmerized.

Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz told Pat Ragazzo of SI FanNation that he believes pending free agent Aaron Judge would be a “perfect” fit for the Mets.

Ortiz, known as Big Papi, is currently working as a Major League Baseball studio analyst for Fox Sports. “I think the Mets should approach (Judge),” Ortiz said. “If I’m the Mets, I would give him $50 million for the next 5-6 years.”

As we’ve noted several times in different articles, one focus offensively for the Mets this offseason should be adding power, and getting the player that just set with American League home run record would certainly achieve that.

Judge, 30, led MLB in runs scored (133), home runs (62), WAR (10.6), OBP (.425), SLG (.686), and OPS+ (211). He also tied Mets slugger Pete Alonso for the MLB lead in RBIs with 131. Judge now has a career .284/.394/.583 slash line with 220 home runs in 729 games with the Yankees.

“(Judge) would be perfect for the Mets because he’d be hitting second in that lineup, and he can play all three outfield spots,” Ortiz said.

The Yankees outfielder added two more home runs in New York’s series win over the Guardians in the Division Series. Judge started this year by turning down a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension from the Yankees that now looks like a great move for him.

One of the Mets’ best players from 2022 and recent seasons, Brandon Nimmo, is also scheduled to be a free agent this offseason. Nimmo, 29, went on to post a 5.0 bWAR in 2022 as he posted a career-high in runs scored (102), doubles (30), and RBIs (64), and tied for the league lead with seven triples. His 130 OPS+ for 2022 was the exact same number he’s had for the entirety of his career. Of course, the big change for Nimmo in recent seasons has been his transformation to a strong defensive center fielder.

Outside of Nimmo and Judge, the free agent market for players that have played center field is weak and the outfield market itself is certainly not going to be enticing for teams in need. As for power or simply good offensive players, the free agent market as a whole this offseason is weak beyond Nimmo and Judge as well.

Unless the Mets make a trade or do something out of the box, you have to imagine they will be a strong player in the outfield market that Judge and Nimmo lead by a wide margin.

The post David Ortiz Believes Aaron Judge is Perfect Fit for Mets appeared first on Metsmerized.

Photo by ED of MMO

Robinson Canó is putting everything together on Sunday afternoon in a big spring game for him.

Canó went 4-for-4 with an RBI as the Mets beat the Marlins 8-4 in their latest Grapefruit League game on Sunday.

Canó had a double and three singles in the game, with his second hit of the afternoon driving in Pete Alonso to score in the third inning.

It was without doubt the veteran’s stand-out performance of spring training so far, raising his batting average to .364 in 22 at-bats in the Grapefruit League.

Perhaps most encouraging, though, was the way Canó went about those at-bats given that he was hitting the ball hard and in the sweet spot on Sunday.

Three of his four hits were struck at 92.4 MPH or harder, which is a sure-fire sign that Canó hasn’t lost any of his power when it comes to swinging the bat.

Robinson Canó went 4-4 today 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/VsoN4VuLQg

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 3, 2022

Having returned from a season-long suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, there were clear question marks over what version of Canó the Mets would be getting in 2022.

The early signs at the plate are good, as are the early signs in the field with the 39-year-old demonstrating the defensive prowess he’s known for.

Having been used at first base as part of a spring training experiment, it is clear that the Mets intend on finding a role for Canó this year, with the .303 career hitter to also get some time at his regular home of second base.

Therefore, the fact that the Robinson Canó Revenge Tour appears to be in full swing can only be viewed as a clear positive for the Mets, who will need their veterans to play leading roles if they are to compete in 2022.

It is also clear that Canó is relishing his role as the renaissance man in the Mets camp, recently taking the time to deliver an infield masterclass to his teammates and coaches and imparting some of his wisdom on to the younger players in the locker room.

All positive signs.

While it is still only spring training, Canó’s ability to rake, get on base, drive in runs, provide offense and still contribute in the field should offer hope that the eight-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger still has something left in the tank to give to the Mets.

He’s still got a long way to go to win back the trust and hearts of Mets fans after the events of 2021, but he’s not off to a bad start at all this spring and Sunday was the perfect reminder of what Canó can do at the plate when he’s dialed in.

The post Robinson Canó Has Perfect Four-Hit Day Against Marlins appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets wasted yet another start from their new ace Johan Santana. That is now five straight losses in games that Johan Santana started. By the time he takes the mound again, it will have been a month since he last won a game.

Santana was clearly frustrated, but tempered his remarks and emphasized that we win and we lose as a team.

"All I know is that they brought me here to do a job and help the team and I have given them my best. It seems like every time I pitch I have to be absolutely perfect, or else we lose. I’m not perfect."

 "There were some tough calls particularly to Jeter and Abreu. They ended up costing us a couple of runs. I told the umpire he needed to be more consistent."

Carlos Beltran had a brutal day at the plate and struck out four times in the game.

"It’s very unfortunate for Santana, because he is one of the best pitchers we have. Every time he pitches we seem to have a problem getting on base and scoring runs. We can’t keep wasting his solid starts like this."

Jose Reyes was picked off of second base with two out and David Wright at the plate.

"It’s over. There is nothing more I can do. It happened. Speed and being aggressive is my game and sometimes that’s what happens. It’s over."

I wanted to share some the post game quotes. I’m trying to understand and read between the lines, but it’s tough to assess the mood of the team. Obviously, even with a managerial change, the Mets continue to be as inconsistent and as puzzling as they were two weeks ago.

As I said many time already, I think the Mets needed to do more than just a managerial change to shake this team up. Trot Nixon and Andy Phillips are not the answer, neither is demoting Claudio Vargas and calling up Carlos Muniz.

Maybe the addition of Ryan Church on Sunday will change the dynamics a little in that clubhouse… I mean it’s gotta help, right?

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