Since returning from Tommy John surgery, Bobby Parnell has been excellent. He’s allowed only one run and seven hits during ten innings.

“It was way more difficult than I thought it would be,” Parnell told SNY.TV’s Robert Brender about his year-long recovery from surgery. “The physical side was pretty much laid out, it’s easy to comprehend. But, it’s a mental grind for sure.”

Parnell says he would prefer to close, but he understands why the Mets didn’t want to take Jeurys Familia out of the 9th inning. Familia has been dominant with a 1.25 ERA and 27 saves in 43.1 innings pitched.

Parnell also thinks that it’s a good idea to work in lower leverage situations initially as he continues to work his way back to full strength.

It’s great to see Parnell recover successfully and pitch effectively on the mound. While his fastball isn’t as explosive as it once was, he’s developed himself into a much smarter and intelligent pitcher.

With Parnell, Familia and Jenrry Mejia, who’s returned from suspension, the Mets bullpen could be one of the strongest in the league during the second half.

The post Parnell Is Thriving As A Middle Reliever appeared first on Metsmerized.

There is one essential rule in order to survive the Major League Baseball offseason, don’t believe anything you hear. Especially this week during the Winter Meetings in San Diego, about 90 percent of the rumors you will hear are just that, rumors.

A perfect example of how out-of-control the MLB offseason can get is the twists and turns of free agent starting pitcher Jon Lester. At one point there were eight teams close to signing him then it was down to four with a mystery team that could steal him away from everyone. The Chicago Cubs finally inked him late Tuesday night. Complete and utter madness, it definitely does not help that every person on Twitter has a “reliable source” who has confirmed the signing.

Now to get to our beloved New York Mets. At this point I think it is pretty clear General Manager Sandy Alderson loves to keep the media guessing and always has a new way of saying “It could happen. Probably won’t, but don’t be surprised if it does”. This used to be frustrating but now it is just what we have come to expect from Alderson and it’s rather comical.

What makes matters worse is that every Mets fan knows this is the offseason they have been waiting for. The pitching staff is primed to be one of the best in the National League with the emergence of Jacob deGrom and the return of the Dark Knight aka Matt Harvey.

The Michael Cuddyer signing at the beginning of the offseason gave Mets fans hope that they were really going to get after it this offseason and spend money, well that will not be happening. It is not necessarily a bad thing the Mets will not be spending money considering the price tags that some players come with. For example Nelson Cruz, 34 years old, will be making $14.25 million per year for the next 4 years. He did hit 40 home runs last year but in the American League East where the stadiums cater to hitters, he is also one failed drug test from being suspended for a year.

Alderson, as well as 29 other MLB teams, knows that if the Mets plan on being competitive they have to upgrade the shortstop position. Wilmer Flores is a nice player to have and his defensive shortcomings are over exaggerated but he is not a starting shortstop for a team that has aspirations to win 90 games and that’s coming from someone who believes in Flores. It has proven to be difficult to find a team that is willing to give up a shortstop in a league where above-average players at the position are scarce.

Patience is a virtue in the MLB offseason and if no trade is done at the Winter Meetings it by no means nothing will eventually happen. R.A. Dickey was dealt almost two full weeks after the Winter Meetings had concluded. The asking price for mediocre players is immensely high at the start to see if any team is really desperate, those prices almost always come back down.

This offseason has a very different vibe to it in accordance to the Mets, it seems they have been working on multiple deals while in the process of trying to land the superstar trade no one saw coming. Of course, Alderson or the mostly clueless Terry Collins, whom it seems never talks to front office officials, will never admit that.

Expect at least two of Dillon Gee, Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon to be traded within the next month. Some fans may not like the trades but it is a necessity due to the surplus of young starting pitching the Mets possess. Understanding the value of fan favorites such as these three are harder to gauge because of the sentimental attachment. Most likely none of them are bringing back a top prospect unless Alderson is a magician. The players the Mets get back will be solid and have some type of potential, Alderson is not the type of person to give away players this was exemplified by not trading Colon at the deadline last year.

The moves are coming, they may not be tremendously exciting deals but they will be in an effort to improve the Mets for the upcoming 2015 season, that is one thing we do know.

The post Mets Offseason Has Been A Long And Winding Road Thus Far appeared first on Metsmerized.

Everyone who follows baseball intently knows that it is the most rigorous sport when it comes to making it to the majors after being signed or drafted. Players must perform at several levels of the minors before they are given an opportunity to finally show their skills in the big show.

One prospect has been lighting up the New York Penn League all season and has flown under the radar thus far. Sure, it is tough to project a 19-year old kid. Yes it is only short-season. Still, when a player has such a pronounced skillset, it cannot go ignored and unnoticed.

The prospect in this case is right-hander Marcos Molina, the ace of the Brooklyn Cyclones.  Molina has been perhaps the most dominant pitcher in the league this season, earning the starting nod in the league’s All-Star Game.

Molina is the only starting pitcher in the league with a sub 2.00 ERA, coming in at 1.77. He has proved his ability to put away batters with his arsenal, tallying 91 strikeouts so far this season (to put it into perspective, the next qualifying pitcher has 67 strikeouts). Perhaps even more impressive than the K’s is his league best 0.84 WHIP. Control is often hard to come by for 19-year old pitchers.

A two-seam fastball is the go-to pitch for Molina that sits around 91-93 with lots of natural movement. While scouting reports have indicated that his changeup is a plus pitch, his slider might be the most improved offering he has this season.

“He has thrown it (the slider) to both lefties and righties and gotten called strikes and swings & misses with it,” Stuart Johnson said, the Cyclones radio play-by-play broadcaster.

Keep in mind, that despite leading the NYPL in many of the top pitching metrics, Molina is 2.5 years younger than the average player in the league. It makes his breakthrough season all the more impressive.

“Molina is very athletic and competitive,” Johnson said. “He takes his conditioning very seriously and fields his position well. He is very quick to home plate which makes him tough to run on.”

Johnson also pointed out that Molina tends to be a bit top-heavy, or in other words, he doesn’t use his legs much in his delivery. Throwing like this can sometimes put excess strain on the arm.

The Dominican native did not disappoint on Saturday, striking out 10 batters, his third double-digit strikeout game in his last four outings. Additionally, Molina has allowed three or fewer runs in 11 of his 12 starts this season and is holding the league to a .174 batting average.

This exciting prospect has certainly earned a promotion, but it’s late in the minor league season and he’ll likely stick with the Cyclones for their playoff series.

Molina is definitely someone to watch as the young righty advances through the Mets system. Yet another promising arm in a Mets farm system full of them.

The post Prospect Spotlight: Marcos Molina’s Breakthrough Season appeared first on Metsmerized.

Noah Syndergaard admitted that he doesn’t deserve to pitch for the Mets right now and that it goes beyond his 5.74 ERA this season for Triple-A Las Vegas.

In an interview with Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal, the young right-hander said he’s had to do a lot of growing up, believing he was major league ready during spring camp and counting the days until the Super 2 deadline to make his debut.

“I was thinking about that [Super 2] almost constantly,” he admitted.

Diamond writes that with his celebrity rising to unreasonable heights, Syndergaard succumbed to his own hype as one of baseball’s most heralded prospects. He now realizes that succeeding at the highest level requires more than a 100-mph fastball and a curve, understanding that he lacks the maturity and knowledge which can only be attained with experience.

Initially, Syndergaard believed he was following the same path as Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, but realizes they were older and more polished pitchers. “They were ready at that point. And right now, I don’t think I’m ready.”

You can’t blame the kid. You may remember how upset I was about all the comments from Mets management that we’d see Syndergaard in June or July. I said at the time that it was irresponsible for the front office to put those types of expectations and pressure on a 20-year old pitcher.

I also felt he was being rushed, barely pitching a half season each in Advanced-A and Double-A. What was the big rush, he’s just a kid…

Syndergaard says he still wrestles with the subtle nuances of pitching, the intricacies that separate “throwing” from “pitching.” “I’ve had a hard time knowing what to throw in certain situations,” he said.

I’m just glad that Syndergaard is smart enough to realize that this isn’t a setback, but just a part of the normal development process.

He’s going to be just fine.

(Updated by Joe D.)

June 18

It must have been a nice start to the day on Thursday for Noah Syndergaard, as ESPN’s Keith Law published his Top 50 prospects.  Syndergaard was listed at #16 which is eight spots higher from the preseason rankings.  Thursday night however, wasn’t as pleasant.

Syndergaard was on the mound for the Las Vegas 51’s Thursday night, looking to build on what was arguably his best start of the season his last time out.  It wouldn’t quite go that way, as he lasted five innings giving up seven runs on nine hits, with three walks and five strikeouts.

Salt Lake would get to him early, as they rattled off three straight singles in the first inning that would eventually lead to 3-0 score.  They weren’t playing very gracious hosts as they would add to the lead in the second with two hits, a walk, three stolen bases, and two more runs.

Syndergaard would settle in for the third and fourth innings giving up just two hits.  A combination of Tommy Field’s 2-run home run and a pitch count up to 90 in the fifth would put an end to his night.

Final pitching line from Thursday night: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (90 pitches, 53 strikes)

The 7 Earned runs allowed by Syndergaard are the most he’s allowed in a start since 8/26/13 when he gave up 9 in Double-A Binghamton.

It has been a relatively tough season for one of the top pitching prospects.  I am not the only that had hoped to see Syndergaard pitching for the Mets this summer, but I feel that it finishing out the season in Vegas might be a better option.

The post Syndergaard Admits He’s Not Ready, Has Work To Do appeared first on Metsmerized.

Could JaCoby Jones find himself on the Mets soon?

I had a chance to speak with the always insightful John Dreker who helps run the great site Pirates Prospects. He has scouted, analyzed and interviewed many of the prospects in the Pirates system over the last five years and has a great wealth of knowledge on who’s who and what their prospect status is.

Joe D – Regarding the PTBNL in the Ike Davis trade, if you had to rank your top three probables right now, who would you say they are and rank them in order of probability?

John – If I had to guess I’d say Neil Kozikowski, Blake Taylor, JaCoby Jones are the top three. Cody Dickson a maybe. Can’t imagine anyone else though. I guess Billy Roth could be another option, another Kozikowski-type, high upside, but far away. Should have went before 16th round.

Joe D – I consider you the expert on Pirates prospects, of those first four, where do they rate as far as A-Level or B-Level prospects?

John – All have big upside, Jones the most. I’d rank them all B. Had a scout tell me he didn’t see much in Taylor, but he was only 17. Dickson is really disappointing this year, control issues popping up and lots of hits allowed, but his last start was nice.

Joe D – Thanks again for sharing some of your insights.

John – No problem. Check out our recently posted draft profiles and videos. Put in Michael Conforto and Sean Newcomb before they shot up the charts.

If you’re wondering where the four probable PTBNL’s rank in the Pirates system, here is what I could find.

• Neil Kozikowski, SS was unranked by John Sickels and Jonathon Mayo.
• Blake Taylor, LHP was ranked 19 by John Sickels and unranked by Jonathon Mayo.
• JaCoby Jones, SS/CF was ranked 14 by John Sickels and 20 by Jonathan Mayo.
• Cody Dickson, LHP was ranked 18 by John Sickels and unranked by Jonathan Mayo.

Obviously, the player I hope we get is Jones who actually just fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle last night for Single-A West Virginia in the South Atlantic League.

The 2013 third-rounder hails from LSU and is slashing at .270/.353/.423 with nine doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI in 189 at-bats while playing mostly shortstop and some center field. He’s still very raw, strikes out too much, and needs to find a true defensive home, but he also comes with an excellent tools package that includes a nice blend of contact, hitting for power and speed.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

SNY’s Robert Brender was also kind enough to answer a few questions for me over the weekend and I asked him a question about the upcoming draft.

With the draft coming up in just over a week, is there one or two players you are hoping the Mets walk away with? And how do you view Paul DePodesta’s first three draft classes and his overall philosophy and draft strategy?

The cupboard was pretty bare when DePo started this process three years ago. There was very little depth from top to bottom, although there were certainly a few studs mixed in from the Omar regime. They’ve used the 1st round to draft what they feel is the “best available” player and not worried about high school vs. college.

Guys like Nimmo and Dom Smith take longer to develop, but the payoff could be huge in a few years. Sure, they’ve missed on a few players like Michael Wacha and Jose Fernandez but so did most teams, and that happens.

Overall, they’ve climbed from near the bottom of the league in overall Minor League talent to the top half of baseball and even top 10 in some people’s thinking. That’s a pretty good jump in a short period of time. They have a lot of pitching top to bottom in the system. There are lots of bats at the lower levels, with a few starting to creep into AA and high-A now. Kevin Plawecki could get to AAA this season and Nimmo AA.

The player I hope the Mets take is Jeff Hoffman, the East Carolina right-handed pitcher who is having TJ surgery (or recently had it). By all accounts, he would have been a top four pick before the injury and might slip because of it. With so many pitchers having TJ and the success rate for guys coming back from it, I would have no issue spending the pick on him. Rumor is, he still wants a big pay check, which could be a problem because I’m sure they would prefer to go under slot. #10 is a spot to take the best talent and this isn’t a deep draft, at least not on paper.

I’d like to thank John and Rob for taking some time to answer a few questions for me.

The post Talking About the PTBNL and the Draft with Rob Brender and John Dreker appeared first on Metsmerized.

Lefthander Steven Matz turned in another stellar performance on Thursday as St. Lucie beat Fort Myers by the score of 6-1.

Matz carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning that ended with a two-out bunt single. He ended the night with seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out six.

“My command was there. I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes,” Matz said after the game. “My fastball and changeup and the contrast between the two was really working for me, and I was able to keep them down and in the zone.”

Ranked as the 10th best Mets prospect by MMO, when he wasn’t striking hitters out, Matz was inducing groundball outs including seven consecutive grounders from the first inning through the third.

“I was pretty annoyed” Matz admitted when he was asked about losing his no-hit bid on a bunt. “It was only a 2-0 game then, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Looking on the bright side, I was getting a little tired and it gave me a little adrenaline kick.”

The 22-year old Long Island native finished strong, pitching a perfect seventh and striking out the last batter he faced. “It was a good feeling to get that last punchout to finish the outing,” Matz said.

The hard-throwing lefty has been coming on strong since losing two seasons to Tommy John surgery after being selected in the second round of the 2009 draft. He went 5-6 with a 2.62 ERA in 21 starts last summer.

It’s exciting to see how Matz has evolved after the many setbacks he has endured. His velocity is actually higher now than it was prior to the elbow surgery and the ball just explodes out of his hand.

Surprisingly, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen compared Matz to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw last week, in an interview with MetsBlog contributor Robert Brender. “There is no doubt in my mind,” Warthen said. “I hate to make those comparisons, but I just did.”

Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s one thing when analysts and writers make over-the-top comparisons like that, but that this came from our own pitching coach bothered me. At 22, Kershaw was on his way to the first of two Cy Young awards and three straight ERA titles, not pitching in the Florida State League.

I’ve always believed that these far-fetched comparisons are very unfair and puts undeserved pressure on prospects who rarely – if ever – live up to that kind of hype. If anything, shouldn’t Warthen be the one charged with protecting Matz from expectations like that?

Anyway, the great news is that we have ourselves a tremendous pitching prospect who could develop into something very special for us in the very near future.

I would expect Matz to make his way to Double-A Binghamton within the next 3-4 weeks. We should all look forward to his continued development and even more dazzling performances along the way, like the one on Thursday night.

For more on Matz, MMO minor league analyst David Conde was at the game and has a complete write-up on MetsMinors.net.

The post MMO Prospect Pulse: Steven Matz Takes a No-Hitter into the Sixth appeared first on Metsmerized.

Rob asked Rosenthal about the possibility of the Mets adding another outfielder this week.

“Certainly that would be a possibility. I would be interested in seeing how Chris Young plays next year. Now, he isn’t a great player. Nobody should confuse him with a great player. But, he had to accept a part-time role for the first time last year with Oakland.”

“Clearly, it wasn’t easy for him, as it wouldn’t be easy for most players. I don’t expect him to get 600 plate appearances this year, but it’s one year of this being behind him, so he might be accustomed to it. So, I would expect he would be better than he was last year. He’s not going to be a high average guy or a low strikeout guy. But, he can do some things – he has some power. I think he will be a useful addition for them.”

One possibility that seems to be picking up steam is trading Daniel Murphy to the Yankees in a swap for Brett Gardner. I’ve been asked a lot about that lately.

However, even if the Mets were to pull that deal off, Young would certainly drop into a very limited role and I just don’t see how Sandy could justify that $7.25 million contract if that were to happen.

I did think the Young deal was ill-advised and kind of jumping the gun a little when it happened. Less than 25% of the readers on MMO saw Young as anything more than a platoon guy if I were to take a guess. But when the deal was officially announced, the front office wasted no time in saying that he was an everyday player and even emphasizing that Young would be competing with Juan Lagares for the center field job this Spring.

By the way, Lagares is doing fine and his knee is fine.

The post Mets Could Still Target An Outfielder Despite Chris Young appeared first on Metsmerized.

Updated by Joe D. 6/10

Adam Rubin reports:

Seven weeks after fracturing his left foot, it looks like Travis d’Arnaud finally can shed the protective boot. Otherwise, this is a very odd tweet …

https://twitter.com/Travisdarnaud/statuses/344129757635571712

“I’m all smiles'” he added…

Updated by Satish on 6/3

The Mets official press release stated that d’Arnaud will remain in the boot for a week.

Travis d’Arnaud was seen today at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York for follow up on his fractured toe. Travis was cleared to begin weight bearing rehabilitation, but will remain in a boot for the next week.

Updated by Joe D. on 6/3

Travis D’Arnaud spoke with the New York Post today and told them that he will find out on Tuesday which workouts he’s permitted to start and was not cleared to remove the boot.

“I’ve got to wear the boot still,” d’Arnaud told The Post, adding that he’s unsure of a timeframe for its removal.

He had hoped to receive clearance to begin working out two weeks ago.

“A couple of weeks ago when I found out it was still broken it was real tough to take,” d’Arnaud said. “But there was nothing I could do except go home and relax and make sure my foot healed, and that’s what I did.”

Original Post 8:50 AM

Mets assistant GM John Ricco spoke to reporters and said that catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud is in New York this morning to be reevaluated by team doctors.

D’Arnaud, who suffered a non-displaced fracture of his first metatarsal in April, is still wearing the protective boot. The goal today is that doctors will find his foot sufficiently healed so that he can stop wearing the boot and head to Port St. Lucie to begin rehabbing.

“He hasn’t been able to run or anything like that, so it would really just be getting back into shape at first.

“He’s been able to do some upper body stuff,” Ricco said. “It’s gonna take time for us to know. We have to see where he is at. First things first. He has to be cleared and then we can get him out on the field to see where he is.”

Last year, D’Arnaud suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament in June, and missed the rest of the season. Since then he’s played just 12 Triple-A games in the past calendar year. He was batting .250 before he broke his foot.

GM Sandy Alderson preached caution concerning Travis d’Arnaud on May 22 when he visited Gary Cohen in the SNY broadcast booth. Sandy was concerned that D’Arnaud has played in so few games in the past year due to injuries and said the first priority once D’Arnaud is healthy is getting his body used to playing baseball games again.

The post D’Arnaud Sheds The Boot, Should Begin Regular Workouts Now appeared first on Metsmerized.

Updated by HoJo at 2:15 PM

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, if Travis d’Arnaud is promoted at some point this season whenever the team deems him ready it will not affect John Buck’s playing time at all if he is still producing.

Terry Collins said that both could possibly start in the same game with Buck potentially playing first base. Buck has never played a Major League game at first base.

Now that is what I would call a good problem, but first Travis will need to start pounding the ball in Vegas befiore that happens.

Original Post 1:00 PM

MetsBlog posted an interview by Robert Brender with catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud. Brender spoke to him last night before the game.

Robert Brender: As far as your hitting goes, is there anything in particular you’ve been working on?

Travis d’Arnaud: Just trying not to do too much, just see the ball, hit the ball, keep it as simple as possible.

Robert Brender: This is a league where guys hit the ball out of the ballpark pretty frequently. Do you try to keep that out of your mind?

Travis d’Arnaud: Honestly, you come to some of these parks and in BP you know they go so far and you want to see how far you can hit it but whenever I do that I know I have a problem with over swinging so I know I gotta stay locked in and just not try to do too much.

Robert Brender: You were kept in spring training with the big league team for quite a long time. How was that experience?

Travis d’Arnaud: That was a great experience for me. I got to catch a lot of the pitchers up there. That was tremendous for me and I’m truly thankful for it.

D’Arnaud , 24, is off to a .261 start at Triple-A Las Vegas with a .438 on-base and .391 slugging percentage in 32 plate appearances. He hasn’t homered yet, but has drawn eight walks which accounts for his excellent OBP.

With John Buck providing the Mets with historical and MLB leading production at the plate, and the Mets pitching staff boasting a 4th best team ERA, Travis d’Arnaud will get plenty of time to brew in Triple-A and the Mets won’t be in any rush to start his major league service clock.

The post Mets Will Play Both D’Arnaud and Buck At Same Time If It Comes Down To That appeared first on Metsmerized.