Photo: MiLB.com

I’m not sure about any of you, but I believe but Tomas Nido has been one of the biggest Mets surprises on the farm in the 2016 season. Drafted out of Orangewood Christian School in the 8th round of the 2012 Draft, Tomas Nido was known for his power, and was the battery mate on his travel team with now-major leaguer Robert Whalen (I can’t stop saying this, I’m too proud).

At draft time, his scouting report from Baseball America went like this:

Nido isn’t quite a one-tool player; the Florida State signee has average arm strength. But his calling card is plus-plus raw power, as he has strength and takes a big, powerful swing, generating above-average bat speed. He’s a slow-twitch athlete, and it may be a stretch for him to stay behind the plate. He has a tendency to sell out for power, even though he doesn’t need to with his strength. Nido had late helium and was doing some individual workouts for teams, and if he puts on a power display with wood, he could be drafted highly.

Baseball America was very correct on him selling out for power, which wasn’t a very wise approach, slashing a .246/.286/.336 in his first 218 games with 32 doubles, 2 triples, and 10 homers, and having to play in Brooklyn in both his age 19 and 20 years. In addition, his catching was not very good to start, so he needed to work on that, especially with the arm strength that started out as just average as the above scouting report notes.  The underwhelming performance offensively and defensively caused many to lose faith in him as he entered his age-22 year in St. Lucie.

Photo: Ed Delany

Michael Mayer and I disagreed on whether to add Nido to our Top 80 prospects, I wanted him on, while he wanted him off. I won, and we placed him at No. 74, citing his ceiling, though he had underwhelmed so far. Apparently I wasn’t alone, as MLB’s Jonathan Mayo and Mets Farm Director Ian Levin both stated they were high on him, citing a strong showing in spring training. Now even with a strong spring training a player can underwhelm, such as Angel Manzanarez has, so it means barely anything. However, Nido didn’t stop clubbing after joining High-A St. Lucie.

This year in his age 22 season, Nido is hitting .320/.351/.470 in High-A with 7 homers and 22 doubles. He has set career highs in hits and home runs, and a career low with a 11.9% strikeout percentage, 11.9%, a significant drop-off from last year’s 25.7%. The Florida State League, which he leads in batting average, is notoriously known for being harsh on offense.

Also, on defense, Nido has gone above and beyond, throwing out an excellent 40% of base runners and being a smooth receiver behind the dish. It looks like Nido has turned a corner, and has impressed many, including Baseball Prospectus, who wrote this updated scouting report about him. (FYI, the scale is a 20-80 sliding scale, and they vary in what they indicate, but usually a 50 is above average.)

A report like that is very encouraging, especially since it projects a pretty above-average catcher offensively and defensively, and this coming from an outlet that pulls no punches. So take that for what it’s worth.

Nido abandoned selling out for power and instead opted for contact and trusting his natural strength. His isolated slugging is up to .150, which was .060 up from his previous four year average, and climbing. With his natural power, it may get better as he develops and possibly evolve into 15+ homers, which is superlative for a catcher.

Should Nido continue down this road and hit well in Binghamton, watch his stock rise as he works himself onto the Mets radar. The front office will have a big decision to make as they may have to protect Nido from this upcoming Rule 5 draft. I’m sure the team will also consider sending Nido to the Arizona Fall League, come October.

If Nido’s tools continue to improve and polish up, there may be a better heir to the Mets catching position than what Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki are indicating right now.

The post MMO Prospect Pulse: Tomas Nido Sees His Stock Rising appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Sacramento 6, Las Vegas (24-11) 5

The 51’s were down 6-0 heading to the bottom of the 8th until they would a 5 spot up but Dan Rohlfing struck out swinging as the go-ahead run to end the threat. The loss snapped The 51’s 10-game home winning streak. Kyle Johnson got the night off after having the best game of the year but had a big two-run pinch hit HR in the 8th for his 1st of the year. Matt Reynolds slid into the leadoff spot and went 1-5 scoring a run with his average dipping under .300 (.296) for the first time since April 23rd. Darrell Ceciliani was 1-4 with a runs scored and has now reached base in every game he has started except for two.. Eric Campbell was 1-4 with his 5th double while knocking in his 13th run. MMO fan favorite Travis Taijeron went 0-4 dropping his average to .345 on the season.

Duane Below got just his 2nd start of the year lasting 6 innings giving up six runs on 11 hits (2 HR’s, one from Hunter Pence), one walk, striking out three that resulted in his 2nd loss. Cody Satterwhite pitched two scoreless and Chase Bradford pitched a scoreless 9th inning. Box Score. Steven Matz (4-1, 1.70) takes the hill tonight for the 51’s at 10:05 against Sacramento.

New Hampshire 4, Binghamton (19-15) 3

Jayce Boyd was the offensive star of the night for Binghamton going 2-5 with his 12th double and scoring a run but he grounded into a double play to end the game with the tying run on 2nd. Xorge Carrillo had a nice night too with a single, RBI, R, BB, and is hitting .313 over his last 10 to raise his season average to .295. Gavin Cecchini  was 1-4 with his 15th RBI dropping his average .300 after hitting .243 over his last 10. Newly signed 28-year old Minor League vet David Cooper played 1st base going 0-3 with a walk. Cooper actually played 45 games for the Blue Jays in 2012 and hit .300/.324/.464 in 140 at bats. Jared King, Brandon Nimmo, and T.J. Rivera all went 1-5 on the night.

Luis Cessa started but didn’t have his normal control walking 4 hitters in his 6.1 innings of work. He allowed four runs (three earned) on only four hits while he struck out four including three of them coming via the breaking ball. Cessa hit 96 MPH on the gun twice in the 7th and produced 11 ground ball outs. Adam Kolarek pitched 1.2 perfect innings stretching his scoreless streak to 11 innings allowing only two hits and two walks during that span. Box Score. Michael Fulmer (1-0, 3.60) is coming off his first AA win and is pitching against New Hampshire tonight at 7:05.

Tampa 4, St. Lucie (14-20) 2

Bobby Parnell got the start for the Mets giving up a run on two hits with one strikeout. Parnell got the first batter to ground out on the very first pitch which was a 87 MPH fastball. The 2nd batter struck out swinging on three pitches the final being a sharp breaking ball. Parnell’s first two pitches to Miguel Andujar were 91 MPH fastballs before he gave up a single on what the announcer called a hanging breaking ball. The first pitch the next hitter Mike Ford saw was a 91 MPH fastball down the middle that he lined for an RBI double. Parnell got the next hitter to fly out to LF and hit 92 with his fastball in the at bat. Logan Taylor followed, going 5.2 innings giving up three runs on six hits, three walks, while striking out five. Kelly Secrest threw the final 2.1 innings giving up nothing and striking out two

Catcher Colton Plaia paced the Mets offense with three hits and two RBI’s on the night. He now has a .308/.352/.449 slash line for the year with a .375 average with runners in scoring position. Jeff McNeil collected three more hits for his 15th multi-hit game of the year raising his average to .345 good for 2nd in the FSL. Michael Conforto was 1-4 but his a double for the 3rd straight game. Dominic Smith‘s hot stretch subsided with an 0-4 night. Box Score. St. Lucie Mets take on Charlotte tonight with Robert Whalen (0-2, 2.10) still looking for his first win despite pitching well at 6:30.

Lexington 5, Savannah (12-20) 2

Sand Gnats starter Brad Wieck set career highs in innings pitched at 6.1 and strikeouts at 11 but was not good enough to pick up his 1st win. Wieck allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks while throwing an even 100 pitches (65 strikes).

Luis Guillorme was again in the lead-off spot and again he delivered with two hits, walk, run scored, and his 3rd steal of the year. John Mora batting 2nd had two hits including his 4th double while knocking in his 15th run of the year. Wuilmer Becerra was 0-3 but did manage to collect his 16th RBI with a sac fly in the 4th inning. Box Score. The Sand Gnats play Lexington at 7:05 tonight with Casey Meisner (2-1, 1.70) on the mound.

In very bad injury news Top 10 pitching prospect Marcos Molina was put on the DL with what they are calling an elbow strain. Not going to speculate but hearing elbow is never good and he certainly didn’t pitch like his normal self on Wednesday. Pitcher Jake Kuebler was also put on the DL in St. Lucie with catcher Jeff Glenn being added to the roster in his place. Binghamton’s Dustin Lawley has missed the last three games with a rolled ankle but expects to play as earlier as today after the x-ray came back clean.

In rehab news Parnell and Vic Black are now scheduled to throw on Sunday in Las Vegas.

The post Mets Minor League Recap: Kolarek Runs Scoreless Streak To 11 Innings, Molina To DL With Elbow Strain appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Binghamton 5, Richmond 1
• St. Lucie 6, Fort Myers 5
• Savannah 2, Charleston 0 – Game 1
• Savannah 5, Charleston 3 – Game 2
• Mahoning Valley 2, Brooklyn 1, 12 Innings

Prospect Pipeline

• Brian Burgamy hit his 21st home run on the season, and third in four games.
• Dustin Lawley launched his 20th home run on the season and drove in two runs (59).  In 2013 with St. Lucie, Lawley had 25 home runs and drove in 92 runs.
• Pitcher Tyler Pill had a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning of Binghamton’s victory and is batting .471 (8 for 17) on the season.
• Darrell Ceciliani singled in five at bats to extend his hit streak to eight games.
• Greg Peavey (9-2, 2.58) tossed 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, three walks and struck out four batters to earn his ninth victory on the season.
• Jeremy Hefner lasted only one inning, allowing three runs on three hits, walking two and didn’t strike out a batter. In three starts for St.Lucie, Hefner has given up eight runs on eight hits, in eight innings.
• Maikis De La Cruz continued his hot hitting with two more hits in five at bats on Wednesday. In his last ten games he is batting .390 (16 for 41), eight runs scored, three doubles and six RBI’s.
• Gavin Cecchini finished 3 for 3, with a run scored and in his last ten games he is batting .353 (12 for 34) with five runs scored, three doubles, four RBI’s and seven walks.
• L.J. Mazzilli was 2 for 5 and has six multi-hit games in his last ten games.
• Beck Wheeler threw two shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three to earn his ninth save for St. Lucie.
• In the first game, Robert Whalen (7-0, 1.42) tossed 5.1 shutout innings, allowing four hits, three walks and striking out four batters to earn his seventh victory for Savannah this season. Whalen has not allowed an earned run in his last 12.1 innings pitched. Stay tuned for his exclusive interview with Joe D. this weekend.
• Akeel Morris threw 1.2 shutout innings to close the door for Whalen, and struck out four to earn his 13th save on the season. He also lowered his ERA to 0.72.
• Dominic Smith doubled in two at bats, scored a run, walked and drove in one in game 1. He has only 5 hits in his last 29 at bats.
• Stefan Sabol was 2 for 2, with two runs score, two home runs (8) and drove in four (50) during Savannah’s game two victory.
• John Mora doubled and tripled in five at bats and drove in a run in Brooklyn’s loss.
• Tyler Moore had three hits in four at bats with two doubles.

Minors Transaction

Right handed pitcher Hunter Carnevale was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays organization for cash as reported by Adam Rubin of ESPN NY. Carnevale, 25, a 33rd round pick in 2010 from the University of the Pacific was a combined 4-1 with a 5.59 ERA in 23 relief appearances this season between Savannah and St. Lucie.

Organizational Offensive Leaders

RBI’s

(Photo Credit: Wally Murphy/MMO)

The post Mets Minors Report: Whalen Still Undefeated, Hefner Only Lasts An Inning appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

LAS VEGAS – DAY OFF

Las Vegas had an off day on Wednesday. The 51s are in first place in the Pacific Coast League by 3.5 games with a 15-5 record. Rafael Montero will attempt to lock down his third victory of the season on Thursday.

BINGHAMTON, PORTLAND – PPD

Wednesday night’s tilt against the Portland Sea Dogs was postponed due to inclement weather.Greg Peavey is scheduled to take the mound Thursday evening.

PALM BEACH 3, ST. LUCIE 1

Gabriel Ynoa took the ball and tossed six gutsy innings on Wednesday but suffered his first loss of the season, allowing eight hits without walking a batter. He struck out four in the outing and allowed three earned runs. Even though Ynoa is 2-1 on the season, and his ERA still sits at 5.40.  The St. Lucie offense did not make much noise as they only mustered up one run on five hits. Brandon Nimmo had a rare 0 for 4 performance. Dilson Herrera and T.J. Rivera each collected a hit in four at-bats while Albert Cordero drove in the only run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning to score Aderlin Rodriguez. Steven Matz looks to continue his sizzling start on Thursday night as he takes the hill against the Cardinals at 6:35 pm.

SAVANNAH 3, DELMARVA 2

Savannah’s matchup against Delmarva proved to be a pitcher’s duel as Ricky Knapp turned in an impressive start. He tossed five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits while walking one and striking out eight. It was Akeel Morris who picked up the win, however, as he contributed three scoreless innings, punching out three and walking one. That is now 11.2 scoreless innings for Morris with 19 punch-outs. The game had been tied since the third inning until Savannah’s Victor Cruzado led off the inning with a triple and  Dom Smith drove him in on a sacrifice fly. Matt Oberste picked up two of Savannah’s four hits, both of which were doubles. He also scored a run in the third inning. Robert Whalen looks to continue his impressive start to the season for the Sand Gnats on Thursday.

PLAYER OF THE NIGHT

Both St. Lucie and Savannah were relatively quiet with the bats on Wednesday, which allowed Ricky Knapp to shine in his outing. In five innings pitched, he allowed one earned run on four hits. He fanned eight batters and only walked one. It wasn’t enough to earn the victory but it was still a dazzling performance.

(Photo Credit: Photo by Fred Devyatkin)

The post Mets Farm Report: Akeel Morris Extends Scoreless Streak To 11.2 Innings appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

LAS VEGAS 4, RENO 2

The 51’s tagged young phenom Archie Bradley for four earned runs on seven hits and handed him his second loss of the season. Allan Dykstra had a nice night, going 2 for 3 with three RBI’s. Wilmer Flores went 1 for 4, striking out twice but scoring two runs. Zach Lutz scored a run and had two hits in four at-bats, including a triple. Cesar Puello also had a hit and an RBI in four at-bats. Logan Verrett turned in a gutsy performance to earn the win, allowing ten base runners in five innings. In tossing five innings, he allowed two earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five. Jeff Walters sealed the deal with a perfect ninth to notch his fourth save of the season.

BINGHAMTON, PORTLAND – Postponed (Wet Grounds)

The match-up between the Binghamton Mets and Portland Sea Dogs on Wednesday night was postponed due to wet grounds. Matthew Bowman is scheduled to start today at home against New Hampshire.

JUPITER 8, ST. LUCIE 6

Gabriel Ynoa was roughed up by Jupiter in this one. He allowed six earned runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings while walking three and striking out one. Ynoa looked solid in his first two starts of the season but after this one, his ERA ballooned to 5.79 on the season. Aderlin Rodriguezhad a 2 for 5 night including a triple. He scored a run and drove in two. Dilson Herrera scored two runs and had three hits in five at-bats batting in the lead-off spot. His average is now up to .364 on the season. Who else but Brandon Nimmo had another two hits, adding a walk, a run and an RBI. That’s Nimmo’s sixth multi-hit game in his last seven contests now. His batting average now sits at a gaudy .400. Cam Maron and T.J. Rivera also picked up an RBI apiece.Steven Matz will look to earn his first win of the season as he takes the hill in Fort Myers tonight.

SAVANNAH 4, AUGUSTA 1

Savannah was in cruise control in this one as Robert Whalen spun five beautiful innings only allowing two hits and one unearned run, while striking out six. He improved to 2-0 as his ERA is now 1.00 for the season. Gavin Cecchini is starting to sizzle as he scored two runs and picked up another two hits Wednesday night out of the lead-off spot. Cecchini has now hit safely in six of his last seven games, raising his average to .265. He has even started showing some pop, hitting two doubles in four games. Jeff McNeil, Stefan Sabol and Jared King all picked up RBI’s last night. Dominic Smith went 0 for 4 with a strikeout as his average fell to .163. Robert Gsellman will get the ball tonight.

PLAYER OF THE NIGHT

Robert Whalen of the Savannah Sand Gnats turned in a fantastic performance on Wednesday night, going five innings, only allowing two hits. He struck out six and earned his second win of the season on top of that.

Check out Mets Minors On Deck for today’s probable starters.

(Photo Credit: Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News )

The post Mets Farm Report: Walters Earns 4th Save, Whalen Delivers Strong Performance appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Were talking to Mets pitching prospect Robert Whalen today. Rob was kind enough to take some time to answer a few questions for me.

The soon to be 20 year old righty was selected by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Haines City (Fla.) High School. However, don’t let his low draft selection fool you as he’s quickly climbed up the Mets prospect list thanks to a combination of a killer curve, a great pitching savvy, and a bulldog mentality on the mound.

Robert’s 1.87 ERA was the second-lowest in the Appalachian League last season and was also the best mark in the entire Mets organization. He allowed just one home run all season and allowed three earned runs or less in all but one of his starts while posting a 9.5 K/9 and a 4.5 K/BB.

Without further ado, meet Rob Whalen… 

Joe – Let’s get started, Rob… First off, you’ll be 20 years old in a couple of weeks, so let me be the first to wish you a Happy Birthday. You’ve got to be one of the happiest guys on the planet as you work your way to the major leagues to play for the team you grew up rooting for all your life. If you can put it into words for us, what has this whole experience with the Mets been like for you?

Rob – Thanks Joe I really appreciate it. You definitely hit the nail on the head, Being with this organization has been amazing and very surreal. Growing up rooting for this team, I would always joke around saying I’ll be a Met one day, and for that to actually happen is a dream come true itself.

Joe – Congratulations on such a great 2013 season. You’ve put yourself right onto our top prospects list with a dominating performance at Kingsport that saw you post a team leading 1.87 ERA and 0.926 WHIP. What can you tell us about your season, and what did you learn?

Rob – This season was a lot of fun for so many reasons. Obviously, for personal achievements it was amazing to be able to win the Sterling Award. It was a tremendous honor and something I will never forget.

The biggest thing for me this season was just being happy to be out there pitching again. I didn’t pitch at all after I got drafted so all I cared about was going out there having fun and let the rest take care of itself. As for what I learned, I learned quite a bit from our pitching coach Jonathan Hurst. He was a big part in the development of my sinker and changeup. Two pitches this season that were huge for me.

Joe – There are about 125 pitchers in the entire Mets organization, and out of all of them, Baseball America rated your curveball as the best they’ve seen in the Mets’ system. How did you feel when you first found out?

Rob – When I first found out that Baseball America ranked my curve as the best in the system, I was a little surprised because we have so many pitchers that have tremendous stuff. Obviously I was happy, but I also thought it was funny because so many “reports” after I got drafted said that I had “zero” secondary pitches, and that I’d be “at best, a bullpen arm.” So for me it was kind of like a “Hey, take that!” sort of accomplishment for me to all the doubters.

Joe – You got to play with a lot of talented young players like yourself in Kingsport. Which player impressed you the most and is someone Mets fans should be really excited about? Tell us what impressed you about him.

Rob – I did get a chance to play with some really good players this season in K-Port, the ones that stood out the most to me were OF Victor Cruzado, SS Amed Rosario, 1B Dominic Smith and 1B Zach Mathieu.

I didn’t really know Cruzado too much but he had a great season, one of our most consistent hitters from both sides of the plate, he can run, plays solid defense and just a great guy overall.

Rosario is obviously a big name kid and deservedly so. He has all the tools. He struggled at first, but continued to pick it up as the season went along and that’s what stood out. His confidence never left and he stayed positive and remained a great teammate throughout his struggles.

The same can be said for Zach Mathieu. His numbers weren’t very good, but this kid works his tail off. He was always at the field early doing extra work in the cage, trying to get his swing back on track. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen as fast as he wanted but he works so hard and when it is right, he’s got scary good power and he was by far our best defensive first baseman. For a big guy his footwork around the bag was impressive.

As for Dom, this kid has such a sweet looking swing, the power off his bat is unreal. He’s a great kid and his future is bright.

Joe – What are some of the fun things you did during your offseason? What TV series do you enjoy? Whats’s the best movie you watched in 2013?

Rob – My offseason has been a good one. Quiet and relaxing. Haven’t done a whole lot, but I’m returning to my hometown in Pennsylvania on Jan.22 for a week and I’m excited to see all my old friends and family.

Also, will be doing a pitching clinic for my old travel ball team while I’m there and I’m really looking forward to giving back to those younger kids and try to instill in them some of the great things I’ve learned with the Mets.

As for TV/Movies, I’m a huge Netflix guy. My main shows are Sons Of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, and Dexter. Best movie I saw in 2013 had to be Fast 6. Love the series.

Joe – Have the Mets given you your assignment for this year, do you have a hunch who you’ll be pitching for to start the new season?

Rob – I haven’t heard anything regarding where I’ll be pitching this season. I feel I’m ready for a full season of work and would love to pitch in Savannah this season and ultimately reach High A St.Lucie. Something I believe I can do.

Joe – What are your baseball goals for 2014 and what would you like to improve upon?

Rob – My goals for the 2014 season are simple. They are to stay healthy, make all my starts and keep making strides forward. As long as the ball is in my hand I control my own destiny. I would love to improve my changeup consistency, and command inside. I also have to be quicker in the stretch with runners on first who were getting too good of jumps of me.

Joe – As a Met fan, were you as disappointed in Mike Piazza getting snubbed by the BBWAA as many of our Metsmerized readers were?

Rob – I really feel bad for Piazza. To keep the guy out of the HOF is a shame. It’s all off of pure speculation. Writers have had 7 years to prove he’s used PEDs and they haven’t been able to do so. No excuse not to vote him in. They are playing judge, jury and executioner – and that’s not right.

Joe – I think it’s awesome that you chat with fans on Twitter and embrace the social aspects of it. Do you have any favorite Mets sites that you like to read when you are online?

Rob – I just try to be as interactive as I can be because I know what it’s like to be a Mets fan. I don’t really have a favorite site, I check your site a lot and MetsBlog a little bit, but I try to read blogs that are truthful and are putting out correct information. Y’all do a great job and I enjoy the articles you guys put out!

* * * * * * * *

Rob, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for our readers. I look forward to seeing you pitch again this season as we follow your career with great interest and the hope that your journey takes you all the way to Flushing, NY in the future.

You can all follow Rob on twitter at @RobWhalen38. He’s a fun guy who loves life, baseball and the Mets, oh and the Walking Dead which just made him my new best friend.

(Photo credit: Robert Whalen, polkpreps.com)

The post MMO Exclusive Interview: 2013 Sterling Award Winner, RHP Rob Whalen appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets minor league system is now among the deepest in the majors. The Pirates have more “blue chip” types at the top for now, which makes a difference for most analysts. The Mets on the other hand, only have two “blue chips” in Noah Syndergaard & Travis d’Arnaud with Rafael Montero not having reached that status with the consensus yet (wrongfully so).

But if one of Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, Dilson Herrera or Amed Rosario takes a major step forward in 2014, Syndergaard remains rookie eligible, and a couple of young arms really step up (say, from group of Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, Gabriel Ynoa, Chris Flexen, Robert Whalen, etc.), the Mets system may well be Top 5 in the game next winter. For now, it’s probably No.10 +/- range.

Here is a link to John Sickels’ Top 20 Mets Prospects, entering 2009, exactly five years ago. 

The biggest difference between our system then and our system now is that entering 2009 the Mets had only five prospects who Sickels considered as better than C+, while the Mets entering 2014 have 13 (!) prospects who Sickels considers as better than C+.

Seeing is believing…

With the Marlins having graduated their top two prospects Jose Fernandez and Christian Yelich, the Mets now have the best minor league system in the NL East.

Though the Nationals, Marlins and Braves may have better high-end young talent on their major league roster right now, they’ll all have problems trying to retain those players beyond 2015.

The most positive aspect of the Mets system is its depth, especially in terms of power arms. To give you an example, 5 or 10 or 15 years ago, Jack Leathersich and Jeff Walters both would have been in the mid to back end of our Top 10 Mets prospects. Today, they are borderline Top 20s.

This system has come a long way.

The post Featured Post: Current Mets Minor League System Compared To 2009 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In addition, the Mets announced the 2013 Sterling Awards, emblematic of the Most Valuable Player for each of the organization’s nine minor league affiliates.

Righthanded pitcher Rafael Montero was the Sterling recipient at Las Vegas (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League; righthanded pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Jeff Walters were co-winners at Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League; infielder/outfielder Dustin Lawley was honored at St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League; infielder Jayce Boyd received the award at Savannah (A) of the South Atlantic League; righthanded pitcher Robert Gsellman was honored at Brooklyn (A) of the New York-Penn League; righthanded pitcher Robert Whalen was the recipient for Kingsport (R) of the Appalachian League; first baseman Dominic Smith was selected for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets; outfielder John Mora captured the award for the Dominican Summer League Mets I and lefthanded pitcher Jose Medina received the award for the Dominican Summer League Mets II.

STERLING ORGANIZATIONAL CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR: 1B ALLAN DYKSTRA

Dykstra was named the 2013 Eastern League Most Valuable Player after hitting .274 (102-372) with 22 doubles, 21 home runs, 82 RBI and 56 runs scored. He led the EL in on-base percentage (.436), walks (102) and OPS (.938) and slugging percentage (.503). Dykstra was also tied for fifth in home runs and fourth in RBI. His on-base percentage was the highest in the Eastern League since 2006 and his walk rate (21.1) was also the highest in the EL since 2006. He was selected to the Eastern League postseason All-Star team and was the starting first baseman for the EL All-Star Game on July 10.

STERLING ORGANIZATIONAL CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR: C KEVIN PLAWECKI

Plawecki combined to hit .305 (137-449) with 38 doubles, eight home runs, 80 RBI with a .390 on-base percentage and a .838 OPS in 125 games between Savannah (A) and St. Lucie (A). His .305 mark was the fourth-highest in the organization among full season minor league clubs and his 80 RBI were tied for the fifth-most. Plawecki was a mid-season South Atlantic League All-Star at Savannah where he hit .314 with 24 doubles and 43 RBI in 65 games before being promoted to St. Lucie. He batted .294 with 14 doubles and 37 RBI in 60 Florida State League games.  Plawecki was selected by the Mets in the supplemental first round (35^th overall) in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

STERLING ORGANIZATIONAL PITCHER OF THE YEAR: RHP GABRIEL YNOA

Ynoa won 17 games, including two in the postseason to help lead Savannah to the South Atlantic League championship. The righthander led Mets minor leaguers with 15 wins, which also led the SAL. Ynoa posted a 2.72 ERA, the fourth-best mark in the SAL and was the lowest ERA among full-season Mets pitchers. He went 15-4 with a 2.72 ERA (41 earned runs/135.2 innings) in 22 regular season starts for the Sand Gnats. Ynoa was named the South Atlantic League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher. He issued only 16 walks and struck out 106. In the postseason, the 6-2, 158-pounder was 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA (two earned runs/14.2 innings) with nine strikeouts in two postseason starts. He was named to the mid-season South Atlantic League All-Star team.

2013 STERLING AWARDS

LAS VEGAS (AAA) OF THE PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE: RHP RAFAEL MONTERO

Montero was named to Baseball America’s first team Minor League Baseball All-Star team. He went 12-7 with a 2.78 ERA (48 earned runs/155.1 innings) in 27 starts between Binghamton (AA) and Las Vegas (AAA). This was Montero’s third year in the organization and his third Sterling Award – he was named the Organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and was the recipient at Gulf Coast in 2011. Montero, 22, led all Mets minor leaguers with 150 strikeout while allowing just six home runs and issuing 35 walks. He started the 2013 Futures Game at Citi Field and pitched a scoreless inning for the World Team. Montero became the first pitcher from any organization to make a start in the Dominican Summer League and then make a start in Triple-A two years later.

BINGHAMTON (AA) OF THE EASTERN LEAGUE: RHP NOAH SYNDERGAARD

Syndergaard was 9-4 with 133 strikeouts in 117.2 innings in 23 starts between St. Lucie (A) and Binghamton (AA). He had the second-most strikeouts in the organization behind Montero and was named to the mid-season Florida State League All-Star team. He went 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 54.0 innings over 11 starts with the BMets. Syndergaard, 21, started and hurled a scoreless inning for Team USA in the 2013 Futures Game at Citi Field. According to FanGraphs, his 2.73 kwERA which accounts for strikeout and walk rates was the fourth-best among all minor league pitchers.

BINGHAMTON (AA) OF THE EASTERN LEAGUE: RHP JEFF WALTERS

Walters set a Binghamton franchise record with 38 saves which also led all of minor league baseball in his first year as a closer. He was 4-3 with a 2.09 ERA (13 earned runs/56.0 innings) and 60 strikeouts in 53 games for the BMets. Walters was named to the mid-season and end of the year Eastern League All-Star teams. His 38 saves were the most since 2006 in the Eastern League. The Orlando, Fla. native held opponents to a .224 batting average and posted a 9.64 strikeout per nine innings rate.

ST. LUCIE (A) OF THE FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE: OF DUSTIN LAWLEY

Lawley led the organization in home runs (26) and RBI (96). Lawley led the Florida State League with 25 home runs, was second in the FSL with 92 RBI and tied for third with 33 doubles while hitting .260 (122-469) in 122 games with St. Lucie. Lawley also led the Florida State League in slugging (.512) and was fourth with a .825 OPS. He hit one home run and drove in four runs in six games with Las Vegas (AAA). He was named to the mid-season Florida State League All-Star team.

SAVANNAH (A) OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE: 1B JAYCE BOYD

Boyd hit an organizational-high .330 (151-458) this year, splitting his season between Savannah (A) and St. Lucie (A).  The 6-3, 200-pound native of Cantonment, FL, hit .361 (90-249) with five home runs, 46 RBI and better than a walk per strikeout (35 walks/32 strikeouts) in 65 games for the Sand Gnats. Boyd was a South Atlantic League All-Star and earned a promotion to St. Lucie, where he hit .292 (61-209) with four home runs and 37 RBI in 58 contests. The Mets selected the 22-year-old out of Florida State University in 2012.

BROOKLYN (A) OF THE NEW YORK-PENN LEAGUE: RHP ROBERT GSELLMAN

Gsellman pitched at three different levels this season, combining to go 6-6 with a 2.58 ERA (31 earned runs/108.0 innings) in 19 games, 19 starts at Brooklyn, Savannah and St. Lucie. The 6-4, 200-pounder began his season with St. Lucie, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (three earned runs/9.0 innings) in two starts. He later pitched in the South Atlantic League with the Sand Gnats, making five starts and going 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA (12 earned runs/29.0 innings).  The native of Santa Monica, CA, finished his season in the New York-Penn League, compiling a 2.06 ERA (16 earned runs/70.0 innings) and a 3-3 record in 12 games, all starts. The 20-year-old was the New York-Penn League Pitcher of the Week for the period ending on August 25 after he fanned a career-best 13 on August 24 at Vermont.

KINGSPORT (R) OF THE APPLACHIAN LEAGUE: RHP ROBERT WHALEN

Whalen’s 1.87 ERA (15 earned runs/72.1 innings) was the second-lowest in the Appalachian League and the best mark in the Mets organization.  The 19-year-old righthander finished 3-2 in 12 games, all starts, for Kingsport, and struck out better than a batter per inning (76 strikeouts/72.1 innings).  A native of Stroudsburg, PA, Whalen allowed one home run all season and allowed three earned runs or less in all but one of his starts. Whalen was the organization’s 12^th round pick in the 2012 First Year Player Draft.

GULF COAST LEAGUE (R): 1B DOMINIC SMITH

The 11^th overall pick in this season’s First-Year Player Draft, Smith hit .287 (48-167) with three home runs and a .384 on-base percentage in 48 games for the GCL Mets. He earned a late season promotion to Kingsport, and had four doubles in six at-bats over three games with the K-Mets.  The 6-0, 185-pound native of Los Angeles, CA, finished the season with a combined .301 (52-173) batting average, good for seventh in the organization. The 18-year-old was drafted out of Serra High School.

METS DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE #1: OF JOHN MORA

Mora hit a combined .310 (75-242) this season between the DSL #1 Mets and DSL #2 Mets. The 5-10, 165-pound outfielder added 20 extra-base hits (15 doubles and five triples) and 46 RBI. Mora began the season with DSL #1 and hit .297 (41-138) for in 37 games and stole 12 bases. He finished the year with DSL #2, batting .327 (34-104) in 31 games, and finished with more walks (14) than strikeouts (13).  The 20-year-old, a native San Juan de la Maguana, DR, was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2011.

METS DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE #2: LHP JOSE MEDINA

Medina made his professional debut this season and compiled a 0.35 ERA (two earned runs/52.0 innings), the lowest mark in all of the minor leagues among pitchers with at least 50.0 innings. Medina finished the year 2-0 in 12 games, all starts, allowing 35 hits while striking out 41 and walking six. The native of Culiacan Rosales, Mexico did not allow a home run, and was scored upon in four of his 12 appearances (five total runs). The 17-year-old was signed as a non-drafted free agent last year.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding young men who played their hearts out in 2013.

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Mets shortstop Amed Rosario was named the Appalachian League’s top prospect by Baseball America. Clint Longenecker also ranked righthanders Robert Whalen (#15) and Chris Flexen (#19) to round out his top twenty.

BA writes that Rosario showed “star potential” in his debut season and said he is an exceptional athlete with above-average speed.

“He could be a star,” a scout said. “He is 17 and can drive the ball to right-center field like a man. He has very good feel to hit and his swing generates a lot of leverage. I think he can have 20-25 home run power. I think he can be a shortstop because he has all the tools and he can run.”

Rosario makes things look easy defensively, showing good feet around the bag and the range and body control to make any play at shortstop. He has good hands and a plus arm with the ability to throw from all angles. Managers expect him to reduce his error total with experience and they say he could remain at shortstop, but he could also profile at third base as he fills out.

Rosario also drew rave reviews for his hitting ability. He has above-average bat speed with natural whip and a rare ability to drive the ball and create loud contact for his age, and he excels at hitting to the opposite field. He will need to shorten his stroke, improve on handling pitches on the inner half and polish his strike-zone discipline.

The Mets shelled out $1.75 million for Rosario last year, which was the highest bonus they have ever paid out to an International free agent. He was ranked 11th on Baseball America’s list of International Prospects at the time.

Tim Gilbert wrote:

The Dominican shortstop has come into his own playing for the advanced rookie league Kingsport Mets this season. After a rough start to the year in which Rosario hit .200 through July 14, he truly found his bat and hit .292/.311/.460 the rest of the way. Such improved levels of production out of a 17 year old teenager point to his immense potential and upside if he stays focused.

Here is what Baseball America posted on our promising righthanders Whalen and Flexen…

Rob Whalen

Mets fine-tuned his mechanics, and those tweaks, combined with a professional throwing program, helped him rediscover his stuff and finish second in the league ERA.

Whalen showed a low-90s fastball that touched 94 mph with above-average movement, and the incorporation of a sinker in addition to his four-seam fastball gave him a 2.4-to-1 groundout-to-flyout ratio. He has an advanced ability to throw strikes, and his offspeed stuff played up because of it, allowing him to use it in fastball counts. He throws a changeup, curveball and slider, and the best of the three is a high-70s curveball with three-quarters tilt that is consistently above-average.

Chris Flexen

He has an average fastball that sits in the low 90s, and his velocity could improve as he matures. He gets good downhill plane, though the pitch can lack life.

Flexen has a solid-average curveball that has improved dramatically, with good depth and late tilt. He also throws an average changeup and a slider. With command of three average or better offerings, polish and a delivery that offers deception, he should advance as a starter.

We’ve been extolling the virtues of these two all season long on MMO and MMN as both turned in a pair of impressive seasons for Kingsport.

It’s exciting to see the new-found respect our minor league system is getting. The Mets now have a system speckled with high upside prospects at each level and many of them forged their way to the majors in 2013. We’ve been waiting a long time to get to this point.

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If there’s anything we’ve become good at these last four years it’s saying “just wait till 2014, 2015, etc.” More specifically, yet ironically lacking specifics, is that we generally say “We’re building for the future” and “Next year.” There’s always this concept of a Master Plan, or something resembling the religious concept of Intelligent Design–that Sandy Alderson has been building this team from the farm up, evolving our philosophies, shifting our statistical focus, and player management.

When it all comes down to it, each year could’ve been “our year” since Alderson’s taken over. There was always a fluke chance of everything suddenly falling together, even with a ragtag team, and our Mets showing signs of climbing from their rut. While the 2006 Mets saw huge years from Delgado and Beltran, we can’t forget that Wright and Reyes were only 23 years old, that we had Jose Valentin starting, and Xavier Nady as our starting right fielder. My point is, sometimes things fall nicely into place, and sometimes, as we’ve seen: they can fall into place one year, and then hit a downward spiral of injuries.

So when we look at 2014, we should consider that our pitching staff in the glorious year that was 2006 featured the likes of Tom Glavine (15-7, 3.82 ERA), Steve Trachsel (15-8, 4.97 ERA), Pedro Martinez (9-8, 4.48 ERA), El Duque (9-7, 4.09 ERA), and John Maine (6-5, 3.60 ERA). They all had pretty nice-looking records, but their ERAs show that they were saved by teammates who scored at a ridiculous clip (i.e: a majority of them having career years).

Compare that to our pitchers this year, albeit with almost no run support and the all-too-often bullpen flaws early on: Matt Harvey (9-5, 2.27 ERA), Zack Wheeler (7-5, 3.42 ERA), Dillon Gee (12-10, 3.54 ERA), Jonathon Niese (7-8, 3.81 ERA). Obviously, I’m neglecting to include those who aren’t going to be part of our future starting rotation (but let’s not forget Jenrry Mejia 1-2, 2.30 ERA in 5 starts).

We have Rafael Montero, Noah Syndergaard, and Jacob deGrom on their way, as soon as 2014 for all three. We have so much solid pitching depth throughout the organization that it would make other teams cry for their futures against us (Steven Matz, Gabriel Ynoa, Darin Gorski, Jacob Lugo, Robert Whalen, Chris Flexen).

Honestly, we should have solid pitching for years to come. As for the lineup in 2014, we shouldn’t be underselling the talent our “rookies” have. They’re getting their feet wet for the first time in the majors, and will then spend the off-season figuring out how to adjust.

A roster that includes David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Matt den Dekker, Juan Lagares, Wilmer Flores, Travis d’Arnaud, and Wilfredo Tovar would be incredibly talented defensively, and stocked with line drive, gap-to-gap hitters. Wright, Murphy, MdD,TdA and Flores are all very capable of between 12-20 home runs. What’s even more impressive is the age of a roster like that: 30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 24, 22.

That group of guys still allows for an outside addition if need be, but I definitely believe that those guys (presuming that Tovar can prove he belongs–he’s already shown he’s the only player who can drop a sac bunt, apparently).

As for offensive help from within, there’s still the likes of Kevin Plawecki, Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, Dustin Lawley (who IS a power hitter), Allan Dykstra, Cesar Puello, etc. We aren’t as completely void offensively as fans like to think. Just because we don’t have a #1 draft pick, doesn’t mean we haven’t reaped the benefits of some talented kids.

The point is: here comes the future. That one we’ve been waiting for with bated breath. There WILL be talented players in Citi Field next year, not just infamous ReplaceMets/AAAA Mets. And there will be good teams to root for and enjoy for years to come.

Obviously, this post shouldn’t be misconstrued as comparing the 2006 team to any future Mets team, next year or thereafter. The idea is to show the potential our team could have for the future. The idea is to show how break out years, career years, or just expected years can put everything right back on track. I’m not saying to expect someone to fill the Delgado role, the Beltran role, the Floyd role, the Reyes role–no. What I’m saying is that the talent, the youth, the drive to succeed and be great is there.

Like we say after every season: just wait til next year. And this time, we should be right.

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