Mark Cohoon Debuts For Bisons

Left-handed pitcher Mark Cohoon has been promoted from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Buffalo, the team announced on Friday. Cohoon got the start for the Bisons on Monday against the Charlotte Knights and had a rocky debut. Cohoon lasted five innings and earned the win, but allowed five earned runs on seven hits. He walked two, hit two batters and struck out one..

Cohoon, 23, was 1-3 with a 3.81 ERA in nine starts and 52.0 innings of work (59 H, 17 BB, 44 K) at Binghamton. The southpaw has worked five or more innings in all but one of his starts and has allowed three of fewer runs in seven of the nine appearances. His 44 strikeouts lead the B-Mets.

Last season, Cohoon made 13 starts at Single-A Savannah and Binghamton. He was a combined 12-5 with a 2.57 ERA (161.1 IP, 142 H, 131 K).

Mets High On Schwinden

Chris Schwinden was kept from his team-high ninth start of the year for the Bisons last week while the Mets considered having him start in R.A. Dickey’s place on Today. That won’t happen now as Dickey convinced Terry Collins he was okay to start. Schwinden, 24, has a 2.36 ERA – the 5th best mark in the International League, and leads the Bisons with three wins and 41 strikeouts. He has limited opponents to 31 hits while walking 14 (two intentionally) and striking out 41 in 45 2/3 innings.

“He’s been doing a great job,” Buffalo manager Tim Teufel said. “This year he seems like he’s coming in with more weapons. He has a curveball now he’s working with, and a changeup. Plus, he’s got that regular fastball and a cut fastball. He almost uses that as a slider. He still needs to mix in his changeup a little bit more, and he showed me a decent curveball. If he can mix all of those pitches up, he’s been very effective up here so far doing that and keeping the hitters off-balance.”

All In The Familia

After posting a 1.49 ERA ERA in six starts with Class A St. Lucie this season, during which he held opponents to 21 hits, eight walks and one homer in 36 1/3 innings, Familia was promoted to Double-A Binghamton. With the B-Mets, the right-hander limited opponents to one unearned run in 14 innings over his first two starts while maintaining mid-90s velocity deep into the outings. He was not quite as effective in his third outing, allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings on Sunday against Harrisburg. Familia was tagged with his first Eastern League loss.

Jeurys Familia’s fastball has been electric for a while. The development of his curveball and changeup has been the most striking difference in the past two to three years, according to Binghamton catcher Kai Gronauer who also caught Familia in the Gulf Coast League and with Savannah.

Harvey Movin’ On Up?

According to Adam Rubin, Matt Harvey is expected to move to Double-A Binghamton as soon as this week.

On Friday, the Mets 2010 first-round pick tossed his best start of the season striking out ten batters and walking one, over seven scoreless innings to improve to 6-2 with a 2.50 ERA on the season.

In 54 innings pitched, Harvey has 62 strikeouts to lead the league while allowing just 18 walks. His 2.50 ERA ranks third in the league and he is tied for the league lead in wins with six. He has held FSL batters to a .228 batting average.

Cory Vaughn Making Noise

Another Met prospect who may be on the verge of a promotion is Savannah outfielder Cory Vaughn. The son of former major leaguer Greg Vaughn is hitting .335 with four homers and 26 RBIs, and has a .466 on-base percentage and .949 OPS in 176 at-bats with the Gnats.

Vaughn is hitting a ridiculous .376/.527/.565 in May with 10 extra-base hits including three home runs – all on the road. Against LHP, the 22-year old is batting .375 with a 1.003 OPS.