metbaseball

GCL Mets Second Worst Hitting Team

2011-08-28T13:42:00.003-04:00

The GCL Mets had big problems getting hits this past season. Of the league's 15 teams, the Mets ranked next to last in hitting, batting only .229. The GCL average in hitting was .248.

Hopefully, this off-season Mets management will try to determine how much of the team's poor hitting performance was due to the hitter's ability versus the hitting coach's skill and correct the problem.

The highest-ranking Mets hitter was Sneider Batista. He ranked 47th in individual batting, hitting only .240, 115 points below the league leader.

Interestingly, the Yankees had the top-hitting team, which hit .298.

Verrett Won't Pitch This Season for Mets

2011-08-24T16:32:00.002-04:00

Someone tweeted Logan Verrett, the Mets third-round draft choice, and asked him if he expects to pitch this season for a Mets farm team. Here's Verrett's response: "Taking it slow right now. Possible bullpens at instructional league."
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On the GCL Mets, recently signed Philip Evans is off to a much better start with the bat than top-choice Brandon Nimmo, though Nimmo did drive one out of the park today in his last at bat. In his two prior games, Nimmo struck out seven times in eight at bats, which made me wonder whether the Mets overrated him in the draft. Nimmo's now hitting only .182. In contrast, Evans went 2 for 4 today and is batting .429.

Though drafted in the 15th round, Evans received $650,000 to sign which, according to the New York Times, is "the most they have given a player selected after the second round."
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The GCL Mets got slammed today, 13-2. Their pitchers did too good a job of hitting Nats bats led by Craig Missigman, who in two innings enabled seven runners to cross the plate. Before today's game, his ERA was 3.86; after, 5.48. When you haven't pitched many innings, one bad outing can skyrocket your ERA.
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Nick Evans, who's been on a merry-go-round this season between the Mets and the minors, had a memorable day with the bat, singling, doubling, and homering in the Mets game against the Phils.

Is Flores "Wasting His Time" at Shortstop?

2011-08-21T08:34:00.000-04:00

In a Baseball America article, Ben Badler wrote that Wilmer "Flores is a two-tool guy (hit and throw) who's wasting his time pretending to be a shortstop." In his four minor league seasons, Wilmer has made 77 errors at shortstop with a fielding percentage of .959.

In a New York Times article published in 2009, Ben Shpigel wrote that "the Mets will not consider changing his position until he is almost ready to reach the majors"; however, that was when Minaya was GM. Hopefully, the Mets current GM, Sandy Alderson, will shift Flores' position before "he is almost ready to reach the majors," possibly to a corner outfield position.

Brandon Nimmo's Pro Debut

2011-08-19T16:45:00.003-04:00

Brandon Nimmo's pro debut with the GCL Mets won't rattle any records in the record book. He had one hit in six at bats, a single.

Here's how he did in each at bat. The number in parenthesis represents the inning of his at bat.

Nimmo
(1) strikes out swinging.
(3) flies out to center field.
(5) singles on a line drive to right field.
(6) grounds out to shortstop.
(7) grounds out to shortstop.
(9) flies out to center field.

Nimmo's Introduction to Pro Ball

2011-08-17T09:06:00.000-04:00

It appears that Brandon Nimmo, the Mets first draft choice in 2011 will be joining the GCL Mets; however, I don't have high expectations about his performance with them this season. It's a big jump from high school ball to pro ball, even to a Rookie League team, as Joe Tuschak has discovered. Further, Nimmo will be joining a team that's not hitting well.

On the left below are the batting averages for the GCL Mets position players who played in the August 16 game. The average for those 11 players is just .215. The second-lowest average, .188, belongs to

Joe Tuschak, whom the Mets drafted in the sixth round in 2011 out of Northern High School in Pennsylvania where, in his senior season, he hit .473 with a .903 slugging average. And in his junior season, he hit .540.

Tuschak isn't the only GCL player struggling with the bat. The team is hitting only .227, which ranks them fourth from the bottom in the Gulf Coast League, which has 15 teams. The league average is .245.

Given Tuschak's and the other GCL Mets batters problems at the plate, I wouldn't be surprised if Nimmo's average is in the same range as theirs. It takes a lot of players time to adjust to pro ball, and Nimmo's starting his career when the season's almost over.

Diehl Expects to Play This Season

2011-08-16T12:44:00.000-04:00

Interesting article on Jeff Diehl, the Mets 23rd round draft pick in 2011.

Good News from the Mets Website

2011-08-16T08:43:00.000-04:00

Finally!

Link to source.

Last Day Mets Signing Update

2011-08-15T16:14:00.001-04:00

According to Jim Callis, the Mets have signed Phillip Evans for $650k. They drafted him in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

What Mets Will Get If Nimmo Doesn't Sign

2011-08-15T12:56:00.006-04:00

With the deadline nearing for Brandon Nimmo to decided whether to join the Mets, here's what Jonathan Mayo says the Mets will get if Nimmo doesn't sign:

A team that does not sign its first- or second-round pick will receive a compensatory pick in the 2012 Draft. That selection will be made at the same slot, plus one. In other words, if a team doesn't sign the No. 9 overall pick, it would receive the No. 10 pick -- technically No. 9A -- the following year.

So if Nimmo doesn't sign, the Mets will be in an excellent draft position next year.

Here's a signing update from redraiders.com:

Texas Tech football player Bradley Marquez on Sunday signed a contract to play pro baseball with the New York Mets and announced plans to continue pursuing both sports.

The Mets drafted Marquez in the 16th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

More news on the Marquez signing

Cordero, Lawley, & Pron Excel in Last 10

2011-08-15T08:53:00.001-04:00

Not many players can boast about hitting .472 in their last 10 games. Even Ted Williams would be proud of that average. But that's what Albert Cordero has been able to do. In yesterday's Sand Gnats game, Cordero got two hits in four at bats. Both were extra base hits.

Cordero's not the only Mets prospect slamming the ball. In Kingsport, Dustin Lawley went 4 for 4 and scored four times. In Lawley's last 10, he's hit .378 with an OPS of 1.004. And Lawley's teammate, Greg Pron, went 3 for 4. In his last 10, he's hit .400 despite striking out 14 times in 40 at bats.

Now, some bad news. According to ESPN, the Mets pitching staff ranks 22nd in ERA, 21st in quality starts, 22nd in WHIP, and 22nd in Batting Average Against (BAA). To compound the team's pitching problems, in August through August 14, the ERA of the Mets relievers was 5.72: they won two and lost four. Jason Isringhausen had the highest ERA: 11.25.

Kolarek Continues Domination of SAL Hitters

2011-08-13T10:13:00.002-04:00

After being demoted from St. Lucie to Savannah earlier this season, Adam Kolarek has dominated South Atlantic League hitters. Yesterday, the 22-year-old pitched five innings, allowing only two hits and a run while striking out six.

Though he doesn't have enough innings pitched to qualify for listing in the league's pitching stats, his ERA is more than one run less than everyone who is listed.

The left-hander was selected in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

Most Mets Draftees Will Never Make It to the Majors

2011-08-12T15:08:00.002-04:00

I don't get overly excited by Mets draft picks -- and which ones they don't sign -- anymore.

Here's why:

DeShields' first pro season has been a mammoth struggle. The eighth overall pick in 2010 has slumped to a .220/.301/.308 batting line with low Class A Lexington after going 1-for-20 with eight whiffs this week.

The above quote is from Baseball America. Delino DeShields plays second base for the Astros.

Here's a second reason. According to High School Baseball Web, "only 5 to 6 percent of drafted players ever play a day in the major leagues."

Finally, an article in Baseball Prospectus states that in 31 drafts since 1978, 51% of the players drafted in the first two rounds have made it to the major leagues. That means that almost half of those draftees didn't make it to the majors.

Cordero Tops .500

2011-08-11T08:34:00.001-04:00

In his last 10 games, Savannah's Albert Cordero has averaged .513. Eight of those games have been multi-hit, and in three of the last five he got three hits. Further, he didn't strike out once and has an OPS of 1.315. He's been especially effective in home games, batting .344, which is 117 points higher than he's hitting on the road.

In contrast, 2010 third-round pick Blake Forsythe is again struggling with the bat. In his last 10, he hit .243 and struck out 16 times. This season, the right-handed batter has only been able to hit .218 against lefties. Surprisingly, he's hitting 94 points higher in away games. At home, he's batting only .190.

Both players are on the roster as catchers. Just from the numbers, Cordero should be behind the plate in home games and Forsythe in the away games.

Mets Draft Signing Suspense Heightens

2011-08-10T08:36:00.000-04:00

With five days left to sign them, 16 of the Mets 2011 draft choices remained unsigned including their first choice (Brandon Nimmo), their third-round selection (Logan Verrett), and their 11th and 12th round picks (Christian Montgomery and Kenny Mathews). All the unsigneds but Verrett were drafted out of high school.

According to Baseball America, of the 33 first-round picks, only nine have signed, with only two of the players drafted before Nimmo signed.

Wheelers Pitch Well; Fulmer Loses First

2011-08-08T16:47:00.000-04:00

The Mets two Wheelers both had good outings in their latest games.

Yesterday, Zack Wheeler pitched six innings for the St. Lucie Mets, surrendering four hits and no runs while striking out seven without a walk. His groundout to flyout ratio was particularly impressive, 8:1.

Today, Beck Wheeler pitched another inning of shutout ball for the GCL Mets. The lone batter he walked was the only one to get on base. In 16.2 innings over 11 games, he's given up only one run, and it was unearned. In the same game, the Mets second first-round draft choice this year, Michael Fulmer, made his Mets debut and lasted only two-thirds on an innings. He didn't give up a hit; however, three walks, a wild pitch, and a throwing error contributed to two runs crossing the plate and giving Fulmer his first pro loss.

On a positive note, in yesterday's GCL Mets game another 2011 high school draftee (10th round), Matt Budgell, pitched well: four innings, two hits one unearned run, one walk. After nine innings, his ERA is 1.00, and he's walked only two batters. This webpage contains some interesting information on him.

Missigman Gives Up Four Runs, No Hits in GCL Mets Game

2011-08-07T07:49:00.009-04:00

Craig Missigman had a misleading outing in yesterday's GCL Mets game against the Astros on the day after his eighteenth birthday.

Here's his line:

Missigman started off well, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the first inning.

In the second, after getting the first batter to ground out, he walked the second batter and then gets the second out on a force out, with the third batter now on first base. A steal and a wild pitch advanced that runner to third. Missigman then walks the next batter, who steals second, putting runners on second and third with two outs. A fielder's choice out ends the end; however, a runner scores, so the GCL Mets are down one.

In the bottom of the third, Missigman walks the first two batters. A bunt loads the bases. A sacrifice fly scores the Astros second run. After striking out the next batter for the second out, Missigman's pulled from the game, replaced by Isaac Monrroy.

Monrroy gives up a double that scores two runs, both of which are charged to Missigman. To me, that's a scoring flaw. Though Missigman put both runners who scored on base, it was Monrroy's action that scored them, thus Monrroy should share the result. One way to do that would be to charge both Missigman and Monrroy with a run. Another would be to create a new statistic, "runners scored while on the mound" or RCOM, that would supplement ERA.

A weird coincidence for those who are superstitious is that Missigman faced 13 batters.

** Despite his high ERA of 5.79 this season (6 games, 14 IP), his first in pro ball, opposing batters are only hitting .149 against him.

Time to Promote Mateo?

2011-08-06T10:52:00.001-04:00

It's time for the Mets to promote Luis Mateo from the Dominican Summer League to the GCL Mets to see how good the pitcher really is. (The GCL Mets season doesn't end until August 27.)

In the DSL, Mateo has a 5-1 record with a 1.46 ERA. Even better is his WHIP of 0.65, which is the best in the DSL.

In 49.1 innings, he has struck out 61 batters while walking only three. Three! Opponents are hitting .168 against the 21-year-old.

Earlier this season, the Mets promoted another DSL pitcher, Rafael Montero, to the GCL Mets. In the DSL, the 20-year-old had a 1.00 ERA, a 0.39 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts with no walks. In 31 innings with the GCL Mets, he has a 1.45 ERA and 32 strikeouts with six walks.

Two GCL Mets Pitchers Excel

2011-08-04T19:38:00.001-04:00

The GCL Mets defeated the GCL Nationals today, 2-1, thanks to the pitching of Gabriel Ynoa. Ynoa pitched six innings, yielding five hits and one run. In 41 innings (eight games), the 18-year-old, who just turned 18 in May, has a 2.63 ERA, striking out 18 while walking only three. His ERA is the tenth best in the Gulf Coast League.

He would have been even more successful if he didn't have to face left-handed batters, as the stats below indicate.

This is Ynoa's second season in the Mets organization. Last year he pitched in the Dominican Summer League. In 72.1 innings he had a 1.99 ERA.

What makes Ynoa's success even more interesting is that the 6'2" right-hander weighs only 158 pounds.

After Ynoa pitched today, the Mets other Wheeler (Beck) pitched an inning of shutout ball. He's yet to yield an earned run in 15.2 innings while giving up only five hits. A year older than Zack, Beck's performance this season, his first in pro ball, also demands attention.

Highlights (Mostly) of Yesterday's Mets Minor League Games

2011-08-01T09:10:00.002-04:00

Cory Mazzoni pitched another inning for the Cyclones, facing four batters. He struck out three, hit one. Two Cyclones continue to struggle with the bat: Carlos Leyva is hitting .154 and Xorge Carillo is hitting .186.
In Kingsport, Greg Pron had another extra-base hit, a double, upping his average to .303. His slugging average is now .525.
Savannah outfielder Alonzo Harris went 5 for 5 with two doubles. In his last 10 games, he's hit .417 with a slugging average of .778 and an OPS of 1.210. This is the 21-year-old's fourth season in the Mets organization.
The Sand Gnats' Blake Forsythe's also hit much better in the last 10 than he had before then, averaging .333; however, he continues to strike out too much, 14 in his last 33 at bats. In those games, his slugging average also jumped. It was .590; however, for the season, it's only .396. Another Gnats catcher, Albert Cordero, has the same average in his last 10 as Forsythe. Both had two hits yesterday. Maybe Cordero's success with the bat is motivating Forsythe.
Speaking of strikeouts, Matt Den Dekker had three in four at bats, upping his B-Mets total to 53 in 40 games. He's not having the hitting success with the B-Mets that he had at St. Lucie.
Finally, Zack Wheeler is scheduled to make his St. Lucie debut today. The player the Mets appear to have passed on in the Beltran trade, Gary Brown, continues to burn up the California League, hitting .432 in his last 10 and having a two-hit game in each of his last four. Plus in those 10, he has only one strikeout.

A Quick Look at Josh Satin and Reese Havens

2011-07-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

Josh Satin has quickly figured out how to hit Triple-A pitching. After eight games with the Buffalo Bisons, Satin's hitting at a .355 pace. The 26-year-old might make it onto the Mets roster before this season ends.

In contrast, in Binghamton, Reese Havens is still trying to figure out how to hit Double-A pitching. Touted by some as one of the best Mets hitting prospects, Havens is only hitting .265 this season though he hit .294 in his last 10. His plus over Satin is that he's two years younger.

Mets Get Giants Top Pitching Prospect

2011-07-28T11:26:00.004-04:00

Though the Mets didn't get Gary Brown for Beltran, they did succeed in getting San Francisco's top pitching prospect, Zach Wheeler. Though armed with a fastball that's reached 98 mph, Wheeler hasn't lit up the Minor Leagues in his two seasons in it. This season with San Jose in the California League, which is at the same level as the Florida State League, Wheeler ranks 11th in ERA.

The right-hander has had much more success against lefties than righties. His ERA against righties is 2.93; whereas, against lefties it's 6.41. That's makes me wonder about the quality of his secondary pitches. Another fact I've observed is that, from the numbers, he hasn't improved since the season began though he's been with the same team.

Here are his ERAs for the season's first four months.

April: 3.38
May:   3.45
June:  4.24
July:  4.43

Further, before the league's All-Star game, his ERA was 3.26; after, it's 5.60.

One other striking stat: with no runners on base, his ERA is 1.00, but with runners on base, it's 7.12.

Those numbers could indicate why he slipped two spots below Gary Brown in Baseball America's Midseason Top 50 Prospects List though Wheeler's ranked above Brown in Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects List for the Giants.

Though Wheeler's a good return for Beltran, I would have been quite happy if the Mets had acquired Gary Brown, whom I think might have an even better pro career.

Beltran to Giants?

2011-07-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

Rumors are heating up that the Mets will trade Beltran to the Giants for center fielder Gary Brown; hopefully, they'll get at least one other prospect. Brown currently has the ninth-highest average in the California League: .317. He's second in stolen bases with 39, but has been caught stealing 14 times. He leads the league in hits with 127 and is fourth in triples with six. The 22-year-olds greatest asset is his speed.

Two Bad Outings Propel Brad Holt's ERA

2011-07-26T08:50:00.000-04:00

In his last 10 games, Binghamton Mets reliever Brad Holt has a 4.70 ERA; however, if it were not for two of those games, his ERA would be 1.19. Both games were against the Portland Sea Dogs. In both, he pitched just one inning. And in both, he gave up three hits and three runs.

If Portland were in first place in the B-Mets division, his failures against them would be more understandable; however, the Sea Dogs are in last place, a half game behind Binghamton, which is in next-to-last place.

In seven of the other games, he held the opponent run-less, and in the eighth one, he gave up two runs. He had one of his best outings against the league leader, New Hampshire, holding them scoreless and hitless in two innings.

One noticeable difference between his early success and his later performance is in his walks to strikeouts ratio. In 2008, it was about 1:3. In 2009, it was about 1:3.5. In 2010 and 2011, it's been close to 1:1.

In December 2010, Baseball America ranked Holt as the Mets 10th best prospect. If he wants to increase that ranking, he needs to regain the control he had early in his career and perform better against cellar dwellers.

The Mets selected Holt in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft.

Michael Fulmer Finally Signs Contract

2011-07-25T07:12:00.003-04:00

According to Jim Callis of Baseball America,

Supplemental first-rounder Michael Fulmer Tweeted (via @MFulmer12) on June 23 that he had reached an agreement with the Mets. Nearly a month later, he officially signed with the team for $937,500.

Fulmer signed for $160,800 above the slotted amount for his draft position. Unfortunately, Callis doesn't reveal the cause of the delay.

Now the Mets need to ink Nimmo and Verrett, and they'll have signed their top ten 2011 draft picks.

☛ Dimming Met fans day was the team's play against Florida. Bobby Parnell showed he has a ways to go before he can be counted on as a closer after giving up both the game-tying and game-winning hits in the same inning.

With regard to Logan Morrison's game-tying four-bagger, after the game Parnell said “I wanted to bounce it off the plate, and I just didn’t get it down there.” He added, “It was just the wrong pitch in the wrong situation.”

The pitch bounced alright, but off Morrison's bat and over the centerfield fence. The blast tied the game. Then, John Buck slammed another Parnell pitch for the game-winning double, giving the Mets their sixth loss in the last 10 games and dropping them below .500.

☛ Fortunately for Mets fans, Juan Lagares' play eased some of the pain from the New York Mets defeat. In his second game for Binghamton since his promotion from St. Lucie where he hit .339 with an .876 OPS, the 22-year-old outfielder went 5 for 5 with two doubles and a triple, increasing his total base count to 10.

Lagares has been in the Mets organization since 2006.

Cyclones Have Two of NY-Penn League's Top Hitters

2011-07-24T08:21:00.002-04:00

The Cyclones have two of the top four hitters in New-York Penn League. Daniel Muno is second, hitting .372, and Richard Lucas is fourth, hitting .356. Muno's OPS of 1.029 is also second-best.

In 2010 the Cyclones had the league's top hitter: Darrell Ceciliani hit .351. It also had its fifth-best batter in Joe Bonfe who hit .326.