Minors Stuff

The Herd:

Hope all those hot dogs, seagull sightings and fireworks made for an entertaining night Saturday in Coca-Cola Field.

The baseball sure didn’t.

The Buffalo Bisons took an early lead on Wily Mo Pena’s two-run homer in the first inning and then went into hibernation for the rest of the night as the Indianapolis Indians humbled the Herd, 9-2.

An announced crowd of 10,076 on Dollar Dog Night — the largest since Opening Day— saw a brutal opener to a four-game series and eight-game homestand.

The Bisons were coming off a 3-4 road trip to Durham and Norfolk, the two top teams in the International League. They won their first series of the season at Norfolk, and had a chance to win in two of their three losses in Durham to post an even better trip. There was a feeling that there might be some momentum to build on.

Didn’t happen. Lance Broadway, making his first start for the Bisons after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, quickly gave back Pena’s home run in a four-run second and the Bisons never caught up.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bisons/story/695465.html


Lance Broadway’s first start for Triple-A Buffalo since arriving in the trade for Ramon Castro didn’t go splendidly. Broadway allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings as Indianapolis beat the Bisons, 9-2. Wily Mo Pena did extend his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning homer off Eric Hacker.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0HkVHz7jy&D


B-Mets:

Jenrry Mejia’s Double-A debut went far better. A day after No. 4-rated prospect Brad Holt debuted with the B-Mets, the hard-throwing Mejia tossed seven scoreless innings in Binghamton’s 1-0 win against Connecticut. Roy Merritt picked up the win in the eighth, which actually was considered extra innings since doubleheaders are seven-inning games. Mejia, 19, allowed five hits and walked three. He’s rated the organization’s No. 7 prospect.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0HkVHz7jy&D


The first game couldn't have gone any better for the Binghamton Mets.


They got a dazzling debut from pitcher Jenrry Mejia, and an extra-innings walk-off victory.

Lucas Duda hit an RBI double with one out in the eighth inning, scoring Josh Thole from first to give the B-Mets a 1-0 victory over the Connecticut Defenders Saturday in the opener of an Eastern League doubleheader at NYSEG Stadium.

Connecticut rallied to win the second game, 5-3 in 10 innings. Brett Pill and Sharlon Schoop each drove in runs in the 10th off Julio De La Cruz for the victory.

In the opener, Mejia, a 19-year-old right-hander whom Baseball America ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the Mets organization, threw seven shutout innings in his Double-A debut. He struck out five and scattered five hits.

Mejia (whose name is pronounced en-REE MAY-ha) is in his third pro season after signing as a free agent in 2007. Mejia began this season at Single-A St. Lucie, where he went 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA and was named to the Florida State League mid-season all-star team.

Mejia, born in the Dominican Republic, mixed his fastball and change-up well, throwing 68 of his 104 pitches for strikes. He struck out two batters in the seventh inning, getting Brock Bond to swing and miss at fastball that reached 94 miles an hour on the NYSEG Stadium radar gun to end the inning.

"He was outstanding- I was drooling watching him pitch," B-Mets manager Mako Oliveras said. "What really caught my eye was his composure. Even when he got bases loaded (in the fourth), he didn't get rattled. He raised the bar."

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090607/SPORTS02/906070380/1118/sports/No+decision+for+Mejia+in+B-Mets++debut

Queens:


Baseball Top 20 Players:

3. Johan Santana (Mets) - Santana was born in Venezuela and signed by the Astros when they were the only team to mine players from that country. Santana was originally a centerfielder but was converted by the Astros at the Venezuelan academy to pitch. The Astros left him exposed in the Rule V draft and the Twins took advantage making him one of the most referenced names every time the Rule V draft comes up. The Marlins actually picked Santana for the Twins and then gave him plus $500,000 to the Twins because they were hot for Jared Camp who the Twins agreed to take with the first pick.

13. David Wright (Mets) - Born in Norfolk, Virginia. He was drafted by the Mets in the first round as a supplemental first round pick. While growing up in that area he played with Ryan Zimmerman and the Uptons, B.J. and Justin. No wonder he got so good.

http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?m=200906



Mets' lefthander Billy Wagner hasn't pitched this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September, but he's expected to begin throwing to batters by the end of June. A team official said a September 1st return date is "very conservative". The Mets hold an $8MM option for his services next season, but they have reportedly already told Wagner that the option will not be picked up, instead paying him a $1MM buyout.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com



After Parnell made his major-league debut at Nationals Park last Sept. 15 with a 1-2-3 relief inning, Mets officials at least had to consider using him as the closer for an epically failing bullpen for the final two weeks of last season. Now, despite the offseason acquisitions of Rodriguez and Putz, Parnell will have that type of integral role late in games. With Putz scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday to remove a bone spur and fragments from his right elbow, which is projected to sideline the ex-Mariner for 10-12 weeks, Parnell is locked in as the primary set-up man for K-Rod. “It is a lot of responsibility, but I’m just going to try to take it one day at a time and use the same game plan and go from there,” said Parnell, a ninth-round pick in 2005 from Charleston Southern University, who is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in 27 relief appearances this season. “I’m not going to try to put any more pressure on myself.” In reality, Manuel already had anointed Parnell (pictured right) as the temporary eighth-inning reliever last week, after Putz was the primary culprit in a five-run eighth Monday in Pittsburgh

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0HkVXUQh3&D



Mets Alumni:

Craig Brazel went deep in the sixth inning in his Hanshin Tiger debut to break a 0-0 tie and Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi threw seven innings of shutout ball to get his fifth win. The homerun by Brazel was a 2-run shot. Chihero Kaneko was pitching well until the Brazel homerun and was taken out after six innings of work. He gave up only four hits and struck out six. The Tigers shutout the Orix Buffaloes 4-0.

http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?m=200906


Draft:

To be clear, this is not a prediction of how the players will be selected, nor is it any kind of mock draft. Instead, this is a pure ranking of talent based on a combination of ultimate ceiling and the probability of reaching it after numerous conversations with scouts, cross-checkers, scouting directors, and front office officials.

1. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State

The Good: He's arguably the best pitching prospect in draft history, with a perfect frame and solid mechanics to go with an 80 fastball, 70 command, and a 60-65 breaking pitch.

The Bad: There's no definitive proof that he's not an android from a faraway planet bent on world destruction.

In A Perfect World He Becomes: The best pitcher in baseball. It's almost impossible to see him becoming anything less than an All-Star.


2. Dustin Ackley, OF, North Carolina

The Good: He has the best combination of tools and skills among the position players, with above-average power and speed, along with amazing hands that easily project him as a .300 hitter in the big leagues.

The Bad: His throwing arm is poor; he's unproven in center field; he struggles against lefties with good breaking balls.

In A Perfect World He Becomes: An All-Star center fielder with less power than Grady Sizemore but a better batting average, but there is some chance that he'll be forced to move to left field.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9017