8/14/09

Minors Stuff




Mets Extended Camp:.

1) Wilmer Flores, SS-3B, Grade B+: .273/.313/.351 in the Sally League. Not much power, very few walks. But at least his strikeout rate is reasonable, and he's very young at 18.

2) Fernando Martinez, OF, Grade B+: Hit .290/.337/.540 in Triple-A, .176/.242/.275 in the majors before knee injury. It looks like his power is coming around, and he's still just 20. Main need is to stay healthy.


3) Jon Niese, LHP, Grade B: 3.82 ERA with 82/26 K/BB in 94 innings in Triple-A, holding his own in the majors. I think he is well-positioned for success in 2010.


4) Brad Holt, RHP, Grade B: 5.98 ERA with 41/20 K/BB in 53 innings in Double-A, 53 hits allowed. Need for better secondary pitches to go with the fastball is evident.

5) Reese Havens, SS, Grade B: Hitting .232/.350/.397 in the Florida State League. Showing pop with 10 homers, good plate discipline, batting average low but there is some luck involved there. Still intriguing if he can stay healthy.


6) Jefry Marte, 3B, Grade C+: Hitting .235/.279/.348 in the Sally League. Very young at 18, but strike zone judgment is quite poor.


7) Jenry Mejia, RHP, Grade C+: Excellent in the Florida State League, OK in Double-A, combined numbers 2.50 ERA, 68/25 K/BB in 72 innings, 2.15 GO/AO, just 19 years old. Emerging as a top pitching prospect. Out of action with a finger injury.


8) Bobby Parnell, RHP, Grade C+: 3.94 ERA with 39/25 K/BB in 48 innings, 55 hits for the Mets. A competent reliever, being considered for starting role in 2010.


9) Eddie Kunz, RHP, Grade C+: 4.50 ERA with 28/28K/BB in 48 innings in Triple-A, 40 hits. 3.11 GO/AO ratio is intriguing, but needs better command.


10) Nick Evans, 1B, Grade C+: Hitting .218/.293/.405 between Double-A and Triple-A, hit .250/.298/.409 in 15 major league games. Window of opportunity is closing.


11) Ike Davis, 1B, Grade C+: Hitting .292/.377/.503 between Florida State League and Eastern League with big power spike erasing questions raised last year. Stock way up.


12) Dillon Gee, RHP, Grade C+: 4.10 ERA with 42/16 K/BB in 48 innings in Triple-A before hurting his shoulder.


13) Scott Moviel, RHP, Grade C+: 5.35 ERA with 24/14 K/BB in 37 innings in the Florida State League, 41 hits. Mediocre performance, perhaps hampered by recovery from knee injury.


14) Scott Shaw, RHP, Grade C+: 3.59 ERA with 102/50 K/BB in 120 innings in the Florida State League. Pretty good numbers, will transition to Double-A next year.


15) Eric Beaulac, RHP, Grade C+: 2.61 ERA with 106/34 K/BB in 93 innings in the Sally League. Strong K/IP and K/BB ratios, all numbers are solid, need to see at higher levels.


16) Ruben Tejada, SS, Grade C+: Hitting .294/.358/.382 with 14 steals in Double-A. Makes contact, can swipe a base, not a lot of power but just 19 years old. Looks like an interesting prospect to me with rising stock.


17) Greg Veloz, 2B, Grade C+: Hit .232/.297/.303 in the Florida State League, 18 steals but production weak otherwise. Just traded to the Nationals.


18) Michael Antonini, LHP, Grade C: 5.34 ERA with 67/25 K/BB in 84 innings, 98 hits in Double-A. Still throwing strikes, but has had problems adjusting to this level, as with many finesse guys.


19) Dylan Owen, RHP, Grade C: 5.36 ERA with 61/45 K/BB in 101 innings, 122 hits in Double-A. Just not dominant enough, like Antonini his finesse game hasn't translated well to this level.

20) Kyle Allen, RHP, Grade C: 3.99 ERA with 82/40 K/BB in 97 innings in the Sally League, 90 hits allowed. 2.17 GO/AO. Looks like an interesting sleeper prospect with good forward potential if he can sharpen command.



The Herd:


After their 2-17 start to the season, the Bisons have made incremental progress, such as July's winning record (14-13). However, Thursday's loss prevented the Bisons from winning two straight series for the first time since early June.
"It's been like that all year — getting over the hump," manager Ken Oberkfell said. "I don't know what it is. It's amazing — we can't get over that hurdle and put something together."
The Herd was doomed by a pair of four-run innings. Rochester got four runs off starter Adam Pettyjohn (3-8) in the first. Buffalo tied the game at 4-4 with a three-run fourth that included a two-run double by Chip Ambres. Rochester took a 5-4 lead in the fifth on Trevor Plouffe's solo home run then pounded Tim McNab in the eighth.
After McNab allowed four runs on five hits, there were runners on first and second with one out when a soft comebacker was hit to the mound by Steven Tolleson. McNab inexplicably threw to first.
"There's no excuse for not knowing the situation," said Oberkfell, who pulled McNab after the play.
Righty Lance Broadway (4-7, 6.02 ERA) pitches tonight as Buffalo starts a four-game set with the IronPigs.
"Everyone says if you look back, and you take out our 2-17 start, we're close to a .500 club, but .500 isn't good enough for me," said Oberkfell. "I want to win, and these fans deserve to see winners. . . . They went through a lot here at home the way we've played, so I hope we can finish strong here and give them some hope."


Friday, August 14 at Reading 7:05 pm RHP Brad Holt (2-6, 5.98) vs. RHP Kyle Drabek (7-2, 3.66)

Saturday, August 15 at Reading G1 6:05 pm LHP Mike Antonini (5-3, 5.34) vs. RHP Mike Cisco (0-2, 5.23)

Saturday, August 15 at Reading G2 TBA RHP Chris Mason (0-0, 1.93) vs. TBA

Sunday, August 16 at Reading 1:05 pm LHP Eric Niesen (2-6, 6.15) vs. RHP Mike Stutes (8-6, 3.74)



Clones:



The Brooklyn Cyclones (34-20) scored two runs with two outs in the eighth inning to beat the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (34-20) by a score of 2-1 on Thursday night. The victory gives the Cyclones the series win, and once again ties them with the Scrappers for the best record in the NYPL.Lefthander Jim Fuller had another great outing. The recently-named All-Star allowed just one run over 5.1 innings, scattering six hits and allowing one walk. Fuller has been a "hard-luck" starter for the Cyclones this season, going just 3-5, despite a 2.09 ERA that ranks seventh in the league, and 64 strikeouts, which rank second.Brandon Sage relieved Fuller with 2.2 one-hit innings to earn his third win of the season, before Michael Powers (also recently named to the All-Star Team) tossed a scoreless ninth for his league-leading 11th save of the year.The Cyclones' offense struck in the eighth inning, when Ralph Henriquez singled with two outs to represent the tying run. Alex Gregory (pictured, by George Napolitano) then delivered an RBI double, and came all the way around to score when his two-base hit was mishandled by the Scrappers.The Cyclones return to Brooklyn on Friday, August 14th to kick off a series with the Oneonta Tigers. On the 14th, fireworks will accompany the Friday night game.


Click here to get your tickets, or call 718-507-TIXX




Queens:


Jose Reyes- could be available this off-season. The Mets are completely exasperated with Reyes, who has enough problems in general (petulance, not keeping his head in the game) and can't stay healthy. It's inexcusable for a player to go down with a hamstring injury May 20 and still be out of the lineup, but that's the case with Reyes, and the Mets aren't sure if he'll play at all this year. This is a likeable, dynamic shortstop who can light up stadiums and be a true difference-maker when he's on his game. He signed a four-year deal in August of 2006, but as far as the Mets are concerned, the expiration date has already arrived Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/threedotblog/detail?&entry_id=45295#ixzz0O62fOGJF

So far, Murphy has proven to be an excellent pinch-hitter, and has shown an above-average ability to drive runners home. He reminds me a lot of Matt Franco in that respect, and I believe he has a place on a championship team in that capacity. People such as Franco, Danny Heep, Gates Brown, Manny Mota, and Lenny Harris made a career out of pinch-hitting, so this isn’t a knock on Murphy in any way. Rather, it is a realistic analysis of where his future lies.
That said, it’s time to start seeing Dan Murphy for what he is, rather than placing unreasonable expectations upon him. It’s clear the Mets are going to give him every chance to re-discover the magic that allowed him to hit .333 last August — and this is what worries me. Murph might go on a hot streak between now and October, and that would be enough for the Mets to pencil him in as the starting first baseman — in other words, a repeat of what they did last year, but with LF. It’s the same backward thinking that assumed Fernando Tatis would hit .297 again, when in reality, that average was artificially boosted by an abnormally hot month of July.
Indeed, Murphy might find a way to improve upon his current .250 AVG / .310 OBP to more respectable levels, and occasionally pull off a flashy play in the field. But in the end, he’s not Rod Carew, Pete Rose, or even Mark Grace. He’s Daniel Murphy: hard-nosed, tenacious, likeable player who belongs in MLB — though not as the starting first baseman on a championship team.

http://www.metstoday.com/player-notes/2009/the-dan-murphy-myth


2010 Draft:

Current order for top 10 picks in the 2010 Draft:
1. Washington 75 losses
2. Kansas City 69
3. Pittsburgh 68
4. San Diego 67
5. Baltimore 67
6. Cleveland 65
7. Cincinnati 64
8. Oakland 63
9. Arizona 63
10. Mets 61

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