11/3/09

Minors Stuff




New York Mets

I'm not sure the Mets want Maine gone, which is not to say they wouldn't include him in a trade that would import a No. 2 starter or a power hitter. The same can be said for Martinez, whose value has diminished since the days other clubs were inquiring about him. Neither player has the value he had in the 2006-07 offseason. I'm not sure what you mean by "low risk, possibly high reward." The risk in a trade can't be calculated until the player the Mets would receive in return is determined.

But I sense the sort of package you describe is what the Mets will have to trade to upgrade their rotation -- deal a starter and position player who doesn't figure prominently in the plans for 2010, bring in a No. 2 starter and allow Jon Niese, Fernando Nieve, Nelson Figueroa and Pat Misch (if they're all back) to compete for the No. 5 position in the rotation.
Last week, in the Arizona Fall League, in a move that has felt inevitable for a year now, Reese Havens began the move from shortstop by lining up at secondbase for the first time. Havens, who, as a member of the taxi squad, only gets to play twice a week, played second in both of his games. He’s hitting a modest .200/.294/.267 (3-for-15) with six strikeouts in four games

Meanwhile, at Baseball Prospectus, in his Monday Morning Ten-Pack, Kevin Goldstein writes about the struggling Jenrry Mejia:

It might just be the sheer number of Mets fans, or maybe it’s that in a weak system there’s so little on the prospect front to root for, but for some reason Mejia is one of the most talked-about players in the AFL. Everyone wants to talk about the velocity, which is unquestionably excellent, as he sat at 93-97 mph on Friday while touching 99, but what about the 12.91 ERA after four games that includes 14 hits and nine walks in just 7 2/3 innings? Yes, at 20, he’s very young for the league, but he’s also much more of a thrower than a pitcher, even for his age group. His arm is a special one, but it’s also a bit of a spectacular mess.

http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/2009/11/02/havens-to-2b-evans-to-afl


Escogido (8-5)

Tobi Stoner (1.06) also had a good outing, throwing six innings of 3-hit shutout ball.

Licey (7-6)
Timo Perez has a six game hitting streak, going 8 for 22 to raise his average to .265.

Aguilas (5-8)

Jose Lima gave up only one run in his first two starts. During his third start he gave up three runs in five innings, giving up seven hits. His ERA for the year is 2.77 so it will be “Lima Time” for a few more starts in the Dominican Republic.

Estrellas (5-8)

Fernando Tatis has a seven game hitting streak hitting .333 for the team with the top batting average.

Evan MacLane got his third start and second win last week, but it was the worst of his three starts. He gave up three runs in six innings, striking out seven to raise his ERA to 2.25. Evan had only given up one run in his first two starts. His seven strikeouts give him 16 for the year

www.myworldofbaseball.com


Mets 1B prospect Ike Davis has been named to the Arizona Fall League’s 2009 Rising Stars Game, which matches up the best prospects from each MLB organization in an East Division against West Division format. The game, which will take place on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m., will air on the MLB...

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/note.php?note_id=206563676832&ref=nf

On any given day in the Arizona Fall League, you can see what amounts to a Minor League All-Star Game.

The Rising Stars Showcase takes it to another level, truly representing the best of the best. The showcase game, which will take place this Saturday at 6:15 p.m. MT, features current AFL participants selected by scouting and Minor League directors from every organization, along with input from AFL executive director Steve Cobb. The 50 players chosen to represent their organizations and AFL clubs will come together Saturday night at Surprise Stadium. For the first time, the Showcase will also be available to a national television audience. MLB Network will carry a live broadcast of the Rising Stars Game with Diamondbacks announcer Daron Sutton and MLB Network's Tony Clark in the broadcast booth. A live video feed will also be available right here on MLB.com.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091102&content_id=7605168&vkey=afl_news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Other newcomers to the league last week included outfielder Nick Evans.


Blogs:

On July 27, 2002, Omar Minaya, then General Manager of the Montreal Expos, traded Lee Steven, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore, and Cliff Lee to Mark Shapiro's Indians for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew.

In 2002, Major League Baseball owned the Expos. The offseason before, the Expos had narrowly avoided contraction, because the Twins, the other team in line for contraction, had another year on their lease of the Metrodome. In a month the league would agree to a new collective bargaining agreement that barred contraction, but at the time it still seemed a possibility. So MLB's proxy GM, Minaya, looked for a player to maybe help the Expos win a Wild Card berth, a parting gift for Montreal.

One of the many front-office personnel the Expos shed under their reorganization by MLB was Tony LaCava, their farm director. He jumped to the Indians as a cross-checker. When Omar Minaya called Mark Shapiro about Bartolo Colon, Tony LaCava handpicked the prospects the Indians would receive. When the trade was announced, Shapiro, like Bill Smith would be six years later, was denounced as a young GM over his head. It also marked the first time, Minaya got "his guy" in a trade.
If you have been following the reports from the AFL, one of the things missing from the desert heat has been Stephen Strasburg’s fastball. Most of the readings have been mid 90s, but then radar guns are not the best way to judge a pitcher’s talent. In today’s outing four of his first six pitches hit 100 and there were readings of 101. Strasburg had his second straight solid outing leading the Desert Dogs to an easy 10-2 win over the Surprise Rafters. Strasburg went five innings and allowed four hits, struck out six and only allowed one to cross the plate. He was supported by the five RBI day of current and future Nationals teammate Chris Marrero.
http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?m=200911

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