Maybe prospect 3B Aderlin Rodriquez wanted to serve notice on opening night that it’s going to be one hell of a year. Or, maybe he just had a good game. The 18-year old belted two home runs, went 3-4, and put up “yearly” stats (I love when you can quote one game yearly stats) of: .750/.750/2.250/3.000. We can feel safe that these will come down but this is exciting news coming out of Kingsport.
Some “Mack’s Facts” about A-Rod:
In July 2007, The Mets signed 16-year old Dominican 3B Aderlin Rodriguez, which included a bonus of $500,000+. From: www.prosportsdaily.com: Assigned 3B Aderlin Rodriguez (2008, Dominican Republic) to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. The bulky (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) third baseman signed for $600,000 last summer. Now he follows in the footsteps of Wilmer Flores, Jefry Marte and Cesar Puello, three Mets’ top international signees from ’07 who debuted in the U.S. rather than in Latin America. As most fans already know, the Mets don’t spend much time promoting their International signings, so, when you do read something about one, you tend to think of that prospect as being something special. This one looks for real. A-Rod finally surfaced during the season and played the remainder of the 2009 season for the GCL Mets. As a 17-year old: .290/.389/.387/776, in 62 at bats. In February 2009, Baseball America listed him as the 30th Mets prospect.
At the moment, Jeff Francoeur's the everyday right fielder for the Mets because they simply do not have a viable alternative. F-Mart's not ready. Nick Evans is forgotten. GMJ has ceased to be. And acquiring another player to fill that spot could unnecessarily block Pagan if and when Beltran returns. Frenchy might be a hell of a guy to know and truly look the part of a ballplayer. He might always be available in charitable endeavors or for a quick and interesting sound byte to pass on to the beat writers. He might be charming, a clubhouse leader, and exhibiting the type of character you want to see in all ballplayers. That doesn't make up for the fact that Francoeur still does not perform the two tasks asked of every hitter in any significant way. He does not hit enough. He does not walk enough. Instead, we're left with this generation's version of a poor man's Rey Ordonez. Rey Rey will always be a fan favorite amongst Mets fans for his defensive contributions, but we were all more than happy to replace him with Alex Rodriguez when the opportunity presented itself. - link
Well, sending him back to St. Lucie doesn’t seem to be the answer to Holt’s woes. He pitched last night, giving up five runs, four earners, in 4.0-IP. That’s a 9.00 ERA, still up in the range of his 10.20 in Binghamton. Only two strikeouts and eight hits against him; yes, eight hits in four innings. Boy, if there was ever a pitcher that needs to be shut down…
Last year’s big 16-year old international signee, SP Juan Urbina, debuted yesterday for the GCL Mets and done well. His stats were impressive: 5.0-IP, 2-H, 0-ER, 0-R, 3-K, 1-BB. He turned 17 last month. Everybody says this kid is going to be the real deal, but we’ll just have to wait four more years… when he turns 21! Urbina is already hitting the low 90’s and we’ll keep a special look out on him throughout the season.
The Detroit Tigers signed: OF Ben Johnson (Orange County (Golden)) - The Mets viewed Ben Johnson as the perfect complement to their lefty-leaning outfield when they traded for him following the ’06 season. The cost, Heath Bell, proved more than a little exorbitant. Johnson appeared in 62 games for the organization in ’07, but injuries waylaid him after that and he never was heard from again. He latched on with the independent Golden League’s Orange County franchise last August, but it was his exploits this spring (he batted .405/.550/.714 with four home runs in 12 games) that caught the Tigers’ attention. - link
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