7/31/10

STOCK UP: - Cory Vaughn, Yohan Almonte, and Fernando Martinez

Cory Vaughn:



7-31-10: - Vaughn continues to lead the league in home runs, hitting his 10th last night. Seasonal stats are now: .310/.401/.581/.982, with an impressive 21-BB. Vuaghn continues to quiet critics, including myself, and seems a lock on the Sterling Award winner this season for the Clones.



Old Cory stuff:



6-14-10 from: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/6/13/1516247/new-york-mets-draft-review  - 4) Cory Vaughn, OF, San Diego State University: Son of Greg Vaughn, so he has good bloodlines. Very athletic, fast and skilled on the bases, has considerable power potential, but problems with contact may limit his batting average/OBP against professional pitching. Good upside, but also a lot of risk.


6-19-10: - John Klima of http://www.baseballbeginnings.com/  had this to say about Vaughn: Vaughn has a leaner and more athletic body than his father had when he first came to the major leagues. Cory Vaughn hits from a wide stance and has a short trigger. He has fast hands and keeps the firm front side even when he is fooled. He's going to have the power to play a corner and I think he's going to be athletic enough to steal some bases if he wants to. He's a first-round talent in 2010. His numbers weren't much to look at on the Cape, but I'm not scouting results. You can't hide the power and you can't hide this guy's body and athleticism. If I were looking for a comparison at this stage, Matt Kemp might work


6-30-10: - Vaughn hit his fourth home run of the young Cyclone season Tuesday night and we need to put him on the watch list. Included in the stuff I compiled on him below is my analysis of how I felt about thw Mets picking him. My thoughts were similar to what I originally said a few years ago about Ike Davis, so this should be good news for both the Mets and you fans out there. Sure, there is only 43 at bats, but you have to respect a .651 slugging percentage and a 1.036 OPS.


7-14-10 from: - http://www.espn.com/  - Cory Vaughn, for those looking for signs of hope in his strong performance for Brooklyn, homered off a pitcher throwing 85-87, and walked in another plate appearance where none of the four balls came within a foot of the strike zone. He's just a 21-year-old college player faring well against younger competition.


7-16-10 from: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/7/16/1571838/4-122-new-york-mets-cory-vaughn -of Cory Vaughn is a high-ceiling collegiate outfielder from San Diego State University. Vaughn originally came to San Diego State from Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California, the same school that produced fellow Draft Notebook prospect Justin Parker, as well as Lars Anderson and J.P. Howell. Vaughn was a year behind Anderson, and he was every bit as eye-opening when Anderson was drafted in 2006 due to big tools and his bloodlines, as he’s the son of long-time Major League slugger Greg Vaughn. However, by the time the 2007 draft rolled around, scouts weren’t big fans of Vaughn’s rawness and signability, so he fell to the Phillies in the forty-third round of the 2007 draft. He didn’t sign and headed for San Diego State, where he just finished his third year of starting in the outfield. At the plate, he’s a fringe-average hitter due to huge swing-and-miss liabilities, though his plus raw power makes up for it. He’s also a plus runner underway, and that gives him a high ceiling for a college bat. In the field, he profiles well for right field, where he has an above-average arm and solid-average range, as he isn’t the best at reading the ball off the bat. With such good tools and bloodlines, the only thing really holding him back is that he can’t hit a breaking ball, and that’s always going to hold him back. He’s expected to go somewhere in the sixth to tenth round range, where he’s expected to sign for average money.


7-19-10: - It’s not the two hits he got on Monday that got him this stock up… nor is it the fact that one was another home run, which he leads the league in producing. Additionally, it’s not the fact that he now has his batting average up to .291. No, none of that earned him this listing. It was the fact that he had two outfield assists during the game also, throwing out runners at both third and second base. That’s an outfield performance we don’t see very often in the Mets’ minor leagues.


7-23 from: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/2610396.html  - Team: short-season Brooklyn (New York-Penn) - Age: 21 - Why He's Here: .517/.545/1.270 (15-for-29), 1 HR, 3 2B, 8 RBIs, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 4-for-5 SB - The Scoop: The son of former big league slugger Greg Vaughn—he of 355 career home runs—Cory has launched his pro career in style after quickly signing as the Mets' fourth-round pick. (At San Diego State, he was teammates with some Strasburg guy.) Vaughn is batting .326/.403/.620 through 129 at-bats, with a New York-Penn-leading nine home runs and 32 RBIs. And if he connects for seven more longballs this season, then Cory will match his father's output during his pro debut. A 21-year-old Greg Vaughn hit 16 home runs in 1986 for Helena of the Rookie-level Pioneer League.


7-23-10 – Q&A from Hot Sheet: - Is Cory Vaughn better than most people thought heading into the draft, or is this just a hot streak that he doesn't have the tools to maintain? - Matthew Eddy: This is exactly the question I've been trying to answer, so I turned to college baseball guru Aaron Fitt for more. His response: "Vaughn has always had big tools — look at our writeup of him when he ranked as the top prospect in the Northwoods League after his freshman year. And he's had hot streaks like this in his college career, but sustaining has always been the issue. As pitchers adjust to him, can he make adjustments? He did not show a whole lot of ability to do so in college."



Yohan Almonte:


7-31-10: - Almonte continues to elevate himelf, both as the ace of the Clones staff, and as a Mets prospect of the future. Last night, he went 7.0-IP, 0-ER, 3-H, 4-K, 0-BB. The 20-year old is now 4-3, 2.31, 1.04, with only 10-BB in 50.2-IP.



Recent Almonte stuff:



Almonte was signed as an international unsigned free agent in 2007.



He pitched well in his first pro season for the DSL Mets (2008: 3-3, 2.95), and split time in 2009 with the GCL Mets and Kingsport… 4-1, 3.45, in 13-starts. Almonte also struck out 57 in 62.2-IP.



7-4-10: - Almonte pitched another good outing for Brooklyn Saturday night. The 20-year old righthander went 5.2 innings, gave up one earned run, and struck out four. His season ERA is down to 3.63 in four starts



7-19-10 from Pete Spiewak/Mack’s Mets: - Cyclones starter Yohan Almonte allowed seven hits in five innings on Monday, while the ValleyCats scored three unearned runs off of the 20-year-old righty. The Dominican Republic native lowered his ERA to 2.37 and now has a 24/8 K/BB ratio through 38 innings pitched for Brooklyn. He has only given up one earned run in his last three outings, and the last time he gave up more than one earned run was June 23 against Hudson Valley, when he gave up four runs over 6.2 innings in a loss to the Renegades.



Fernando Martinez:

7-31-10: - It’s been awhile since we wrote something nice about this guy, but let’s give credit when credit is due. F-Mart was responsible for the Bisons win last night, going 2-4 and hitting his 11th home run of the season. Seasonal stats are eh: .250/.309/.449/.758, and with Mike Jacobs now gone and Jesus Feliciano and Mike Hessman called up to the Mets, this would be a great time for him to re-take his old team.



Lots of F-Mart stuff:



9-9-9 From http://www.hardballtimes.com/ : - He didn't fair all too well in the majors, but not many 20 year-olds do. His AAA numbers were solid, as he displayed his power with a .250 ISO. His centerfield defense was shaky, although he was solid in left field (sample size warning). He'll probably start 2010 in Triple-A as he recovers from knee surgery, but could be a breakout player by 2011.



9-15-09 from: - http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?cat=42  - 1. Fernando Martinez OF - His struggles with injuries continue. He had an opportunity to play for the Mets because of injuries, but yet he was injured. Since he has played beginning in 2006 he has yet to be free from injury, whether it was a bone bruise or sprained knee as in 2006, a broken hammate bone in 2007, hamstring problems in 2008 and now torn cartlige in his knee this year. When he was up he wasn’t hitting well with an average of .176 in less than 100 at bats. At 21 he is still pretty young to be playing at such a high level so next year expect him at AAA to start the season, unless he rakes in spring training.



2010: Look, if 2009 was a normal year, this would be an easy call. Why would you call up a kid who hasn’t played an entire professional season without a DL injury, when you have a .280 hitter named Gary Sheffield you can sign to a one-year contract? I’m sure the Mets will call him up which could a huge mistake. I’m talking Alex Escobar-type mistake.



2-10-10: Fernando Martinez – Yes, I know, he was the MVP in the Carribean World Series. Big deal. Do the same at AAA and I’ll believe in you for the fifth time. In my book, Martinez is a dud and I’d love him to prove me wrong anytime he chooses to.


5-10-10: - Martinez was taken out of the game on Sunday due to an injury. This new injury should not be confuse with his surgery due to repair a torn meniscus (7-16-09), a right thigh injury (12-13-09), a lower back strain (4-28-10), an injured thumb (5-22-06), a right elbow strain (2009 Carribean World Series), or a fractured wrist (2007). Up to this point, he had hit .244 for the season. More important, this is his fifth professional season and he has had only 1,187 official professional at bats. His lifetime minor league stats going into this season are an unimpressive: .281/.337/.445/.782 plus only 30-HRs and 132-AB is an amount of at-bats that averages around three full seasons.


6-11-10 from Bisons’ Press Release: - The Buffalo Bisons today announced that OF FERNANDO MARTINEZ has been added to the Herd’s active roster. Martinez began the year with Buffalo, but missed 23 games from May 14 - June 7 with a left hamstring strain. He was then transferred to Single-A St. Lucie of the Florida State League where he played four games. He hit .267 (4-15) with a double and a run scored for St. Lucie this week.


6-12-10: - Fernando Martinez returned to Buffalo last night. The Bisons are having difficulty after losing multiple starts to the parent club. There was as little fanfare about his return to the upstate as there was for his rehabbing in Florida. No one basically covers this guy anymore since every age excuse in the book has been used through his multiple slumps and countless injuries. First it was “hey, he’s still only 18-years old”, which has now grown into “hey, he’s only turning 22… The plan now seems to be to target the checkbook in the off season to the agent for Tampa Bay Rays CF Carl Crawford. If things go as hoped, Crawford will take over in CF with Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran on the corners. As for Martinez, he basically has no trade value until he plays a full season without an injury.


7-1-10: - We haven’t reported on Martinez much this season. Yes, he is back from his latest trip to the DL, but his value as a future Met just seems to keep fading. First, it’s the injuries. Next, the lack of consistent pop, then, he no longer plays CF and goes to right. And, now, he doesn’t even start on Tuesday. Martinez did come in as a pinch hitter, stayed in the game, went 1-2, and rasied his batting average to .259. Right now, you’d have to say that he would not be the main chip in a trade package. In fact, many teams like Cleveland might want guys like Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Sean Ratliff, or Eric Campbell more. Sometimes it seems like last month when the Mets had this incredible future outfield maturing, consisting of Martinez, Carlos Gomes, and Lastings Milledge. To date, not one of them have reached their potential.


7-12 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/12/1564807/mid-term-farm-system-review-part-i   - Any discussion about Martinez has to start with his health. Fernando has always had problems staying on the field and 2010 has been no different. First he went down early with a back strain in April and more recently missed over a month with a strained hamstring. Aside from giving rise to the idea that he won't be able to handle the rigors of a 162-game schedule, Fernando has missed important developmental time with his various stints on the DL. In his 4.5 year pro career, Martinez has yet to play over 90 games in a season; that's not good. While he once had a bit of a buffer thanks to his advanced placement at such a young age, that margin is quickly closing and he soon needs to put up or shut up. What's worse, his numbers thus far certainly don't jump off the page (like his Phillies counterpart Domonic Brown) nor do they suggest very much growth as his always problematic K:BB ratio is worse this year than ever before. The one-time hope that he'd play center is also all but dashed with a seemingly permanent move to RF. On the bright side, his calling card has always been his easy power and with seven bombs thus far, he's currently on pace to top his career high of ten homers in 2006. All in all Martinez is losing a lot of that top prospect luster with his average performance on the field and his mounting time off of it. Once unanimously considered the Mets top prospect, Fernando has certainly been passed by the likes of Ike Davis, Jon Niese and Jenrry Mejia with guys like Wilmer Flores and Kirk Nieuwenhuis breathing down his neck. It's very telling that in trade talks for Cliff Lee, Seattle's reported demands never included Fernando's name.


7-28 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/28/1592006/mets-farm-q-a-with-baseball   - I never understood why the Mets pushed him so aggressively, and he never has put up big numbers in the minors outside of a 46-game stretch in low Class A four years ago. I think it's time to revise expectations to solid regular at best, and even that's not a lock.

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