It’s almost impossible
to project a relief pitcher. Most that make it to the majors started out as a
starter so how do you take serious all the guys in the system that couldn’t
even get a rotation slot? We had a couple of guys like Eddie
Kunz drafted by this team as a pure reliever and we all remember how
that worked out. Check any roster in baseball and you have every kind of
pitcher you can find, but the one thing that is becoming more common every day
is the need for speed. If you’re not throwing a fastball in the mid-90s range,
you’re not only not to make it in this game, you probably aren’t even going to
get a chance to show it.
With that said, we move
on to each level with a few precious players color-highlighted as probable major leagues and almost
probable ones as well.
AAA – Las Vegas - Jeff Walters, Adam
Kolarek, Chason Bradford, John Church, Jack Leathersich, Chase
Huchington, Daniel Herrera, Joel Carreno, Daryl Thompson, Armando Rodriquez, Ryan
Fraser, Miquel Socolovich
There’s a lot of relief
talent on the Las Vegas staff and some of these guys are going to pitch in
Queens. They are led by the 25-year old Walters who also started out in the
Brooklyn rotation (2011: 4-6, 3.32). The conversion was made in Savannah (2012:
17-G, 0.95 ERA) and he ended the eyar in Binghamton. Last year, in Binghamton,
he set a team record for 38-saves with an overall stat line of: 53-G, 56.0-IP,
60-K, 16-BB, 4-3, 2.09, 1.11. His fastball hits 96, but his bread and butter pitch
is 88-91 sinker. There’s a good chance you’ll see him in Flushing sometime next
season, especially if anyone there goes down with an injury.
My guess the next one
you’ll see is Leathersich, who, in three professional seasons, has 241 strike
outs in 143 innings pitched. That’s an unheard of 15.17 SO/9 and, the only
reason he may not already be in the majors is his 5.03 BB/9 (which rose to 9.00
in 2013 for Vegas). His troubles last year was hitting the corners in the
rarified air of Nevada, something he’s going to have to master if he wants his
shot.
AA – Binghamton - Hamilton Bennett, Randy Fontanez, TJ Chism, Brett
Mitchell, Jim Fuller, Greg Peavey, Taylor Whitenton, Cody Satterwhite, Shawn
Teufel
My projected major
leaguer here is Bennett, who has never started a professional game. I always
wanted to ask him, or the scout that drafted him, what the draw was. He went
1-9, 5.79 as a starter for Winthrop (SC) and the Mets picked him in the 29th
round of the 2010 draft. Since then, in 141 appearances from Brooklyn to
Binghamton, he’s gone 15-4, 1.46, 0.73 with 195-Ks in 203-IP. His fastball only
sits around 92-93, but has considerable movement and sink on it which creates
that due pitch fastball-sinker situation that batters have to constantly keep
guessing.
In addition, the Mets
sent Satterwhite to the Arizona Fall League, which is always a good sign that
the team has a future planned for him He rewarded the Mets with a stat line of:
11-G, 13.0-IP, 13-K, 4-BB, 2.77.
A+ - St. Lucie - John
Magliozzi, Paul Seward, Beck Wheeler, Marcos Camarena, Hunter Carnevale,
David Wynn, Julian Hilario, Luis Rengel, Wanel Mesa, Ernesto Yanez, Shane Bay, Octavio
Acosta, Tim Peterson, Tyler Vandenheiden
Magliozzi is a control
reliever out of the University of Florida (2013: 29-G, 67.1-IP, 57-K, 4-2,
2.67) that wasn’t projected to fall as far down as the 17th round,
but the Mets were thrilled he was still around. He got him professional career
started in Brooklyn (14-G, 15.1-IP, 0-0, 1.17, 0.72) and, because he will pitch
2014 as a 22-yr. old, I see no reason why he can’t jump Savannah and play here
in Florida.
Wheeler’s story is Hollywood-like.
A highly heralded infielder, Wheeler suffered injuries to both his legs in a
freak boating accident. He transferred to little known Orange Coast College and
began his comeback as an infielder, but he, in 2011, playing ball then for
UCSB, he was called on to pitch in four games near the end of the season (0-0,
2.24, 0.75, 4.0-IP, 3-K). The Mets drafted him as a pitcher, gave him a $1,000
signing bonus, and the rest was history. Since then, he has now struck out 131
batters in 99 innings and the soon to be 25-year old should be on a fast track
in and out of St. Lucie come April.
A – Savannah - Akeel Morris, Ricardo Jacquez, John Mincone, Juan
Urbina, Estarlin Morel, Cameron Griffin, Christian Chivilli , Robert Coles, Ricky Knapp, Kevin McGowan,
Ty Williams, Dawrin Frias
The story here is
Morris, who was a much heralded 10th round draft pick out of the
Virgin Islands. Morris wasted no time showing off his blazing fastball, with
28-K in 24.2-IP for the 2010 GCL Mets, and then 61-Ks in 51.1-IP in 11 starts
for the 2011 Kingsport Mets. It was then that things went to shit and Morris
simply couldn’t get batters out. He replaced Kingsport in 2012 going 11-G,
6-starts, 0-6, 7.98. 2013 brought Brooklyn and still more bouncing around as a
starter (3 games) and reliever (11 games), but the results were excellent and
back on target: 4-1, 1.00, 45.0-IP, 60-K. Look for him to piggy-back come
opening day in Savannah.
Extended Camp - Ruben
Reyes, Crain Missellman, Waldo Rodriguez, Alberto Baldonado, Tyler Bashlor, Lenny
Rosario, Christian Montgomery, Ediogilis Villasmil, Flabio Ortega, Ramon
Estevez, Gaither Bumgardner, Gaby Almonte, Dan Hermann, Jose Encarnacion, Brent
McMinn
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