IT’S A FIREMAN CONVENTION
IN THE SHORT SEASON LEAGUES! AND GUPPY UPDATE AS OF 8/27/14! By Tom Brennan
No
sooner than it seemed to start, the short seasons are closing out this week.
The Gulf Coast League has no playoffs (how odd) and the Penn and Appalachian
League playoffs will include Brooklyn apparently (lead wild card by 2 games
through Wednesday) but not likely Kingsport (one game from elimination).
It has been a fascinating endeavor to rank the guppies (top dogs in the making) and I will have my final ratings next week with the regular seasons ending and since I consider the playoffs to count, and those will happen this coming week.
Met fans are already excited about the prospects like Dilson Herrera, Brandon Nimmo, Thor, and others who played on the 4 full season teams, but don't stop there - we should be excited about the talent evident on the 3 short season teams.
FIREMEN EVERYWHERE!
It has been a fascinating endeavor to rank the guppies (top dogs in the making) and I will have my final ratings next week with the regular seasons ending and since I consider the playoffs to count, and those will happen this coming week.
Met fans are already excited about the prospects like Dilson Herrera, Brandon Nimmo, Thor, and others who played on the 4 full season teams, but don't stop there - we should be excited about the talent evident on the 3 short season teams.
FIREMEN EVERYWHERE!
Each week, besides the general talent rankings, I have focused on an aspect of
minor league talent.
This week, it will be the elites of the short season relief corps. We have almost as many firemen as the NYC Fire Department!! Some guys were used as starters and relievers - if they had at least several relief outings, and pitched superbly, they are considered!
Here
are my favorite 12 relievers and 5 hybrids (starter/relievers) with details
following. I favor guys with low ERAs and WHIPs and high K rates. It is a
tribute to these teams that so many good relievers emerged. I tried really hard to keep it to 10 – could
not do it! There were even a few guys
who relieved well, but just a notch below, who I left off the list. The relief pitching cadre was simply
incredible on these teams in 2014. (STATS THRU WED, 8/27)
#
|
NAME
|
TEAM
|
W/L
|
SV
|
ERA
|
GM
|
INN
|
K
|
WHIP
|
1
|
Brad Wieck
|
Bklyn
|
1-1
|
0
|
1.52
|
15
|
23.2
|
36
|
0.97
|
2
|
Kelly Secrest
|
Bklyn
|
3-1
|
0
|
1.52
|
19
|
23.2
|
29
|
1.27
|
3
|
Shane Bay
|
Bklyn
|
0-1
|
14
|
1.66
|
19
|
21.2
|
20
|
1.02
|
4
|
Dave Roseboom
|
Kport
|
1-0
|
4
|
1.59
|
16
|
22.2
|
30
|
1.15
|
5
|
Matt Blackham
|
Kport
|
2-0
|
0
|
1.42
|
11
|
19.0
|
25
|
1.00
|
6
|
Alex Palsha
|
GCL/K
|
0-1
|
10
|
1.13
|
16
|
16.0
|
19
|
1.05
|
7
|
Nabil Crismatt
|
Kport
|
1-1
|
2
|
2.25
|
19
|
28.0
|
33
|
0.89
|
8
|
Jimmy Duff
|
Kport
|
3-1
|
0
|
2.15
|
12
|
29.1
|
22
|
0.99
|
9
|
Ismael Tijerina
|
Kport
|
1-0
|
6
|
1.89
|
16
|
19.0
|
15
|
1.32
|
10
|
Josh Prevost
|
Bklyn
|
1-2
|
1
|
1.83
|
11
|
19.2
|
14
|
1.17
|
11
|
Cameron Griffin
|
Bkln/G
|
0-0
|
0
|
1.13
|
13
|
16.0
|
15
|
1.33
|
12
|
Mike Hepple
|
Bklyn
|
2-0
|
0
|
2.01
|
12
|
22.1
|
18
|
1,43
|
5 GUYS WHO SPLIT TIME BETWEEN STARTING AND THE PEN WHO
DID GREAT!
#
|
NAME
|
TEAM
|
W/L
|
SV
|
ERA
|
GM/S
|
INN
|
K
|
WHIP
|
1
|
Martirez Arias
|
Bkln/G
|
6-0
|
0
|
0.69
|
11/6
|
52
|
53
|
0.96
|
2
|
Kevin Canelon
|
GCL
|
1-0
|
1
|
1.45
|
12/5
|
37.1
|
30
|
0.72
|
3
|
Scarlyn Reyes
|
Bklyn
|
2-3
|
0
|
2.39
|
12/7
|
49.0
|
47
|
1.14
|
4
|
Persio Reyes
|
Kport
|
1-0
|
1
|
1.35
|
7/3
|
26.2
|
22
|
0.90
|
5
|
Tyler Badamo
|
GCL
|
1-0
|
0
|
1.74
|
10/4
|
31.0
|
26
|
1.00
|
Some snippets on these
guys, who compiled hugely impressive #'s:
Brad Wieck is big...6'9" big...and throws hard...95 MPH hard. You can't teach imposing and 95. Newsday ran a nice feature on him very recently. In it, they noted that Wieck, 22, was a 7th rounder who led collegiate ball with 15.3 K/9. Wieck’s teammates have endearingly nicknamed him The Big Donkey. Newsday added that scouts say Wieck hides the ball well in his delivery and has good arm-side run, which causes the fastball to tail away from righthanders, and that his repertoire includes a changeup and a four-seamer, with a sweeping slider as his "go-to" pitch.
Brad Wieck is big...6'9" big...and throws hard...95 MPH hard. You can't teach imposing and 95. Newsday ran a nice feature on him very recently. In it, they noted that Wieck, 22, was a 7th rounder who led collegiate ball with 15.3 K/9. Wieck’s teammates have endearingly nicknamed him The Big Donkey. Newsday added that scouts say Wieck hides the ball well in his delivery and has good arm-side run, which causes the fastball to tail away from righthanders, and that his repertoire includes a changeup and a four-seamer, with a sweeping slider as his "go-to" pitch.
Kelly Secrest, a 6’0” 215 lefty hard
throwing 10th rounder, has been on the Top 20 list since I first started it
several weeks ago. Also had highly impressive relief stats, nearly identical to
those of Wieck.
Shane Bay - more successful than
Jason, and a whole lot cheaper. The 22 year old 6’2”, 225 lefty has been in the system since
2011, but only 51 career innings to date.
Lower minors saves leader with 14.
Dave Roseboom – the 6’3” 215 pen pal is
not reputed to be a flamethrower, but has had quite a successful first
season. The 17th round, 22 year old lefty has put up terrific #’s this
year.
Matt Blackham also put up terrific #s
as a 29th rounder. The
diminutive 5’11”, 150 righty has simply been impressive in Kingsport.
Alex Palsha - like Shane Bay, but
further down the food chain in the GCL, the 22 year old, 27th round
righty saved...and saved...and saved some more. Ten in all. Alex got a recent promo to Kingsport. Nice job.
Nabil Crismatt – I was just hoping he’d keep
pitching well, so I could add him to the list because…I dig the name. There, I said it. He’s just 19, born on Christmas Day
1994! He has had two years in the DSL,
last year was terrific in relief (1.33), and in his last 10 games this year,
terrific (0.56, 22 K in 16 inn). This
6’1”, 200 righty should be really interesting to watch in 2015.
Jimmy Duff is another 6’6” guy
(what’s in the water?) out of Garden City who is not considered a flamethrower
but who nonetheless dominated, with excellent control and a solid sinker. Just
20 – interesting guy to watch going forward.
Ismael Tijerina is an infielder (776 at
bats, .235) turned pitcher, who turned pitcher this year quite nicely, thank
you. He just turned 25, so time is not
on his side, so who knows? Impressive
transition so far.
Josh Prevost was a 5th round 6-8,
225 lb righthander who has pitched really well, but with a lower K rate than
others. Let’s see what the 22 year old
out of Seton Hall does in 2015.
Cameron Griffin is a 6’3” 200 lb righty
drafted in the 13th round last year.
Pitched well last year, better this year, so by extrapolation the 23 yr
old should be friggin’ dynamite in 2015!
Mike Hepple, a 24 year old, 6’6”, 210
righty, in some years could have been Brooklyn's premier reliever. This
year, he had plenty of company, with a great Cyclone relief corps, so he barely
edged onto this list.
HYBRIDS: Now for a few words on the hybrids – these are indecisive chaps who simply can’t make up their minds whether they want to start or relieve - so they do both, remarkably well, mind you:
Martires Arias, listed at 6’7” but who I read
elsewhere is 6’11”, has had a marvelous season (the stats speak for
themselves), starting out as a 23 year old in the GCL (which on the surface did
not appear to be a promising scenario) but simply pitched the heck out of the
ball there and in Brooklyn after his promotion.
It should be truly interesting to see what he does in 2015.
Kevin Canelon has simply pitched terrific as a
lefty in the GCL. He is certainly one to
watch going forward.
Scarlyn Reyes is one of those guys…out of the Dominican, he joined the DSL last year as a 23 year old! Where was he before that?? Now 24, the 6’3”, 190 hombre has put together a fine year, and his combined DSL/Bklyn stats for the 2 years are strong: 1.83, nearly a K per inning. 2015 should be a telling season for him.
Scarlyn Reyes is one of those guys…out of the Dominican, he joined the DSL last year as a 23 year old! Where was he before that?? Now 24, the 6’3”, 190 hombre has put together a fine year, and his combined DSL/Bklyn stats for the 2 years are strong: 1.83, nearly a K per inning. 2015 should be a telling season for him.
·
Staying
in Reyes mode for a moment, Persio Reyes
is a 21 year old slender 6’2” 150 righty who has been in the system since 2010,
who’s already logged 250 innings in the organization. Repeated Kingsport this year, with much
improved results (ERA from 4.40 to 1.35).
Innings down in 2014, presumably due to an early season injury (his
first game was July 21). But he pitched
so well, he forced his way onto the list/
Ty Badamo was added to my first
list due to his proximity in Suffolk County to where I lived until
recently. But that is good for a week, then performance is needed...and a
guy with my favorite initials - TB - acquitted himself admirably. Badamo brought GREAT ammo to the mound this
year!
GUPPY
TOP 20 UPDATE (the almost final rankings):
Short season elites (called guppies until they move on to the
big fish ponds known as full season leagues!)
A RATED
|
YOUR
BASIC UPDATE BLURB (thru 8/27/14)
|
RHSP Marcos Molina – Bklyn
|
Last 13.2 innings, 2 hits and 20
Ks. A Man vs. Boys.
|
OF Michael Conforto- Bklyn
|
Up to .338 through Wed 8/27.
|
RHSP Corey Oswalt - Bklyn
|
Consistently fine pitching all year
long.
|
RHSP Martirez Arias - Bklyn/Kport
|
6-0, 0.69 ERA. SAY WHAT??
|
3B Jhoan Urena - Bklyn
|
.292, 23 extra base hits. I’m not complaining.
|
CF John Mora - Bklyn/GCL
|
.319/.406 in 210+ PA, only 30
Ks. Hit a HR for us!!
|
RF Wuilmer Becerra - Kingsport
|
.301/.352/.471. How does one spell “SWEET”?
|
LHRP Brad Wieck – Bklyn
|
1.56, 36 Ks in 23.2 innings. The whiff of success.
|
SS Amed Rosario – Bklyn
|
.282/.331/.367 in Brooklyn at
18. Lots of potential.
|
3B Jean Rodriguez – Kingsport
|
.321/.384/.424. Again, how do you spell “SWEET”?
|
B RATED
|
|
LHRP Kelly Secrest – Bklyn
|
Very similar #’s to Brad Wieck. Which is super.
|
SS Luis Guillorme – Kingsport
|
.279/.336, fine glove. Only 28 K’s in
over 250 PA.
|
RHSP Casey Meisner –
Bklyn
|
Casey had 11 Ks in 6 innings in his
last outing, now has 64Ks in 57 innings. Stengel approves even more.
|
LHRP Shane Bay – Bklyn
|
1.66, 14 SVs in Brooklyn. Rolaids,
thy name is Bay.
|
LHRP
Dave Roseboom – K'port
|
15 gms, 1.74, 1.26,
21 Ks in last 12 innings.
|
LHP Kevin Canelon – GCL
|
1.45, 0.72 WHIP – superb.
|
RHRP Alex Palsha GCL
|
0.69, 19 Ks in 16
inn. 10 SVs. Speaks for itself.
|
RHP Tyler Badamo –
GCL
|
Great as a starter and reliever in
GCL.
|
RHRP Nabil Crismatt
– Bklyn
|
0.56 ERA and lots of Ks in last 10
games! Just 19.
|
OF Vicente Lupo –
Kingsport
|
Terrific August pushes him onto the
list. 7 HR.
|
Honorable Mentions (close but no cigar):
HITTERS:
|
BLURBS CONTINUED
|
OF
Enmanuel Zabala – GCL
|
Hanging above .300
at .301, low Ks, just .367 slug.
|
3B
Eudor Garcia – Kingsport
|
Strong week gets
him to .269/.335/.355. Reputed rake.
|
1B Dash Winningham
– GCL
|
Solid first season
with some pop at the age of 18.
|
LF
Oswald Caraballo – GCL
|
.290/.316/.415,
with 35 RBI in 60 games.
|
SS
Milton Ramos – GCL
|
Down at .236, but 29
RBI in 50 games.
|
PITCHERS:
|
|
RHRP
Josh Prevost – Bklyn
|
Close to Weick
& Secrest in performance so far.
|
RHRP
Jimmy Duff – Kingsport
|
6’6, 200 lb 20th
Rd pick. Excellent all year.
|
Matt
Blackham – Kingsport
|
Fine pitching in
Kingsport.
|
LHP
Adrian Almeida – GCL
|
Very solid
pitching, but high BB. Young lad!
|
RHSP
Scarlyn Reyes – Bklyn
|
Strong in starts
and relief this year with the Cyclones.
|
Holy
smokes – thought I’d never finish!
Have a
great day.
And say
what you have to say.
4 comments:
Thomas -
I can tell you that there has NEVER been this kind of coverage of the lower level Mets players, either in the newspapers or any blogs.
This is a very unique weekly posting that is making once unknown players into household names.
I'll miss this once the season ends.
I agree. Excellent performances made this fun too. Just look at the collective ERAs and K/9 of these 17 pitchers. Collectivley under 2.00 and more than a K per inning. 17 guys. Just remarkable.
And the starters and non-pitchers in the Top 20 list have done great too. Next week will seal the top banana of the group, IMO.
Overall, it has been an incredible regular season year for the Mets Minors. Glad to help tell the tale.
If only we had 17 hitters. Or 7. Or 2.
I agree, as a lifelong Mets fan, I've loved the few times this team has hit above average. Too infrequent, and let's hope some of these offensive guys anywhere in our minors really help put us back in that place again. If Wright and Grandy are in decline, we'll need that badly.
Post a Comment