4/6/15

B-Mets Announce Tentative Opening Day Roster



BINGHAMTON, NY – With Opening Day three days away, the defending champion Binghamton Mets are proud to announce their tentative roster. The B-Mets will welcome seventeen returning players from last year’s team, including twelve players from their 2014 postseason roster. Ten players will be appearing in a Binghamton Mets uniform for the first time.

The Binghamton Mets roster is subject to change and will not be made official until Opening Day.

Starting Pitchers:

While the B-Mets rotation has not been officially set, their tentative roster includes seven players that served as starting pitchers last season. Rainy Lara and Gabriel Ynoa return to the Southern Tier after each notching a win during Binghamton’s 2014 postseason run. Luis Cessa, Michael Fulmer and Matt Koch will be back in a B-Mets uniform after briefing appearing in the Eastern League last season.

Newcomers John Gant and Domingo Tapia round out the B-Mets stable of starting pitchers. Tapia earned a half-dozen wins in 21 starts with the St. Lucie Mets (High-A) in 2014. Gant will be skipping High-A, having spent all last season with his hometown Savannah Sand Gnats (Low-A).

Relievers:

In the bullpen, the B-Mets will welcome back six pitchers that made appearances for them last season. Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star Jon Velasquez returns, along with Chase Huchingson, John Church, Adam Kolarek, Dario Alvarez and Paul Sewald. Following a whirlwind season that saw him start in Low-A and finish in the Majors, Alvarez will open 2015 with Binghamton.

Seth Lugo and Beck Wheeler will be making their Double-A debuts.

Catchers:

Eastern League Postseason MVP Xorge Carrillo will serve as the B-Mets primary catcher. The third-year B-Met carefully guided the B-Mets pitching staff through the postseason, while also supplying an offensive spark in the Eastern League Championship Series.

Albert Cordero joins the catching corps after spending all season last year in St. Lucie.

Infielders:

The Binghamton Mets will welcome back a handful of familiar faces on the infield. After launching 20 home runs last season, Dustin Lawley will be back in a B-Mets uniform. TJ Rivera, who etched his name into Binghamton baseball history with a four-hit, five-RBI game against the Portland Sea Dogs in the Eastern Division Championship Series, will also start the season in Binghamton. Josh Rodriguez, returning from a one-year stint with the Miami Marlins organization, is back with the B-Mets for his third season. Gavin Cecchini, who scored the championship-clinching run, will start the year at Double-A.

Jairo Perez and Aderlin Rodriguez will open the year in Binghamton for the first time in their careers.

Outfield:

After finishing the season with the B-Mets, former first-round pick Brandon Nimmo will be back in the Southern Tier to start the season. Jayce Boyd, fresh off delivering one of the biggest hits in franchise history, will transition to the outfield after spending last year at first base.
Gilbert Gomez, Jared King and Eudy Pina will all make their Double-A debuts in the outfield.

12 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Very interesting. Thought jayce Boyd would make AAA at 1B, but if he can also learn to play outfield, why not leave him in AA. Not surprised Nimmo is there again. Cecchini's promotion to AA is noteworthy.

My guess is Dario Alvarez would've been in AAA were it not for Leathersich.

No mention of Luis Mateo - wonder what has happened to him.

The rotation in AA will be more iffy this year without Matx, who I am psyched to see is in AAA.

Lots of guys in pen, so Akeel Morris is clearly ticketed for St Lucie. At least for a short while.

Xorge Carillo finally will get to show he can put up big #'s offensively at catcher.

Mack Ade said...

Thomas -

The Boyd conversion to outfield is interesting especially since I was told his throwing turned out quite unconventional after his injury last season. Weird.

Re: Mateo - not sure he's still around. There are lots of names I show either still in camp or released without an announcement by the team. I will print them out on Friday

Ernest Dove said...

Please tell me Brandon Allen is not the starting 1B for Vegas.

Tom Brennan said...

Thanks, Mack

I was browsing the web and came across a name - Joey Gallo, drafted in Comp round a few picks after Kevin Plawecki, which also makes him after the oft-criticized Gavin Cecchini.

And I got really angry, that the Mets never go for big boppers like Gallo.

Maybe our readers are unfamiliar with Gallo. Here's the scoop on Gallo, who will be 21 all of this season and is a lefty hitter playing 3B:

Gallo has K’d 429 times in about 1250 plate appearances. That’s a lot. BUT IN JUST 1,056 OFFICIAL MINOR LEAGUE AT BATS, THE LEFTY HITTING 3B HAS AN ASTONISHING 104 HOMERS, INCLUDING HALF A SEASON IN AA AT AGE 20! RUTHIAN.

Also some speed – 28 of 32 steals over those 296 games.

Why do we NEVER get guys like these?

Mack Ade said...

Ernest -

There is no one else ready to play 1B in Vegas

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

You don't want to look at the guys that the Mets didn't draft over the years.

Remember... the Mets didn't draft Matt Harvey in the first two rounds when he came out of high school

Tom Brennan said...

I agree on the specifics, Mack, but if you think about it in general, the last guy with good (but not great) power that they drafted and made it was Wright. Duda was a 7th round flyer that seems to be paying off.

But they never draft a super power bat early. Probably for fear of a bust early round power hitter pick (like Ivan Wilson may well be). With hitters, they seems to go for more multi-skilled guys, but who have moderate power at best.

Especially with the Mets minors overrun right now with guys who fit the "do-everything well, but little power" scenario, I'd draft a bunch of big bats over the next few years, and hope one pans out. Of course, not all your picks for that - just take a risk on some boppers.

Tom Brennan said...

Without Boyd in AAA to play first, I'd play Soup over Allen at first until (if) the Mets recall him, personally.

Soup has a major league future, Allen to me does not. Let Allen prove us wrong when he does play in Vegas, but I'd start Soup over him while he is there.

Tom Brennan said...

Soup won't get much outfield play, because it looks (by process of elimination) like Vaughn, Puello, Castellano, and Taijeron will be in OF, and probably Ceciliani too. So he'd have to play at first or 3rd. Soup won't sit. Maybe he is the everyday 3B for now. But you seem to have at least Reynolds, Muno, Tovar and Herrera for the 2B, SS, 3B spots, so Soup seems more like 1B and some 3B.

Ernest Dove said...

Boyd being groomed to be a future Soup perhaps?

Anonymous said...

Any word on Fulmer? Will he be a starter or reliever?

Tom Brennan said...

Just reading the post, Fulmer is listed as one of their 7 starters. Something has to give there.

Any time they diversify a guy like Boyd, that can only help prepare to be multi-functional.

Be interesting if they move Muno around to perhaps a few starts at 1B and in the OF, just to help him wear a super sub hat. He already has SS, 2B, 3B, even if, as James Preller has noted in days past, that Muno may not be a defensive whiz.