DYNAMIC YOUNG PITCHING TRIO by Tom Brennan
Watching the Mets lately is like stumbling on a grisly crime scene where you can't believe what you just saw and you avert your gaze as quickly as possible. And glad you have a good grief counselor on speed dial, because good grief, people, it ain't been pretty in Queens.
The return of Cespedes, Reyes and Cabrera could dramatically change things, but will it be in time? Not hopeful right now. (But then again, I wasn't hopeful in late July of 2015, either).
So with gaze averted from all the grizzliness, I look to one of my favorite places, the Mets Minors, for solace and comfort, and see something delightful:
A Dynamic Young Pitching Trio: Tom Szapucki, Harol Gonzalez, and Justin Dunn.
Let's spare the details here and look at what they've done this year (mostly in Brooklyn, with a smidgeon of Kingsport thrown in):
128 innings pitched, 169 Ks, 77 hits, 38 walks, 16 earned runs, and a Bob Gibson-circa-1968 ERA of 1.12.
Of the 3, only Gonzalez has reached the age of 21. The least pedigreed of those 3, he has been on fire, with only 2 runs allowed over his last six dominant starts spanning 41 innings.
Have you forgotten the grisly crime scene and started to grin yet? They're giving me Queens Mets Amnesia. Those 3 guys make me grin. A lot.
On an unrelated but equally happy note, in Tyler Bashlor's last 2 relief outings, he recorded 10 outs. Nine were by strikeout. How's that for notable?
His is a feel-good story as, after pitching just 16 innings in 2013, he missed the next two seasons due to arm woes. While he has remained in Class A Columbia all year, it's been a fine return-from-hell year for Bashlor: 31 games, 3-1, 2.47, 62 K in 47 IP. Let's hope this is just the start of his feel-good story.
Have a great weekend, fellow sufferers.
Just noticed LJ Mazilli got promoted to Vegas. Must have replaced Herrera
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Phil Evans, who was playing much better than Mazzilli in AA, must not have been happy. Mazzilli is no Herrera.
ReplyDeleteJust thought of Ruben T....under 100 MINOR league plate appearances in 2016, and on base % uner .300. To think we debated this guy in the past.
I wish they hadn't traded Herrera, especially if Mazzilli is considered the next best 2nd base prospect.
ReplyDeleteBruce will be Jeremy Burnitz and Herrera will be an all-star and I'll be banging my head repeatedly against a lamp post. Like I did with Fernando Vina.
What's that line from the end of "Chinatown"? Something like, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown".
"Forget it Jake. It's the Mets".
IB, oddly, Dilson has hardly played with the Reds AAA team since the trade. Maybe he caught the Met Injury Flu before he left. Four games.
ReplyDeleteThe three pitches highlighted in this article may allow the Mets to move a Wheeler or even a Matz at the end of 2017. I have a feeling all 3 rookie ballers are coming fast. And who knows about Marcos Molina throwing his hat back in the mix next year. Andrew Church has put himself on the radar screen too,
Robert Gsellman was looking as if he was doing the same until the Mets-Malady hit him, too (well, that and the PCL). I think he feels Rafael Montero's pain. They've got to get out of the PCL environment otherwise they'll never know if any of their hitters can actually hit and never find out if any of their fast rising pitchers can overcome the pitching hell of Las Vegas.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Reese. Wheeler seeing Dr Andrews. Too many pitching studs get hurt. Get them all up to the bigs ASAP.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Reese. Wheeler seeing Dr Andrews. Too many pitching studs get hurt. Get them all up to the bigs ASAP.
ReplyDeleteSzapucki gave up 4 runs on 3 hits in 5 innings last night, but oh boy, 10 more Ks! 86 in 52 innings!
ReplyDeleteLindsay had 7 ribbies last night, and a .500 on base % over about 20 games. Another smile there.