Tom Brennan - METS MINORS STRIKEOUT KINGS
How many strikeouts were there in the major leagues in
2017?
If you guessed, 40,104, and I am sure you all did, you are absolutely right.
That comes out to 8.25 Ks per every 9 innings.
Topping the team list was the Milwaukee Brewers, with 1,571 Ks,
or an astounding 9.7 Ks per game! Special thanks there go to former Met Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who fanned 15 times out of 31 trips to the plate; not up many times, but he did his part. My guess is he forgot his "contact" lenses.
The Mets fanned "only" 1,291 times, or 7.97 times per game, and the champion Houston Astros fanned just 1,087 times, or 6.7 times per game.
Finally, while Mets hitters fanned 1,291 times, Mets’ pitchers fanned 1,374 opposing hitters, 9th best in all of baseball.
Tops? Cleveland with an astonishing 1,614.
Texas fanned just 1,107 or 68.6% as many as Cleveland.
Just in case you were wondering.
The ability to strike out hitters is more critical to a
pitcher’s success than ever before in baseball history, and the days of a Tommy John throwing for over 25 years and never fanning more than 138 in a season are long behind us.
Of course, we let the game's all time strikeout king slip away, a guy named Nolan Ryan - maybe you've heard of him?
Back to my discussion, it is a reasonable statement to make
that Mets executives look at their farm system with a special eye towards guys who can
blow the opposing hitters away.
Who in the Mets minors were the top strikeout pitchers per 9 IP?
I included all 19 relievers with an appreciable number of innings pitched from Brooklyn on up, and K's per 9 innings over 9.0, while adding 2 relievers who fell just short of that but sported great ERAs. I also added just 4 starters who were close to a K per inning, two of whom (Szapucki and Humphreys) are dealing with injuries likely to keep them out for 2018:
Tyler Bashlor - Mr. 15.2
|
NAME
|
LEVEL
|
K’S
|
INNINGS
|
K/9
|
ERA
|
|
RELIEVERS:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tyler Bashlor
|
A – AA
|
84
|
49.2
|
15.2
|
3.44
|
|
Aaron Ford
|
Rk - A
|
33
|
21.0
|
14.1
|
4.29
|
|
Matt
Pobereyko
|
A
|
53
|
34.1
|
13.9
|
3.15
|
|
Steve
Villines
|
Rk
|
41
|
27.1
|
13.5
|
1.65
|
|
Matt
Blackham
|
A
|
82
|
56.2
|
13.0
|
1.43
|
|
Tony
Dibrell
|
Rk
|
28
|
19.2
|
12.9
|
5.03
|
|
Austin
McGeorge
|
A
|
66
|
50.0
|
11.9
|
1.78
|
|
Jamie
Callahan (*)
|
AA - AAA
|
66
|
52.0
|
11.4
|
2.94
|
|
Jacob Rhame
(*)
|
AAA
|
66
|
54.0
|
11.0
|
4.00
|
|
Gerson
Bautista
|
A
|
73
|
59.2
|
11.0
|
4.22
|
|
Chris Viall
|
Rk
|
31
|
26.1
|
10.6
|
3.42
|
|
Ryder Ryan
|
A
|
62
|
54.1
|
10.3
|
4.14
|
|
Kelly
Secrest
|
AA - AAA
|
51
|
45.0
|
10.2
|
3.80
|
|
Steve
Nogosek
|
A - AA
|
78
|
69.0
|
10.2
|
3.52
|
|
Adonis
Uceta
|
A - AA
|
67
|
59.2
|
10.1
|
1.51
|
|
Trey Cobb
|
Rk
|
30
|
27.1
|
9.9
|
2.60
|
|
Kyle
Regnault
|
AA - AAA
|
66
|
64.2
|
9.2
|
2.78
|
|
Drew Smith
|
A - AA
|
57
|
60.0
|
8.6
|
1.65
|
|
Tim
Peterson
|
AA - AAA
|
55
|
58.0
|
8.5
|
1.86
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
STARTERS:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tom
Szapucki (1)
|
Rk - A
|
113
|
81.0
|
12.6
|
1.89
|
|
Jordan
Humphreys
|
A
|
83
|
80.1
|
9.3
|
1.79
|
|
Nabil
Crismatt
|
A
|
142
|
145.2
|
8.8
|
3.95
|
|
Corey
Oswalt
|
AA
|
119
|
134.1
|
8.0
|
2.28
|
1. Included Szapucki totals for 2016 and 2017, since he missed most of 2017.
Best strikeout season in minors by a Mets farmhand that I can recall was Henry Owens in 2005 in AA: 40 innings, 20 saves, 1.58, 0.725 WHIP, 74 Ks. 16.7 Ks per 9 IP.
ReplyDeleteA career ending injury kept his MLB career to just 27 IP. He ended undefeated at 2-0.
Nice chart.
ReplyDeleteWe have only one more year of dealing with the PCL and the lack of positive stats that come out of there.
BTW... thank you for putting Bashlor on the prospect map.
Bashlor had a few, very brief rough stretches - otherwise he was deadly all year. 2018 should be a big year for Tyler - unless he is included in a trade for...Andrew McCutcheon?? We may have few trade chips, but he'd be one, I'd think.
ReplyDeleteMy guess... Balshor, Oswalt, and Guerrero would get you McCutchen.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is it would be a one year rental
The Mets must learn to sign Intl kids and draft better. You have to build from within.
We are two years away from our current 'dream rotation' turning old and they haven't thrown one 5-game period together as a rotation.
I have an article planned in a few weeks, but it concludes with the following about Yankee farm system by John Sickels:
ReplyDeleteYankees have insane depth and a large number of the “Other C+” guys would rank on Top 20 lists in other systems. There is so much depth here it is rather overwhelming.
Some of these grades may actually be too conservative.
We could use HALF that talent in our minors, Mack.
Tom -
ReplyDeleteIt starts at the bottom.
We need that phenom staff of SPs and RPs that dominated the DSL league last year to get their visas in line and take over the pitching staffs of both the GCL Mets and Kingsport.
Tom missed out on the real K-King of Mets lore...Jack Leathersich. In his opening season in the minors he had 18.5 Ks per 9 IP and for his entire minor league career AVERAGED an eye-popping 14.9. Unfortunately TJS and his 5 BB/9 IP problem have kept him from having greater success.
ReplyDeletetom if only we could see how the Yankees acquired the talented farm system...
ReplyDeletedid they just learn how to draft? i think not...
Mack, our DSL teams in 2017 were almost the lone bright spot in the lower minors - let's hope some of those guys are the real deal in the states this year.
ReplyDeleteReese, Leathersich was one of my favorite guys to write about. He may still have a strong pen career in front of him. Starting this year.
ReplyDeleteEddie, the Yanks made great moves in acquiring elite relievers in Miller and Chapman that they flipped for several great prospects; have done very well in the int'l market; and of late, have drafted well (you can be the JUDGE).
ReplyDeleteWe drafted Gavin Cecchini, Matt Reynolds, and other non-elite talent guys like powerless Branden Kaupe far too often. Fire the talent pickers and start over, and beef up scouting where appropriate.
Putting Pedro's picture there reminded me of his first Mets game. Gave up a few runs early, then got fired up and started striking out Reds left and right - 12 Ks in 6 innings - then the pen blew his win. Welcome to the Mets.
ReplyDeleteThomas, I'm looking at the 25-30 ranked prospects (MLB)-- YANKS: Lonathon Loaisiga RHP, Everson Periera OF, Juan Then RHP, Giavonny Gallegos RHP & Trevor Stephan RHP; METS: Adrian Hernandez OF, Corey Oswalt RHP, Jamie Callahan RHP, Quinn Brodey OF, Gerson Bautista RHP. All "overall 45."
ReplyDelete16 yr olds Hernandez & Pereira line up speed, arm, field Adrian more pop, Everson more contact.
26 yr old Gallegos got a cup of coffee in NY, Oswalt, 2 yrs younger, may get sip soon.
23 yr old Loaisiga produced 33K in 32 IP in Rookie Ball last year, 23 yr old Callahan was 6-3 in AAA with 66K in 52 IP.
22 yr olds Stephan (34 IP in Rookie Ball) and Bautista (59 IP, 73K in A+) are comparable I guess. Bautita ++FB, Stephan only 6BB.
Don't know how to compare Stanford OF 3rd rounder Brodey & 17 yr old Then (56K in 61 IP in DSL).
But basically I'm not swapping my "bottom 5/30" for theirs. Even if they are the omniscient, omnipotent and (on this site) omni-present Yankees.
Hobie, I hear you, but it is hard to deny that the Yankees are firing on all cylinders right now. Power, speed, starters, relievers, minors...bursting at the seams with talent.
ReplyDeleteIt just makes things like the Mets' below average minors system pale in comparison.
Thomas. I just compared their 25-30 ranked guys with ours to sample the "depth" question. IF I'm supposed to be impressed with theirs, it seems ours are comparable if not superior.
ReplyDeleteBasically I don't care about the Yankees one wit and wish this site would take off its knee pads.
On Kaplan's recent question regarding adding another top-end starter...
ReplyDeleteI too feel a little unsure with having so many injury plagued starters on the same one rotation (again) it seldom works out. I sort of wish that the Mets had shed perhaps two of the more injury plagued starters just so that two new starters could be added-in who don't get hurt twice every season with a major arm injury of some new kind.
Having said that, I wouldn't rush to add in anyone from the expensive free agent list either. I'd wait and see just who can actually hold up in 2018 and then who cannot. There are some options in the event that the homegrown injury bug (probably nutritional in origin if you really study this) hits the 2018 Mets rotation all at once, as it did in 2017. Pitchers like Gsellman, Lugo, PJ Conlon (he's 24 years old) and has an excellent curve, slider, and decent fastball. Give him an ST invite and let him work with the Mets new pitching coach. Be patient because we haven't got a lot starting from the leftside right now and see what you have there with Conlon. We need at least one lefty starter more. I would also bring Kyle Regnault into ST camp as well, to possibly start. If he gave the Mets 5-6 solid innings starting each time out, that would be more than fine. Don't underestimate Kyle here is what I am saying. His MiLB stats tell me he could be decent starting at this MLB level. He's not too old.
I'd probably still trade Stephen Matz anyway (despite what everyone else thinks) probably for a decent kid corner outfielder with some pop to him. Matz is way too injury prone and is getting into trickier type arm injuries, a bad omen. Johnie Franco saw Matt Harvey pitching recently and gives the thumbs up on Matt, which is optimistic. So the 2018 do have starting rotation options.
Out of that proverbial box...What about redirecting like a Drew Smith towards starting? The Mets have enough good young relievers already ahead of Drew. Drew is also 24 years old and has two solid pitches down already, and above average MiLB strikeouts to innings. Why typecast pitchers so young when in actuality maybe they could both start and relieve if directed to. It's happened before in MLB. Remember a kid named Nolan Ryan? Once called "The Wild Man of Borneo."
You can literally create sound alternative ideas by being creative and outside the box in your thinking. We don't have to settle for older, slightly beat-up, overpriced free agent pitchers or field players if you can do this to a high level.
Can you?
And I will say it again...
ReplyDeleteSecond base is not a high problem position. In Bucs' Josh Harrison, you do get more offense, but he's like 32 years old this season and everyone starts their decline about this time. Isn't the more important thing here (than second base) getting another power-hitting batter into the 2018 NYM lineup? I think so anyway. That's precisely why I'd add in a young homerun hitting outfielder more. This move adds to the youth core nucleus this team needs badly to recreate now and move forward with, but also this additional corner outfielder with pop is your "insurance move" in the event that either Michael Comforto or Yoenis Cespedes get hurt again (since the team is unwilling to move Yoenis to first base which is probably where he belongs playing with those NFL legs of his and his age being now over thirty.)
The Mets have options at second base already.
I am a huge fan of Luis Guillorme like Mr Mack is. What I see in Luis is a tough minded, blue collar, hard working player almost like a Lenny or a Wally was back in 1986. I love this type of player in MLB. It is inspiring to the rest of the team and the team's fanhood as well. So you have Guillorme, then you have Cecchini, then Reynolds, and even Kid LJ Mazilli. So why sweat second base at all really?
I'd much rather see the Mets go out and attain one more young corner outfielder with HR capability, so that the most vulnerable position on this team (after the starting rotation) the outfield position, is covered all season long.
Playoff bound optimist.
Good points. And if these guys can be really healthy in 2018, everyone should feel optimistic.
ReplyDeleteJust because Drew Smith's old team used him as a reliever does not mean he can not switch and start with the Mets org.
Matz season ending injury in 2017 same as Jake's in 2016, and Jake bounced back strong, so I would not assume Matz will miss a lot of time in 2018. A healthy Steve would have increased trade value. But if someone wanted him now, no discounts.
Conlon will have to prove he can get big leaguers out with a modest at best fastball. Maybe he can have Tommy John type success.