Tom Brennan - DSL DELITES - PITCHERS EDITION

Tom Brennan - DSL DELITES - PITCHERS EDITION

As noted in my top Mets DSL hitters article a few days ago, strong DSL performance often does not mean a lot in terms of a DSL player’s success at higher levels – but it is a positive indicator nonetheless.

Pitcher metrics as a predictor of future excellence for a DSL pitcher, to me, would be 1) high strikeouts (you’d hope against the low level of competition that guys would blow away lots of hitters; 2) low ERA; 3) low WHIP, 4) control, and 5) low pitcher age.

Before looking at pitchers individually, a high level look at team pitching performance is worthwhile.

The DSL 1 Mets squad had relatively elite pitching last season, going 44-27 with a 32 team league-leading 2.42 ERA; the 50-21 DSL 2 Mets had a 2.74 ERA.  The Braves’ team, in contrast, went 18-53.

The Mets’ DSL 1 team was 12^th in strikeouts at 536, 56 below the league leading squad, and the DSL 2 team was 18^th out of 32 teams in Ks.  The DSL 2 team came in 1^st in fewest unearned runs allowed, showing quality pitching and fine defensive team acumen can help a team compile the best record in the entire league.  All in all, for both teams, pitching results were impressive.  Interestingly, the two Mets squads allowed a combined 476 runs, while the worst DSL team in terms of runs surrendered allowed almost as many (437).

DSL 1 METS  TEAM TOP PITCHERS:

Nine DSL 1 pitchers had ERAs under 2.50 and at least 39 innings pitched, and 2 others with ERAs in the low 2’s that combined for 30 IP.  Every pitcher on the team except one had ERAs of 4.01 or below.  And there were 16 guys in total with more than 10 innings and ERAs below 4.00.

Interestingly, only 3 of them fanned more than a K per IP: 

Hector Rodriguez (let’s call him H Rod, a then-19 year old lefty who just turned the big Two Oh) went 38.2 IP, fanned 55 (12.8 K/9), and allowed all 7 of his earned runs in his 2^nd and 3^rd to last outings, but finished his season with a superior 4 inning outing.  He went 3-0, 1.86 with a 1.09 WHIP.  Seems like the top guy to watch in 2018.

The 2 other 9+ guys had only slightly above a K per inning, but were not among their top pitchers.

Three of the team’s 4 other top pitchers have age challenges:

Miguel Ramirez (M Ram) went 6-2, 1.76 with a 0.90 WHIP.  Why?  How about THREE walks and no hit batsmen in 66.2 IP?  He fanned 53.  He should hit at least one batter next year for the heck of it.  The skinny righty, listed at 6’1”, 140, will be 21 this coming March, old but not excessively so for the DSL.  Interestingly, 2016 was night-and-day different for him – 0-7, 5.15, 30 walks in 42 innings.

Nelson Leon (8-3, 2.06, 70 IP, 53 K) had a 1.01 WHIP.  Whoa Nellie!  Why?  He walked 11 in 70 innings and hit 2 batters; M Ram was disgusted at such poor control LOL.  The also-skinny Leon (6’2”, 154) will turn 23 in March, so he needs to rev his engines as age is not his friend, baseball-wise.

Jorge Cespedes (6-2, 2.03, 62 IP, 49 K, 1.19 WHIP) had a nice season too.  The lefty is set to turn 22 in late June, so the calendar is not his friend either. 

Jurgen Jiminez may or may not use Jergens, but he did fine (5-2, 2.40, 48.2 IP, 0.99 WHIP, 33 Ks – low Ks but everything else was solid.  The 6’2”, 200 righty turned 22 this mid-January, and this was his first successful DSL season after 2 shaky ones.

DSL 2 METS TEAM TOP PITCHERS:

Simply put: Solid pitching, backed by great offense and defense on this squad.

Interestingly, 3 guys (Miguel Pinedo, Williams Valencia, and Jose Guerrero) gave up just 5 earned runs in 59 innings, despite walking 35 guys, hitting 8, and fanning just 47.  Smoke and mirrors really helped these wild things. 

How about the other guys?

Ivan Jean is an absolute puzzle – the lefty turned an ancient (for the DSL) 24 years of age in September, going 7-3, 2.14 in 2017 in 59 innings.  That represented slippage from 2016, though, when he went 9-1, 1.89 while allowing just 32 hits in 62 innings.  His Achilles heel, and likely reason a stellar career 19-4, 2.22 and 182 Ks in 158 IP has not gotten him out of the DSL is his 91 walks in his career (5.2 per 9 IP).

Willy Taveras, a 19 year old 5’11, 160 righty, is at the other end of the control spectrum, with just 6 walks in 70 innings in his second season in 2017, in which he went 8-3, 2.31 with an 0.91 WHIP.  He has to be headed stateside in 2018. 

Boris (Badenov) Sanchez is a 20 year old righty in his 3^rd DSL season in 2017, and went 4-0, 2.88 in 65 IP with 59 Ks against just 8 walks – I have to assume that he likes to drill hitters, having hit 13 in 139 career innings.  The 6’2”, 180 righty should be headed stateside in 2018.

Oscar Rojas – another low walks freak with just 2 in 36 innings, to go along with 38 Ks, as he went 1-2, 1.99 in 7 starts plus one save his other game in relief.  He turns 19 in May, and after this brief but very successful first pro year, I’d like to see him pitch in the Gulf Coast League in 2019.

Jefferson Escorcha, an 18 year old lefty used in his rookie year exclusively in relief in 2017, went 21 games, 3-2, 1.86, 28 Ks, 7 walks in 29 innings.  A 1.38 WHIP was not bad…he may have done enough to get him a promo to the Gulf Coast League in 2019, too.

CONCLUSION:

I listed 13 pitchers above.  Will any make it to Queens with the Mets?  Probably one or two, but against weak hitting competition, it is hard to tell.  For instance, consider that (for example) in Brooklyn, several Cyclone relief pitchers also pitched really well, but against far better hitters.

But the Mets' Hansel Robles spent two years in the DSL, going 8-7, with a 3.00 ERA and just 111 Ks in 126 innings, and he made it anyway, and Rafael Montero pitched 18 (superb 7 hit, no walk, 20 K) innings in the DSL as an old (for the DSL) 20 year old before a mid-season promotion – and he made it, too. 

For this 2017 DSL pitching group, their individual prospects in that regard should be considerably clearer in January 2019 so, for heaven’s sake, be patient, will ya?  If you want to know sooner, call them up or something - and get counseling for impulse control.  Most of all, have a great day.