Dr. Seuss books as a kid were great fun...
Especially Green Eggs and Ham.
Time in Metsville for Green Eggs and Blackham?
Maybe.
Matt Blackham is a 26 year old reliever (29th round, 2014, most likely drafted that low then due to his small stature) who has done nothing but pitch great as he's slowly climbed thru the Mets system.
Recently at AAA, he started the season in AA and excelled there:
In 28 games, 5-2, 2.72 ERA, 6 of 9 saves, 59 Ks in 39.2 IP.
Finally promoted, he has not experienced AAA shock like so many pitchers promoted to AAA do. He has done just fine:
In 6 games, 8 IP, 3 hits, 4 walks, 6 Ks, 1 run allowed.
He has never had a bad minor leagues season, but was significantly slowed by Tommy John surgery that cost him much of 2015 and all of 2016.
He briefly pitched as a starter before his TJS, but otherwise has only pitched in relief in his career - 6 starts and 124 relief outings.
So how has he done purely as a reliever?
124 outings, 184 IP, 237 K, 1.96 ERA, 17-7, 16 of 22 in saves, and just 100 hits allowed.
Incredible.
So why is the diminutive hard-throwing righty not in Queens already?
My guess is it is control - he has allowed 83 walks in those 184 relief innings, and 25 walks (versus 65 Ks) in 48 IP this year.
Oddly, he has only hit 6 batters in his career, so his control can't be too bad - but a 4.7/9 IP walk rate in 2019 is a concern.
Walks can kill you at the major league level - but he has succeeded at every minor league level - and he is not homer-prone, with just 10 allowed in his career (but 5 this year against higher competition).
Me? I wonder if some other failing pitchers currently in the minors who are on the 40 man roster get dropped and Blackham gets a call up in September, even if to do nothing more than mop up in a pennant race.
When he gets called up, I will celebrate with a big breakfast:
GREEN EGGS AND BLACK HAM!
Yes we need all the help we can get as it will probably be the thing that kills us if we don't make the WC or lose in the playoffs. Is it me or does it seem like our cross town rivals play the "O's" every week.
ReplyDeleteI saw that Matthew Allen threw 2 scoreless innings so how about a fresh arm in the BP (:
ReplyDeleteMatt Allen and Josh Wolf doing A OK...but I would call up undrafted Jared Biddy, yet to allow an earned run for Brooklyn. We believe in the unfathomable.
ReplyDeleteYes, I checked...the Yanks have played Baltimore 62 times this year. So far.
ReplyDeleteGood kid that deserves a chance, especially since our pen has shot so many blanks this season.
ReplyDeleteFirst up this month?
I hope so.
It makes sense to bring him up and add him to the 40 man roster. He will most likely be a Rule 5 target this winter and might as well see what he can offer now.
ReplyDeleteBlackham's career minors #'s are pretty significantly better than Tyler Bashlor's...I'd promote Blackham before Bashlor at this point if it were my call.
ReplyDeleteMatt has been a surprise for being drafted that high, also McNeil was drafted on the 12th rd, Alonso on the 2nd rd, the Mets scouts have done well
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