Why not take a peek at hot Mets' minor leaguer bats?
(The minors teams are losing a lot because the Mets' minors pitching is like the worst ever - many of the Mets' minors hitters started slow, but I am proud to say now that the hitters are all right, and getting better as time rolls on).
I surprised myself when I ended up with about 15 sizzlers.
"Hot" includes:
1) very hot of late, regardless of what came earlier, and
2) hitting very well all season, and hot at times.
Here goes - based on stats thru Monday (except, in the face of a heat spurt like Mark Vientos' explosion thru Thursday, I updated those lads' info):
TRAVIS BLANKENHORN, IF - 6 for 16 in AAA, with a double, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs, and 5 walks and just 2 Ks? Wait, he needs an Fuego Update: thru Thursday, now 7 for 18, 7 walks, a scant 2 Ks, and 3 HRs. Super Fuego, dude!
KHALIL LEE, OF - .243 in 23 games hardly seems to qualify, but his 17 walks give him a fine .412 OBP (and still rising fast, to .259/.439/.420 in 107 PA thru Thursday. Kind of, I dunno, Nimmo-like #s?)
NICK MEYER, C - he hasn't been hot, per se, but has hit .287 in roughly 100 plate appearances. Quality.
CARLOS CORTES, IF/OF - .548 slugging % in AA due to 23 extra base hits in 37 games, which is a 100 extra base hit pace over 162 games. Which is eye-catching. Hitting a very solid .288, with 18 walks to boot.
HAYDEN SENGER, C - .323/.377/.552 - no, that is not Francisco Alvarez's slash line, that is Senger's in 25 games. Those numbers are frankly dandy. Especially for a catcher.
LUIS CARPIO, IF - imitating the Mighty Lindor, Luis was totally crapping out. at .167 in late May. But unlike the Mighty Lindor, he is a sizzling 20 for 62 since then, lifting his BA up to .255. Despite losing a year to COVID, he still is 23 (for another 3 weeks), although he has been around quite a long time.
MARK VIENTOS, IF (pictured above at the time of the draft in 2017, when he was # 59 overall) - another guy who seems to have been around forever, but will not even turn 22 until December. He was scuffling season-long after his 2nd straight hitless game on June 8 sank him to .211.
Last 9 games, thru Wednesday in AA for Vientos?
EN FUEGO! 6 HRs. SIX.
Oh, I'm sorry, another update required - he hit 2 more on Thursday, giving Mark Vientos A STUNNING 8 HOMERS IN 10 GAMES!! WHO DOES THAT??? SUPER EN FUEGO, DUDE! MAYBE HE'S, I DUNNO, REALLY ANOTHER MARK - LIKE MARK MCGWIRE OR SOMETHING. Up to .254 with 29 RBIs now.
May this latest explosive surge become the VIENTOS NORM.
One more thing: he has 38 HRs and 169 RBIs as a pro. Just in case you were wondering.
Also, I am surprised John From Albany never noted a little resemblance of Vientos to the venerated (and obviously older) Edgardo Alfonzo, pictured below:
FRANCISCO ALVAREZ, C - .333/.461/.583. No, those are not Hayden Senger's stats - they're even more superb. Might we have a great one in the making? (The answer contains these 3 letters: Y..E..S)
BRET BATY, IF - .320/.427/.528 - those are fine stats. Numbers at home are far weaker, due to Cyclone force winds. Keep it up. May you experience tail winds from here on out.
RONNY MAURICIO, IF - .479 slugging %, with 17 XBHs in 36 games, a fine slugging pace. Like Baty, numbers at home are far weaker, and overall are weaker, due to Cyclone force winds. My doctor's prescription? Play 130 games all on the road, to avoid the extreme home field disadvantage. Or, promote him to AA.
LUKE RITTER, 2B - last 5 games, 6 for 20 with 4 HRs and 9 RBIs. BOOM! Hits like mad on the road, hits like sad in Cyclones Park.
JOE SUOZZI, OF/1B - .313, with a .403 OBP in his first 17 pro games. Real Nice. His Dad, NYS Dem Representative Tom Suozzi, suggests he add a little SALT. (That's a state and local taxes joke. Laugh if you get it - and if not take it with a grain of SALT and read on.)
NICK GADDIS, C - on base 21 of 44 times. So...duh...he deserves to get up a lot more than 44 times, ya think?
JOSE PEROZA, IF - what's the 411 on Jose? His .411 OBP, of course, which INCREASED to .423 on Thursday) with 28 walks in 35 games and 26 RBIs and 25 runs. Hit a grand slam this week, too.
A big suggestion: I long told you to pay attention to unheralded Tylor Megill for a reason - I'm telling you the same thing with Jose PerOza.
ALEX RAMIREZ, OF - the 18 year old wunderkind super-prospect started out something like an understandable, "I'm just 18 and I'm in A Ball" 2 for 22, but is now 17 for 74, so he is racking up hits lately - not bad for an 18 year old in A ball. Focus both of your lenses on this guy.
Special Mentions:
Jerad Eickhoff was 2 for 7 with a HR, 2 RBIs, and just 1 K in Syracuse. Love Mets' pitchers who can hit. Of course, he goes 1 for 2 with the Mets, right on cue.
By the way, you may not look at Eickhoff as an MLB SP 4, but consider these MLB career stats first:
444 innings, 4.44 RA-9, 440 Hits, 4.38 FIP, .412 Win %, and darn it, one short of 400 Ks. Some subliminal messaging, perhaps?
Pete Crow-Armstrong - bum wing led to early surgery, but oh, those 6 games he did play in, with his .563 OBP. Incredible. Get healthy, and for Pete's sake, STAY HEALTHY, like, I dunno, Cal Ripken or something.\.
I have always liked Vientos over Baty.
ReplyDeleteMore power and better defense
How about defense. If your looking at overall play and fastest to the show what would be your rating? Also what's up with Blankenhorn....I mean is he for real? Tom as always great post as sometimes I can't sleep at night waiting for the next one.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gary. A good article on minors defense would be good stuff indeed. Maybe the defensively minded John From Albany may want to whip something up on that. Me? I'm a Chuck Hiller guy, and you know what that means.
ReplyDeleteMack, Vientos in fairness was thrown in over his head at the start of this year - which I like. If you then adjust to tougher pitching, you rise faster. He has more than adjusted.
ReplyDeleteBefore jumping off the Baty Bandwagon though, consider my article tomorrow morning, as it will at least give you pause.
And Gary, don't miss that eye-opener tomorrow either.
Yoel Romero - 3 errors last night; Hayden Senger - 2 errors last night. Tough to win a game like that.
ReplyDeleteMauricio 9 errors so far this season in 35 games this season in Brooklyn. They need to figure out another position for him.
I like Baty's defense at 3B. I'd put him as an above average 3B. Have not seen Vientos play 3rd. They have him splitting time at 1B with Will Toffey this year. They also have Peroza spending a lot of time at 2B in St. Lucie. Maybe that says something, maybe not.
Great article. How do you explain the problem with the Mets pitchers in the minors this year? Scott & Alderson seem to be trying to find pitchers from all over to try and help in the minors and nothing is working. What happened to their existing pitchers? Are they all hurt or doing lousy? I think we should be drafting a lot of pitchers this year.
ReplyDeleteRaw, a number of reasons for the abysmal pitching in the minors (not just in Syracuse):
ReplyDelete1) John From Albany pointed out some today - you trade away fine prospect pitchers like Kevin Smith and Simeon-Woods, that hurts.
2) A number of guys have been called up, notably of late Megill and Eickhoff. That hurts. Yamamoto or Luchesi would have been in AAA - now both are hurt. And Harol Gonzalez, who was great in 2019, needed Tommy John surgery this spring. I think Jared Biddy is another who had a nice 2019, and hurt now. Mickey Jannis is gone - he was solid in 2019, signed with Baltimore, got his big league debut the other night at age 33 and gave up 7 runs in 3 1/3.
Kilome is hurt again. Tommy Wilson was out and just got back. Sewald was a real stabilizer in AAA - gone to Seattle. Matt Allan? Could have been starring, now he is just scarring.
3) A lot of guys just not pitching well, like Nogosek, who was great in AAA in 2019, awful now. Cobb? Really struggling. Zanghi? Good in 2019, horrible this year. Could be the year off, but other teams are pitching better and not hitting the "year off" excuse button. Junior Santos is pitching poorly for St Lucie, as are a number of other very wild pitchers. The list of pitchers doing well is far shorter than the bad list. Thankfully, JT Ginn beat Thor back from their simultaneous TJS surgeries in March 2020 and Ginn is doing well.
Overall pitching at the 4 levels is even worse than it appears, for another reason I cover at 9:30 tomorrow, involving Brooklyn.
I have never seen the Mets' minors have worse pitching. Let me correct myself - I have never seen it nearly this bad.
Tom FYI - Biddy was released and signed with Colorado. Last I checked he was doing well for them in AAA.
ReplyDeleteJust checked. Biddy is in High A for Colorado. In 8 games - 11 innings, 3.86 ERA...11 hits...11 Ks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. Why they would have released Biddy is a puzzler.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised they released Matt Mullenbach as well. The Twins signed him and sent him to AAA. He has so far pitched one game, two innings, no runs allowed - yet has not pitched since June 6th. Not sure what happened injury or release.
ReplyDelete