Before my topics, yesterday’s recap, and….:
Colorado is up next for 3 games. Rockies road record?
3-24. Oh, my.
The Mets BETTER win all three of those games.
White Sox series? Mets bats are sputtering. Soto and Lindor are in need of a day off. Nimmo nicely was on 4 times yesterday, while Vientos did his best Kingman imitation (1-5, 3 run HR, 3Ks), but the other hitters napped, and Canning and Waddell got whipped by the White Sox for 8 runs…
…it was a matinee game, so naturally, ex-struggling-now-thriving-ex-Mets prospect Mike Vasil (2.10 ERA) totally had the Mets for lunch (3 scoreless and 5 Ks), so to assuage the “the Mets can’t hit for spit” pain in my heart, I quickly moved on to a place of solace…and yes…JOY!
THE METS MINORS!
Brooklyn wins AGAIN. Six runs again (yawn).
Cristofer Gomez, in his last 8.1 IP?
One hit, SIXTEEN STRIKEOUTS! WHAT??
And Saul Garcia fanned the side (1.38, 25 Ks in 13 IP). I’m a Saul Man!
And Flamin’ Raimon Gomez tossed 2 hitless innings.
Friggin’ Clones team is 32-15.
Meanwhile…Colin Houck hit TWO HRs and has 26 RBI’s! St Lucie WON!
And Syracuse won TWO! Blackburn and McLean were STRONG!
Mauricio? 12 for 21. Hitting just .571. Meaning his batting failure average is .429. Call him up, send Soto down? Nah, just kidding. Soto is about to go 12 for 21 in this 3 game Rockies series.
WOW! The Mets Minors are ROCKIN’.
NOW, ON TO MY REGULARLY SCHEDULED TOPICS….
Lots more Mets guys doing well in the minors than in 2024. LOTS!!
Here are a few more to add to my recent spate of player spotlights:
SPOTLIGHT ON...JACK WENNINGER
He should legally change his name to Winninger since he is winninger more than most minor league pitchers.
On Sunday, he nailed it again. Dude is IMPRESSIVE!
Already in AA, he is 5-2, 2.70 this year in AA, 53 Ks in 47 innings, .195 BAA, 0.94 WHIP.
I'm sure if he was still alive, my father, also named Jack, would be rooting hard for this Jack.
It appears that Wenninger throws in the mid 90s with a great change up that drops off the table. Fantastic control, too, with 11 walks in 47 IP this year. The 6'4" 23 year old righty has quickly racked up 162 minor league innings in 2024 and 2025, after a 2 inning debut in 2023. Another impressive arm who could be impactful in Queens in 2026.
SPOTLIGHT ON...WILL WATSON
Will Watson was a 7th round pick in 2024, The righty is having a special year so far, as are so many of his fellow Mets organization pitchers.
On Sunday, he started out with 4 perfect innings, fanning 6, before allowing a lead off HR in the 5th.
This year, in St Lucie, Will is showing signs that he will be a good Mets pitcher someday.
Mack recently noted this good stuff about Watson:
Fastball – low-to-mid 90s, T-97. Flat vertical break. Highly effective. Average 2,300 RPM with up to 22” induced vertical break.
- Considered elite.
Slider – mid-80s with sweepy break. Best secondary pitch. Complements fastball.
Saw some video of Will - he looks impressive.
He played some shortstop in college, too, reminiscent of a former Met who started out at SS and changed to pitching - Jacob deGrom, who went from college shortstop to emergency starting pitcher for Stetson to a 9th round MLB Draft pick to injured and unheralded prospect to NL Rookie of the Year and 2-time Cy Young Award winner, all in about eight years.
May he also someday pitch like deGrom.
Hurry up, Will - we need to get Watson to join Holmes in the Mets rotation.
If so we can change the name of Citi Field to Scotland Yard. And then solve the mystery of the missing runs.
SPOTLIGHT! MONSIEUR METOYER RISES AGAIN
Post-TJS injury, former 40th rounder Brian Metoyer (0.87 ERA) has thrown 10.1 IP, allowing just 2 hits and one earned run this year for Brooklyn.
I wonder….how far and fast will this man with a great name for a hockey player rise?
(I can almost hear it…Guy Lafleur fires the puck to Metoyer, racing up the left side. He shoots….HE SCORES! HE SCORES!) (I know, I’m nuts).
IRVING COTA DESERVES A SPOTLIGHT TOO!
34 IP, 4-0, 1.34?
“SPOTLIGHT, PLEASE!”
SOTO CANNOT CATCH A BREAK
Smacking the ball everywhere with little to show for it. Then he drills a hit…which wasn’t.
On Tuesday, a 110 MPH screamer into right center, with Nimmo on 1B. Nimmo rounds second, heading for third. Soto is going for a double.
Except the runners were confused. Seems the umps were, too. It appeared Michael Taylor may have caught the ball, but not so…he in fact short-hopped it. Nimmo circled back past Soto to retreat towards first base, thinking the ball was caught.
A stupid rule evaporated Soto’s hit. Per an article on the Mets’ website:
“Under rule 9.05 (b)(1), the scorer is not allowed to credit the batter with a hit unless every runner that is forced to advance actually advances to the next base. The force on Nimmo was reinstated as soon as he retreated back around second base (because he thought he needed to tag up), and he ended up back on first base. It's as if Nimmo never successfully reached second base on the play, and that means Soto, the batter, can't be given a hit, even though he reached first base safely before he was called out.”
My thoughts?
Technically, it makes sense. However, in substance, it is a stupid rule.
Soto reached first, and he flat out deserves to be credited with a hit, regardless of what followed . Change the stupid rule. And Nimmo advanced a base, only to be confused and, in that confusion, “un-advance”.
Let’s take this to its most absurd….let’s say a guy is throwing a no hitter.
Ninth inning. Man on first with a walk. Soto rips that ball, rounds first, but is not credited with a hit because of the confusion that happened.
Rules? Pitcher gets his no hitter. Totally tainted. Absurd.
Speaking of no hitters, I fondly watched a clip of 44 year old Nolan Ryan that popped up on Facebook. 25 years beyond his Mets debut, he was absolutely bringing the heat. Searing. Untouchable. 16 strikeouts, 7th no hitter. There will NEVER be another Nolan Ryan. The Mets dumped him.
How different would this Mets franchise have been if they:
1) drafted future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who was consensus #1, but the Mets inexplicably passed on;
2) didn’t trade excellent Amos Otis for old Joe Foy;
3) didn’t trade future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan for a washed up Fregosi;
4) didn’t trade the excellent Ken Singleton for orange Rusty Staub, and
5) didn’t trade the great HOF Tom Seaver for a bunch of serviceable parts.
Sorry, Big Red Machine, the Mets would have owned the 1970s if they just did the obvious in these 5 situations back then.
Happy Thursday.
11 comments:
Morning, Tom. Holmes and Watson. I see what you did there. 😊
Mets minors, and especially AA and below, are teeming with pitching talent. It seems that every day there’s at least one guy starting for one of the affiliates who you can dream on. Some of the numbers are otherworldly (49K/3BB in 46 IP for Zack Thornton. What?)
Relatedly, I’m wondering if anyone here can explain to me why they use a different ball in AA and below than they use in AAA/MLB. Why would they have pitchers spend years learning precise grips and pinpoint control of multiple pitches just to get to AAA and hear “nice work, kid. Now try it with this totally different ball.” These guys aren’t 12 years old. Their hands are fully grown by the time they’re drafted. Why not let them learn with the ball they’ll need to earn their living with? Are the lower minors balls just cheaper? Why would they do this?
Holy cow, has Wenninger hit puberty yet? He looks like he's 12
Jon, also see pictures of Jonah Tong, whose proof to get into a bar would be closely scrutinized. Youthful aces.
They have some balls to use the ones they do in AAA. It is odd. Nonetheless, Sproat is well behind Blackburn’s, who has had no issues whatsoever in his two rehab starts in AAA. Sproat is an enigma. May he try to emulate John Tudor 1985. 1-7 before Memorial Day, 20-1 thereafter.
Sproat probably needs to immediately go to Tampa or Chicago, where he will immediately dominate at the major league level like Vasil and Orze.
Mack, if I am a top AA pitcher, I am doing my side sessions with the AAA ball. You’ll already have the feel when promoted.
I am quickly becoming a Wenninger fan
Great idea.grasshopper
A quiet ride up
We need to keep in mind that the White Sox are improving.
Started out a miserable. 5-19. Since then, a much better 13-19. Sadly we got them on their upswing.
And the Sox will continue to improve! 60 wins maybe?
60 wins for CWS would be a 50% year over year increase - even if they are still a bottom 5 team
Post a Comment