SPOTLIGHT ON...LHSP JONATHAN SANTUCCI
I first saw Jonathan Santucci pitch in the Futures Game.
Looked great. Made me an instant fan.
To me, he looked like the great Bruce Hurst, who won 146 career games, and had 11 or more wins in 10 straight seasons, AND nearly prevented the Mets from winning the 1986 World Series. Hurst was 3-0 in 5 post season starts that year, with a 2.10 ERA in 38 IP.
Hurst's career 3.92 ERA was higher than it would have been had he not pitched as a lefty in difficult Fenway (4.14) for many years. If he pitched in Shea instead I bet his career ERA would have been 3.50.
Back to Santucci.
He was immediately sent to High A to make his minor league debut. The 46th overall pick, a very high pick….a 6'2", 205 lefty fireballer, he struggled to adjust to this high pro entry level in April, with 12 innings, 13 runs allowed, and 2.00 WHIP.
And then 2 more mediocre outings to start the merry month of May.
Enough of the struggles.
Time to don the Bruce Hurst Superman costume.
Starting on May 16, he has had 4 starts that have been stellar:
20.1 IP, just 11 hits, 6 walks, 22 Ks, and JUST ONE RUN.
ERA quickly down well below 5.00 to 4.35.
Pitching like....well, like a fine 46th overall pick.
Pitching kinda like…well…the great Bruce Hurst.
2027 Mets rotation for Hurst Santucci? Very possibly.
(Of course, the Mets may need a 12 man rotation by 2027. SO MUCH TALENT!)
Yes, another fine arm in Metsville Minors.
Santucci the Superb. Hurst II.
Hopefully, he will be better than a former 72nd overall pick - fellow left hander Steve Matz, who has been roughly a .500 career hurler after he sizzled out of the gates as a major leaguer. he won 11 of his first 12 decisions in 2015-16, 47-61 since.
And hopefully better than lefty Jon Niese, who was 69-68, 4.07 career.
No, I am holding out for Santucci to be better: the next Bruce Hurst.
HBP LEADERS
Thru Wednesday. The Mets had been hit by pitches 40 times. The Phillies and Braves, too…well combined those two teams have been hit 40 times, just to clarify. Now, Lindor has a broken pinky toe from a HBP.
White Sox? 12 HBP.
METS WIN OVER ROCKIES 4-2
Stars came through in a nail biter. Soto had 3 hits and a walk. Lindor had the game-deciding 2 run double in the 9th. Pete was huge. Marte (2 hits) at .248 has the team’s 4th highest batting average, 2 points behind Torrens.
SPEAKING OF HBPs
In Friday’s AA game: Jett Williams got beaned, came out of Friday’s game. Condition - not sure. Update coming today, no doubt. Hopefully just a headache.
Moving on...
Syracuse nail biter. Won 18-0. Sproat six scoreless. Resurgent Ritter 4 hits.
St Lucie hurlers fanned 17 in a loss. 17 is a LOT. AND...
Manaea gives up 4 runs in a short first outing for Brooklyn.
9 comments:
No update on Jett yet
Friday's loss by the Rumble Ponies marked the end of a 12 game winning streak. Great job by the farmhands!
Paul, the Rumblers started to hit and, with that great BRP pitching (I touch on that on Tuesday), they are a machine.
I completely missed this when I noted St Lucie fanning 17 last night. In another loss, “Binghamton had five pitchers combine for 19 strikeouts, which broke a single-game franchise record. Right-handers Jack Wenninger (9 strikeouts), Hunter Parsons (4 strikeouts), Alex Carrillo (3 strikeouts), Carlos Guzman (2 strikeouts), and Joshua Cornielly (1 strikeout) set the record.” 36 strikeouts, 2 losses. Baseball sure is fascinating.
Not a single pro-Santucci comment? You’ll be applauding him in Citi Field in 2027, so get him on your radar screen.
Many have gone Santucci's way, only to get destroyed in the AAA gauntlet in Syracuse. Need to see more against that level of competition.
Tom,
The 2024 draft is starting to look extremely good thus far. Several prospects were injured and didn't play much after being selected, however they are now off to a good start in 2025.
Santucci for Suarez?
Santucci for Suarez? Arizona is not quite out of it, so they might want to wait. I’d be more inclined to trade a righty not named Tong, Thornton, McLean or perhaps Sproat. Santucci being a lefty is likely not to be traded. I like that Suarez is a free agent in 2026. I’d strongly consider getting him before the deadline.
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