Rehab Saturday
Bet you thought I’d lead here about Ruben Tejada?
We will
eventually, but guess who started the GCL Mets game on Saturday? It was our old
friend Jenrry Mejia, who
threatens us at least twice a year of becoming a major league pitcher.
Don’t get
excited yet. He did throw 1.2 innings of scoreless ball … err… I take that
back. He gave up two runs. But they were both unearned. You know me, I still
count them as runs you’ve given up. He struck out one, walked one, and, most importantly,
didn’t get hurt again.
There was
no announcement about this so I have no idea what his next step is.
Oh yeah,
Tejada does continue his journey back, though he did go hitless in three at
bats.
Lastly, Tim Byrdak continued his rehab with St'. Lucie: 0.2-IP, 2-R, 2-H
We probably need to
revisit Carlos Torres after Saturday’s game.
Remember
now, he isn’t supposed to be here. Torres was considered a run of the mill
organizational pitcher that probably would have finished his career at the AAA
level. Instead, he forced the powers to be in Queens when he executed a clause
in his contract that said the Mets had to call him up or cut him loose.
The Mets
had signed him to a minor league contract that had a n opt-out clause on June
12th. Up to then, he started 12 games and was 6-3, 3.89 for Vegas.
According toTorres, both the Giants and Rockies had interest in him. Did they?
Who the hell knows, but what has happened is a new arm has been added to the
Mets pen and so far so good: 6-G, 9.0-IP, 1-ER, 1.00-ERA, 9-K, 2-BB.
TC
mentioned he wants to keep Torres as the emergency starters. If this is true,
you may want to stop using him one inning at a time. If you’re going to pitch
him in the 7th, then pitch him in the 8th also.
Kevin Kernan on Matt
Harvey –
Harvey’s
record remained at 7-1. His ERA dropped to 2.00. His 11 strikeouts came on everything
from an 85-mph back-door changeup to 98-mph heat. He was untouchable. His 0.85
WHIP is the best in the majors for a starting pitcher, and he leads the league
with 132 strikeouts. LINK
Bruce Bochy (San Francico Giants manager and manager of the NL all-star
team) couldn’t possibly not name him to be the opening day pitcher at his home
field of CitiField, could he? Isn’t this all about public relations? We did
trade them both Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan. Please don’t make this night a boo-fest. Please.
Adam G of MetsOnline -
Ike Davis is now 1-for-12 in his last three games and is now hitting
.281, league avg for the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League
Didn’t
Josh Satin have three hits on Friday night?
Seriously, you have to
bring this guy back to Queens and let him work out his problems there. I’m not
sold on him long term anymore, but I would like to have his trade value
increased and that isn’t going to happen under any condition playing on the
moon.
It’s going to be very
interesting to watch what TC does when Lucas Duda is healed and Davis is promoted. Which two guys who are
currently performing do you demote? One, Jordany
Valdespin, is easy, but he’s an
infielder first and you sort of need him around until either Ruben Tejada or Justin Turner come off the DL.
Sending Satin and
someone like Andrew Brown down would be close to criminal.
Mike Puma –
The
Mets have more organizational depth at the position, highlighted by 2012
first-rounder Gavin Cecchini, one of the team’s top position prospects,
although he is several years away from contributing in Queens. The 19-year-old,
playing every day for the short-season Brooklyn Cyclones, is described as
having an advanced approach at the plate and pat fundamentals in the field. But
he’s a line-drive hitter without pop, for now, slugging .318 through his first
68 games in the minors. LINK
This was
basically an article that outlined that neither the Mets or the Yankees have
anyone below Derek Jeter or Ruben Tejada to fill the role of shortstop in the majors. Puma’s
comments about Cecchini are frankly, kind, though he has begun to hit a little
more than he has his entire young professional career. Others were mentioned in
this story, but the fact remains is that he is correct. The Mets need a real
shortstop and I’m not sure Tejada fills that bill anymore. My plan would be to
give him the rest of the year to prove me wrong, give him back his starting
position, and, if that doesn’t work, find someone in the offseason. It may be a lot easier fining only two
outfielder and adding a SS to our shopping list.
Cecchini has an already polished smooth line drive swing that fits well at the top or bottom of any line-up. When he combines this smooth swing with an advanced eye at the plate that generates a solid K:BB ratio. His 15.4% K rate in 2014 was actually one of the best in the Mets farm system. He also has the "Sandy Alderson" mentality of "hunting for your pitch." which he uses to work deep counts multiple times a game. All of these things combined get yourself a player who fits extremely well into today's version of an MLB lead-off hitter. 
The announcement that the Commissioner of Baseball is stepping down after the same season that Sandy Alderson’s contract runs out with the Mets is very interesting. If I remember it correctly, they had this whole scenario planned before. Any replacement for Selig requires a written vote of approval by 75 percent of the 30 owners and has to take place no later than si months from the date of the contract expiration. I have no idea where Alderson currently stands with the other teams in the league. It’s not like baseball would be losing one of the more successful General Managers in the business.
