The Keepers: - #81 - RF - Greg Pron

Photo by Allan Greene

             81.              Greg Pron:

6-22-11: - RF Greg Pron went 3-5, 1-R for Kingsport Tuesday night. Pron was the 42^nd round pick for the Mets earlier this month and played for West Florida, where 28^th round pick Dustin Lawley also played. 2011 numbers: .423, 10-HR, 69-RBI. He also was a semi-finalist for the D2 player of the year award. From UWF web site: One of the most productive and talented overall players in West Florida baseball history... helped lead UWF to its first-ever NCAA championship as a senior in 2011... finished his four-year career as the school’s all-time leader in hits (291), hit-by-pitches (34), RBIs (187), total bases (413) and stolen bases (77)... also ranks fifth in career batting average (.359), ninth in slugging percentage (.510), fifth in on-base percentage (.439), third in runs (161), third in doubles (46), second in home runs (22) and second in walks (89).

7-30-11 - Normally, you don’t write much about 42^nd round draft picks, but I keep noticing the Kingsport box and Pron’s stats keep screaming out. Last night, he hit his 6^th home run of the season and raised his BA to .310. We’re going to keep an eye on this 6-6 rookie.

8-12-11: - Stock Up – RF Greg Pron – Pron just keeps hitting, going 3-3, 2-R, 1-doube, 1-HR, 3-RBIs on Friday night. His seasonal BA is now up to .323. It also was the 7^th home run this season for the 6-7 Pron, which ties him for 10^th in the league.

8-14-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/kingsport-mets-team-report-stretch-run-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29&utm_content=Twitter - Greg Pron - So far the 2011 42nd round pick looks like we got a real steal, when Sandy tabbed this 6’6″ RH slugging OF from West Florida. Pron has started off his professional career in a huge way. Pron is 9th in the Appy League with a .319 BA, .385 OBP, .518 SLG and .903 OPS (On Base Plus Slugging, the combination of OBP and SLG). He leads the team in BA, HR’s with 7, Total Bases, OPS and SB’s with 6. In 166 AB’s he is second on the team in: Runs (31), Hits (53), RBI’s (27), OBP and SLG. He does have a long swing, and tends to strikeout too often as his K/BB ratio of 46/17 indicates. Pron, who has played all three OF positions for Kingsport, is an intriguing prospect, and should open the 2012 season as a starting outfielder at Savannah, long season league.

Building 2012 Rosters Prospects First - Picks 96-100

96 – 2B Danny Muno – Muno has been far more than a pleasant surprise this year for Brooklyn. He led the NY-Penn Leauge with a .355 batting average while also having the top OPS in .980. He’ll move on to Savannah next spring to play second there. ETA: - TBD

photo by Allan Greene

97 – OF Greg Pron – Pron played his first season with Kingsport, hitting .318/.389/.493/.882. The 6-6 outfielder needs to add some muscle in the off-season and add to his promising 7-HRs that were produced in 2011. Broolyn bound due to heavy traffic. ETA: TBD

98 – OF Tillman Pugh – Pugh laso will wind up in Broolyn in 2012 because he’s blocked from getting any higher right now. He hit .254 for Kingsport and ended the season adding .344 for the Clones. Lots of potential here. ETA: TBD

99 – 1B Cole Frenzel – Frenzel debuted with Brooklyn and produced minimal numbers (.238) and very little pop (1-HR in 160-Abs). That isn’t going to hack it as a first baseman, but he will move on to Savannah next season and give it another shot. ETA: TBD

100 – RP Tyson Seng – Seng had a very impressive first professional season, with Brooklyn: 3-1, 0.90, 1.07, 30.0-IP, 32-K, 5-BB. He needs to get some more work in before he can be taken serious, though he will move on to Savannah come next April. ETA: TBD





Rosters So Far:


Buffalo: (20) –SP Chris Schwinden, Collin McHugh, Brandon Moore, Mark Cohoon, RP Daniel Herrera, Robert Carson, Rhiner Cruz, Eric Beaulac, Jose De La Torre, IF Kai Gronauer, Alan Dykstra, Reese Havens, Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz, Michael Fisher, Eric Campbell, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Fernando Martinez, Mike Baxter, Juan Lagarus


Binghamton: (22) – SP: Mike Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Darin Gorski, Armondo Rodriguez, RP Mike Powers, Brandon Sage, John Church, Jeff Kaplan, Nick Carr, Josh Edgin, Brad Holt, IF Juan Centeno, Fernando Pena, Stefan Welsh, Rylan Sandoval, Wilfredo Tovar, Jefry Marte, OF Matt den Dekker, Cesar Puello, Pedro Zapata, Travis Ozga


St. Lucie: (24) – SP Greg Peavey, Taylor Whitenton, Angel Cuan, Tyler Pill, Ryan Fraser, RP Brant Rustich, Hamilton Bennett, Cory Mazzoni, Jack Leathersich, Yohan Almonte, Adam Kolarek, Gonzalez Germen, Chase Huchingson, IF Albert Cordero, Blake Forsythe, Sam Honeck, Alonzo Harris, Wilmer Flores, Robbie Shields, Aderlin Rodriguez, OF Cory Vaughn, Gilbert Gomez, Darrell Cecilliani, Joe Bonfe


Savannah: (16) – SP Akeel Morris, Alex Panteliodis, Erik Goeddel, Logan Verrett, Marcos Camerena, RP Tyson Seng, Orlando Tovar, Chris Hilliard, Mike Hebert, T.J. Chism, IF Cam Maron, Cole Frenzel, Danny Muno, Brandon Brown, Richard Lucas, OF Javier Rodriguez,


Brooklyn: (7) – SP: Michael Fulmer, Juan Urbina, Domingo Tapia, IF Phillip Evans, OF: Brandon Nimmo, Greg Pron, Tillman Pugh


Kingsport: (5) – SP Luis Mateo, Christian Montgomery, Steve Matz, OF Vincente Lupo, Eudy Pena


GCL: (0) –


DSL: (1) – IF Elvis Sanchez

Kingsport Names Players Of The Year

The Kingsport Mets announced their pitcher and hitters of the year before the final home game of the season Wednesday against the Danville Braves.

Right-handed pitcher Bret Mitchell was named the pitcher of the year. A 6'1" 195 pounder, Mitchell led the team in wins as he posted a record of 5-1 with an impressive 2.95 ERA. In 40 innings pitched Mitchell allowed just 24 hits while striking out 38 batters and walking 12. Mitchell who was promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones on August 5th, is a former Appalachian League pitcher of the week who took no-hitters into the 5th inning on three different occasions this summer.

photo by Allan Greene

Greg Pron and Dustin Lawley were both named hitters of the year. A 6'6" 195 pound outfielder from Daphne, Alabama, Pron leads the team with a .315 batting average and a .518 slugging percentage and is tied with the team lead with 6 stolen bases. He is also second on the team with 7 home runs and 30 RBI's. Lawley, who is also from Alabama (Bessemer) ranks first on the squad with 8 homers, 38 RBI's, 16 doubles, and 3 triples. He's carrying a healthy .294 batting average while playing third base, outfield, and designated hitter.

From team press release

Cutnpaste: Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Josh Satin, Juan Urbina, Greg Pron, Pedro Beato

Kirk Nieuwenhuis:


8-11-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/baseball-americas-mets-top-10-list-prior-to-2011-where-are-they-now.html   - OF – Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Kirk was enjoying a fine season in Buffalo before falling to injury. He may have lost a huge opportunity to play every day on the major league roster with the recent trade of Beltran, and injury to Murphy that has moved Duda to first base. Started 2011: Triple-A Currently: out for season, shoulder surgery


Josh Satin:


8-14-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32042/projected-prospect-call-ups  - JOSH SATIN, infielder (.324, 12 HR, 71 RBI, .415 OBP, 417 at-bats with Buffalo and Binghamton): After hitting .325 in Double-A, Satin earned a July 22 promotion to the Bisons and continued his offensive success. A sixth-round pick in 2008 from Cal-Berkeley, Satin recently enjoyed a 15-game hitting streak. Perhaps a notch below Daniel Murphy in terms of defensive skill, Satin similarly has been exposed to first, second and third base.


Juan Urbina:


8-14-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/kingsport-mets-team-report-stretch-run-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29&utm_content=Twitter  - Juan Urbina - The son of the former big leaguer Ugueth Urbina, has been having a very rough year as the rest of the league has been beating him like a drum, at will. His stats aren’t pretty: In 9 GS and 40 IP, he has an ugly 2-5 record, and an ERA of 6.69. His K/BB ratio is very good, 36/16, but he is getting knocked all over the park. 53 hits in his 40 IP, 7 of which are HR’s, and the league is hitting .314 against him. The scouts love him though. After all he just turned 18 earlier this season. He’s 6’2″ and throws LH. And they say he can command several plus pitches, So I guess you can chalk this year up to his young age and despite the numbers, this is a very important developmental year for the south-paw.


Greg Pron:


8-14-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/kingsport-mets-team-report-stretch-run-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29&utm_content=Twitter  - Greg Pron - So far the 2011 42nd round pick looks like we got a real steal, when Sandy tabbed this 6’6″ RH slugging OF from West Florida. Pron has started off his professional career in a huge way. Pron is 9th in the Appy League with a .319 BA, .385 OBP, .518 SLG and .903 OPS (On Base Plus Slugging, the combination of OBP and SLG). He leads the team in BA, HR’s with 7, Total Bases, OPS and SB’s with 6. In 166 AB’s he is second on the team in: Runs (31), Hits (53), RBI’s (27), OBP and SLG. He does have a long swing, and tends to strikeout too often as his K/BB ratio of 46/17 indicates. Pron, who has played all three OF positions for Kingsport, is an intriguing prospect, and should open the 2012 season as a starting outfielder at Savannah, long season league.


Pedro Beato:


8-15-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32211/collins-beato-ought-to-get-starter-look  - Beato was a starter through 2009 with the Baltimore Orioles in the minors, before they converted him to closer with Double-A Bowie last year. Collins may want to check the '09 stats with Class A Fredericksburg before proclaiming starting the better option. In 20 starts with that club, Beato's opponent batting average was .247 in the first inning, .269 in the second, .286 in the third, .284 in the fourth, .358 in the fifth and .400 in the sixth.

Stock: Akeel Morris, Greg Pron, Gilbert Gomez, Darrin Gorski, T.J. Rivera

8-12-11: - Stock Down – SP Akeel Morris – You know I’m big on this kid, but Friday night just didn’t happen… 0.1-IP, only one hit given up, 5-R (!), 4-BB… chalk it up to a bad night. Seasonal ERA now 4.28.


8-12-11: - Stock Up – RF Greg Pron – Pron just keeps hitting, going 3-3, 2-R, 1-doube, 1-HR, 3-RBIs on Friday night. His seasonal BA is now up to .323. It also was the 7th home run this season for the 6-7 Pron, which ties him for 10th in the league.


8-12-11: - Stock Up – OF Gilbert Gomez – OF Cesar Puello was placed on the 7-day DL today by St. Lucie and it’s easier just calling up someone from the back field GCL team, than shipping someone out of Savannah. Gomez got the call and, yeah, he debuted with an 0-4 line, but did you expect?


8-12-11: - Stock Up – SP Darin Gorski – We’re running out of great things to say about this guy. It was six more scoreless innings Friday, with 1-H, 6-K, 0-BB. His record for St. Lucie is now 11-1 and you kust know we’re read about him again on Baseball America this week.


8-12-11: - Stock Up – 2B T.J. Rivera – Rivera was signed this past June as an UDFA. The Lehman H.S. (Bronx) grad hit .290 for K-Port this season and is now turning heads in Brooklyn. Imagine being undrafted and then 4-5 for the Cyclones. On top of the world, Ma!

Marcos Camarena, Greg Pron, Brad Holt, Matt den Dekker, Mike Nickeas

Marcos Camarena:


Camarena first turned our head in 2009 when he went 7-2, 1.74 for the DSL Mets. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pitch that well in that league? Anyway, he continued his success last year (3-3, 2.68) for the GCL Mets and we were looking for big things from him this season in Brooklyn. Last night, he was almost unhittable for the Cyclones, going: 6.0-IP, 4-H, 0-R, 1-BB, 7-K.


Greg Pron:


Normally, you don’t write much about 42nd round draft picks, but I keep noticing the Kingsport box and Pron’s stats keep screaming out. Last night, he hit his 6th home run of the season and raised his BA to .310. We’re going to keep an eye on this 6-6 rookie.


Brad Holt:


Holt’s been trying to make the conversion from starter to pen and, frankly, he started out as inconsistent as a reliever as he’s been in the rotation. Last night; however, was his third plus outing, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings. That’s five scoreless innings in his past three outings. Boy, wouldn’t it be great if this worked out.


Matt den Dekker:


7-26-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/26/2287253/mets-mid-term-farm-system-review-2011-binghamton#storyjump  - OF Matt den Dekker - STOCK HOLDING - Den Dekker showed many of the tools that make him such an easy bet to make the show. His glove in CF has lived up to all expectations. He has solid speed on the bases. He's even showing the kind of home run power that many thought would only translate to doubles in the pros. But for me to really feel good about his prospect status he's going to have to cut down on the strikeouts. At St. Lucie they were high but acceptable and as a four year college player he they should have been. In Bingo they're pushing 30% which will not cut it in the majors, let alone the high minors. The development of his plate discipline is the key. It is what will determine if he can maintain a passable OBP as he climbs the ladder. It is what will allow his surprising power to either continue to blossom or to fizzle. And it is ultimately what will determine whether he's Jordan Schafer or Drew Stubbs.


Mike Nickeas:


The Mets tried to quietly promote Mike Nickeas to Queens as the third catcher, but some of the online blogs have questioned why Nickeas and not a big bat. Well, you’re welcome to go to www.milb.com and check out the Bisons roster and look for that bat. To be honest, the Mets are quite concerned with the catching defense, which is a specialty of Nickeas. I may be wrong, but doesn’t Josh Thole lead the league in passed balls?

Brad Holt, Cory Massoni, Josh Stinson, Greg Pron, Jose Reyes

Photo by George Nepolitano

Brad Holt:


Well… it must be official since Adam Rubin wrote about it. Brad Holt has been removed from the Binghamton rotation and will enter the pen. This is the same pen he should have been in to start the 2010 season. Go back and check out the stats on his first three innings. Trust me, this guy is a pen dude.





Cory Massoni:


6-22-11: - Draft Update: - 2nd round (71st overall) pick, SP Cory Mazzoni, signed for $437,500. Slot figure was $514,800. That’s called under-slotting.


Josh Stinson:


6-22-11: - SP Josh Stinson was quietly replaced by Jack Egbert in the Buffalo rotation. In fact, he was sent back to Binghamton to pitch in the pen there.  Josh is in his sixth season in the Mets organization and surprised everyone last year with excellent pitching both in Binghamton and Buffalo. Sadly, he didn’t follow that up this year. This could be his last option.



Greg Pron:


6-22-11: - RF Greg Pron went 3-5, 1-R for Kingsport Tuesday night. Pron was the 42nd round pick for the Mets earlier this month and played for West Florida, where 28th round pick Dustin Lawley also played. 2011 numbers: .423, 10-HR, 69-RBI. He also was a semi-finalist for the D2 player of the year award. From UWF web site: One of the most productive and talented overall players in West Florida baseball history... helped lead UWF to its first-ever NCAA championship as a senior in 2011... finished his four-year career as the school’s all-time leader in hits (291), hit-by-pitches (34), RBIs (187), total bases (413) and stolen bases (77)... also ranks fifth in career batting average (.359), ninth in slugging percentage (.510), fifth in on-base percentage (.439), third in runs (161), third in doubles (46), second in home runs (22) and second in walks (89).


Jose Reyes:


All these factors point me in the direction of Reyes staying with the Mets. Now, in order to do that, the franchise is going to have to “show him the money.” And I think they are prepared to do that. And no, Mets fans – it will not be at the expense of David Wright. I firmly believe the organization would love to field an infield of Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, Jose Reyes and David Wright. The “all-homegrown infield.” - http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/06/22/coutinho-jose-reyes-still-very-much-in-mets-plans