Mack - Mock Draft v3.0 - Pick 1.30 - RHP - Drew Thorpe

 

Drew Thorpe 

RHP      6-4     195 

2021 Cal Poly stat line - 16-G, 15-ST, 6-6, 3.79, 90.1-IP, 104-K 

2022 stat line as of 3-30 - 6-starts, 3-0, 2.13. 42.1-IP, 66-K

 

3-29 - Cal Poly Baseball @calpolystangs

 The nation has a new collegiate leader in strikeouts and he is Cal Poly redshirt sophomore Drew Thorpe, the reigning Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week. 

https://t.co/alIaSsDCsF  

 

3-20-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/3/20/mid-major-pitchers-becoming-big-draft-follows -

 RHP DREW THORPE, CAL POLY (RANK 97)

Fastball: 90-94 (50/55) Slider: 78-82 (55/60) Changeup: 82-86 (55/60) Command (50/55) 

Strengths: Thorpe continued his early season dominance by tossing a complete game shutout against Harvard on Friday in which he struck out 11 and walked 0. On the mound, he is a fierce competitor with a great on field makeup. He has an athletic body with room for projection which could result in his fastball to tick up from the 91-94 range. Both his slider and changeup profile as plus offerings down the line. The changeup has well above average lateral movement and effectively neutralizes both lefties and righties. He has a 55% whiff rate on the offering to go along with a .111 batting average against. The offering is located well at the bottom of the zone and induces soft contact. He creates great deception on the changeup as the offering tunnels well off his fastball and he maintains arm speed. He takes enough vertical break off of the offering in comparison to his fastball, which makes the pitch tough to recognize for opposing hitters. The slider profiles as a sweeper as the pitch consistently generates over 15” of horizontal break. Similar to the changeup, he has posted a gawdy whiff rate (50%) on the slider in the early going. Thorpe is a rapid riser and has a high upside starter profile.   

Weaknesses: Despite the plus command of his off-speed offerings, Thorpe could increase his fastball command a touch as he will struggle locate the fastball at times. He has only walked two batters through 20 IP this spring. This is a credit to his ability to command his secondary offerings and evenly mix all of his pitches to keep hitters guessing. 

 

3-15-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/3/15/mlb-draft-gassed-up-week-4 - 

DREW THORPE, RHP, CAL POLY 

Thorpe went shutout complete game on Friday night vs. Harvard, striking out 11 and allowing only three hits on the night. He owns a preposterous 44:2 K:BB ratio in his first four starts, and showed off the entire arsenal early and often against the Crimson. He sits low to mid 90s with a four seam fastball with strong carry and efficient spin, and works off it primarily with a fading changeup that he demonstrates great feel for. Complementing that one two punch is a bendy breaking ball that is getting better with each start. Thorpe possesses the body and command of his arsenal that evaluators love to see, and is becoming an Friday night attraction of his own alongside top prospect Brooks Lee. Look for him to keep gradually moving up our board over the next few months, and the Mustangs’ ace might be gone within the first 75 picks this July. 

 

2-11-22 - https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-draft-prospects-2022-ranking-top-50-players-in-the-class-with-termarr-johnson-at-no-1/?s=03 - 

39. Drew Thorpe, RHP, Cal Poly 

It's reasonable to think Thorpe will benefit from the scouting attention focused on teammate (and potential top-five pick) Brooks Lee, but he's already done enough to stand out on his own. In addition to this being his second season as the Mustangs' Friday night starter (read: collegiate for "ace"), he made appearances both with Team U.S.A. and in the Cape Cod League, where he struck out nine and surrendered a single run in 10 innings. Thorpe possesses a starter's frame and control projection, as well as what might be the best changeup in the class. His chances of becoming the first Mustangs pitcher selected in the top two rounds since 2017 hinge on how teams feel about his low-90s fastball and his two breaking balls that often blend together.

 

12-30-21 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2021/12/29/2022-mlb-draft-top-300-prospects -

 127 Drew Thorpe RHP Cal Poly Washington, UT 

Thorpe possesses much of what you want to see in the MLB Draft. He's a three-year starter with Cal Poly and really commands the baseball. He's generally 90-93 with the fastball, but he's got one of the best changeups in the class, graded plus-plus by some scouts. Works in a fringier slider, but his bread and butter is speeding hitters up and slowing them back down. 

 

7-8-21 - Fangraphs Top 2022 Prospects - 

#26 

Drew Thorpe SP 20.8 6' 4" 195 R R 

Thorpe doesn't have huge velocity but both of his secondary pitches are good and he fills the strike zone. His age and frame give are indications that his velocity might spike.

 

Reese Kaplan -- 2022 Mets Are About Attitude More Than Pitching or Hitting

A lot of folks have enjoyed the hot start the Mets have made during the 2022 season.  Some attribute it to the stellar starting pitching.  Others call it a result of Buck Showalter's excellence in managing.  Still others feel that it's the innate talent of the players that are putting wins in the standings column.  

To me it's more of a non measurable attribute which is not truly a metric that shows up in the stat sheets nor on the backs of baseball cards.  It's attitude.

Mets fans far and near will surely confess that being down by more than one run in the 9th inning was a recipe for a team loss based upon the 2021 and previous squads of Mets players.  There was no passion, no need to show what can be done and no real reward for having done so.  

Now fast forward to the opening game of the Cardinals series when the Mets were down by not one but two runs going into the 9th inning and were set to face St. Louis closer Giovanny Gallegos.  

While he may not be well known like Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen or others who have made a big name for themselves, Gallegos isn't exactly chopped liver either.  Last year in 73 games he threw 80 innings, giving up just 50 hits and striking out batters at nearly a 5:1 ratio over walking them.  He earned his role as shutdown man.

Unfortunately, he wasn't facing the 2021 Mets.  This time around he had to contend with the group that's propelled themselves to the best record in baseball.  It started innocently enough after being down by two outs and two strikes when Mark Canha reached on a throwing error by normally sure-handed Nolan Arenado.  That put the tying run on base after Eduardo Escobar scored on the error.  

Tying the game was still in the vision of most Mets fans.  What a great story that would be!  Yet tying wasn't exactly what happened.

Jeff McNeil playing like, well, vintage Jeff McNeil doubled to move the tying run to third and himself to second as the go ahead run, but the Mets weren't done yet.  Running on contact when Dom Smith hit what should be a ground out to first, pinch runner Travis Jankowski scored easily and Jeff McNeil never looked back.  He actually came around to score when the normally meandering running of Dom Smith was pushed aside for what is surely the Mets' play of the year.  

Dom ran hard to first and when the throw from an on-his-back first baseman Paul Goldschmidt needed to reach pitcher Gallegos who was late coming off the mound, the burly Smith dove head first into first base to ensure he reached their safely ahead of the pitcher's shoe touching the bag.  You could watch that replay over and over and still get a thrill from it.  This effort was not like anything fans have seen from the Mets in a VERY long time.  

What made it even sweeter is that Gallegos never spun to look at the runner which allowed McNeil to notch his go ahead run from second base on an infield single.  

The Mets still weren't done with the miracle comeback.  Reliever T.J. McFarland replaced Gallegos and promptly served up a 2-run blast off the bat of Brandon Nimmo to take the Mets who were down 2-0 with 2 outs in the 9th to a 5-2 lead going into the Cardinals' final chance which they were not able to exploit.  It was quite a victory but it was that never-say-die attitude that has impressed me the most since the season began and was surely not present in previous Mets' regimes.  

You can say all you want about the technical things Showalter has done to prepare his team for in-game situations, but attitude has been the prevailing and noticeable difference which is making fans confident that the club is capable of winning every game despite the initial on-the-field results.  

Let's go Mets!

St. Lucie Game Wrap - Tortugas slip by Mets late, win 3-2

 

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (April 28, 2022) – Daytona’s Gus Steiger hit a tie-breaking single in the top of the ninth to propel the Tortugas to a 3-2 win over the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday at Clover Park.

 

Mets starter Mike Vasil was excellent, holding the Tortugas to just one hit over 6.0 innings. He struck out four and did not allow an earned run.

 

However, the Tortugas took advantage of Vasil’s only two walks and turned those into unearned runs that tied the game.

 

Trailing 2-0, Daytona scored its first two runs without the benefit of a hit. In the fifth inning Hayden Jones took a leadoff walk, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out to make it 2-1.

 

In the sixth inning Austin Hendrick worked a one-out walk, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2.

 

Daytona loaded the bases on the top of the ninth against Nathan Lavender on a single by Hendrick, a hit batter and an intentional walk after a sac bunt. Steiger then hit a high chopper to third base that just scraped off the glove of William Lugo, who was playing in. Hendrick scored to give the Tortugas a 3-2 lead.

 

Gregory Guerrero hit a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth but Owen Holt was able to work around it to secure his first save.

 

Carlos Dominguez hit a lead off home run in the fourth inning for the Mets, his fifth long ball of the season, to put the Mets up 2-0.

 

Raul Beracierta went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Alex Ramirez was 1 for 4 with a double.

 

Reliever Brendan Hardy pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.

 

Tortugas reliever Ryan Cardona pitched three scoreless innings to get the win.

 

Daytona got its first hit with one out in the first inning and did not get its second hit until the top of the ninth.

 

The Mets (11-7) and Tortugas (9-9) play the fourth game of their series on Friday. First pitch is 6:10 p.m. Fans can take advantage of the Family 4 Pack which includes four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and a giant popcorn for $50. Kids 14-and-under can run the bases after the game.

Cuse Game Notes - Syracuse drops second game of series at Rochester in 13-6 Red Wings win

 

Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets fell victim to an avalanche of runs by the Rochester Red Wings on a sunny, Thursday afternoon. The Red Wings scored nine unanswered runs at one point on their way to a 13-6 win in Rochester.

 

Syracuse (6-13) jumped on the board first for the second consecutive game in the top of the first inning. Carlos Rincon pounded a two-run home run over the left-field wall to stoke Syracuse to a 2-0 lead. Rincon has had an excellent start to the series, slugging two homers and two doubles.

 

Rochester (11-9) promptly responded though. In the bottom of the first. A two-run blast from Luis Garcia knotted the game right back up, 2-2. Garcia has been a man possessed at the plate so far in the series, going a combined 5-for-6 with three home runs, six RBIs, and six runs scored.  

 

The two teams traded runs again in the second inning, as this time the Mets and Red Wings each scored a lone run in the frame. Syracuse got its run on an RBI double from Wyatt Young, while Rochester manufactured its tally via an RBI groundout from Richard Ureña. Donovan Casey reached to start the inning on a single, moved to second on a groundout, up to third on a wild pitch, and finally scored on Urena’s chopper to shortstop with the infield playing back as the game became tied again, 3-3.

 

After that, it was all Rochester, as the home scored the next eight runs to go ahead for good. The Red Wings did their scoring in bunches – two runs in the fourth, four runs in the fifth, followed by two more runs in the sixth.  

 

In the fourth, Josh Palacios bunted for a single to start the inning and moved to second base on a throwing error after his bunt. Palacios moved up to third on a single by Donovan Casey and scored on another single by Nick Banks to take a 4-3 Rochester lead. Later in the frame, Casey crossed home plated on Ureña’s RBI groundout as the Red Wings went up, 5-3.

 

Four more runs crossed home plate in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run double from Palacios and a two-run single from Urena to give Rochester a 9-3 edge

 

The power was on display again in the sixth when Joey Menses slugged a two-run homer over the left-field wall and into the Syracuse bullpen to push Rochester to its largest lead of the game, 11-3.

 

Starting pitching for both teams helped to define the game. On one side, Jefry Rodriguez settled into quite the groove after a slow start for Rochester. The right-hander struck out nine batters in his four and one-third innings of work, not allowing a hit among the last 10 batters he faced. The nine strikeouts for Rodriguez were tied for the second-most in his career. Rodriguez struck out a career-high 11 batters in a game as a member of the Syracuse Chiefs in 2018.

 

On the other side, David Peterson struggled for Syracuse. Making his first-ever start in Triple-A, the former Oregon Duck surrendered nine runs, including seven earned, on nine hits in five and two-thirds innings. Peterson did fan five batters during his time on the mound. The left-hander had made his first three appearances of the season up in the Majors with the New York Mets. Peterson had spent the 2020-22 seasons primarily up in the Big Leagues.  

 

Syracuse didn’t go away quietly, scoring three times in the top of the eighth on just one hit. Four walks plus a costly error allowed Daniel Palka, Rincon, and Blankenhorn to come home and make it an 11-6 game, but the Mets left the bases loaded in the frame.

 

Any hope of a furious late Mets rally was snuffed out when Rochester scored two more times in the bottom of the eighth to make it 13-6 and complete the day’s scoring.  

 

The Red Wings pitching made sure no comeback would happen on this day. Six pitchers (Rodriguez, Reed Garrett, Alberto Baldonaldo Tyler Clippard, Carl Edwards Jr. and Ben Braymer) combined to strike out 15 Mets batters in the Rochester win. The 15 strikeouts set a new season-high for strikeouts by Syracuse batters in a game.  

 

Syracuse continues its six-game series at the Rochester Red Wings on Friday night. Right-hander Connor Grey is slated to start for the Mets against another right-hander, Jackson Tetreault, for the Red Wings. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

Game Recap: Ponies Comeback Effort Falls Short Against Erie

 

BINGHAMTON, NY – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (4-13) fought back from two separate four-run deficits, but fell 7-5 to the Erie Seawolves (11-7) on Thursday night at Mirabito Stadium.

Erie jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI double from Gage Workman and an RBI single from Dane Myers off Ponies right hander Alex Valverde. Myers now has six RBI in the past three games.

Dillon Dingler added to the Erie lead in the fifth with a two-run blast to left center field and the Seawolves doubled their lead to 4-0.

The Ponies did not go quietly into the chilly night as a bases clearing double to left center field from Brett Baty scored Johneshwy Fargas, Matt Winaker and Francisco Alvarez to pull the Ponies to within one at 4-3.

Erie answered right back in the sixth as two walks set up a three-run home run for Quincy Nieporte off Yeizo Campos which brought the SeaWolves lead back to four at 7-3.

Binghamton then sliced the lead in half to 7-5 with two solo homers to left field from Ritter and Fargas off SeaWolves reliever Nick Kuzia, who earned the hold.

The Ponies threatened Erie’s Yaya Chentouf with the bases loaded in the eighth, but Francisco Alvarez ended the inning with a deep fly ball to left.

Erie’s Garrett Hill (1-0) picked up the win and Chentouf was credited with the save. Valverde (0-1) went five innings giving up five hits and four runs with one walk and eight strikeouts.

The Rumble Ponies will continue their series against Erie on Friday evening at 6:35 PM. Pregame coverage begins on Newsradio 1290 WNBF at 6:20 PM.

POSTGAME NOTES: Luke Ritter and Johneshwy Fargas each had three hit games with a home run and an RBI…Bryce Montes de Oca pitched two scoreless innings giving up a hit and two walks while striking out four…The two sides combined for four home runs.

Mack - Mock Draft v3.0 - Pick 1.29 - SS - Carter Young

 

Carter Young 

SS      6-1      177      Vanderbilt 

2021 Vandy Boy stat line - 61-G, 238-AB, .252, 16-HR, 52-RBI, .559-slug% 

2022 stat line (as of 3-31-22) - 83-AB, .289, 4-HR 

 

2-11-22 - https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-draft-prospects-2022-ranking-top-50-players-in-the-class-with-termarr-johnson-at-no-1/?s=03 - 

29. Carter Young, SS, Vanderbilt 

The Commodores have had at least one player selected in the first round in seven of the past eight drafts. Young represents their best hope of carrying the flame onward. The elevator pitch here is that he's a capable defensive shortstop who homered 16 times last season in the toughest collegiate conference. The stairs pitch isn't as thrilling. Whereas coming out of high school he was viewed as a polished batsman who could move the ball around the field, he's now unexpectedly prone to the three true outcomes. In fact, Young's TTO rate last year was 47 percent; Adam Dunn's TTO rate for his big-league career was about 50 percent. That wouldn't be a problem if the complexion of his outcomes were more favorable, but he finished last season with a 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Young has a chance to climb the board with a more encouraging spring; for now, he looks like a late first-round pick with question marks. 

 

2-10-22 - https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2022-mlb-mock-draft-version-10/?s=03 - 

21. Mariners — Carter Young, SS, Vanderbilt 

Scout’s take: It's either Carter Young or Jordan Sprinkle here. Young is a switch-hitting, reliable-defending shortstop that I expect to perform better this year in the SEC. I think it's a safe pick. He has experience leading one of the best teams in the country. He has some swing and miss but he should get to his power as he improves his plate discipline. I’m high on Young and believe he will be an average switch hitter with above-average power and an above-average glove. The Mariners don’t let him get past pick 21 after a good performance this season. 

Carlos’ take: You’ve been talking about Young for a while now so I am not surprised to see him go off the board here. Still, the swing and miss (30.1 K% in 2021) scares me, even if he is a good defender at a premium position in the SEC. There are shades of Jud Fabian for me with Young, though I’m not sure how much more the industry will prefer the premium shortstop with power over the premium center fielder with power.

 

1-15-22 - https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2022-mlb-draft-top-100-prospects/ -

33 Carter Young Vanderbilt SS

Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 180 | B-T: B-R

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted

Age At Draft: 21.5

Young was a performer with Team USA in high school, while handling both middle infield positions, but he struggled offensively during his spring season and made it to campus at Vanderbilt. At school, Young has shown significantly more power than scouts anticipated, with 16 home runs last spring and a .252/.341/.559 slash line. That power came with a high strikeout rate (30.1%) and there continue to be real questions about how much contact Young will make in general and at the next level. He struggled mightily against several pitch types, including fastballs harder than 93 mph and both breaking balls and offspeed offerings. Young is a slick-fielding shortstop who has a case as one of the better defenders at the position in the class. He’s a plus defender with impressive actions and more than enough arm to stick at the position. Because of that defensive profile, those highest on him see a sure-fire shortstop who hit 16 home runs in the SEC—that profile sounds like a first-rounder. Scouts more skeptical of the bat have him more in the second or third round range and are hoping he refines his approach and cuts the strikeouts during his draft year.

 

1-5-21 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022-mlb-mock-draft - 

Prospect Live Mock Draft 1.0 

28. Houston Astros

Carter Young, SS, Vanderbilt 

Young has been a popular name among scouts since his u16 days in Selah, Washington, though he’s really come into his own and tapped into his big baseball upside the last two seasons. The Astros love athletes and they like players who can stay up the middle. That’s certainly Young. Swing-and-miss concerns are present, so he’ll need to clean that up a bit in 2022, but if the hit tool ticks forward, we’re talking about and above average shortstop with at least an above average arm. Those don’t grow on trees. This will be Houston’s first first or second round pick since 2019, so it’s paramount they land value and begin replenishing what’s become an anemic farm system due to lack of access to top amateur talent. 

 

1-3-22 - Joe Doyle  @JoeDoyleMiLB 

Vanderbilt SS Carter Young has huge upside. A plus glove. A plus arm. The ability to pound the ball out of the park. If he produces better bat-to-ball in 2022, the sky is the limit. 

No. 21 on our Prospects Live Top 300 MLB Draft Prospects. 

 

12-30-21 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2021/12/29/2022-mlb-draft-top-300-prospects - 

21. Carter Young Shortstop, Vanderbilt 

Young is revered for his actions on the dirt where he's comfortably an above average defender, though most believe his athleticism and twitch suggest a plus defender at the next level. The throwing arm also comfortably grades out above average, aided by his experience behind the plate as a prep. A switch-hitter, he’s beginning to tap into game power at the plate, especially from left side. His batted-ball damage metrics rank among the best in the country. Young was a little banged up toward the latter half of the 2021 season. Fully healthy again in 2022, he figures to be one of the more intriguing hitters in the SEC, though admittedly there's some swing and miss and strikeout concerns here that need ironing out. To reach his first round ceiling, scouts want to see marked improvement in the bat-to-ball. Even if Young is only a 40 hitter with 50+ game power, that's an appealing profile to evaluators considering the pillars on defense. 

 

12-22-21 - https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/vandy/four-dores-tabbed-as-preseason-all-americans/article_74ff4cd0-62f5-11ec-967d-e353e9848b9f.html - 

Carter Young earned All-SEC Newcomer honors last year after hitting .252 with a team-leading 16 home runs and 52 RBIs in 61 games. He scored 47 runs and belted 60 hits, 15 doubles and five triples. He’s the No. 25-ranked player on D1Baseball’s Top 100 2022 MLB Draft Prospects list. 

 

12-6-21 - Prospects Live - Top Shortstops -   

CARTER YOUNG, VANDERBILT 

For our money, Young is one of the most impressive defensive shortstops in the class. 

At the plate, there are a few more questions. Proponents will point to a mid-season shoulder injury that zapped his production, though detractors will point to rate stats that need to be adone of the most impressive defensive shortstops in the class.dressed. After a gangbusters freshman campaign slashing .328/.373/.377, Young was off to a hot start in 2021 when the aforementioned shoulder injury slowed his on-field impact. He finished the year posting a .252/.341/.559 slash with 16 homers. In the power department, it was a massive jump forward. But the average will need to come up. After a 25 percent K-rate in 2020, his punchouts jumped to 29.3 percent last season. This too must drastically improve. Young can get a little pull-happy, so staying up the middle of the field might benefit his overall offensive game. From this chair, sacrificing some of that newfound thump for “hittability” would do his profile wonders. 

 

11-29-21 - bpj - 

Carter Young showed flashes of his offensive potential as a sophomore last year. He hit .252 with 15 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs and 52 RBIs in 238 at-bats in 61 games. But Young struggled with his plate discipline, as he struck out 84 times while drawing 31 walks. 

Young is a 6-foot, 180-pound switch-hitting shortstop with an exciting toolset and the potential to be a five-tool player. 

Defensively, Young is a slick-fielding shortstop with speed, athleticism and above-average arm strength. He moves well laterally to make difficult plays to his right and left. 

 

11-12-21 - Through The Fence Mock 2.0 - 

4. Pittsburgh Pirates: Carter Young, SS, Vanderbilt 

Carter Young took over shortstop after Austin Martin was drafted over a year ago. He can do a little bit of everything. He reminds me of a Trea Truner/Dansby Swanson type of player. He’s taken a backseat this past season due to the star power of Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, but now it’s his time to shine.

  

11-1-21 - Prospect Live - Top 200 Prospects - 

8. Carter Young

Shortstop, Vanderbilt 

Bit of a do-it-all player in his prep days, Young has played catcher and middle infield over the course of his young career. Young started every game at shortstop for Vandy where he'd hit .328 in a shortened season in 2020. Young is revered for his actions on the dirt where he's comfortably an above average defender, though most believe his athleticism and twitch suggest a plus defender at the next level. The throwing arm also comfortably grades out above average, aided by his experience behind the plate as a prep. A switch-hitter, he’s beginning to tap into some power at the plate, especially from left side. Young was a little banged up toward the latter half of the 2021 season. Fully healthy again in 2022, he figures to be one of the more complete hitters in the SEC. Young fills up a scouting report and some liken his future pedigree to former VandyBoy and no. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson.

B-Met Game Recap: Erie Sweeps Ponies in Mid-Week Doubleheader

 BINGHAMTON, NY – The Erie SeaWolves (10-7) swept both games of Wednesday’s Doubleheader against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (4-12) at Mirabito Stadium winning Game One 5-0 and Game Two 10-2. The Rumble Ponies have dropped six consecutive games.

Game Two: SeaWolves 10, Rumble Ponies 2

The game remained scoreless through three innings until Andre Lipcius hit a two-run home run to get Erie on the board. Lipcius finished the game with three RBI. The SeaWolves then tacked on five more in the fifth on four Ponies errors giving Erie a 7-0 lead. Hayden Senger hit a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth and accounted for two of the five Binghamton hits. Jose Butto (1-2) pitched four and a third innings, giving up four hits, four earned runs, walking three and striking out six.

Game One: SeaWolves 5, Rumble Ponies 0

A four-run second inning gave Erie an early 4-0 lead courtesy of a Quincy Nieporte RBI double and a Dane Myers three-run homer. Myers also added an RBI single in the sixth, finishing the game with four RBI. The Ponies had an early scoring opportunity in the first against Erie southpaw Adam Wolf with back-to-back hits from Jake Mangum and Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez roped a double off the left center field wall, but Mangum was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first. Wolf (2-0) went five innings for Erie giving up four hits, walking two and striking out seven in the win.

The Rumble Ponies continue their homestand with the SeaWolves on Thursday evening with first pitch at 6:35 PM, and pregame coverage beginning at 6:20 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF and 92.1 FM.

St. Lucie Recap - Zwack, Askew combine for 15 Ks in 5-2 Mets win

 

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (April 27, 2022) – St. Lucie pitchers Nick Zwack and Keyshawn Askew combined for a dominant performance in a 5-2 Mets win over the Daytona Tortugas on Wednesday at Clover Park.

 

Zwack got the start and hurled 4.0 shutout innings, fanning the Tortugas nine times. He scattered three singles and walked just one batter.

 

Askew pitched the final 5.0 innings without surrendering a hit. He did not walk a batter and struck out six. The Tortugas scraped across two unearned runs on ground outs after pair of errors started the eighth inning.

 

Shevyen Newton smashed a two-run homer, his first of the season, in the third inning to increase the Mets lead to 3-0.

 

Carlos Dominguez hit a line drive home run in the fourth inning to make it 4-0.

 

Alex Ramirez blooped a run-scoring single in the seventh for a 5-0 advantage.

 

William Lugo went 2 for 4 with a double and a run.

 

Daytona starter Arij Fransen took the loss after getting tagged for four runs in 4.0 innings.

 

The Mets (11-6) and Tortugas (8-9) play the third game of their series at Clover Park on Thursday. It’s Dollar Night with $1 Bud and Bud Light (8 oz. cans), $1 soda, $1 popcorn and $2 hot dogs. First pitch is 6:10 p.m.

Paul Articulates – An Offensive Performance Behind the Plate

I have to give credit to Mack for this one – he got me going when he said, “I can’t come up with any short term solution behind the plate”.  He knows, as do all of us Mets fans, that this years’ catching duo of James McCann and Tomas Nido have had horrible performances with a bat in their hands.  One can only describe it as a weakness from the batter’s box when their cumulative slash line is .140/.203/.211.  Both have been consistently slotted ninth in the lineup, and I have wondered aloud if Buck should DH for the pcatcher instead of the pitcher.

So here are the hard facts as of Monday’s completed games:

•    McCann was hitting .125 with a .250 slugging percentage.  His contributions to the offense have been two singles, a double, a homer, 3 HBPs and a sacrifice fly in 12 games played.

•    Nido was hitting .160 with a .160 slugging percentage.  That’s right – no XBHs.  Is this the same guy we saw in spring training?  He has zero walks and 11 K’s in 25 at-bats.

This kind of offensive performance is, in a word, offensive.   Should we bring up Patrick Mazeika given his MLB experience?  Nope – he’s hitting a pedestrian .226 in AAA with no XBH.  In fact, he is now sharing time behind the plate with Nick Myers in Syracuse because of his lack of offense.  How about number 1 prospect Francisco Alvarez?  He is scorching the Eastern League (AA) pitching with an OPS of 1.089 but his bat is ahead of his defense – he has much work to do on blocking balls in the dirt and managing a pitching staff before emerging from the dugout at Citi Field. 

So Mack is right – there is no short term solution behind the plate.  But the question no one is asking is, “Do we need one”?  The Mets are in a unique position this year (for a NY team not wearing pinstripes) in that they have a loaded lineup and have been very capable of scoring runs without production from their catchers. 

Offensively, the Mets are first in hits, tied for first in runs scored, and third in batting average.  Those stats include the boat anchor of a stat sheet they are dragging along from the two catchers. 

Defensively, both “McCannon” and Nido are playing very well.  McCann leads MLB catchers in defensive runs saved this year with 3 and Nido has 1.  The Mets as a team are second in the NL in throwing out runners. Their caught stealing percentage (33%) is only behind a St. Louis team with some guy named Molina.  Both catchers appear to have a great rapport with the pitching staff, and the staff ERA (2.59) is third in MLB while staff WHIP (0.99) is second in MLB.

The ultimate goal of a team during the regular season is to score more runs than their opponents more times than the other teams.  That gets you a great seed and a home field advantage in the playoffs.  With almost a month behind us, the Mets are doing just that – good pitching, good defense behind the plate, and scoring enough runs to win games.   So far they have succeeded with only a defensive contribution from their catchers.  We all know the season is long, and a good first 18 games are not enough to project a successful season but the trend is very good.  And speaking of long seasons, there is plenty of time for either McCann or Nido to break out at the plate.  Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez was heard saying he thought McCann was one of two players that he expected to start hitting well soon so stay tuned.  But for now, my suggestion is to play the hand we have.

[Editor’s note: right after this piece was written, McCann went 3-4 against St. Louis]