Minors Stuff

The Herd:

First injury of the year… IF Andy Green slided head first into first and breaks his thumb. Could miss 2-3 months.

RHP Tim McNab has been transferred to Buffalo from the B-Mets.

There still are only four starters on the active roster… Jose Sanchez would have been the next one up from the B-Mets, but he’s not pitching well… maybe Ryan Coultas.

C - Rafael Arroyo from B-Mets to Buffalo


Fernando Martinez, lf, Mets. All good things must come to an end. The Triple-A Buffalo outfielder got off to a fast start, but after a week spent going 1-for-18 (.056/.150/.056 with two walks and five whiffs), Martinez's season line has crashed back to earth: .233/.288/.411. He still leads the International League with eight doubles, and he's still just 20, so perhaps his next appearance will come on the positive side of the Hot Sheet ledger.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2009/268037.html


B-Mets:

The transfer of RP Tim McNab to Buffalo now leaves the B-Mets with 11 total active pitchers, in which, only 6 are relievers… I look for a bump up from Lucy, possibly Emary Frederick, or Brant Rustich.


Sunday, May 3 New Hampshire 1:05 pm RHP Dylan Owen (0-1, 6.98) vs. RHP Randy Boone (2-0, 2.41)
Monday, May 4 Portland 6:35 pm RHP Jose Sanchez (1-3, 8.68) vs. RHP Jarod Plummer (1-1, 5.27)
Tuesday, May 5 Portland 6:35 pm RHP Ryan Coultas (1-1, 3.05) vs. LHP Felix Doubront (2-1, 4.34)
Wednesday, May 6 Portland 6:35 pm RHP Fernando Nieve (0-0, 6.75) vs. TBA


Mike Antonini:

2008: Opened season with Savannah (Low-A)...worked 5.2 innings or more in all but three of his 13 starts...RH hitters batted just .204 against him with Savannah (Low-A)...Called up to St. Lucie (High-A) at the beginning of June, working 5 innings or more in all 7 starts...Finished season with Binghamton (AA)...Pitched for Leones de Ponce in the Puerto Rican Winter League (9 G, 8 GS, 2-0, 3.45 ERA, 47 IP)...Los Leones de Ponce won the Caribbean Series.

2007: Appeared in just five games with Kingsport (Rookie) to open career before being called up to Brooklyn (SS-A) 7/25...Worked eight scoreless innings in first four outings with Brooklyn (SS-A) 7/27-8/19. Personal: 18th round pick out of Georgia College & State University... 7-6, 3.97 ERA in 15 GS as a senior with Division II Georgia C & S Bobcats...41st round pick of Philadelphia in 2006 as a junior...Played two seasons at Gloucester Community College in Sewell, NJ in 2004 and 2005...Gloucester won the NJCAA National Championship in 2005.


Lucy:

Add C - Ralph Henriquez to roster

Send IF - Zach Lutz to Brooklyn roster

Henriquez comes up from extended… Lutz is an almost prospect that can’t seem to find his slot… most likely either Matt Bouchard will play every day now at third…

I’ve got SP Jenry Mejia as the 3rd top Mets prospect (my list is first based on ceiling and tools) and he keeps proving me correct… Saturday night it was: 8.0 IP, 0R, 6Ks, 3H, 1BB, 2.36


Gnats:

Like Jenry Mejia, SP Jeurys Familia is high on my list also. The only difference right now is a year of experience and learning how to stop walking people around the bases. Luckily for Familia, Saturday’s nights runs were unearned… ERA down to 1.14.


A ninth-inning rally fell just short as the Sand Gnats (13-10) dropped a, 3-2, decision to the visiting Asheville Tourists Saturday night in front of 2,298 at Historic Grayson Stadium. Sean Ratliff was 4-for-4 with three doubles in the loss for Savannah. Down by two entering the final inning, Savannah rallied with one out when Ratliff singled back through the middle. Eric Campbell followed with a double into left-center that scored Ratliff from first and brought the Sand Gnats within one. With Campbell on second and less than two outs, Adam Jorgenson struck out Kai Gronauer for the second out of the inning. After a walk to Josh Satin, Jorgenson fanned Juan Lagares to end the game. It was Jorgenson’s third save of the season. Jeurys Familia (2-2) was saddled with the loss for the Sand Gnats as he allowed three unearned runs in four innings of work. He permitted just one hit but walked five in the loss. Josh Stinson, Wendy Rosa and Rhiner Cruz kept it close as they combined for five innings of shutout baseball. Ratliff’s 4-for-4 night brings his season average to .326. He is a combined 11-for-17 over his last four games with seven runs scored, five doubles, a home run, three RBI and a stolen base.
www.sandgnats.com


Queens:

Panic in the Apple? The Mets lose seven out of 10 while Jerry Manuel offers signs that he's losing his grip, doing things like putting Oliver Perez on notice and attempting to ice the closer by bringing in backup catcher Omir Santos from the bullpen to pinch-hit. The rotation remains the biggest problem; while Johan Santana has put up a 1.10 ERA with a 12.1 K/9 and four quality starts out of five, the rest of the unit has fizzled with a 6.64 ERA, 5.8 K/9, and just three quality starts out of 22. Yeah, that will drive a manager crazy.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8813


Mets Alumni:

Casey Fossum will start Saturday's Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees game. I don't have contract details or a corresponding move, but I know Fossum is the guy. The 31-year-old lefty opened the season with Triple-A Buffalo, had a 0.82 ERA through two starts and was called up to the New York Mets on April 19. He allowed one run in three outings out of the Mets bullpen before being designated for assignment on Monday. Fossum has pitched in 237 major league games, 120 of them as a starter.

http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/archive/2009/05/02/yankees-sign-fossum-to-start-saturday.aspx


Braden Looper -The right-handed version of Maholm, Looper has a whopping LD% of 26.9 and a mediocre 16/11 K/BB, but just a .308 BABIP—league-average, but low for that line-drive percentage—and a 2.45 ERA. If all those acronyms and jargon seem a bit much, think of these guys this way: they're giving up a lot of hard-hit balls right at people. Since pitchers don't have the ability to guide the liners they allow into gloves, this is the kind of thing that doesn't last for long.
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8814


Draft:
Stephen Strasburg threw eight innings and the Santa Clara bats were no challenge to him. He struck out 12 and didn’t allow a run in the Aztecs 5-0 victory. Strasburg gave up only three hits and walked two.

Last week’s scores:
#2 Arizona State 4, at Oregon State 2
#3 Rice 4, at Houston 7
at #4 UC Irvine 7, Cal State Northridge 1
at #6 Cal State Fullerton 7, UC Santa Barbara 2
#8 Mississippi 9, at Auburn 2
at #9 Florida State, 10 Virginia Tech 2
at #10 Texas 12, #24 Baylor 4
Kansas 5, at #11 Oklahoma 4
#13 Miami, Florida 5, at Boston College 1
at #14 Georgia Tech 16, Presbyterian 2
Dallas Baptist 11, at #17 Texas A&M 10
at #18 TCU 5, BYU 3 (10)
at #21 East Carolina 7, Louisiana-Lafayette 1
at #22 Coastal Carolina 13, Liberty 7
#23 Kansas State 5, at Oklahoma State 3