Kaplan was an 11th round draft pick by the Mets in 2008, out of Irving Valley College and Cal State Fullerton.
In September 2008, Patrick Hickey wrote on: Jeff Kaplan- After losing his spot in the rotation and battling arm fatigue, Kaplan became a commodity out of the bullpen. He’s got a great repertoire and is even better at maintaining control on the mound, which in my mind, make him someone who can definitely survive at higher levels. Add in a laid back personality and a few months to rest his tired arm and I think 2009 may be the best season of his young career. - Final Grade- B+
Kaplan was a starter in school and remained so for the lion share of his first three years with the Mets. Through 2010, his combined stats are: 10-9, 2.72, 1.23, 36-G, 22-starts.
It was decided in the 2010/2011 off-season to make Kaplan a full time relief pitcher. He was assigned to return to St. Lucie, where he went 3-5, 3.39 last year in 10 games, 9 starts.
4-13-11: - Stock Up: - Closer Jeff Kaplan (0.00) now has four saves in four opportunities. I talked to him today after the game and he told me that he is thrilled with his new job. Kaplan was a very talented starter that went through some injury problems that cost him the 2010 season. It also cost him his place in the pecking order of starters, even though his lifetime stats for the Mets, as a starter, are: 10-9, 2.72, 1.23. Remember… 9 teams… 225 players… 3 slots… you can’t miss a beat.
5-11-11: - RP Jeff Kaplan (1.53) pitched two more scoreless innings in a non-save opportunity (8-saves). This is his 15th appearance of the year and he looks like he will eventually be promoted to Binghamton. He was a successful starter for the Mets for three affiliates in three seasons (10-9, 2.72, 1.23, 36-G, 22-starts), but turned full relief this season.
5-24-11: - This was Jeff Kaplan’s worst outing of the young season. 1.2-IP, 4-ER, 2-HR. He went into this game with eight saves and no home runs (18-G) given up for the entire season. His earned runs increased 80% in one game. We’ll write this one off as a bad day.
6-30-11: - Roster moves on Thursday included RP Jeff Kaplan, who was bumped up from St. Lucie to Binghamton. Many thought he would be promoted earlier; however, I’m not sure he deserved this. He was unhittable in April (0.71), but that was about it, going 5.28 in May and a whopping 9.39 in June. Not too many people get promoted with these kind of numbers so this might be a good representation of the lack of depth in the organization when it comes to relief pitchers.
No comments:
Post a Comment