Possible Minor League ‘Playoff Moves’

The minor league seasons are coming to an end and, with that, certain teams ‘promote’ players to help them out either to win a pennant, or to play a playoff game.

No better example would be the Johan Santana rehab game in last year’s Savannah Sand Gnats game.

First, let’s look  at the teams:

Buffalo – 51-49, 4.5 games out of first place

Binghamton – 46-52, 12 games out

St. Lucie – won first half

Savannah – lost first half, 11-17, last place, 5.5 out

Brooklyn – 20-12, 1^st place

Kingsport – 8-19, 10.5 games out

Based on the past, look for both Brooklyn and St. Lucie to benefit from these kind of promotions. Lucy is already in the playoffs and Brooklyn looks like a lock.

SP – Steve Katz – Kingsport – there is less reason every day to keep Steve pitching through the raindrops in Kingsport. This is not a recent high school signee. He has pitched only five outings, mainly due to the plethora of rainouts the area has gotten this year. Still, he’s fifth in the leave with a 1.96 ERA and has 26-Ks in 23 innings. Only downside is his 14 walks which is typical of someone coming back from major surgery. Matz will have to pound the zone next year, but he could be a blue chip promotion for Brooklyn, if, for no other reason, he would fill the stands with friends and relatives.

OF Maikis De La Cruz – Kingsport – The Mets are pretty thin in legitimate outfield prospects, so the next step is to look for the ‘hot bat’. La Cruz is hitting .329 for a very bad team and it’s very easy to pitch around him. .451 slugging and .828 OPS is nothing to shake a stick at either.

(Origin of “shake a stick at” - It is found in The Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Journal in 1818: "We have in Lancaster as many Taverns as you can shake a stick at." The sense then, as now, was "a lot" or "too many to count." Shaking a stick at someone has long been considered, for good reason, a threatening gesture.)

SP Michael Fulmer or Domingo Tapia  – Savannah – pick one… either would be a strong asset for a St. Lucie playoff rotation next to Tyler Pill… in fact… pick both!

RP Marcos Camarena – Savannah – don’t be surprised you don’t see this phenom in the Mets bullpen, coming in to close in, oh, let’s say 2015. For now. He would make a great long man insurance policy for Lucy.

SP Zack Wheeler – Binghamton – forget last night… if Buffalo has a shot for the playoffs, Zack will be in the rotation.