Thomas Brennan - MAJORING ON THE MINORS - WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT

MAJORING ON THE MINORS - WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT - Vol. 4

It's Thursday, again, to all of you still with us on terra firma, and it's time for our next episode of "Who's... And Who's Not."

Let's start with a weather recap by team. Heat wave? Cold snap?

In terms of how hot each teams is, the Las Vegas 51s are red hot, winners of 17 of 19 through Tuesday.  Binghamton has played well, if not as spectacularly, while St Lucie has been cool - at least until 17 hits on Tuesday. Savannah is heating up after nicely a frigid season's start.

Runs, for and against, and team BAs and ERAs follow: 

• Las Vegas (23-10): 215 runs, 137 runs against, .303, 4.09 ERA.  .377 on base, and .496 slug. Wow. 
• Binghamton (19-13): 146 runs, 147 runs against, .266, 4.20 ERA 
• St. Lucie (14-18)): 132 runs, 130 runs against, .252, 3.42 ERA  
• Savannah (12-19): 133 runs, 143 runs against, .258, 4.05 ERA

Hard not to add Eric Campbell, because he has the best stats of anyone, but I won't as he has only been up a little over 50 times (he's been on base 30 times, via hits and walks, and has a ridiculous .579 OBP).  Plus, he's played so much in the bigs in 2014 and 2015, it is hard to include him in a prospects list. By next week, the ABs will be up enough for me to consider adding him. 

Vegas is weird - everyone with a bat seems to be hot most of the time - but they have scored an amazing 40 more runs than the next team , so don't just say, "ahh, it is just a hitter's league."

I also left off Dilson Herrera and Johnny Monell, since they have been promoted.

One Vegas guy also not in the "hot" list due to limited ABs, but who I've trashed, deserves me to mention that in a utility role, Cory Vaughn has gone 7 for 14 with 7 walks in his last 10 games.  Good turnaround.

Leave out Campbell, Monell, and Campbell, who were hitting a combined .392, and you still have 5 Vegans hitting over .300! 

Here is a little tidbit: Vegas in innings 5, 6, and 7 this year have outscored opponents a stunning 91-38! Including 32-4 in the 5th inning. So they average 4 runs per game - in just 3 of the 9 innings!

Of the remaining Vegas Bombers:

Matt Reynolds (.310) is one of the 5. He has cooled off a bit, with a recent 4 for 21 stretch in 5 games, and while his 29 Ks in 32 games concerns me, his 26 runs and RBIs in 32 games are a real positive. 

 Wilfredo Tovar (.307) has pretty similar #'s to Reynolds so far, when adjusted for the number of games played, so the value of those numbers, as positive as they are, are not all that clear. 

Travis Taijeron leads the league in hitting at .363, Darrell Ceciliani has surged to .341 (7th), and Alex Castellanos has cooled to .322 (still slugging .722).  Just WOW.

TOP 10 HITTERS

Alex Castellanos - AAA: 18 extra base hits in 24 games. 25 RBIs. .322.  Recently back from a minor injury.

Matt Reynolds - AAA: Reynolds has made just 3 errors in 32 games, and is sitting at .310 with 26 RBIs.  16 extra base hits.

Travis Taijeron - AAA: .363/.469/.600. 7 for 14 last week. 

Wilfredo Tovar – AAA: with a 2 homer game, Tovar is hitting .307, with a mere 9 Ks in 92 PAs.  And a .466 slug %.  Impressive.

Luis Guillorme - A: a terrific .327 and .395 OBP for Luis. 

Gavin Cecchini - AA: a groin injury limited him to 23 games so far , but .321/.375/.506 with a mere 8 Ks continues to reinforce that  this is the new and improved Gavin.

Darrell Ceciliani - AAA: .341/.398/.626 in 31 games for Las Vegas.  Having a fine season, up 50 points in a single scorching week.   

Josh Rodriguez – AA: .316/.414/.582 with 24 RBIs in 29 games.

Brandon Nimmo – AA: Solid. Up to .290/.364/.427 in 31 games.

Jeff McNeil - HI A: he has been hot for weeks, and is hitting .324, with a .387 on base %.

(Other notables: Michael Conforto has cooled to .283, .461 slug.)

TOP 10 STARTERS

Steve Matz - AAA: great - only thing between him and the bigs is an open slot.  1.70 ERA. His right handed twin, Noah Syndergaard, got promoted, in case you hadn't heard.

Seth Lugo – AA hard throwing righty who came out of obscurity and overcame physical adversity.  He was 2-0, 1.37, 19.2 IP, 19 Ks in his first 4 starts. His 5th start, he K'd 8 in 6 innings, and surrendered 4 runs (2 scored off relief pitching).  So he has really impressed.

Rainy Lara - AA: 6 starts, 3-1, 2.51.  Very nice.

Luis Cessa - AA: 5 starts, 3-1, 2.67.  Real promising.

Robert Gsellman - HI A: 6 Starts, 4-0, 1.46.  Nearly threw a no hitter and then was great again his last time out.  St. Lucie luvs the Giz.

Rob Whelan - HI A: 0-2 in 5 starts, a 2.10 ERA, and 1.10 WHIP.

Miller Diaz - HI A: 1-2, but 3.00 in his first 5 starts.  In his 5th start, 3 runs in 6 innings, but finally lots of run support gets him in the win column.

Marcos Molina - HI A:3.33 ERA for the highly regarded youngster, with 28 Ks in 27 innings.

Casey Meisner - A: 2-1, 1.78 in 5 starts spanning 30.1 IP. 27 Ks.

#10 Starter? Well, Syndergaard's promoted, so without a clear-cut #10, let me say that Brad Wieck and Tyler Pill, who both been struggling (Pill the more of the 2) both had outstanding last starts.  Hot enough for me to give them both toeholds in the hot list). Oh, and Gabe Ynoa pitched great on Wed afternoon, so make it a 3 way tie for 10th.


TOP 5 RELIEVERS: 

The 5 short inning hurlers I wish to highlight:

Paul Sewald - AA: gave up 3 runs in one game, but still at 1.47, with 19 Ks in 18.1 innings. I'm going to Sewald!

Akeel Morris - HI A: in 16 innings, 4 hits and 25 Ks. Pretty sick. In fact, during his latest span of 28 outs, more than a full 9 inning game, not a single hit.  A NO HITTER!  

@He just hates giving up hits, with just 23 in 73 innings spanning 2014 and 2015.

Adam Kolarek - AA: started the season miserably, but a span of great outings of late has deflated his ERA to 6.06 from 14+.

Dario Alvarez - A: last 7 scoreless outings lower his ERA to just above 3. 14 Ks in 10.1 innings.

David Roseboom - A: 2-0, 0.51, 20 Ks in 17.2 innings. Just 6 hits and 5 walks. Truly exceptional. 

WHO'S NOT HOT?

  

Pedro Perez – 1B Hi A – 11 for 62. Demoted.

  

Logan Taylor – Hi A - with a 6.46 ERA after 5 St Lucie starts.

Vicente Lupo – A - is (not) hitting .171 with 30 Ks in 76 at bats.

Gil Gomez – AA - is 5 for 49 with 22 Ks. Scary place to be.

Dominic Smith: Hi A- struggling until 3 hits Tuesday (.187, 7 RBIs).

Tyler Moore – A - is off to a super frigid 3 for 42 start. Being a catcher helps tolerate that for a short while. 

Back up catchers Jeff Glenn and Adrian Abreu - Hi A - are a combined 4 for 39.

So those last 3 catchers are 7 for 81. Yogi just turned 90 and can hit better.

That's all, folks.  Until we meet again. And remember, the minors are no minor thing if you're a true Mets fan.