8/14/21

Tom Brennan - Florida Complex League Players Off to Strong Starts

I like it a lot when "guppy" guys (i.e., guys in rookie ball) start out STRONG.

I like to give those guys a little bit of well-deserved recognition.

Guys who are catching my 4 eyes? The following (stats thru Thursday):

Raul Beracierta - the righty hitting outfielder has been around for a while now and is 22.  He is likely proving he deserves a quick promotion to the St Lucie Mets, having drilled 15 extra base hits in his last 71 at bats.  In 78 at bats this year, he is /308/.407/.590.  

Promote him - what do you have to lose?

Then there are two 2021 draftee copy cats, both hitting .471 (8 for 17).  Their names?

1) 20th rounder SS Justin Guerrera, not to be confused with Greg Guerrero.

2) 15th rounder SS Wyatt Young, not to be confused with Wyatt Earp.

They have .571 and .526 OBPs, respectively.  Way to burst out of the gate, fellas.

6'3" Eduardo Salazar, an OF, is hitting .325/.417/.525 in 14 games.  The 20 year old is doing quite nicely, I'd say.

You like boppers?  I sure do.

How about 21 year old LF Carlos Dominguez, with 7 HRs in 82 at bats and a .280 average?  I'll take two of those, please.

Lastly, one pitcher with VERY unusual stats is 5'9" lefty Daniel Juarez - just 4 hits allowed and 26 Ks in 15 innings - wow!  

But 13 walks and 2 HBP.  Ugh!  But of great interest to me is this guy has thrown a lot of pitches, with a combined 39 Ks and BBs, yet allowed just 4 hits so far.  Seems he is thus very hard to hit.  It will be interesting watching this guy.

He and 4 other of his teammates, BTW, have major wild streaks, combining for 63 walks in 63 innings.  But you see that kind of stuff in such a Complex League.

JUAREZ UPDATE: 3 shutout innings on Friday, fanning 7 with no hits. New totals: 18 IP, 4 H, 33 Ks, 15 BBs.  Man, I like this guy already!

Happy Day, people.


But wait…before I go…a 32nd round draft pick for the Mets in 2019 has done amazing enough to already be pitching in AA.

BUT…EVEN MORE AMAZING?

In his last 3 starts, he has been beyond superb: no runs on TWO HITS over 17 innings, while fanning TWENTY EIGHT!  Wow!

His name: Nope, not Jake deGrom…it’s COLE GORDON.

WOW!

5 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Like Jake, Gordon came to pitching late, starting to pitch in college. It is frankly incredible for a 32nd rounder who only briefly debuted in 2019 and no 2020 to be pitching like this in AA in 2021

Th 6'5" hurler has just 99 pro innings - and all of his 2021 innings have been in AA, where he has allowed just 43 hits in 69 innings.

Just to show how amazing that is. deGrom had 150 pro innings before he reached AA, and in AA, he allowed 69 hits in 60 innings..

Gary Seagren said...

"Jake" Gordon has a nice ring to it.

Tom Brennan said...

Gordon May reach the majors in a flash.

We didn’t sign Gerrit Cole. But maybe Cole Gordon will be a cheaper substitute.

Raw said...

Hi,

What do you think about a Met pitcher who so far has started 7 games, pitched 20 innings has a 0.00 ERA, a WHIP of 0.88, 29 K, 4BB.
His name is Joel Diaz and pitches in the DSL. What is it going to take for the Mets to promote him to the FCL. Is the problem with the 180 player limit going to cause talented players in the DSL from advancing to the FCL.
Do you think the Mets should add a second team to the FCL because they have too many players to try and get playing time as it now stands.
What is your feeling towards the new Mets management as far as advancing the players? Do you think they will advance them quicker, slower or the same?

Tom Brennan said...

Raw, I think Gordon is a real example of how they’d advance guys faster than prior to 2021.

I do see Joel Diaz is only 17. His age and moving him to stateside this year might be a holdback. Lot to process for some kids. If he is really good, he should be throwing for one of the Lucie teams next year. For now, I’d let him dominate there.