Today I need to drop back into Mets history to bring to mind a player whose appearance was fraught with controversy and whose arrival to play at Shea Stadium didn’t happen until he was age 32. That man finished his tenure with the Mets going 63-42 with just a hair over 1 walk per 9 IP. I’m, of course, talking about one Rick Reed.
Now the surface details most folks know. There was a baseball strike between 1995 and 1996 which made it difficult for teams to field a roster of players willing to cross the picket line. When the Mets picked up Reed as a minor league free agent after the 1995 season, he was the very definition of journeyman, the AAAA type who had never done anything to suggest he would be viable in the major leagues.
That 1995 season was notable for what Reed did. His parents were in danger of losing their house, so against the union’s strike he accepted a payment of $50,000 which he turned over to them to keep a roof over their heads and drew the ire of pretty much every player in the major leagues for not honoring the picket line.
During the 1996 season in AAA working for manager Bobby Valentine, Reed turned in a highly impressive set of numbers. Though he had a losing record, he finished the year with a 3.16 ERA on his way to earning the nickname Greg Maddux Lite. He wasn’t blowing people away with strikeouts but he was not walking hitters and managed the base runners with aplomb.
I bring up this ancient history to introduce the next unusual player with a non-direct route to the major leagues by the name of Jonathan Pintaro. He’s considered one of the Mets surprise prospects to perhaps go as high as Queens before 2025 draws to a close. Let’s have a look at his journey.
Starting his college career in Rome, Georgia with the Shorter Hawks, Pintaro made himself into an effective pitcher but with a very limited arsenal. He was essentially a two-pitch hurler and was able to leverage that small assortment to overwhelm college hitters in his division.
How good was he? Well, in 2021 he was named to the first team in college pitching rankings after finishing with a 2.93 ERA and a whopping 150 strikeouts in 101 innings. In 2022 it was not quite as stunning but he still made second team. The ERA rose to 3.47 but he still demonstrated whiff skills with 136 strikeouts in 96 IP.
What Pintaro learned as he progressed through the college ranks with wooden bats is that he needed more than two good pitches to continue his development. When the draft times came and went without anyone taking a flyer on him, Pintaro wound up hitting the independent leagues and signed with the Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer League in bustling Kalispell, Montana. Nope, I never heard of it either.
The Range Riders had to question what kind of pitcher they had when his numbers were beyond ugly. In 17 starts over 24 games between 2023 and 2024 Pintaro posted a record of 6-6 with a 6.60 ERA and a horrific WHIP of 1.53. The silver lining to this awful display was that he was still striking out more than 1 per inning and whiffing better than a 3:1 ratio.
Imagine the surprise he felt when he was yanked from a game in 2024 after being informed that the Mets had purchased his contract and he was headed to work his way into major league baseball. Yowza!
How good was he in 2024? Well, he started off in High A and ended up in AAA by year’s end. His totals for 2024 in the Mets organization were pretty stunning considering how poorly he did in Montana. He finished 3-6 with a 2.68 ERA, a WHIP dropping to 1.162 and still maintaining that strikeout skill though the walks ticked up a hair. For someone coming from no MLB-affiliated roster to accelerate all the way up the ladder in his first affiliated stint in the minors is fairly stunning.
Right now some writers are suggesting that the now 27 year old yet-to-be-rookie will reach the majors during the 2025 season. It could be that the Mets have injuries or experience poor pitching from others or make trades of existing MLB pitchers. Or perhaps Pintaro once again demonstrates he is much better than what his Pioneer League stint suggested he is. For now tip your cap to the scouts who brought him to the club’s attention and root hard for him if and when he enters the game at Citifield.
15 comments:
Man, I loved Rick Reed. John Franco was tough on him as a scab, but he proved everyone wrong.
I saw where Pintaro added a cutter, and then recently added a sinker, sweeper and change up. Great to see, but puzzling why he hadn't done so sooner. He had quite a year, and absent any setbacks, he ought to be in the big leagues in 2025.
I never was very fond of John Franco. I rooted for the shirt, not the player. Reed was going through life needing a chance, and took it. The only win the Mets got in 2000 World Series came from Rick Reed.
Great piece on Pintero. I never realized or really heard of him! Thanks Reese!
Loved Rick Reed, the epitome of a bulldog. Was our best pitcher for a while. Kept his head high through all the hate.
If Pintero can do what he did that would be great. Thanks Reese you gave us someone to root for.
Gus and Joe P, you wonder how many other guys there are like Pintaro who never realized that adding pitches to their repertoire would be a game-changer. Thankfully, Pintaro recognized the need for multiple pitches pitches before it got any later. It would be great if he could have some of Rick Reed's success.
I felt the same about Franco as he always struck me as being entitled. Great that he had a fat bank account but was he even aware of Reed's situation or cared. Reed was a survivor and it was easy to root for him.
Wow, I expected to be skewered for saying something negative about our golden boy New Yorker. Never expected to hear others agreed.
To slightly alter the pitching conversation, Jim Bowden has a phenomenal piece today in The Athletic. Just a great analysis of every free agent’s options: short and succinct, it touches on Sasaki as well as a certain first baseman. Well, my biggest expectations and worries are realized. He also feels that the Padres, Yankees and Mets are the best options. My feeling all along, based on the young man’s desires, NYC was the place for him. Problem is, there’s alot of Yankee fans in Japan and even if the Mets are the better organization in my eyes, who is better in Roki’s eyes?
Pinataro seems to have gone through long stretches without top notch pitching advice. Now with the Mets and their strong pitching development program, he seems to be flourishing. Makes sense.
What a great story it would be if he makes the majors.
Hey Gus, I hope you get a kick out of this. I grew up in the same neighborhood as Franco. My younger brother played ball with him, and he used to kick his butt up and down the neighborhood whenever they would be on opposite teams. Very arrogant, but fearless as a ballplayer, I have to give him that.
Fearless is one thing, a respectable person is another. Franco always seemed to be getting by on his St. John’s/ New Yorker background. The reds got tired of it and got rid of him. Well, that and being able to strike out Barry Bonds with the sacks drunk in the ninth with two outs.
The real reason he was sent packing by the Reds is that he was facilitating the bookies for Pete Rose. Another Brooklyn secret.
I've never heard that before. Where'd you hear it?
It's important to consider Franco's background. His father was a sanitation worker and staunch union supporter. John picked up on that, and always wore his father's Sanitation Dept shirt under his jersey.
I don't think he had anything against Reed other than his own union support.
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