FINAL Results: 2014 Rule 5 Draft

Also at Mack's Mets:

     Today at 12pm is the start of the 2014 Rule 5 draft. The Mets will select 14th today due to their finish in the standings in 2014. During the Sandy Alderson regime, the team has generally not dabbled in the Rule 5 draft market for themselves. Instead, the team acts as a selection spot for those teams in the bottom of the draft order, or with full 40 man rosters, in exchange for cash or international bonus slot compensation.

     It is widely reported that the club expects to lose RHSP Logan Verrett during the MLB Phase of the draft. Other clubs view Verrett as an good option as a 6th/7th medium leverage reliever or as a #5 starter. Sandy Alderson also indicated that he expects to lose "a handful of guys" during the AA phase of the draft. This means other clubs will be looking to pluck players from the St. Lucie, Savannah, and Brooklyn rosters for their own AA clubs.

MLB Phase

Pick	Team	# on 40 Man	Player Selected
1	Diamondbacks	39	C- Oscar Hernandez - Astros
2	Rockies	39	1B- Mark Canha - Marlins
3	Rangers	38	OF- Delino DeShields Jr - Astros
4	Astros	38	RHP- Jason Garcia - Red Sox
5	Twins	39	RHP- JR Graham - Braves
6	Red Sox	39	RHP- Jandel Gustave - Astros
7	White Sox	38	Pass
8	Cubs	38	SS- Taylor Featherston - Rockies
9	Phillies	38	SS-  Odubel Herrera - Rangers RHP- Andrew Oliver - Pirates
10	Reds	38	Pass
11	Marlins	39	LHP- Andrew McKirahan - Cubs
12	Padres	39	Pass
13	Rays	40	N/A
14	Mets	39	LHP- Sean Gilmartin - Twins
15	Braves	38	RHP- Daniel Winkler - Rockies
16	Brewers	39	Pass
17	Blue Jays	37	Pass
18	Yankees	37	Pass
19	Indians	40	N/A
20	Mariners	39	RHP- David Rollins - Astros
21	Giants	40	N/A
22	Pirates	39	Pass
23	Athletics	40	N/A
24	Royals	39	Pass
25	Tigers	40	N/A
26	Cardinals	37	Pass
27	Dodgers	40	N/A
28	Orioles	37	RHP- Logan Verrett - Mets
29	Nationals	40	N/A
30	Angels	39	Pass

AAA Phase Selections
1st round
D'backs: RHP- Tim Crabbe - Reds
Rockies: RHP- Kyle Simon - Phillies

Rangers: 1B- Rock Shoulders - Cubs
Astros: C- Luis Flores - Cubs
Twins: RHP- Greg Peavey - Mets
White Sox: RHP- Peter Tago - Rockies
Cubs: OF- Ariel Ovando - Astros
Reds: C- Cam Maron - Mets
Marlins: LHP: Matthew Tomshaw - Twins
Padres: SS- Juan Gamboa - Mets
Rays: OF- Louis Urena - Pirates
Braves: C- Steven Rodriguez - Diamondbacks
Indians: RHP- Delvy Francisco - Phillies
Giants: RHP- Ramon Del Orbe - Marlins
Tigers: RHP- Jheyson Manzueta - Marlins
Cardinals: RHP- Tyler Waldron - Pirates
Dodgers: OF- Peter Lavin - Phillies
Orioles: OF- Sean Halton - Brewers
Angels: IF- Chris Curley - White Sox

2nd round
Rangers: SS- Hiram Martinez - Marlins
Reds: RHP- Euclides Leyer - White Sox
Marlins: 1B- Harold Riggins - Reds
Rays: RHP- Michael O'Brien - Orioles
Giants: RF- Brett Jackson - Diamondbacks
Dodgers: RHP- Alexander Santana - Orioles
Angels: SS- Pedro Ruiz - Diamondbacks

3rd round
Marlins: LHP- Alexander Burgos - Tigers
Dodgers: RHP Randy Fontanez - Mets
Angels: OF- Kentrail Davis - Brewers

4th round Dodgers: SS- Nate Samson - Diamondbacks

AA Phase Selections

No Players Selected

Fast Start Minor Leaguers

Mets Recap Mets 5-4-Profiling – Greg Peavey, Tyler Pill, Darrell Cecilliani, Angel Cuan, Jeurys Familia

Mets Recap  Mets 5-4-Profiling – Greg Peavey, Tyler Pill, Darrell Cecilliani, Angel Cuan, Jeurys Familia

Stock Up -  SP Greg Peavey – The Mets pitching continued to impress during the first week of the season; however, it came mostly from the second tier of prospects. Peavey pitched 5.2 scoreless innings in his first 2012 outing, giving up only two hits while striking out five and walking none.

                                   Stock Up -      SP Tyler Pill – you have to love those college Friday pitches going to A-ball. Pill dominated in his first outing, going: 6.0-IP, 0-R, 3-H, 7-K, 0-BB. He should be in St. Lucie as I originally predicted.

                                  Stock Up -   CF Darrell Cecilliani – a walk off home run always gets you a ‘stock up’ and Darrell had quite a night on 4-9, going 4-5 and raising his young BA to .444. ‘DC’ is healthy again.

                                  Stock Up -  SP Angel Cuan – there definitely was a bunch of god Mets pitching the first week of the season and none better than Cuan, who went: 7.0-IP, 2-H, 0-R, 4-K, 1-BB for St. Lucie. Most of us pundits await his conversion to a reliever, yet he just keeps pitching.

                                  Stock Up -      SP Jeurys Famlia – this is your typical Familia outing… 95+, a lot of strikeouts, too many walks, 100 pitches, less than 4-R per start. Wednesday 4-11 was: 5.0-IP, 3-R, 8-K, 3-BB, 100-PC, seasonal ERA: 3.72. I predict he will be ready long before Harvey.    

Mets: Greg Peavey, Fernando Martinez, Willie Harris, Rusty Staub, John Thole

1-23-12 - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/23/2693134/2012-amazin-avenue-top-50-mets-prospect  s#42) RHP Greg Peavey - The 2010 sixth rounder out of Oregon St. lived up to his reputation as a cerebral pitcher with good command of a solid four-pitch mix during his pro debut in 2011. In his initial assignment with Savannah, the 23-yr old righty proved -- with a 2.62 FIP and just 11 walks in 78 IP -- that he was too advanced for Sally leaguers. However, his less than dominant strikeout total was rather conspicuous. And that trend continued in his move to the FSL where good command of average stuff wasn't as effective, as his walks were up and worse he saw his K/9 drop down below 6. Peavey may be the rare case of a pitcher who throws too many strikes -- at least hittable ones. For someone with a definite lack of swing-and-miss stuff, it would behoove Peavey to work around the fringes of the zone more and perhaps accept an additional walk here and there. Either way, he seemed to show improvement down the stretch with St. Lucie and if he can continue to make adjustments, he has enough secondary stuff and pitching smarts to continue to profile as a strictly back of the rotation starter.

Effectively cutting Fernando Martinez was an extremely difficult decision for the Mets, who do not like giving up on premier prospects any more than fans do. Had the Mets believed at all that Martinez might still blossom into a productive Major Leaguer, they would have kept him. Certainly, they do not want to see him finally fulfill his potential with the Astros.  That said, the Mets have been scouting Martinez more closely than anyone for nearly a decade. They have watched him struggle through an endless string of injuries and determined that, like a startling number of "can't miss" prospects, Martinez has missed. At some point, the Mets became unwilling to sacrifice other players for the benefit of lost potential. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120123&content_id=26440472&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym

The Cincinnati Reds signed utility infielder Willie Harris today. It is hardly an earth shattering move. His job is to provide the Reds with some depth in their infield to allow them to develop Paul Janish and Zack Cozart. Harris was a utility player for the Mets last year and has the kind of career that fascinates me. He was a 24th round pick by the Orioles in 1999. Very few of the players drafted after him that year played a single game in the majors. Most of those who did had brief cameos (the Sean Henns and Darren Clarkes of the world.) Jason Frasor and Mike Jacobs were drafted after Harris, but no other big leaguer of note. http://sullybaseball.blogspot.com/2012/01/sully-baseball-salutes-willie-harris.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Rusty Staub wants you to open a bottle of wine and toast to a good cause. The Major League veteran, who played with the Mets in the early 1970s and once owned restaurants in New York, is once again lending his name and a few good bottles in support of the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival.  The festival and auction supports the Naples Children & Education Foundation which provides funds to some 23 organizations that serve underprivileged children in Collier County, Fla. The festival, now in its 12th year and to be held Jan. 27-29 in Naples, Fla., is one of the country's main charity wine auctions, widely attended by winemakers and connoisseurs alike. Last year the event raised $12 million http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203718504577179152163676524.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Josh Thole isn’t exactly better than the Marlins battery mates, but he’s a viable option if you are in need. He can be found at the bottom of the barrel on draft day; but in some drafts, he might be drafted mid-late rounds. In 114 games last year, he hit 17 doubles and collected 40 RBIs. He did hit .268 on the year and almost has a 1-to-1 walk/strikeout ratio. His strikeouts are low, in a full season will strike out less than 75 times. He doesn’t have any power at all, averaging two home runs a year in his three-year career, but he doesn’t hurt you either. He’s a great backup on a fantasy team. Backup/prospect/whatever is left: Let’s face it, they don’t really have much left. It’s Thole and that’s it. Nickeas is a career minor-leaguer and produces like Thole. He won’t be a factor on your fantasy team. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/fantasy-baseball-preview-national-league-catchers/16247/

Mets – Chris Schwinden, Wilmer Flores, Greg Peavey, R.A. Dickey

Chris Schwinden:  The only home grown option on Rubin's list, Schwinden was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2008 entry draft.  Probably the most realistic option of the group, Schwinden started four games for the Mets in the fall of 2011, going 0-2 while pitching to a 4.71 ERA and striking out more than seven batters per nine innings.  Ideally, Schwinden projects to be a Dillon Gee type of pitcher who could possibly aid in shoring up the back half of the Mets rotation in the event that someone goes down due to injury.  He will not be over powering, but it does appear that he can be effective. http://www.metsfever.com/2012/01/what-options-do-mets-have-if-johan.html 

1-3-12 - mets360  - 6. Wilmer Flores, SS, Hi-A, .269/.309/.380 in 559 PA - Everyone wants to write off Flores but while his stock has dropped considerably it’s way too early to dismiss a guy who played most of last year at age 19. For a comparison, David Wright batted .270 as a 20 year old in St. Lucie. As for Flores’ future, he’s four months younger than Puello, they put up similar-type seasons at the same level and Flores still has a chance to stick in the infield. Everyone is burned out on hearing about Flores, especially given that he hasn’t had a monster year yet in full-season ball. But neither has Puello. Flores will start the season in Double-A and if he fails to put up good numbers in hitter-friendly Binghamton than we’ll know that his ship has passed.

metsmerizedonline  - 33. Greg Peavey (RHP) It was a very successful season for the 23 year-old right-hander despite the fact that his performance was over-shadowed by other highly regarded pitchers in the system. With the sizzling professional debut of Matt Harvey, the continued development of Jeurys Familia, the meteoric rise of Darin Gorski, and the outstanding acquisition of Zack Wheeler, it was easy to forget what a terrific season Peavey had on the farm. Drafted by the Mets in the 6th round out of Oregon State in the 2010 draft, Peavey signed too late to pitch that season. He made his professional debut in 2011 pitching out of the Savannah rotation. There he went 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA over 78 innings, and 14 game starts. He surrendered 75 hits while striking out 69, and walking 11, and his WHIP was 1.10. After making the SAL Mid-Season All-Star Team, he got a call-up to Advanced-A St. Lucie, and continued to pitch well, finishing the year with a combined record of 11-6 with a 3.48 ERA over 24 game starts, and 137 innings. His fastball sits in the low 90′s, and he also throws a slider, change-up and curveball. Although quite advanced, Peavey will, probably need two more seasons, but by then, should definitely be in the discussion about joining the big league team.

An American baseball player scaling an African mountain for an Indian charity might seem an odd way to draw attention to human trafficking. But that’s just what R.A. Dickey is doing. The Mets pitcher is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, which peaks at more than 19,000 feet above sea level (and documenting it on Bats, The New York Times’ Baseball blog) in part to bring awareness and money to stop sexual slavery thousands of miles away in the gritty lanes of Kamathipura – Mumbai’s largest red light district. About 100,000 to 200,000 women and girls are working in brothels in Mumbai, according to the latest government estimates, which are a decade old. Activists say the number has since reduced to 75,000 to 100,000 in the city. http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/whats-r-a-dickey-climbing-for/#more-14717

How Do You Define Drafting Well? - By Phlavio

My friend and I got into a heated discussion over Omar Minaya. Just what Met fans need, more grief caused by Omar Minaya. The debate started with me saying that Omar was a alright in regards to drafting. My friend argued that only 1 of his draft picks had turned out well (not counting Harvey because Harvey was not ready to be judged). We had only been looking at his first pick from each year. I expanded it to his top 5 picks from each year because those picks are generally expected to have a chance of panning out. Here is a little Minaya draft legacy review.

2010:
RHP Matt Harvey - Now... we can't say he was a succesful pick, YET because Harvey hasn't thrown a single inning in the majors, YET. That hasn;t stopped us Met fans from getting overly excited about a guy who has a 97 MPH fastball and flew threw two of the higher levels of the minors.

C Blake Forsythe - Sure... not a great choice. Forsythe was taken because he was highly regarded once upon a time and Omar was hoping for lightning in a bottle. There is a reason why we try to ignore the catchers in the Met farm... this will continue as we move on in the list.

OF Cory Vaughn - Greg Vaughn had a kid and this kid was named Cory. In 2010 he debuted in Brooklyn and was a powerhouse success with a great eye. Then in 2011 he went to the batter's nightmare of Savannah and lost a lot of that power. He still hit enough to get promoted to Port St. Lucie (where he's likely to start 2012). Vaughn is still charted to the MLB with a starting OF spot in the possible cards.

(Mack: Very streaky.... needs to develop long range plan...)

OF Matt DenDekker - Now... nobody questioned the choice of Matt. He was an organizational guy with stellar defense that would probably top out as a AAAA OF who could spend time as a 4th OF. Then... DenDekker developed power. Not sure where it came from and don't color me surprised if it's not 100% legit, but he's now on track to potentially compete for the starting CF job this spring.

RHP Gregory Peavey - We forget about Peavey. We forget because we also have Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Zack Wheeler. Peavey has been very successful in pitcher friendly Savannah and moderately successful in the more even-footed Port St. Lucie. He projects as a middle to back of the rotation starter... in the 5th round... NOT BAD.

(Mack: Spent most of 2011 working on new pitches... look for big start in 2012)

2009:

LHP Steven Matz - Now, I agree with my friend that Matz was a bad pick. He had mechical issues and was destined to land on the surgery docket... guess what, he did. We'll learn if Matz will amount to anything this season and my hopes are not sky high.

(Mack: Dropped Twitter, dropped Facebook... fell off the face of the media world...)

SS Robbie Shields - Shields also caught the injury bug, but he got by it in 2011 where he turned out a pretty solid year offensively. He's not likely to be a major league SS (which Omar knew in 2009) but he does seem to have a shot as a major league 2B.

(Mack: Has the hottest girlfriend in the system...)

OF Darrell Cecilliani - Cecilliani was a surprise of 2010 when he exploded into Brooklyn with absurd numbers. 2011 saw him fall back to earth... a little. He still has a shot to be a major league OF.

LHP Darin Gorski - 4th round pitcher... no tremendous stuff... he did WHAT in 2011? Okay, raise your hand if you think Gorski's 2011 was for real. Anyone? We have our hopes and dreams but it's likely that Gorski is not destined to be more than Mr. Gee... IF THAT!

C Taylor Freeman - Remember that we have NO good catching prospects. Yeah...

2008:

1B Isaac "Ike" Davis - Okay, so we didn't argue about Ike Davis being a good draft pick. Omar saw power, and when Ike reached the majors... so did we. There are obvious concerns about the return from an injury, but can we REALLY blame that freak accident on Omar?

2B David "Reese" Havens - Now... we can talk injuries and we can talk talent. Havens has both. I think Omar can still be shadowed on the side of making a good pick based on the fact that Havens has one of the best swings I've ever seen.

(Mack: His only long range problem is his back...)
RHP Bradley Holt - Once upon a time we thought Holt was a steal. Since then he's become a pretty colossal bust. If he makes it to the majors it'll be as a reliever and I'm betting against it. He did toss me a ball at a B-Met game. I'm such a little kid.

(Mack: Great kid that got totally screwed up by the Mets... please let someone draft him this week...)

OF Javier Rodriguez - As a fourth rounder it's hard for me to call him a bust, but I also cannot call him even a remote success in the minors.

(Mack: Steak knife...)

OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis - 5th rounder... might be a favorite Met in 2012. Nieuwenhuis is a gritty determined guy who I'm betting wins away Bay's starting job by Mid-July. He doesn't have 30 HR power or 30 SB speed but he does look like a .300 hitter with 15/15 potential.

2007:

RHP Edward Kunz (Allan Dykstra) - We credit Omar with the lousy draft choice in the over-weight Kunz. We credit Sandy Alderson with trading for Dykstra who is a pretty intriguing 1B prospect... after a good 2011 at least.

(Mack: Great minor league closer that was totally mishandled (also, great defensive outfielder)...

LHP Nathan Vineyard - I threw up in my mouth when I looked.

(Mack: Hid a career-ending injury from the Mets, signed, took the bonus money and ran back to Georgia...)

RHP Scott Moviel - Once upon a time some people thought he might be okay for the bullpen. That time is past. He's just a bust.

RHP Brant Rustich - I'm going to keep my mouth shut on a player who has battled injuries like this.

(Mack: We'll know in January if he's back 110%)

LHP Eric Niesen - Wrapping up his worst year, Niesen turned in some okay work as a lefty reliever but okay might be over-stating his value. He's not a major league talent.

2006:

RHP Kevin Mulvey (Johan Santana) - So... is Johan Santana still worth Kevin Mulvey? Even with all the injuries? Even with his huge salary? Yes... yes he is.

RHP Joseph Smith - I remember Smith with nothing but fondness. He's moved on into the Cleveland bullpen where he's continued to look like a pretty solid MLB reliever.

(Mack: Isn't this that Mormon dude?)

RHP John Holdzkom - Another HUGE failure in the minors.

(Mack: Career-ending injuries)

RHP Stephen Holmes - This is a little odd. I find a page but no stats. He WAS signed... so... I guess he's there for his looks?

(Mack: Just quit one day and disappeared... like Peter Green did to Fleetwood Mac)

RHP Scott Schafer - This one is odd. Schafer was fine as an 18-year old in the Gulf Coast League. Then he vanished.

(Mack: Some of these guys are pretty smart and they wake up one day and realize they need to put their toys down and get on with their life...)

2005:

RHP Mike Pelfrey - Do I like Pelfrey? No. Is he an MLB caliber starter? Yeah... I guess he is. Can't fault Omar's pick if he's good enough to start in the pros.

2B Hector Pellot - A speedy utility player who will never make the pros.

(Mack: Gone...)

C Andrew Butera - Strange... the site I cound him on said he signed and then his profile says he was signed again by the Twins in 2010. He's not very good.

(Mack: Traded early in Mets career... now in pros... excellent defensive catcher)

OF Gregory Cain - Cain had two VERY unimpressive years in rookie ball before he vanished from baseball.

LHP Jonathan Niese - Jon Niese is probably a better pitcher than Pelfrey and he's certainly easier to watch. Niese is a more-than steady major leaguer and likely a piece of the Met future for the next 2-3 years.

In My Opinion: Omar Minaya has four draft success stories (Pelfrey, Niese, Davis and Smith) already in the majors and at least 9 prospects who could still make a major league impact. Now... of those 9, maybe 6 ACTUALLY do something in Queens but 10 players out of the 30 of his top draft picks seems like a pretty good track record.

Will 6 of the 9 prospects I'm looking at make an impact? (Harvey, Vaughn, DenDekker, Peavey, Shields, Cecilliani, Gorski, Havens and Nieuwenhuis) Well, I'd say we'll see about Nieuwenhuis, Havens and potentially (though hopefully we don't NEED to) DenDekker early in 2012. We'll see about Harvey and the rest of Generation 2K a little later. (NOTE: Omar was responsible for bringing in Mejia and Familia as well.)

For me this comes down to, "What do we consider success for a baseball GM in regards to drafting?" The best I can figure as a baseball outsider is that a GM is drafting well if at least 1 player a year (on average) is worthy of playing in the majors. Maybe that's too generous, but I have seen enough prospects fail to be happy with that rate of attrition.

My Friend's Opinion: Excitement level and actual production are two very different things in my mind, which was why I couldn’t really put a finger on Harvey, yet. But when you extend Omar’s draft history from our original discussion of ‘first picks’ to his ‘top 30’, its clear to me that he’s made a good number of ‘decent’ picks. I’ll comment on a couple of things that still tickle me in an “I need an adult” kind of way.

Kevin Mulvey: In the end, getting Santana for this guy was a cruel deception on Omar’s part, but a good one. However, despite the numbers he has put up in his good health, he suffered through three straight seasons of injuries, and his huge salary is just sitting there. I think this is an ‘agree to disagree’ situation.

I like playing the game of “what have you done for me lately”, because while its nice to speculate and get excited about up-and-coming talent, you never know what will actually happen until they get called up. So while Pelfrey, Niese, Davis, and Smith have all made it to the big show, only 2 of those players have done something for me lately. Pelfrey has shown me nothing but inconsistency and a lack of confidence when he steps onto the mound. One day he’s got it, and he’s flat or mediocre the next two or three. Smith is no longer in the Mets’ plans, so there’s really nothing to say about him. That leaves Niese and Davis, both of which I hope continue their strong starts, especially a post-injury Davis.

I see a good number of players that have ‘potential’, but so far I’ve seen a small number produce or do anything meaningful at the major league level for the Mets. Now, that doesn’t mean I want other players to fail, or think anything wrong of their talents or efforts. I certainly want everyone drafted to succeed, but I know it never works out that way (see: Nathan Vineyard). So in the mindset of “what have you done for me lately”, I see Niese and Davis as good picks on this list, with hopefully more names added to that list after this season. After all, it’s time for Sandy to get cracking after Jose took his booming rap career to Miami, amirite!?

The Gamers vs. The Gifted: Rodriguez vs. Peavey

This is the first time where the players are MUCH easier to compare. Both are about the same age. Both are righties. Both pitched in Port St. Lucie. They're both around the same height, but only Armando is a member of the clean plate club.

Full Name: Armando Alberto de Jesus Rodriguez

Born: 01/28/1988

Birthplace: San Cristobal, Dominican Republic

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 250

Bats: R

Throws: R

Rodriguez isn't FAT... Which means he's not David Wells... yet. He's also not thin. Being his age and his size is something a scout would note with a hint of caution. He doesn't throw hard enough to be gifted or to overlook a bit of extra pound-age, but... there's also some good.

One of the things I look for in a Gamer is the WHIP. It demonstrates an ability to keep the opponents off base. Armando's WHIP is very solid at 1.19. I also look at the opponent BA: .218 which is VERY nice but slightly troubling. While keeping opponents down around the Mendoza line is good. His progression through the majors has slowly seen that BA rise. He'll be repeating A+ ball to start the year and NEEDs to improve upon the numbers to hold his value.

Rodriguez's Scouting Report:

The Good: He led the Sally League in strikeouts last year, had the second lowest BAA (.214), and third in ERA (3.08). He's a strike-thrower who keeps the ball down. He isn't afraid to pitch inside, and has natural deception in his delivery. His fastball sits from 89-92 mph, with a 86-88mph cutter.

The Bad: He also throws a slider and a change-up, but neither are effective. In order for him to be effective at the higher levels, he needs to develop a better change-up or off-speed pitch.

Name: Gregory S. Peavey

Born: 07/11/1988

Birthplace: Vancouver, WA

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: R

Peavey started the season by blithely tip-toeing through Savannah. People didn't notice how good he was doing... we were busy fawning over Harvey and Familia. His stuff is on the lower end of the gifted spectrum and the guy needs to develop his secondary offerings in a hurry.

Peavey will repeat Port St. Lucie as well and the comparisons between Rodriguez and Peavey will continue to be easy to make.

Peavey's Scouting Report:

Peavey has effort in his delivery but usually has a fastball around 92 mph, touching 94, to go with a good, hard slider. Peavey has been on radar screens for several years and while scouts like his arm and pitch-ability, he hasn't developed much since his freshman year. The violence in his delivery has some concerned and the lack of a changeup has some thinking he's bound for a bullpen role in the future

For this round I have to give the win to The Gamers. I've followed Rodriguez for a while and I have more faith in him developing along the lines of a Gamer than Peavey emerging beyond mid-level talent.

Building 2012 Rosters Prospects First - Picks 25-30

#26- SP Greg Peavey – First of all, let me say I’m a little biased here. I really like this guy, regardless of whether he’s going to be a successful Mets pitcher. Greg is benefiting by being the “other guy” that the Mets drafted along with Matt Harvey. He can move a little slower and not be noticed. He’s had his ups and downs like all pitchers have, but he’s ERA’d under 4 at two levels this year and his combined numbers are 11-5, 3.41. Sure, he’s had 11 starts at St. lucie this year, but I’m going to send him back there to start 2012. Binghamton is pretty loaded and let’s let Greg enjoy A+ while he can. – ETA: 2014

#27 – CL Josh Edgin – This is a tough one to call. Edgin hasn’t had a bad outing since opening day in Savannah. Since then he has been close to perfect and has turned the heads of every scout in the business. Even Paul DePodesa is talking about him and says he has an outside chance to make the Mets in 2012. I wish he didn’t do that. Look, he’s fast, but he’s not crazy fast. He just seems to be very good. Start him off in Binghamton and, if he’s still as dominant after 20+ outings there, move him to Buffalo, but let’s not do an Eddie Kunz here. – ETA: 2013 Bullpen

#28 – SP Alex Panteliodis – I’ve followed the career of ‘Johnny Pants’ and was thrilled to see him become a Met. He came to Florida with a hip injury (which the Mets knew about before they drafted him) and he was immediately shut down for the remainder of the season. I don’t think he’ll pitch any kind of winter ball either. I had him as the 59th RHP available in the draft. Look, he was diagnosed with a bump growing on his hip bone before his last Florida season and still went out and got 11-wins, and 84-Ks in 100-IP. I’m still going to start him out in Savannah next spring, especially since he’s a college boy.

#29 – P Chase Huchingson – These phenoms in A-ball come along every year. Sometimes they are named Eric Beaulac while other times it Mark Cohoon. They dominate this level after coming out of college and, in the case of Chase, dominate at both a starter (1.77) or out of the pen (1.62). What I like from the 6-5 lefty is the 86-Ks in 80.0-IP. It’s obvious he will play St. Lucie next spring and I would love to see him stay in the pen.

#30 – SP Erik Goeddel – I expected more from Goeddel this year, but he still faired well after being dinged up for a good part of the season. So far, he’s thrown 16 games with a combined GCL/SAL stat line of 2-4, 3.36, 59-K, 17-BB, 67.0-IP. Erik had been a reliever in school and started this season as the SP2 behind Greg Peavey. He should return to the same slot, behind Akeel Morris next spring.


Rosters So Far:


Buffalo: (4) –SP Chris Schwinden, 2B Reese Havens, SS Jordany Valdespin, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis


Binghamton: (8) – SP: Mike Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Darin Gorski, RP Josh Edgin, 3B Jefry Marte, OF Matt den Dekker, Cesar Puello


St. Lucie: (7) – SP Greg Peavey, RP Cory Mazzoni, Chase Huchingson, 1B Wilmer Flores, 3B Aderlin Rodriguez, OF Cory Vaughn, Gilbert Gomez


Savannah: (3) – SP Akeel Morris, Alex Panteliodis, Erik Goeddel,


Brooklyn: (4) – SP: Michael Fulmer, Juan Urbina, SS Phillip Evans, OF: Brandon Nimmo


Kingsport: (2) – SP Luis Mateo, OF Vincente Lupo

The Keepers: - #25 - SP - Greg Peavey

25. Greg Peavey: P



Peavey was drafted by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 2010 draft. Throws a 90-92 fastball, plus hard slider.


He had been drafted twice before this, first as the 24th pick by the Yankees in 2007, and thenas the 32nd pick in 2009 by Houston.


4-5-11: - had lunch with Greg in Savannah at the kickoff media luncheon. He’s very excited about the upcoming season and getting back to pitching.


4-7-11: - first pro start: 5.0-IP, 2-H, 0-R, 8-K… he’ll take it


5-6-11: - In my continuing discussion about the importance of a catcher to a pitcher, I spent some time with Savannah Sand Gnats SP1, Greg Peavey, and discussed it with him. Peavey agreed with me that it very important for a pitcher to have chemistry and history with his catcher, but, in the end, it’s the pitcher that is responsible for what he throws. Greg spends time with his catcher before every game to make sure they are both on the same page. He also told me that every pitcher wants his catcher to know what his “go-to” pitch is so both of them are calling for the same pitch when the need becomes apparent. Peavey’s is his nasty, hard slider, which he backs up with a 92-94 fastball and a change-up. We also talked about the importance of not living or dying on stats in the minors. Greg never threw a change-up in high school and relied mostly on blowing away inferior competition with his fast ball. He learned fast in his freshman year at Oregon State that he needed more than two pitches to stay a starter, and the change was added while pitching for the Beavers. Right now, the Gnats have him on a minimum amount of change-ups that must be thrown every outing. Obviously, that is his weakest pitch, and it will stay that way if he doesn’t use it in game conditions. Will his A-level stats be affected? You bet they will, but who cares? This is what you do in the minors with pitchers you project having a future in your organization. You don’t change, you tweak.


5-10-11: - SP1 Greg Peavey took the mound again. Did an excellent job of keeping the ball on the ground. Gave up 3 hits, one which was a bunt (Rome’s reading my column) and another was an infield hit. 10:1 GO/FO ratio. You can’t do better than that.


5-27-11: - Toby Hyde – http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/greg-peavey-has-been-outstanding-in-may  - The Mets 6th round pick out of Oregon State last June, was ordinary in April, but has been excellent in May. I was a little surprised that the Mets assigned the 22-year old to Savannah to start the year at all, but the way he’s throwing, he won’t stay in the South Atlantic League too much longer. Yeah, that’s right, he has a K/BB ratio of 12 (24/2) this month. He’s just stopped walking batters, and no, he’s not getting hurt when he’s been in the strike zone either.


6-1-11: - There’s a couple of pitchers on the Savannah Sand Gnats that really don’t have that much more to prove at this level. 22-year old RHP Greg Peavey threw his 11th outing Tuesday night, pitching six scoreless innings, giving up zero runs and striking out seven. He’s 5-2 on the season and his ERA is 2.85. One reason he may stay around in Savannah is the fact that he has had three bad outings this season in which he gave up 14-ERs in 15.0-IP. That leaves eight other starts in which he gave up 5-ERs in 45.0-IP. Greg does turn 23 in July and I’d like to see him do St. Lucie for the remainder of 2011, so he can catch up next season with his old extended camp roommate, Matt Harvey, in Binghamton.


6-25-11: - Peavey pitched his first A+ outing tonight, going 5.0-IP, 1-ER, 3-K. 3-BB, 1.80. Peavey has had the luxury of under-mirroring Mets prospect Matt Harvey. Both were drafted last year and roomed in camp, but eventually parted ways when each was assigned to different teams. Harvey gets all the attention (and the increased signing money) and both are even promoted levels on the same day. Once again, the Met world is waiting to see how Harvey does while Peavey sneaks into his St. Lucie slot. I love it.


7-7-11: - The bump from Savannah to St. Lucie doesn’t seem to be negatively affecting Greg Peavey. He pitched Wednesday night, going: 7.0-IP, 1-ER, 4-K, 2-BB. His A+ ERA is now 1.59.






7-11-11: - Top 10 Minor League Performances in 2011 - 10. Greg Peavey – SP – A/A+: - 8-2, 2.84, 17-ST, 95.0-IP, 76-K, 16-BB – Peavey is making the conversion to A+, but we all know the journey is only beginning. Needs to pick up the K/IP ratio, but has had a wonderful 2011 so far. Look for him to finish the season with St. Lucie.


7-12-11: - Greg learned Monday night that there is a big difference between a pain in the ass and total rectal destruction. Everything was rolling along just fine and then came the fifth inning. Eight runs later, his A+ ERA soared to 4.15 and Greg wished he was back in Savannah with his old team, who were off watching the home run derby.


8-3-11: - Stock Up – Peavey continues to pitch below the hype radar (hypdar). He went into Wednesday’s game 10-4 combined for A/A+ and had pitched 5-of-7 A+ starts with 1-ER or less. Well, he did it again on Wednesday, pitching a seven inning complete game shutout. Greg had a couple of rocky outings earlier this season for St. Lucie, but he has easily passed the rotation test while, at the same time, leaving all the prospect hype… err… hypdar… to others.

Stock: Cory Vaughn, Luis Mateo, Travis Taijeron, Greg Peavey, Ryan Fraser

Cory Vaughn:


8-3-11: - Twitter exchange between Cory and I today:


SugarFreeCV Cory Vaughn - Growing out the stache #ilookmexican http://t.co/V4FPzxg


MackAde Mack Ade - @ @SugarFreeCV - you look like Hamilton Bennett


SugarFreeCV Cory Vaughn - @ @MackAde i might have to get rid of it now since u compared me to him ha lol


Luis Mateo,


8-3-11: - Stock Up – 8-3-11 – Mateo was a big time international signee last May and the Mets gave him a $150,000 bonus. I haven’t followed the DSL league much this season because just about everything is premature at that level. I did peek in at Mateo and the stats look fantastic: 5-1, 1.46, 0.65, 49.1-IP, 61-K, and only 3-BB. This is a first year DSL player that is 21, so it’s nice to see someone finish school for a change and tell the truth about their age.


Travis Taijeron:


8-3-11: - Stock Up – Taijeron (pronounced “Tyrone”) had two more hits today for Brooklyn raising his 2011 batting stats to: .303/.415/.598/1.104, 7-HR, 29-RBI. Travis was a home run machine out of Cal Poly and may be a diamond in the rough. We’ll keep an eye on him.


Greg Peavey:


8-3-11: - Stock Up – Peavey continues to pitch below the hype radar (hypdar). He went into Wednesday’s game 10-4 combined for A/A+ and had pitched 5-of-7 A+ starts with 1-ER or less. Well, he did it again on Wednesday, pitching a seven inning complete game shutout. Greg had a couple of rocky outings earlier this season for St. Lucie, but he has easily passed the rotation test while, at the same time, leaving all the prospect hype… err… hypdar… to others.


Ryan Fraser:


8-3-11: - Stock Up - We first started writing about Ryan when he was a successful closer last season for Brooklyn. This year he’s attempting to master starting for Savannah, and if Wednesday at Savannah was any indication, the Mets may have another starter to drool over: 5.0-IP, 0-R, 3-H, 5-K, 3.44. This was Fraser’s 22nd outing this year for the Sand Gnats and he’s an easy choice to begin next spring in the St. Lucie rotation.

Carlos Beltran, Greg Peavey, Alan Dykstra, Gary Carter, TV Ratings



Photo by Michael G. Baron

 Carlos Beltran:


Yet Beltran has a full no-trade clause in his contract (something that is now redundant, anyway, since he is a player with 10 years of service time in the majors and five straight with the same club). And so, he was asked, would he accept a trade to the Red Sox should that be dangled in front of him? “They’re in first place,” he smiled. “That’s a no-brainer.” It won’t likely come to that. Both Red Sox sources and executives from other clubs who have talked to the Sox say that Boston won’t have much money to spend this summer in order to upgrade in the middle of the season. With Beltran owed roughly $6 million over the remainder of the year, he would be an unlikely target of the Sox - http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2011/07/11/beltran-accepting-trade-to-red-sox-a-no-brainer  


Greg Peavey:


7-12-11: - Greg learned Monday night that there is a big difference between a pain in the ass and total rectal destruction. Everything was rolling along just fine and then came the fifth inning. Eight runs later, his A+ ERA soared to 4.15 and Greg wished he was back in Savannah with his old team, who were off watching the home run derby.


Alan Dykstra:


7-12-11: - Okay, I’m not going to claim that Dykstra has returned to the projections he had back when he was drafted in the first round a few years ago. Yes, he still is operating below that projection level, but he isn’t embarrassing himself like Eddie Kunz is doing, who happens to be the guy the Mets drafted for Alan. Dykstra has a couple of doubles Monday night and his overall stats are slowly moving up.


Gary Carter:


Gary Carter, who on May 21 announced he had four small brain tumors, plans on returning to his head coaching position at Palm Beach Atlantic University despite still receiving cancer treatments, his daughter wrote in her online journal Monday. Carter still has six more radiation treatments, but he appears to be gearing up for his third year with the program. The school is already in the process of interviewing candidates for an associate head baseball coach to serve under Carter - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110711&content_id=21748056&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym  


TV Ratings:


But it’s the drop in ratings from last year for each team that is the most telling statistic. The Mets’ local ratings are down 29 percent from midseason last year; the Dodgers’ ratings are down 27 percent. Only the Astros (down 34 percent on FS Houston) and Rays (down 37 percent on FS Florida and Sun Sports) have seen steeper local declines. - http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/07/11/Media/MLB-ratings.aspx  

Top 10 Minor League Mets Performances in 2011

1. Josh Edgin – RP – A+/A: - 2-0, 0.79, 33-G, 53-K, 45.1-IP, 18-SV – one bad outing on opening day and then basically unhittable all season for two teams. Josh will turn 25 in December so I expect him to possibly move another level before the season ends, but we don’t need a repeat of Eddie Kunz here.

2. Ryota Igarashi - RP - AAA-Buffalo - 0-1, 0.87, 0.77, 31.0-IP, 3-ER -  everybody has sort of forgot about this dude, but he's eating up AAA,


3. Darin Gorski – SP – A+/St. Lucie – 8-0, 1.56, 1.04, 86.2-IP, 96-K – A simply magical season for Gorski, who has added a couple of MPH to his fastball. I’ve been told he also changed rubber positions, which might be the kicker here. Deserves to be promoted, but who do you bump out?


4. Juan Lagares – OF – A+/St. Lucie: .343/.382/.496/.878, 6-HR, 43-RBI, 268-RBI – I give Lagares the top ranking for hitters because no one expected to ever see stats out him like this in 2011. No one likes his BB/AB ratio, which is about his only weakness right now in his game.


5. Josh Satin – IF – AA/Binghamton: - .327/.425/.547/.972, 10-HR, 55-RBI, 300-AB – Satin is a pure hitter who, I hope for his sake, is being marketed as trade bait. This year’s version of Shawn Bowman. Nowhere to go and no one’s desire to move him. I expect him to remain here, especially after the Queens demotions that will come down with the return of Reyes and Wright.


6. Nick Evans – 1B – AAA/Buffalo: .329/.378/.480/.858, 7-HR, 29-RBI, 225-AB- Last year, Evans masters AA ball. This year, he owns AAA. Another player that has nowhere to go. The Mets will play Ike Davis for years, with Lucas Duda as backup.


7. Chase Huchingson – SP/RP – A/Savannah: - 5-2, 1.91, 1.06, 16-G, 71-K, 61.1-IP,19-BB – He started as a starter (1.80), but now comes out of the pen (2.01). Frankly, his K/IP ratio is way down as a reliever, but he’s still averaging over one per inning pitched.


8. Hamilton Bennett – RP – A/Savannah: - 2-0, 2.25, 0.94, 20-G, 32.0-IP, 33-K, 8-SV – a very pleasant surprise this year. Has very quietly turned in a great season for Savannah. Could wind up in St. Lucie before the season ends.


9. Jeurys Familia – SP – A+/AA: - 3-3, 2.63, 16-ST, 100-K, 92.1-IP – Naturally, Familia is finding it tougher to pitch in AA; however, he is making the conversion. He’ll finish the season here, return here for the stat of 2012, and be ready for Queens in 2013.


10. Taylor Whitenton – SP/RP – A/Savannah: - 4-1, 2.69, 1.13, 73.2-IP, 81-K – Whitenton started the season as a reliever but, right now, he’s the top starter in the Savannah rotation. It will take the removal of either Scott Moviel or Kyle Allen from the St. Lucie rotation to move him up this season.

 

Josh Satin, Dillon Gee, Greg Peavey, Brett Mitchell, Jon Niese

Josh Satin:


6-25-11: - minorleaguebaseball.  - Selected in the sixth round of the 2008 Draft, Satin began his memorable night with a two-out solo homer in the first inning. "I was down 1-2 in the count and Jordany [Valdespin] had just been thrown out at second," he said. "Their pitcher threw me a breaking ball that I fouled off and then a couple fastballs that I fouled off, so I felt like I had seen his stuff. I got a 1-2 or 2-2 breaking ball and I was able to hit it out." The 26-year-old third baseman beat out an infield single in the third and doubled to center field in the fifth, setting up his shot at history


Dillon Gee:


6-25-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/27454/mets-morning-briefing-6-25-11  - Gee's father, Kevin, had taken a day off from his job with the Fort Worth fire department to attend the tryout. As they prepared to return home, Kevin noticed that the team had pulled a few of the players aside and told them not to leave. "They were going to bus those kids two hours to the Astrodome in Houston for a tryout," (mother) Kelly said. "Dillon was not one of those kids." Kevin approached a friendly-looking scout and told him he really ought to see his son pitch. The scout told him if he wanted to make the drive on his own with Dillon, they would take a look at him. The Mets liked what they saw, or liked it enough to end up making Gee the 633rd overall pick. He signed with them for only $20,000.


Greg Peavey:


6-25-11: - Peavey pitched his first A+ outing tonight, going 5.0-IP, 1-ER, 3-K. 3-BB, 1.80. Peavey has had the luxury of under-mirroring Mets prospect Matt Harvey. Both were drafted last year and roomed in camp, but eventually parted ways when each was assigned to different teams. Harvey gets all the attention (and the increased signing money) and both are even promoted levels on the same day. Once again, the Met world is waiting to see how Harvey does while Peavey sneaks into his St. Lucie slot. I love it.


Brett Mitchell:


6-25-11: - Mitchell was a 12th rounder last season that got off to a great start with Kingsport. By 7-7-10 he was 3-6, 2-1, 1.65, 0.97, 2.20-RA9, .300-BABIP, 2.26-FIP; however, the rest of the season sort of went downhill and he finished the season 2-2, 5.94, 8-ST, 42-K, 36.1-IP. This included giving up 21-ER in his last five outings. Well, he got back on the horse in K-Port last night, thowing five hitless shutout innings, striking out six while walking only one. We’ll keep an eye on him.


Jon Niese:


I know some of you are going to think I’m going to come off a little picky here, but if I’m pitching with a 145 run lead and I start having irregular heart signs with the lack of ability to catch my breath, I probably would like to have a trainer and manager that doesn’t say, “okay, well, you’re coming out at the end of this batter. Excuse me, didyou think he might be having the early signs of heart failure and sould sit down and be given fluids while Bobby Parnell gets ready to come in the game…NOW???

Greg Peavey, Josh Edgin, Collin McHugh, Daniel Murphy, Pat Misch

- There’s a couple of pitchers on the Savannah Sand Gnats that really don’t have that much more to prove at this level. 22-year old RHP Greg Peavey threw his 11th outing Tuesday night, pitching six scoreless innings, giving up zero runs and striking out seven. He’s 5-2 on the season and his ERA is 2.85. One reason he may stay around in Savannah is the fact that he has had three bad outings this season in which he gave up 14-ERs in 15.0-IP. That leaves eight other starts in which he gave up 5-ERs in 45.0-IP. Greg does turn 23 in July and I’d like to see him do St. Lucie for the remainder of 2011, so he can catch up next season with his old extended camp roommate, Matt Harvey, in Binghamton.


- RP/CL Josh Egdin is already 24-years old and couldn’t be more consistent than he has been in the last ten outings. During that period, he has pitched 15.0 scoreless innings (0.00-ERA) while striking out 18. Last night, he pitched another scoreless inning (1-K) ending up the night with a 1.21-ERA. The 6-1 LHP out of Francis Marion University (30th round – 2010) now has 17 outings and nine saves.



- There seems to be concrete evidence that there may be a number of “limited-velo” pitchers out there that deserve a shot at higher levels, regardless of what they have done in the past. They all seem to be college boys that were started too low in the organization also. We’ve got Dillon Gee masquerading as the Mets SP1, Mark Cohoon and Chris Schwinden stepping up at Buffalo, and now Collin McHugh starting in AA after losing his rotation spot a level lower. Collin put up: 6.0-IP, 3-H, 1-ER, 5-K, 0-BB, 1.50 and this is just another example usually writtin off as a “first time around the block” lucky outing. But, ya know what, it’s still great pitching that simply wasn’t hit by anyone.

- The biggest bright spot in the Mets lineup these days has been 2B/1B/3B Daniel Murphy, who has hit .417 in his past ten games. There were two more hits Tuesday night, though neither was an extra base hit. No one has ever questioned Murph’s ability to swing the bat and, with all the starters down, he may easily play every day somewhere for the rest of the season.

- Pat Misch cleared waivers again and has reported back to the Buffalo Bisons.