91 – 1B/3B Michael Fisher – Fisher was a good pickup in 2010. He plays a bunch of infield positions and has always hit well and fielded better. The problem here is there is so many other guys in this system that do the same thing and he’s totally blocked out going into a year he will play at 27-years old. I have him next year in Buffalo, playing first, second, or third. ETA: AAAA
92 – C Blake Forsythe – I was excited when the Mets drafted Blake. He had just come off a bad year in school, but I remembered the killer year he had had the prior year and my belief was the Mets had stolen one. So far, that hasn’t come true. Forsythe has lost his starting position to Albert Cordero and looks to be his backup again in 2012, this time in St. Lucie. Good pop, but disappointing overall hitting. ETA: AAAA
93 – C Fernando Pena – The Mets had an opportunity a few years ago to either offer $2mil to Jesus Montero, or $500K to Fernando Pena. The rest, as they say, is history. Pena has never lived up to his genetics and is now a backup catcher in the system. He will be the 2nd catcher in Binghamton in 2012, behind Juan Centeno, unless the Mets cut him. ETA: OOS 2015
94 – IF Eric Campbell – Campbell is a younger version of Michael Fisher. Plays a lot of positions, though he has had less hitting success than Fisher. He will join Michael in Buffalo next spring as the other utility infielder. ETA: AAAA
95 – SP Mark Cohoon – Cohoon is the poster child for A-level phenom that is moved far too fast.Cohoon owned the Sally League in 2010 and was bumped two levels to Binghamton. Big mistake. 2011 has been a miserable year for Mark in Buffalo (6.11), but he’ll get another chance next season to start. After that? ETA” AAAA
Rosters So Far:
Buffalo: (20) –SP Chris Schwinden, Collin McHugh, Brandon Moore, Mark Cohoon, RP Daniel Herrera, Robert Carson, Rhiner Cruz, Eric Beaulac, Jose De La Torre, IF Kai Gronauer, Alan Dykstra, Reese Havens, Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz, Michael Fisher, Eric Campbell, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Fernando Martinez, Mike Baxter, Juan Lagarus
Binghamton: (21) – SP: Mike Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Darin Gorski, Armondo Rodriguez, RP Mike Powers, Brandon Sage, Jeff Kaplan, Nick Carr, Josh Edgin, Brad Holt, IF Juan Centeno, Fernando Pena, Stefan Welsh, Rylan Sandoval, Wilfredo Tovar, Jefry Marte, OF Matt den Dekker, Cesar Puello, Pedro Zapata, Travis Ozga
St. Lucie: (24) – SP Greg Peavey, Taylor Whitenton, Angel Cuan, Tyler Pill, Ryan Fraser, RP Brant Rustich, Hamilton Bennett, Cory Mazzoni, Jack Leathersich, Yohan Almonte, Adam Kolarek, Gonzalez Germen, Chase Huchingson, IF Albert Cordero, Blake Forsythe, Sam Honeck, Alonzo Harris, Wilmer Flores, Robbie Shields, Aderlin Rodriguez, OF Cory Vaughn, Gilbert Gomez, Darrell Cecilliani, Joe Bonfe
Savannah: (14) – SP Akeel Morris, Alex Panteliodis, Erik Goeddel, Logan Verrett, Marcos Camerena, RP Orlando Tovar, John Church, Chris Hilliard, Mike Hebert, T.J. Chism, IF Cam Maron, Brandon Brown, Richard Lucas, OF Javier Rodriguez,
Brooklyn: (5) – SP: Michael Fulmer, Juan Urbina, Domingo Tapia, IF Phillip Evans, OF: Brandon Nimmo
Kingsport: (5) – SP Luis Mateo, Christian Montgomery, Steve Matz, OF Vincente Lupo, Eudy Pena
GCL: (0) –
DSL: (1) – IF Elvis Sanchez
8-9-11: - Stock Up – SP Adam Kolarek – Kolarek is starting for the Sand Gnats this week. The 22-yr. old 6-3 right hander has pitched in 42 professional games over the past two seasons, but only one has been as a starter. That was two outings ago when he struck out seven in 5.0-IP. He does have 87-Ks in 78.2 professional innings, so obviously the thought process here is to try him as a starter.
8-10-11: - Stock Up - Maikis De La Cruz is one of the DSL players that was singled out recently by Paul DePodesta in an interview with ESPN. Last night, he went 204, with a double and four runs batted in. The 20-year old has been switched around between the two DSL teams (something that was done with most of the every day players), but it really didn’t slow him down. He has hit .300+ with both teams. He also has 31 stolen bases.
8-10-11: - Stock Up - Michael Fisher is sort of the forgotton Mets infielder. Sort of the other Jacob Turner. He really doesn’t do that much wrong but he’s blocked every way from Sunday. Last night, for Binghamton, he went 3-4, 2-doubles, 4-RBIs, and raised his yearly line to: .300/.336/.500/.836. He’s 26-years old and, sadly, stuck.
8-10-11 – Stock Up – Jordany Valdespin – it’s obvious that the promotion of Ruben Tejada got this ball rolling, but Valdespin earned this one on his own. He hit .297/.341/.483/.824 in AA, with 15-HR and 51-RBIs. The problem is he also had 29 errors which the Mets aren’t used to with their middle infielders. Still, kudos to Jordy.
8-10-11: - Stock Up – John Church - Church pitched a 7-inning complete game in the back end of a Lucy doubleheader, giving up only one run and five hits. John has been making the conversion from a successful 2010 as a reliever for the Sand Gnats and you can't do better than complete a game.
Queens:
OF Fernando Martinez will DH for the Mets on Friday and Saturday against the Yankees.
Buffalo:
Covering both the Bisons and the B-Mets are getting increasingly more difficult every day. These are two very bad teams with very few players that can someday benefit the Mets.
2B Michael Fisher had four hits. He’s another of the thousands of players the Mets have tried at econd base somewhere in the system these past few years. He joined the Mets in 2010 with Savannah (.354) and, frankly, he has hit at every level so far. Turned 26 this past March. Think Justin Turner with black hair.
The Mets signed Jason Botts and assigned him to Buffalo. The 6-5 Botts was playing outfield/1st base for York in the Atlantic League. He originally was a 46th round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 1999 and spent nine seasons in the Rangers organization. His major league totals are: .230/.325/.344/.669, though his lifetime minor league BA is .291. He currently was hitting .370 for York.
Binghamton:
You may remember how wonderful it was early this season to see SP Brad Holt eliminate the control problems he suffered from last year. No one has ever questioned his talent. It was just that fact that he couldn’t hit the barn that concerned a few of us. Well, last year’s Brad is an understatement compared to what we saw on Thursday in New Hampshire.
Holt went into this game with 10 walks in the past two starts. No big deal. He had eight in 4.0-IP for this game. That’s 18-BB in 11.1-IP.
I’m sure he’ll stay in the rotation because the Mets are determined not to rush any of the prospects kids below this level. Jeurys Familia has already arrived and Matt Harvey will stay where he is during the first half of the St. Lucie season.
I’m including what I have written about Holt since he joined the Mets because it may be awhile before I write about him again:
The Mets picked Holt in the supplemental portion of the 1st round in the 2008 draft. College stats: 3.18 ERA, 11-1, 93.1 IP, 78 H, 36 BB, 95 K, .225 BAA, 8 HR allowed
Holt pitched the day before the draft… threw 149 pitches and was clocked at 94 in the 9th inning.
In 2008, Holt was spot on for Brooklyn, going 5-3, 1.87 in 14 starts. He also struck out 96 batters in 72.1 IP. Holt won the Sterling Award as the the top Met player for the 2008 Brooklyn team.
5-29-10: - Brad Holt got one more shot at starting last night and he passed the test. I remember talking to Rick Waits out on the back mounds about Holt in the spring of 2009 and he told me that the emphasis last year would be on creating secondary pitches for Holt. I left that day thinking his ERA would be up for 2009 (which it was) simply because you’re going to have to throw these new pitches during game time conditions. Well, it hasn’t worked, and now Holt’s velocity on his fastball is in question. Listen, if you’re a one pitch pitcher, it better be a fastball… and if it’s a fastball, you’re a bullpen pitcher… and if you’re a one pitch fastball pitcher with lost velocity… well, you’re playing in the Central Park League.
6-23-10: - Well, sending him back to St. Lucie doesn’t seem to be the answer to Holt’s woes. He pitched last night, giving up five runs, four earners, in 4.0-IP. That’s a 9.00 ERA, still up in the range of his 10.20 in Binghamton. Only two strikeouts and eight hits against him; yes, eight hits in four innings. Boy, if there was ever a pitcher that needs to be shut down…
6-30-10 from: - Holt had a rare good outing Tuesday night, though it was at the A+ level, at least one level below where he should be dominating at this stage in his professional career. Stats were: 5.0-IP, 1-ER, 2-H, 1-WP, 5-K, and still 5-BB. This is the best he’s been all year long and the last thing we should be applauding is five walks and one wild pitch in five innings, but in his case, we’ll take what we can right now. Holt’s A+ record now is 1-1, 5.00… combined A+/AA: 2-6, 9.00. Far from prospect material.
7-17-10: - look, it’s not every day that you get a chance to write something good about a Brad Holt outing. The young man did good last night, going: 5.0-IP. 1-ER, 7-K, 3-BB… forget the yearly stats; we’ll take one good outing and take it from there. BTW… the word from the Mets pitching coaches is there really isn’t anything wrong with the kid’s velocity, or mechanics. He simply is pitching like shit this year. Regarding last night, we’ll take it.
8-4-10: - Holt got off to a decent start last night, but, in the end, this was just another bad outing in a series of many this season. 4.2-IP, 5-R, 4-ER, 2-BB, 2-HBP. He’s started 10 games for the B-Mets (1-5, 10.20) and now he’s 2-5, 5.85 for St. Lucie… add to that a 6.21 ERA last year for Binghamton, and one must now question whey he remains in the rotation. Everyone around him says that Holt’s velocity remains high, but this is a one pitch pitcher that tends to be dominate in the first two inning pitched. They call this… a reliever.
8-21-10: - Stock Down: - SP Brad Holt pitched again Friday night for St. Lucie and didn’t fair well: 5.1-IP, 5-H, 3-ER, 6-K, 5-BB, 3-WP. Holt’s A+ stats this year are 2-7, 6.26, 1.79. These look great compared to his AA stats ( 1-5, 10.20). It’s late in the season and there shouldn’t be much movement in players anymore, so it’s safe to assume that Holt will finish this season as a rotational pitcher for Lucy. The ex-suppliment 1st rounder has been around long enough now to have developed something other than his fastball, which is obviously being sat on. The three wild pitches are simply embarrassing at this point. Mets minor league pitching coach guru has said numerous times that there is nothing mechanically wrong with Holt’s delivery, so one tends to start realizing that this looks to be another wasted high round pick. I’m sure the Mets will move him to the pen next year, especially since he’s not ready for AA, and there are plenty of more successful starters in Savannah and Brooklyn that deserve their shot. Shame. I thought this was a live one.
1-7-11: - -word seems to be that Brad Holt is going to be given another shot at an SP slot in 2001, probably at the AA level, The problem is, there already is five guys slotted there, with five more backed up at St. Lucie. Details at 11. Still, Holt easily has the God given talent to be more successful than most of the guys in the AAA/AA rotations. You can’t teach tools and Holt has them. He has pro-like velo and movement to boot. Let’s keep a candle lit.
4-9-11: - In Binghamton, Brad Holt got the nod as the starter. Frankly, we weren’t sure he would get another chance in a Mets rotation. I spent a lot of time watching this guy pitch and, I’m telling you, there is nothing wrong with his ability. I stand by my opinion that the Mets just kept screwing with his mechanics to a point that Brad lost confidence on the mound. Well, Holt past the test. He pitched 5.0 innings, did not give up a run, struck out three, but did walk two. He also only gave up three hits. This, like Jeurys Familia the night before, is great news from a starter that has had control problems
4-21-11: - You know what I think about this roster. That saying, Brad Holt is an important part of the Mets future and it’s vitally important (to his head) that he keeps pitching well this season. He kept it up tonight posting: 6.0-IP, 2-H, 1-ER, 6-K, 2-BB. ERA “soars” to 0.50. Only three stats, but could he be back?
5-7-11: - Interesting outing by Brad Holt. He obviously had a control problem, giving up five walks in four innings. His pitch count was killed early, but the good news: 0-R and only 2-H. Season ERA: 2.59. They’re letting him pitch this year, but he has given up 9-BB in his last 6.1-IP... 17 walks/22 Ks. We don’t know what the coaches told him to throw so we have no idea how bad of any outing this was. Remember, in the minors, a pitcher could be told to pitch 25% of his pitching in a particular outing (just like Greg Peavey was told to do last Sunday for Savannah) using his weakest pitch. That’s how they learn.
5-14-11: - Those of us that do this for a living were quite excited when SP Brad Holt got off to a great start this year, but that might be coming to an end. He has now pitched seven games (34.2-IP) and has almost as many walks (20) as strikeouts (24). This includes 10 in his last two outings. I can’t see the Mets moving him out of the rotation yet, but, if this continues, he will be re-targeted to the pen and, hopefully, make Queens someday that way.
