3-4-13 – Nick Evans, Johan Santana, Charley Thurber, Adam Rubin

Dodgers reassigned the following players to minor league camp: Nick Evans, Dallas McPherson, Kelvin De La Cruz and Ozzie Martinez…

          I liked Nick.

          Here’s some old stuff on him:

                   Evans came to pro-ball straight out of St. Mary’s High School, Phoeniz, Arizona.

The Mets chose Evans in the 5th round of the 2004 draft and received a $217,500 bonus on his signing day. He immediately reported to the GCL Mets and hit .258 in 50 games.  Evans was 3rd in the Gulf Coast League in extra-base hits and runs and 5th in homers. Scout.com ranked him the 34th Mets prospect that year. In 2005, Evans played a ‘full’ season for the short-season Brooklyn team, hitting .252/.302/.407. He was named Player of the Week during the period of 6/20-6/26/05.

Baseball America ranks Evans as the 30th prospect in the system, OnDeck had him 28th, and InsidePitch put him #14. In addition, the pre-season John Sickles rating was C and Evans was ranked as the 18th Mets prospect. Baseball Thnk Factory said in Nov ’06 that Evans might the Mets’ ‘sleeper’ prospect.  Their actual quote:  “33 doubles and 15 HR at Hagerstown this year – some of that, particularly the double total, is helped by the ballpark, but it’s not all park-fueled. He was drafted as a 3B but was quickly moved to 1B; if he’d stayed at 3B he’d probably be on a lot more radars. I think he’ll add power; the question will be “how much” and “how soon”. 

Now on to Johan Santana, Santana was sidelined with what was called arm weakness at the time.  Some have suggested to me on twitter that this is some type of undisclosed injury to Santana which would then indicate to me another lie by this team’s front office.  However, this is now being characterized by the Met’s staff as Johan Santana not being in pitching shape.  GM Sandy Alderson then went on to say Johan Santana would probably not be able to throw of a mound for another ten days.   Well folks today Santana threw off a mound, although, not from the full distance Santana was defiantly sore afterwards saying to reporters that spring training and practice is for practice.  Santana is obviously sore with the Mets front office and in doing so made them look like fools, although, they do a pretty good job of that themselves.   However, I hope in all this Santana didn’t throw off a mound to answer a dare from GM Sandy Alderson as that could end up impacting Zack Wheeler later in the year which could then have a ripple effect on the Mets long term plan.  With that being said it probably isn’t the greatest idea to publically challenge or try to shame a veteran like Johan Santana who is known for his great work ethic

.

          I guess this is a new Mets site that is off to a quick start in obtaining a press pass from Jay… 

Mack Ade Charley, what's your guess? St. Lucie ?

Charley Thurber  - Mack,  my guess is as good as yours. Just looking forward to a healthy and productive year! I Should know more in mid or late march.

          Thurber is a potential Mets outfielder with an ETA of 2016 latest. This was a damn good college baseball player that fell deep in the draft due to freaky injuries. It was the Mets gain, so remember this name. He's not done yet.

General Manager Sandy Alderson said Francisco had extenuating family circumstances that interrupted his rehab from a December elbow cleanout. But even if the trainer had to move in with Francisco during the winter, someone from the organization should have been on top of him, ensuring the rehab program was followed and that the Mets' $6.5 million investment in Francisco was maximized.

                   The only reason Rubin gets away with these hatchet jobs he writes is the fact he wears that union card around his neck. Otherwise, he would  be the last person allowed in the Mets clubhouse.

Call it remodeling, Mets not showing clear direction

The term "rebuilding" is thrown around a lot in sports. It basically means a team that is ripping their entire roster apart and starting from scratch. The Florida (now Miami) Marlins did it twice. They won two World Series titles as a result. The Texas Rangers did it. They reached the World Series in consecutive years.

The term does not really apply to the New York Mets, though. They still have many of their players coming back. Out of their 25 man roster, only seven of the players are free agents. They still have the majority of their starting rotation returning (insert sarcasm here) and their corner infielders and corner outfielders are still intact.

Behind the plate, they still have Josh Thole (again, insert sarcasm of choice). The bullpen is hurting though with no immediate closer in sight. The team is not starting from the rubble.

This team is more like the show "Flip this house". For those who are not familiar with it, that series showcases contractors that buy dilapidated houses for very low cost and put a small amount of effort into making the house look appealing. They add siding, cabinets, paint, etc. The major trouble is that they rarely ever work on the essentials within the foundation.

Things like the electric, the roof, the septic and the plumbing all go untouched. What's left is a pretty house that they sucker some schmuck into buying that is ready to completely fall apart after the camera crews leave. That's the Mets right now. They are trying to wrap a pretty bow on the ugly mess that is the state of this franchise.

The trouble to that is the players they still have invested in are broken down. The team needs an injection of youth and a changing of the foundation. Reports are pointing to the team holding onto players like Angel Pagan and taking a risk at losing players like Nick Evans and Jason Pridie.

Moves like this are head scratching. On one hand the team has repeatedly stated they are cutting back on payroll. The idea is to get younger and cheaper. So they plan to tender a contract of a 30 year old outfielder who obviously has played more like himself last year than he did in his career year of 2010. Meanwhile, they demote Evans (25) and Pridie (28) at the risk of them entering free agency.

What sense does that make? Both of them can play multiple outfield positions and Evans can play the corner infield spots as well. Pagan is not the answer for the Mets at centerfield. His speed is on the decline as well as his bat. He will certainly not be the answer at leadoff should Jose Reyes depart. So if they want to get younger but keep Pagan, the direction is a bit fuzzy.

If this were a house being remodeled, the blueprint would have been erased and rewritten a dozen times by now. They need to show a clearer direction. If they are trying to save money, do it. Don't tender contracts of overrated 30 year old outfielders. Rather, they need to cut ties with the old ball and chain type of contracts.

Otherwise, they will be so confused the house will backwards. They need to show their plans openly in a start from scratch type of way, not a behind the scenes and in secret remodeling process.

Instead of trying to "flip this team", the Mets and Sandy Alderson need to try to rebuild them from the ground up. That's the only way they will return to prominence. If that is indeed the goal, the design team is a bit off so far.

Cutnpaste: - Jeurys Familia, Nick Evans, Wally Backman, Al Jackson, Octavio Dotel

10-10-11: - https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/132edccbf718965f  - Top five Met prospects -  Sunday, October 9, 2011 - The Record - 4. Jeurys Familia, RHP, turns 22 Monday (.228 batting-average against in St. Lucie and Binghamton): 132 strikeouts in 124 innings for the right-hander who has been clocked consistently in triple digits. He could switch to the bullpen in the majors.

10-13-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/season-review-full-season-1b - Nick Evans played 26 games at first for Buffalo, 10 at third and 31 in the outfield. Oh, and the 25-year old hit .313/.375/.462 overall in 249 AB and .338/.397/.544 against lefties in 68 AB. Will he ever hit enough to hold a job at the big league level? His .256/.314/.403 line in 176 AB this year which nearly matches his MLB career of .256/.305/.407 doesn’t offer much hope as an everyday player. And yet, he owns a career batting line of .295/.360/.489 versus lefthanders. If only there was someone who needed a platoon partner…

Wally Backman isn’t going anywhere- except maybe Buffalo. Backman admitted yesterday he considered leaving for a potential spot on Davey Johnson's staff with the Washington Nationals, but opted to remain with the organization that drafted him. "There was some thought," Backman said of leaving on WFAN Saturday. "It was a long-thought process. I started at 17 years old with the Mets and I'm gonna stay with the Mets." After managing the Mets' Single-A Brooklyn Cyclones team in 2010 and then Double-A Binghamton last year, the 52-year-old Backman figures to be in line to become Triple-A Buffalo's manager this season, replacing last year's manager at Buffalo, Tim Teufel, who was recently was moved up to be the Mets' third base coach. "We haven’t talked about that yet," Backman said. Backman interviewed for the Mets' managerial position a year ago after GM Sandy Alderson was hired, but Alderson chose Terry Collins. Still, Backman believes he has a future with the Mets. "I feel like there's unfinished business," Backman said. "The organization is going in the right direction. And I want to be a part of it." – www.newyorkpost.com

When the National League added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s for the 1962 season, Al Jackson was a 25-year-old pitcher with 11 major-league appearances. And when he heard on television that he had been selected by that new team in New York, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Not because of any weird premonition about the dismal season the Mets were heading for. And not because he had secretly hoped to wind up in Houston. The Mets simply did not have a reputation for anything yet, good or bad. "How can you be excited about a team when you don't know anything about it?" said Jackson, now 75. "I was just happy for an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues." Jackson was one of 22 players selected by the Mets in that expansion draft, held 50 years ago this week. There had been expansion drafts before and there have been several since, but none remains quite as significant as this one. – www.wsj.org

Even 12 years later, the memory eats at Octavio Dotel. Ask Dotel, the St. Louis Cardinals reliever, about his biggest postseason moment before this season, and the conversation turns to 1999, when he was a promising rookie right-hander for the Mets. But Dotel considers it a slight as much as an accomplishment.  Dotel pitched the final three innings of the Mets’ 15-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. He gave up one run and struck out five, and picked up the victory after Robin Ventura’s apparent grand slam turned into a game-winning single when Ventura was mobbed before he could circle the bases. - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/sports/baseball/cardinals-octavio-dotel-hopes-to-erase-a-mets-memory.html

Don't Find The Best 25, Find The RIGHT 25

Apparently a ninja attacked me with a throwing star and I chose to defend myself by swallowing it. So I'm gritting through immense throat discomfort as I'm writing about the first thing I thought of that I could tie into the Mets.

"Miracle" was on this morning. First, it's a great sports movie (Good Sports Movie = You Care About the Team ... GREAT Sports Movie = After It's Over You Want To Go Out And Play That Sport). I could only stay through the beginning but something Herb Brook's (Kurt Russell) said stuck with me.

"I'm not looking for the best players, Craig. I'm looking for the right ones."

THAT made me think of the Mets...

Question: Is Lucas Duda a Top 20 RF?

Answer: No.

Question: Is he a premier choice to hit third for a team?

Answer: No.

Question: Might he be the best fit for the Mets right now?

Answer: Yes.

My Point:

Maybe instead of trying to build a team of great players who should succeed based on their raw skill (Like the Yankees), the Mets should build a team based on dynamics. Where one player's skills makes up for his compatriots deficiency. It's just a thought but... maybe Josh Satin, Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans are the players we should be focusing on this offseason. Maybe THEY are simply the RIGHT players to make the Mets winners again.

Cutnpaste: Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz, Nick Evans, Lenny Dykstra, Maikel Cleto

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Jordany Valdespin - Not to beat a dead horse, as I recently described Valdespin in detail, in both the LH hitter post, and the Shortstop post, so all I’m going to say about him is since he is finishing this year at Buffalo, it makes perfect sense for him to man shortstop there next year. As far as him being able to help the Mets next year, the question right now is whether he can improve enough in three areas to warrant a call-up to the bigs. First he needs to cut down on his errors, second he needs to stop getting caught stealing so much, even if it means running less often, and third the coaching staff must decide that he has left his lack of maturity issues behind for good.

9-3-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/7#/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/2  - Even though Ike Davis basically has first base locked in for the New York Mets in the foreseeable future, they have a young prospect by the name of Zach Lutz that could eventually give him a run for his money.Lutz, who also plays third base, has been compared to Lucas Duda in that his power is borderline legendary and that is his greatest asset.

In Terry Collins' eyes, a significant gap exists between what Nick Evans is capable of doing in the Major Leagues and what he has thus far had the opportunity to do. "If Nick Evans, at this level, got 450, 500 at-bats," the Mets manager said, "I bet you'd see 25 homers out of him." To date, Evans has produced eight home runs over 330 career plate appearances, including three in 53 PAs since becoming a full-time starter late last month. Neither he nor the Mets may ever know for sure how he would perform over a full season, given the likelihood that Evans will break camp as a reserve player, not a starter, next season - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110907&content_id=24365506¬ebook_id=24365510&vkey=notebook_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym  

Former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles for allegedly exposing himself to women he met on Craigslist. City News Service reports Dykstra is accused of exposing himself to several women who responded to ads for personal assistants and housekeepers between 2009 and 2011. The 48-year-old former baseball star has been jailed since June in lieu of $455,000 bail on car theft and drug possession charges. He also faces bankruptcy fraud charges. A pretrial hearing is scheduled Oct. 5 on the indecent exposure misdemeanor charges. - http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6941919/lenny-dykstra-pleads-not-guilty-indecent-exposure  

Prospect of the Day: Maikel Cleto, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals - If you like fastballs, pay close attention to St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Maikel Cleto, just promoted to the majors. Keep in mind that it takes more than pure heat to make a successful pitcher. Cleto was originally signed by the New York Mets as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2006. After a pair of mediocre seasons in the low minors, he was involved in the December 2008, 12-player, three-way J.J. Putz trade which landed him in the Mariners system. More mediocre numbers resulted in 2009 (5.33 ERA in 25 innings in the Midwest League, with a 24/11 K/B but 35 hits allowed), then he was hit hard in the difficult environment at High Desert in the California League last year (6.16 ERA, 83/44 K/BB in 102 innings, 125 hits). - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/9/7/2409092/prospect-of-the-day-maikel-cleto-rhp-st-louis-cardinals  

Cutnpaste: Reese Havens, Jon Niese, RBIs, Evans to Catcher, Albert Cordero

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Reese Havens - Havens will be embroiled in a fierce competition for the Mets 2B job in 2012. If they manage to retain Jose Reyes, the inside edge for 2B goes to Ruben Tejada, with Justin Turner, Daniel Murphy, Jordany Valdespin, and Havens all vying for the job. On natural ability and a balanced game, Havens may be the best baseball player here. His sweet left-handed stroke, is ideal for not just hitting, but hitting for power. And being a natural shortstop, he has made a fairly seamless transition to 2B. He just needs to stay healthy in order to open some eyes, and he could force his way into the picture anytime in 2012.

9-6-11: - .mlb.  - Though the Mets are not ruling out a return this season for starting pitcher Jon Niese, the left-hander has not progressed significantly since straining his right intercostal muscle last month. Niese is currently doing pool work in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and is "not close" to returning, according to assistant general manager John Ricco. "That midsection is kind of tricky, so we've just got to wait until he's pain-free," Ricco said. "When he sneezes, he feels it. It's not a sharp pain, but he still feels something in there, so we're not progressing him until he totally feels good."

9-6-11: - http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/  - RBI clearly is not a predictive statistic. A predictive statistic is one that correlates highly from year to year.[1]. What a player accomplishes in year X, we should expect him to accomplish in year X+1. As an example, look at xFIP. xFIP does not tell us what happened in the current year - how a pitcher was able to prevent runs - but rather tells us how one should have been able to prevent runs by looking at one's strikeouts, walks, while assuming a league average homerun rate. The assumed home run rate isn't even something that actually happened.

9-6-11: - http://mets.lohudblogs.com/2011/09/06/nick-evans-for-catcher/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mets+%28The+LoHud+Mets+Blog%29  - Way back in October of 2009, I wrote that moving Nick Evans to catcher made a ton of sense for the New York Mets. After all, Evans had a plus bat, no clear on-field destination, and the Mets certainly needed depth at the position. Like many things concerning the Omar Minaya Mets, this was n apparently fleeting idea with no follow-through. Two years later, it is hard to see how anything has changed concerning Evans, or how he could best help the Mets. Evans certainly holds his own at first base- his 143 OPS+ this season is more than adequate for the position. Among catchers? It would make him a superstar, assuming he could merely hold his own behind the plate.





photo by Allan Greene

 9-3-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/7#/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/2 - Fantastic news, Mets fans! For a team that is basically using a platoon role for their current catcher, they also don’t really have a top prospect catcher anywhere in the minors! Luckily, I was able to find a bit of a sleeper candidate in Albert Cordero. Cordero has a good glove the plate, puts up decent power numbers (eight home runs, .189 ISO, 32 RBI in rookie ball), and shows breakout potential as a prospect. His power numbers were behind only Aderlin Rodriguez in rookie ball last season, and at 20 years old, he has already shined behind the plate defensively.

Cutnpaste: - Miller Diaz, Luis Mateo, Robert Parnell, Nick Evans, Rockies Claim David Wright

8-14-11: - metsmerizedonline.  - Miller Diaz - The 19 year old, 6’1″ RHP from Venezuela was signed as an IFA in 2009. He has split time between the rotation (4 starts) and the pen. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.90, but he desperately needs to cut down on his walks, as he has 18 in 28 IP already.

8-23-11: - DSL 2011 End of Season Wrap-Up - http://www.nyfuturestars.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35808&sid=e8719b8eddffd9bc033d0ab708d8aff5   - Luis Mateo, 21, SP - The big international FA came to the DSL Mets this year and started 13 games. He went 6-1, and in 63 IP he’s struck out 80 and walked just 5.

“Ever since Frankie got traded, I’ve been hoping for an opportunity to do this,” (Robert) Parnell said. “I kind of have been putting pressure on myself. And it just accumulated today. Luckily, everything went good. Hopefully it goes away a little bit, gets easier.” Parnell did walk leadoff hitter Chase Utley on four pitches. After fanning Ryan Howard with a 100 mph offering and striking out Hunter Pence too, Parnell issued his second walk of the inning, to John Mayberry Jr. Parnell then retired Carlos Ruiz on a groundout to secure the Mets win and his second major league save - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32990/parnells-2nd-save-feels-like-no-1  

Because (Nick) Evans is out of options, each time he has been demoted, he has been placed through waivers. All three times -- at the end of spring training, and then in June and July -- 29 teams have passed on claiming him. Evans had the right to declare free agency the latter two times, and decided to remain with the organization. “I know the guys here,” Evans explained about staying. “I know the manager and the coaches here. You never know what’s going to happen when you go to another organization. I like it here. I want to be here. And I think it’s still an opportunity for me. “It’s difficult obviously to keep going down,” Evans added. “But as long as you know you have an opportunity to play your way back, it’s OK.” - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32998/thrice-unclaimed-evans-has-first-chance  

Every year fans get frenzied over a high-profile player getting placed on waivers and then pulled back in August. Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes via Twitter (@TroyRenck): "I have learned the Rockies put a claim in on David Wright. ... Not sure who was awarded claim. ... Mets not interested in moving him. But it does show, as I have written, Rox really like Wright. If he becomes available, they will make play for him this winter. Teams put players on waivers to see who claims them to set groundwork for future trades, etc. 99 percent of time amounts to nothing. But it can give a team a starting point in trade talks. ... AGAIN, Mets have made clear they are NOT moving Wright. If changes, Rox will act." - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32965/mets-morning-briefing-8-25-11  

Stock: - Kyle Allen, Juan Urbina, Persio Reyes, Nick Evans, Chad Huchingson

8-5-11: - Stock Down – SP Kyle Allen – Look, I don’t like saying bad things about the kids, but, if you’re going to have a “stock up, stock down” feature, you have to have some down, right. Last night: 3.2-IP, 4-WP, 4-ER. Bottom line here is Kyle Allen is not going to be a successful starter in major league baseball, so maybe it’s time (like Brad Holt) to send this kid to the pen where he can concentrate on the positive aspects of his game.



8-5-11: - Stock Up – SP Juan Urbina - It’s been a while since we said something positive about prospect Urbina, but today is the day. Hopefully, he began a turnaround last night, going 6.0-IP, 1-ER, 5-H, 6-K, 1-BB for Kingsport. Let’s remember that he just turned 18-years old. ETA is 2015.


8-5-11: - El Stocko Upo – Persio Reyes – Frankly, there isn’t enough information coming out of the DSL system to determine whether or not someone is turning heads. All we have is stats and they are currently telling us that the 18-year old Reyes is turning some heads. Today: 4.0 scoreless innings. VFor the season: 3-1, 2.36 in 14 games. K/IP ratio isn’t there (47/61.0) but he’s worth watching.


8-5-11: - Stock Up – Nick Evans – Evans was promoted to Queens for the 6,687th time in the past three years. He fills the slot opened when C Mike Nickeas was sent back to Buffalo. My hope here is the Mets play Lucas Duda in right field for the rest of the season, and use Evans on first. This would also allow the Mets to play Daniel Murphy the rest of the season at second base.


8-5-11: - Stock Up – Chad Huchingson – it’s going to be interesting to see how this kid is showcased next season. He started out as a starter in Savannah, but has been a steady influence in the pen since the all-star break. He also has done very little wrong at either job. Hutch produced three more scoreless innings Friay and lowered his season ERA to 1.70 in 21 games (8 starts).

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.

 

Chad Zurcher, Mike Harvey, Nick Evans, Cost of Reyes, Justin Verlander

Chad Zurcher:


6-29-11: - http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/zurcher_chad00.html  - With the 2011 NCAA Baseball season complete, University of Memphis infielder Chad Zurcher has officially claimed the NCAA batting title with his .443 batting average. "We are extremely proud of Chad and this is another honor in a long line of awards for him," head coach Daron Schoenrock said. "He is going to go down as what we feel is one of the most decorated and celebrated players in Tiger baseball history. This is an award that nobody votes on or can play favorites on since it is based strictly on production. He definitely deserves this honor." The Knoxville, Tenn., native also led the nation with a .547 on-base percentage. Drafted by the New York Mets in the MLB Draft in early June, Zurcher has since begun his pro career with the Kingsport Mets.


Mike Harvey:


6-29-11: - http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=law_keith&id=6711904&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fblog%3fname%3dlaw_keith%26id%3d6711904  - Harvey was the seventh pick in last year’s draft and came into pro ball boasting a plus fastball with good downhill plane and a solid average-or-better changeup but struggled with both breaking balls. Reports this year have the breaking balls improving but the changeup regressing — which would still leave him a three-pitch guy, plenty to be a front-line starter given the strength of his fastball.


Nick Evans:


Nick Evans only needed one hit to continue his recent hot streak Wednesday. He didn't settle for that. Evans went 5-for-5 with a double and a run scored to extend his hitting streak to 19 games in Triple-A Buffalo's 7-5 win over Lehigh Valley. Evans, who appeared in two games with New York this year after hitting .306 in 20 games last year, is batting .513 (38-for-74) with three homers and 15 RBIs during his run. It's the longest streak this season in the International League, matching the mark of Columbus' Luis Valbuena, whose streak came to an end June 9. Louisville's Juan Francisco also had a 19-game streak, although it began in 2010.- http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110629&content_id=21181928&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&tcid=tw_share  


Cost of Reyes:


For the Mets, we’ll start here: Six years, $126 million. Slightly higher average value than (Carl) Crawford, one less year, a nod to a legs-driven player. For the Mets, it means a $10 million raise over Reyes’ current deal, offset nicely by the disappearance of $36.5 million worth of Luis Castillo/Oliver Perez/Carlos Beltran -- and nearly matching the $11.5 million the Mets are paying Frankie Rodriguez this year (we’ll put K-Rod’s $17 million vesting issue in that vacuum, for now). That’s a cool $21 million a year, which still only would place him fourth (behind A-Rod, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Johan Santana) on the yearly salary scale of New York baseball players. If that’s not enough? Well, that’s more motivation for the Mets to find viable ownership again so they can play varsity ball again - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/27949/mets-morning-briefing-6-30-11  




Justin Verlander:


Verlander said he didn't recall meeting anyone from the Mets in 2004. But he knew New York was a potential landing spot for him. "I remember my agent calling me right before the draft and saying, 'The Mets want you bad,'" he said. So did the Tigers, though. Detroit considered taking two other pitchers, Jeff Niemann and Jered Weaver, along with shortstop Stephen Drew. But Greg Smith, the Tigers' scouting director at the time, was convinced Verlander was the best prospect, even though the San Diego Padres showed little interest in taking him with the first pick. - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/27949/mets-morning-briefing-6-30-11  

Nick Evans, Lucas Duda, Jason Bay, PG on Mets Draft, MDM on Mets Draft

Photo by Mack Ade

As we all know, Nick Evans has been designated for assignment again to make room for Lucas Duda. I’m taking him off the Keepers list because he simply isn’t a prospect anymore. He’s 26-years old and has had four opportunities to impress someone in Queens. His total MLB stats are: 210-AB, 4-HR, 21-RBI, .58-K, 247/.301/.393/.694. It’s not like anyone is pushing him, but he still simply hasn’t produced at the majors. I expect him to pass through waivers and return to Buffalo, but, if I was the Mets, I wouldn’t let the possible growth of Alan Dykstra stand in the way here. Dykstra looks like the perfect fit for AAA next season and, hopefully, Nick can find work elsewhere. He’s a great kid and deserves a clean slate with another team.


Lucas Duda was recalled this morning and will join the team in Pittsburgh. He has hit five home runs in his past 10 games and there is currently no one better in the system to play first base until Ike Davis returns. Dudad is a legitimate power bat, and boy, do the Mets need him right now. Hopefully, the Mets will play the kid every day so he can get past the gitters, let Ruben Tejada play every day at second base, and let Daniel Murphy play every day at third. We have to see what these guys can do on a day to day basis.


I really don’t know what to do with Jason Bay. I know you can’t work your way out of a slump sitting on the bench, but is this really a slump. He has basically sucked since day one of the trade. Adam Rubin posted a sickening stat earlier today. Assuming neither contract’s options kick in, the Mets will pay Bay and Johan Santana a combination of $50mil in 2013. That’s $7mil less than the entire Marlins payroll.


http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5864 had their take on the Mets draft this morning: “Similar to the cross-town Yankees, the Mets typically take a conservative approach to the draft, and while Nimmo is an exciting potential five-tool talent, most considered him to be somewhat of a reach for the middle of the first round. After Nimmo the Mets loaded up on pitching, taking seven arms among their picks in the top 10 rounds. Michael Fulmer gave Oklahoma a third power righty from the prep class to go along with Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley, and the Mets plucked him up in the sandwich round. NC State's Cory Mazzoni (second-round) has a similar power profile to Fulmer. Left-hander Jack Leathersich (fifth) can approach the mid-90s. College right-handers Logan Verrett (third)and Tyler Pill (fourth), as well as left-hander Alex Panteliodis (ninth), are known more for their command of solid three-pitch arsenals than their raw stuff.”


http://www.mockdraftmania.com had their take on the Mets draft:


“The Mets had the worst draft enough said. I’m not going to bash the other teams because the Mets clearly reached for Nimmo and their other draft picks were reaches in round 2 also.”

Mets Farm, Nick Evans, Justin Turner, Jose Reyes, Buffalo Call-Ups, David Wright

The real hope for the Mets is down on the farm. They got bad news when Jenry Mejia had to undergo end of the season arm surgery. Some argue that the Mets bouncing him around from starter to reliever couldn’t have been the best therapy for his arm. Their hope now rests in the arms of Brad Holt (1-2, 3.12 in AA), Jeurys Familia (0.64 in AA and 1.64 in High A), Matt Harvey (5-2, 2.61 in High A) and the son of ex-major leaguer Ugueth, Juan Urbina. Rule V selection Pedro Beato has yet to give up a run this year and could find himself closing for those starters after Francisco Rodriguez departs myworldofbaseball.



Evans had picked things up with the stick after a slow start in Buffalo; this will be his seventh stint with the Mets in the past four seasons, and it’s unlikely to be the one in which he breaks on through to the other side. Sandy Alderson wanted Tejada to spend a full season in upstate New York after last year's headlong rush to the majors, but ready or not, circumstances required the 21-year-old’s presence. This personnel exchange doesn’t do wonders for the Mets’ season outlook, but since they’re already mired in last place and coming off an offseason of minor moves made to keep the engine idling until it can really kick into gear, they’ll likely be content to stand pat baseballprospectus  

Turner is the latest horse on the Mets second base carousel. Some solid hitting has enabled him to draw regular starts over the last week and as any deep league owner knows, accumulate the most at-bats and you will almost guarantee yourself a top offense. Turner has shown some pop in the minors, despite that power not yet translating to the Majors, and he makes pretty good contact. He has a bit of speed as well, so would probably steal 10 bases or so in a full season of at-bats. With David Wright having been placed on the DL, he will receive full time at-bats at the hot corner for the time being. While he does not excel at any one skill, he is decent enough everywhere to generate some deep league value, even if his starting gig, whether at second or third, ends up not lasting too much longer. .fangraphs  



The Reyes case is an interesting one. As each day passes, you get the sense Alderson appreciates more and more the value of the effervescent Mets catalyst. Clearly, if you read between the lines, you can see he has begun to get the Reyes “it factor” by the adjectives he uses to describe him — “exciting,” “potent,” and “a game changer.” Back in spring training, he used phrases like “we’ll just wait and see.” It seems watching him every day has made Alderson more keenly aware of Reyes’ inherent value to the club. cbs 



Early Tuesday afternoon, the Mets’ band of minor league call-ups sat around the clubhouse and counted heads while reminiscing about the bus rides and laughs they shared together at Triple-A Buffalo. The number they came up with: eight. That’s how many players who started the season in Buffalo are now on the Mets’ roster. Injuries have decimated the parent club, robbing it of its biggest bats and most dominating early-season pitcher. .nj.com 





Mets placed 3B David Wright on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 16, with a stress fracture in his lower back. Wright is expected to rest for 10 days before resuming baseball activities, though it's possible he could miss more time. His only previous stint on the disabled list was for a concussion suffered when he was hit in the head by Matt Cain during the 2009 season. The hot-hitting Justin Turner is expected to get most of the playing time at third base during his absence and is worth adding in NL-only leagues rotoworld.