Mack’s Daily Minors Recap - 9-1-2022 Games

 Mack’s Daily Minors Recap    -    9-1-2022 Games

 

AAA - 

The Syracuse Mets won the first game and lost the second in a Thursday night doubleheader at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, giving the RailRiders a two games to one lead so far in the six-game series. 

Game one of the doubleheader would go the Mets way. 

First, the Mets tied the game with a lone run in the top of the fourth. Dominic Smith was on base with two outs when Daniel Palka strode to the plate. Palka promptly lined a sharp drive to the centerfield warning track. 

In the fifth, the Mets took the lead with another lone run. Gosuke Katoh singled starting the inning and moved up to second on a one-out single from Travis Jankowski. Jake Mangum then lined out, leaving Syracuse in danger of leaving two runners on base. It wouldn’t happen as the next batter, Smith, grounded a single into left field that scored Katoh and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. 

Syracuse was still seeking security with its late lead, and the Mets got it with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. A Palka walk and a Nick Plummer double put runners on second and third with one out. Katoh then strode to the plate and singled into left field, scoring Palka easily for a 3-1 edge.  The next batter, Michael Pérez, singled home another run when he laced a drive into right field. Katoh scored on the play, giving Syracuse a 4-1 lead. 

Bryce Montes de Oca  earned Syracuse a 4-1 win in game one of the doubleheader. It was the eighth save of the season for Montes de Oca in ten tries at the Triple-A level. 

In game two  Nate Fisher was once again brilliant out of the bullpen, tossing three scoreless innings on just one hit with no walks and two strikeouts. 

Prospect stats: 

C  Francisco Alvarez -      IL

DH Dom Smith - GM 1:  2-4, R, RBI, .285

GM 2:  1-5, R, RBI, .282

3B Mark Vientos - GM1:  1-4, .262

GM2:  DNP

1B Daniel Palka - GM1:  1-3. R, RBI, .272

GM2:  0-5, .269

OF  Jake Magnum - GM1:  0-3, .304

GM2:  1-5, .295

RHRP Bryce Montes de Oca -GM1:  1-IP, 0-R, K, S-8 3.90

 

AA - 

Down 4-2 in the ninth, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (21-31, 49-72) scored a run but fell to the Somerset Patriots 4-3 on Thursday night at Mirabito Stadium, snapping the Ponies season long five-game win streak. 

Wyatt Young reached in the ninth on a walk and scored from second after a stolen base on Carlos Cortes’s RBI single. 

New York Mets pitcher Tylor Megill highlighted the Ponies bullpen with a perfect sixth striking out the side. 

POSTGAME NOTES: Young and Luke Ritter had multi-hit games… Ritter extended his hit-streak to seven games… Young reached base four times... The Ponies bullpen threw four shutout innings.

 

Prospect stats -

2B Wyatt Young - 2-3, R, .258

SS Ronny Mauricio - 0-4, R, .258

 

A+ -

 The Cyclones defeated the Wilmington Blue Rocks by the score of 9-1 on Thursday evening at Maimonides Park. The win was Brooklyn’s eighth In their last nine contests. Jose Mena went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, two doubles, and two RBI while JT Schwartz extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a 3-for-5 effort.

Luis Moreno made the start for Brooklyn and was dominant over his 7.0 shutout frames, scattering just three hits while striking out six. The 23-year-old righthander lowered his ERA to 2.85 across his 110.1 innings with St. Lucie and Brooklyn – the lowest among all qualifying Mets minor leaguers.

Prospect stats - 

RF    Alex Ramirez - DNP

RHSP  Christian Scott - DNP

RHSP  Dominic Hamel - DNP

LHP    Keyshawn Askew - DNP 

 

A - 

St. Lucie outfielder Omar De Los Santos hit a two-run walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Mets to a dramatic 7-5 win over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Thursday at Clover Park. 

It was the 15th homer of the season for De Los Santos, who also has 22 doubles and 70 stolen bases in 108 games with St. Lucie. 

Raul Beracierta smashed a RBI double in the third inning to make it 4-0. 

Meanwhile, Mets starting pitcher Javier Atencio tossed four scoreless innings.

 Prospect stats - 

CF Omar De Los Santos  -  1-4, r, 2-rbi, .270  

C Kevin Parada - 0-2, R, 2-BB, .091

3B Chase Estep - DNP

2B D’Andre Smith - 0-3, .269

SP Blade Tidwell - DNP

SP Calvin Zeigler - DNP

SP Javier Atencio - 4-IP, 0-R, 3-K, 1.91

 

“For more detailed information on the minor league teams and their recent results, see the links in the column on the right.”  

2023 Draft Prospect - OF - Gavin Grahovac

 

Gavin Grahovac 

OF Villa Park HS  (CA) 

 

8-26-2022 - Dick’s Sporting Goods All-American Classic

@PGAllAmerican 

OF Gavin Grahovac driving balls to all fields using a simple, balanced stroke

 https://t.co/VN61CWzP0V 

 

7-20-2022 -

2023 MLB Draft mock

https://www.mlb.com/news/2023-mlb-draft-mock - 

14. Orioles: Gavin Grahovac, Villa Park HS (Orange, Calif.) 

Grahovac hits the ball, and hard, on a consistent basis, recording high exit velos in PDP League play and picking up two hits, including a 98-mph double, at the All-American Game. 

Perfect Game - 

https://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=607463  

Gavin Grahovac is a 2023 OF/C/IF with a 6-2 210 lb. frame from Orange, CA who attends Villa Park. Large, athletic frame with broad shoulders and physical strength proportioned well throughout frame. Runs well, posted a 6.78 60-yard dash. Primary outfielder, fields the ball to side, comes through it well and utilizes a shorter arm path through the back, one hop accuracy to the intended base with quickness to arm stroke; similar arm action on throws across the infield, higher slot on throws, shows carry across diamond and will continue to refine overall actions. Right-handed hitter, begins with a wide and even base, has moving parts in lower half working into contact. Above average bat speed already through the zone, shows a handle for the barrel with a full swing path through the zone. Loud contact off the barrel, went deep out to left-center field in BP and picked up an opposite field double in live action; combination of bat speed and strength at impact stand out, easy power projection moving forward. Excellent student. Verbal commitment to Texas A&M. 

The Mack Report - Kevin Parada, Playoff pitchers, Roster moves, Trading Personal Lives

Kevin Parada 

https://www.mlb.com/braves/news/top-prospects-in-2024 - 

Mets: Kevin Parada, C (No. 3/MLB No. 40)

Goodbye, one No. 1 catching prospect. Hello to another. With the full expectation that Francisco Álvarez will graduate next season, Parada should slide comfortably into the Mets’ top spot assuming all goes well. The Georgia Tech product was a bit of a coup at 11th overall considering he shows plus hit and power tools at the premium position of backstop. Like Álvarez, defense will likely be a focus in the Minors, but the bat should play quickly in his first full season of 2023.

The Baseball Romantic @BasebalRomantic 

Deadline peeps r hot but playoff pic: 

SP

deGrom

Scherzer

Bassit

 

RP

Walk,Cook,Petey,Megill,Williams,Lugo, Givens,Otto, Diaz.

 

Playoff games managed diff. Shorter leashes lead to longer relief outings for our back-end starters.

Got enough arms, Buck will know how to use them 

 

Roster Moves 

Syracuse Mets: 

-IF Yolmer Sánchez cleared waivers, sent outright to Syracuse and added to the Syracuse roster 

-RHP Stephen Nogosek begins a Major League rehab assignment 

-C/1B Jose Colina placed on the Development List 

-RHP Connor Grey optioned from New York and added to the Syracuse roster 

-C Michael Pérez optioned from New York and added to the Syracuse roster 

-LHP Nate Fisher cleared waivers, sent outright to Syracuse, and added to the Syracuse roster 

-IF Travis Blankenhorn placed on Syracuse's 7-day Injured List

 

Binghamton: 

Transferred C Nick Meyer to Syracuse -- AAA from Binghamton -- AA 

 

Metsmerized Online @Metsmerized 

The Mets bullpen trio of Edwin Díaz, Adam Ottavino, and Seth Lugo had a 1.51 ERA for the month of August. 

 

Trading personal lives 

It wasn’t exactly a trade sanctioned by any baseball league, but the transaction between Yankees players Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich remains one of the weirdest of all time. In 1972, the two Yankees pitchers traded lives, switching their houses, wives, kids, and even their dogs. 

They announced the swap during ’73 spring training, in separate press conferences. “Don’t say this was wife-swapping, because it wasn’t. We didn’t swap wives, we swapped lives,” Kekich said. 

Reese Kaplan -- Mets May Have an Edge in Starting Pitching

I'm writing this piece on Thursday night my time where my most recent exposure to a New York Mets game was not only the spectacular homer robbing grab by Brandon Nimmo elevating himself with his glove over the fence, but it also contained a fairly typical outing for one Jacob deGrom who hurled seven innings, struck out nine and gave up just 3 hits.  

One of them cleared the fence off the bat of Mookie Betts, but anyone would sign up for a 7-inning one-run performance anytime.

Pitching is the reason we're here today to see how the Dodgers and the Mets stack up against one another.  Bear in mind that Jacob deGrom and/or Max Scherzer cannot start every other day.  That is an issue for the Mets who are struggling both with health and consistency from their starting pitchers.  

Right now the starting five for New York includes the two aforementioned multiple Cy Young Award winners.  Then comes Chris Bassitt who is showing how good he can be when he's healthy.  

Right now he's pitching to an 11-7 record with a 3.34 ERA with very nearly a strikeout per inning pitched.  The club has to be very happy with that performance and reasonably should believe whenever he takes the mound even their sometimes moribund offense should be capable of scoring 4 runs.  

Taijuan Walker is a bit of a wildcard as he drifts between unhittable and batting practice pitcher.  For the season he's got an enviable 10-3 record with a respectable 3.45 ERA.  The strikeout numbers are not overwhelming but the 1.2 WHIP range suggests he's capable of getting out of jams he creates.  

He is a free agent at year's end, so expect he will attempt to get as much money as possible.  However, for a starting pitcher he's definitely not a bad choice.  

Where it starts to get dicey is with Carlos Carrasco who has had some health issues.  He's on rehab and according to Buck Showalter due back shortly.  For the year he's 13-5 which is actually the highest win total of any of the Mets starters (including superstars deGrom and Scherzer).  

He's kept the ERA under 4.00 but there are times he's looked very hittable.  Before his current injury he was on a solid streak of strong performances, so as a back of the rotation starter, he's certainly qualified.  

Now lets take a look at what the Dodgers are offering in this regard.  Heading off at the top is multiple Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw who is due back from the IL to face the Mets.  

He is putting together a typical year when healthy enough to pitch, going 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA and over a strikeout per inning pitched.  The big lefty might have had some trouble staying physically available to pitch, but there's no questioning his ability.  Match him up against your choice of deGrom or Scherzer.  

Then there's actually quite a dropoff for the Western Division NL leaders as key starter Walker Buehler left the rotation in late August to have Tommy John Surgery.  That makes him unavailable for the rest of this year and likely all of 2023 as well.  Before he went down he was pitching to a winning 6-3 record, but his ERA was likely reflective of his arm issues as it was 4.02.  

His strikeout numbers being a bit down were also likely an indicator he was not completely capable of pitching as he has done in the past 4 seasons as his career ERA even absorbing his mediocre 2022 is still just 3.03.  Remember, though, he's not here to help the Dodgers anymore this season.

The little known southpaw Julio Urias went from reliever to starter and in 2021 went an almost unbelievable 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA.  This year he's been arguably even better.  His record is 14-7 which suggests a 20-win season is still possible though it would require a very hot September.  What jumps out is his ERA down to just 2.32.

Tony Gonsolin's career started a little late as a fringe player at age 25, but he's slowly worked his way into the regular starting rotation.  This year he was off to a terrific initial 23 games started, going an eye-popping 16-1 with an ERA of just 2.10. 

He's not a strikeout pitcher but in over 128 innings pitched he's only allowed 76 hits and 35 walks.  Unfortunately for the Dodgers, he hit the IL on August 29th.  It's a forearm problem and the manager expects him to miss just two starts, but for the present he's not part of the equation.

The Mets saw Andrew Heaney performing at his very best to open this series.  He sort of forced his way into a starting pitcher role after injuries hit others on the staff.  He's been in 10 games thus far and holds a 2-1 record with a very impressive 2.10 ERA.  For his career he's more of a back end starter with a losing record and a 4.55 ERA, so some backsliding is to be expected.  

Dustin May is currently penciled in as the 5th starter.  He debuted at just age 21 but hasn't stuck in a full time role since then.  For his entire career in the majors he's got a record of 7-6 with a 2.82 ERA which includes 21 starts, 124 IP with 124 strikeouts.  This year he's taken the hill to start just 2 games and he's got a 1-1 record with a 1.64 ERA.  

His potential is good but the track record over parts of four seasons isn't showing enough depth to project results.  In the minors he's pitched just as well as he has in the majors so you kind of shake your head wondering why they haven't expanded his use in the majors.

So without even looking in the mutual bullpens, it seems both teams have or are still continuing to suffer from health problems for their starting rotations.  It's kind of hard to do a point-for-point projection over whose starters are better, but it would appear that the depth of experience provided by the Mets group would probably give them a slight edge over the very formidable but short term results of the Dodger hurlers.  

I feel the Mets dodged (forgive the use of that word) a real bullet with Buehler no longer pitching for Los Angeles.  If I was in Las Vegas I would bet on the Mets pitchers, though I wouldn't bet the farm.  

Mack’s Daily Minors Recap - 8-31-2022 Games

 

 AAA - 

The Syracuse Mets were hampered by missed opportunities on Wednesday night as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders scored early and often with two outs, and the Mets left plenty of runners on base in the midst of a 6-1 loss to the RailRiders in the opener of a six-game series at PNC Field.   

JT Riddle has taken his show on the road recently, racking up 17 total hits in his last seven road games.   Game stats: 3-4, RBI, .260. 

Syracuse had just as many hits as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (ten) and ended up leaving ten runners on base in the game. The Mets left at least one runner on base in all but two innings in the game. Syracuse also left seven runners in scoring position by the end of the night.    

Prospect stats: 

C  Francisco Alvarez - IL

DH Dom Smith - 1-4, .278

3B Mark Vientos - 0-4, .283

1B Daniel Palka - DNP

OF  Jake Magnum - 1-5, .321

RHRP Bryce Montes de Oca -  DNP

 

AA - 

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (21-30, 49-71) scored six early runs over the first and second innings to defeat the Somerset Patriots 6-2 on Wednesday evening at Mirabito Stadium. Binghamton has now won five-straight games. 

Wyatt Young wasted no time getting on base with a first pitch double off Somerset starter Matt Sauer (0-2). Carlos Cortes followed with a single and Ronny Mauricio’s RBI single put Binghamton on top 1-0. Brandon McIlwain brought home a run after grounding into a double play, then Hayden Senger’s RBI single capped off the three-run first. 

Young started off the second by getting on base with a walk then scored on a fielding error on Ronny Mauricio’s second single of the night. The three-run second was punctuated by Luke Ritter’s towering two-run home run onto the left field train tracks and Binghamton led 6-0. It was Ritter’s 13th homer of the season. 

Binghamton starter Jose Chacin (3-8) delivered another strong outing going six innings giving up four hits giving up two runs, one earned with three walks and five strikeouts. Chacin has won three of his last four starts. 

Ronny Mauricio extended his hit-streak to 10 games with a 3-4 performance. 

Prospect stats -

2B Wyatt Young - 2-4, 2-R, .254

SS Ronny Mauricio - 3-4, 2-R, RBI, .261

 

A+ -

It was a tale of two games on Wednesday night, as Brooklyn jumped in front early, but Wilmington roared back late – with a six-run top of the eighth – to come away with an 11-7 win over the Cyclones.

Cyclones starter Christian Scott tossed 4.0 innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out six.

Prospect stats - 

RF    Alex Ramirez - 0-5, .261

RHSP  Christian Scott - 4-IP, 1-ER, 6-K, 3.77

RHSP  Dominic Hamel - DNP

LHP    Keyshawn Askew - DNP

 

A - 

The St. Lucie Mets snapped a four-game losing skid with a 7-4 victory over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Wednesday at Clover Park. 

Chase Estep broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out, two-strike three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Mets up 7-4. 

D’Andre Smith pummeled a two-run homer 400 feet in the bottom of the fifth inning to push the Mets lead to 4-1. It was his first home run with St. Lucie. 

Omar De Los Santos was 3 for 4 from the leadoff spot with two more stolen bases. He now has 70 stolen bases on the year and is just five away from tying the team record. De Los Santos is the first Florida State League player since Brevard County’s Eric Farris in 2009 to reach the 70 stolen base mark. 

Carlos Ocampo, on MiLB rehab assignment from Brooklyn, made the start and pitched the first inning. He allowed one run on two hits. 

Prospect stats - 

CF Omar De Los Santos  - 3-5, R, .270  

C Kevin Parada - 0-2, R, 2-BB, .111

3B Chase Estep - 2-3, 2-R, 3-RBI, .273

2B D’Andre Smith - 1-4, R, HR, 3-RBI, .304

SP Blade Tidwell - DNP

SP Calvin Zeigler - DNP

 

“For more detailed information on the minor league teams and their recent results, see the links in the column on the right.”  

2023 Draft Prospect - RHP - Travis Sykora

 

Travis Sykora 

RHP                  Round Rock HS (TX)

 

8-28-22 - Dick’s Sporting Goods All-American Classic 

(@PGAllAmerican) 

Travis Sykora ('23, TX) has overwhelmed hitters w/ the heater. Topped out at 100 mph. Offering sat in the upper-90’s throughout. Paired it w/ a tight SL at 85-87 mph. 

https://t.co/ng40xWJhFi 

 

8-3-2022 -

Ranking the Top 30 2023 MLB Draft Prospects - 

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/insight/baseball/mlb/20220803-2023-mlb-mock-draft-ranking-the-top-30-2023-mlb-draft-prospects - 

19. Travis Sykora, RHP, Round Rock HS 

 

7-20-2022 -

2023 MLB Draft mock

https://www.mlb.com/news/2023-mlb-draft-mock - 

8. Royals: Travis Sykora, RHP, Round Rock HS (Round Rock, Texas) 

The top high school arm in the class as of right now, Sykora is big (6-foot-5) and strong with plenty of arm strength to go along with some feel for pitching. He was throwing 94-98 mph in the PDP League, missed bats with an upper-80s slider and mixed in some good splitters as well.

Paul Articulates – Who ya gonna call?

Today is the first of September, which is the day that MLB rosters expand. Unlike earlier years where teams could carry many additional players, the new rules on expansion say that in September a MLB team can carry 28 players, with a maximum of 14 pitchers. So what does that mean for the Mets, who as of August 31st carried 26 players with 13 pitchers? 

Many have speculated about some of the prospects that continue to toil in the minors, like Mark Vientos, Francisco Alvarez, Daniel Palka, Wyatt Young, and Ronny Mauricio. There are also established players like Dominic Smith, Travis Blankenhorn, and Travis Jankowski on the AAA roster that could be summoned. 

This year’s dilemma with the new rules is that you can’t have ‘em all. In fact, assuming that some near-term injury recovery plans are fulfilled, there is scarce room on the roster for additional players. Here is a look at what the roster would look like when carrying 14 pitchers and 14 position players: 

Pitchers (assume Tylor Megill and Drew Smith return to health) 

Starters – deGrom, Scherzer, Bassitt, Walker, Carrasco 

Long Relief – Williams, Megill, Peterson 

Short Relief – Lugo, Smith, Ottavino, May, Givens 

Closer – Diaz 

Left out – Rodriguez, Hunter, Nogosek, Medina, Butto, Grey, RJ Alvarez 

Position players (assume Guillorme returns to health) 

Infielders – Alonso, Lindor, McNeil, Baty, Escobar, Guillorme 

Outfielders – Canha, Nimmo, Marte, Naquin 

Catchers – McCann, Nido

DHs – Ruf, Vogelbach 

Left out – Perez, Alvarez, Vientos, Jankowski, Palka, Dom Smith, Lee, Young, Mauricio 

With the listed players, which include three injury recoveries that are expected in early to mid-September, it seems that there is virtually no room for the inclusion of young prospects for evaluation. 

Baty is on the list because he has been starting at third for the last week or two, but all the other prospects are not there. Of course we would love to see Francisco Alvarez, but he has been shut down for an ankle issue. If you want to see a prospect, you need to axe a veteran. 

Another wrinkle is the playoff roster eligibility rules – a player must be on the MLB 40-man roster as of August 31st to be eligible for the playoff roster. Right now that excludes prospects Palka, Young, and Alvarez. The 40-man roster also excludes Travis Jankowski, who used to be on it prior to his release and subsequent re-acquisition. Travis Blankenhorn is also not on the current 40-man.

On the pitching side, it is even more complicated. I left Joely Rodriguez off the list so I could get Carrasco, Megill, and Smith back on – but that means that the only lefty reliever is long man and spot starter David Peterson. Is that a healthy post-season configuration? 

Years ago, prior to the three batter rule, it was essential to have a lefty specialist on the staff to mitigate the threat of an opposing left-handed slugger, but under current rules that tactic is not used as much because that same pitcher then needs to throw to other righty threats. 

Tough choices abound for the Mets’ leadership – who to call up in September, who to include on a playoff roster (knock on wood), and what contingencies to put in place in case there are new injuries. 

It is now your opportunity to play GM – aside from the starters and key bench players that are established, who would you include and who would you exclude to finalize those last 3-4 positions on a 28-man September active roster?

Tom Brennan - Mets’ Minors Thrivers and Barely Survivors: Syracuse

Thrive - or perhaps Not Survive - baseball is a tough taskmaster.

HEY, BUT BEFORE I GET STARTED, HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE NIMMO, MARTE, EDWIN, JAKE, AND OTTAVINO?  CATCH OF THE YEAR BY THE TOTALLY PUMPED AND ALWAYS HUSTLING NIMMO.  MARTE PROVIDES CONSTANT OFFENSE. 2-1 WIN.  YES. 

Now, moving on:

Some guys have had great 2022 years, showing real promise. 

They are thriving, or at least have had great stretches where they have thrived at the plate or on the bump in 2022.

So here is where your writer finds himself. MILB season's almost over, dye is pretty much cast - let's see who's thrived and who is seemingly approaching career life support, starting with AAA:

AAA THRIVERS

Daniel Palka - it seems that having crossed the age 30 threshold, his very good but not flat-out stunning stats have not elicited any phone calls, but I will recognize it as a thriving season.  Anyone who in 93 games hits 25 HRs and knocks in 71 runs is doing something very right.

Mark Vientos - after his annual slow start for the first month, he was last seen hitting roughly .290 with 23 HRs and 71 RBIs.  Thriving 22 year old bat.  Stats would look more imposing if he played more games.

Francisco Alvarez - hit just .180 in 32 games before spraining his ankle(?) - tough adjustment - but still managed a .340 OBP.  Overall, in AA and AAA, 24 HRs, 68 RBIs in 99 games.  The latter 2 numbers drastically exceed 2022 NY Mets' catcher hit-totals, but you knew that. 

Jake Mangum - special category, because he was out for a long time with injury, but hit .333 in a handful of AAA games pre-injury, and overall, .293/.361/.419.   His injury may have cost him a 2022 call up to Queens.

Travis Blankenhorn has had a solid year. Thrived at times. Saw a post that he had recently dislocated his elbow - ouch. Heal up quickly, TB.

AAA - BARELY SURVIVORS:

Khalil Lee - after a brutal short debut with the Mets in 2021, Lee racked up a .450 on base % in 2021.  I assumed he further thrive in 2022, but he has instead hit .213 with tons of strikeouts (125 in 89 games).  I fail to see how that is a resume that is calling for an outlook of long term thriving.

Nick Plummer - he had a sensational debut with the Mets, for a few short games, but he fanned 12 times in 29 ABs with just 4 hits, and in AAA, his old bugaboo, the K, persisted.  78 in 63 games, just .234. He has not made me a believer.

Dom Smith - besides hitting a buck ninety four in 58 Mets games, with home runs only recorded in batting practice, Dom's first 32 AAA games produced a mediocre .279/.380/.434.  Good numbers in the majors, but not in AAA. That does not bode well for an MLB comeback, although at his age, someone will offer him an opportunity.  Maybe with losing a lefty bat in Baty, Smith is a September 1 call up.  I wish it was Drew Smith instead, who is not yet ready.

Other hitters who failed at AAA and bounced between levels (AAA figures shown):  Cody Bohanek .176, 70 Ks in 56 games.  Quinn Brodey, .200/.241/.409.  Carlos Cortes, just .168 in Syracuse, .228 overall between AA and AAA in a season of regression for Cortes.

AAA Pitching:

Lots of “barely surviving” pitchers.  5.23 team ERA leads to FEW Thrivers.  The latter are:

Bryce Montes de Oca has been fanning them by the boatload and saving lots of games lately. 102 on the gun is hard to minimize.

Nate Fisher’s 46 innings and 3.30 ERA is a major success story for 2022. So was his Mets 3 scoreless inning debut.

Steven Nogosek has been exceptional in relief. 

Rob Zastryzny has been solid, with 57 Ks in 49 IP.  But he is 30, with just 36 MLB innings under his belt.  At that age, hard to survive even when you thrive.

Eric Orze - a bad stretch or two, plus time lost due to injury, but he had hot streaks out of the pen in 2022, high K totals, and should be in the Mets’ pen chit chat in 2023.

My topic for next time? Thrivers and Barely Survivors....

In AA.

P.S. 

Brooklyn's Sherveyn Newton won SAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK. Nice. 

Jose Peroza has a 29 game on-base streak. Wow. An incendiary August at the plate. .376/.478/.538 in August in 26 games.

OLLER THE ACE:

Last year’s Mets minor league pitching ace, Adam Oller, threw 8 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit for the Oakland A's against the NY Yankees.

He’s been great the last 3 starts, after prior season-long struggles in his major league debut season. Congrats to a guy I wrote a lot about last year, finally finding MLB success.

OF Matt Rudick - drafted in 2021, in early August, the Cyclone was hitting just .198 in Brooklyn - another bum, I was (wrongly) thinking.

Since then, he has been absolutely ON FIRE, getting on base nearly 50% of the time and jumped to .240. A stunning 26 hits and 12 walks in his last 20 games!!

And I often overlook defense when I scour the players' stat lines - but this time I said to myself: don't get defensive - just LOOK! So I looked.  

I discovered this: Rudick's next pro error will be his first pro error. Add in his 15 of 18 steals in 2022, plus a low K rate?

Way to go, Matty. Keep up the incredible recent surge. I didn't go to a Top 40 Prospects, maybe after the season, but he belongs somewhere in there. Even if almost no one has heard of him.

THE CHASE IS ON: 9th rounder in 2022, Chase Estep, has stepped right out of draft night into Low A ball with the St Lucie Mets. So far? .276/.403/.536 in his first 17 games, with just 12 Ks. Well, he is a 3B, and he does hit lefty, and he hits good, and lefty hitting 3B Baty is hurt, so...it's simple...call up Chase Estep!

OMAR TURNS 70 - that is an amazing steal total in just 107 games - which projected over 160 games is 105 steals. Great milestone.

ORZE ON THE REBOUND: after missing 4 weeks, the rehabbing righty fanned 4 in 2 scoreless IP in a St Lucie game Wednesday night. A 2023 Mets pen arm in my view. Why? 129 Ks in 94 pro innings.

May you thrive today and forevermore.