Category: Minor League Baseball
Mets minor league Opening Day starters announced…
New York’s four full season minor league teams will all begin their season on Thursday. I provided the list of Opening Day starters for each affiliate below…
- RHP Rafael Montero (pictured) will be the Opening Day starter for Las Vegas (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League vs. Fresno.
- RHP Robert Gsellman will start for Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League vs. New Hampshire.
- RHP Josh Prevost will start for St. Lucie (A+) of the Florida State League vs. Jupiter.
- RHP Chase Ingram will be on the mound for Columbia (A) of the South Atlantic Legue at Charleston.
Former Met John Gant makes Braves roster.
Former New York Mets prospect John Gant has been informed he has made the Atlanta Braves Opening Day roster. The 23-year old right hander is expected to carve out a role in the Braves bullpen after having an eye-opening spring. Gant was acquired from the Mets along with right-handed pitcher Rob Whalen, last July for infielder’s Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson.
Gant is currently ranked as the Braves 22nd best prospect according to MLB.com and held a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched this spring. The righty only walked two while striking out ten, and held opponents to a .233 average.
Former Mets News & Notes
- Former Mets pitcher Matt Bowman is now slated to make the St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day roster due to reliever Jordan Walden battling a shoulder issue. Bowman was selected by the Cardinals in this past December’s Rule 5 Draft, and had been highly questionable to make the Opening Day roster until Walden’s latest shoulder setback. Bowman is required to be on the Cardinals 25-man roster for the entire 2016 season or be returned to the Mets, unless a trade is able to be worked out. Bowman can’t be put on the disabled list until he has been an active roster member for 90 days. The 25-year old right-hander holds a 7.88 ERA in 8 innings pitched this spring, and is ranked as the Cardinals 21st best prospect by MLB.com.
- Former Mets closer Bobby Parnell who had been released by the Tigers earlier in the week, has agreed to a minor league deal to stay with the Tigers. Parnell will report to Triple-A Toledo with the hope of receiving a call-up later this season. Parnell had an 8.68 ERA this spring in 9.1 innings pitched, but has been clocked as high as 96 mph in Grapefruit League action. The Tigers believe if Parnell can get better command of his pitches he could pitch for them at the big league level this season.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi had stated on air during today’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, that former Mets right-handed pitching prospect Luis Cessa has made the team out of Spring Training. Cessa was originally included with right-handed pitcher Michael Fulmer to the Detroit Tigers, in the Yoenis Cespedes trade at last year’s Trade Deadline. Cessa was then traded by the Tigers this offseason to the Yankees for left-handed reliever Justin Wilson. Cessa will pitch out of the bullpen for the Yankees, and has a 2.70 in 10 innings pitched.
Travis Taijeron named top rookie in Mets camp.
It is being reported by ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin that OF Travis Taijeron has been named the 2016 John J. Murphy Award winner, for being the top rookie in Major League camp this spring.
Taijeron had a slash line of .348/.432/.658 this spring with two home runs, and 11 RBI’s. Taijeron’s 11 RBI’s led all Mets hitters this spring, and he did all that damage in only 38 at-bats. The 27-year old isn’t on MLB.com’s prospect list, but he hit .274/.393/.536 with 25 HR’s and 71 RBI’s, last season at Triple-A Las Vegas. Taijeron is expected to open this season at Triple-A Las Vegas as well.
I wrote a piece on Taijeron earlier this spring that you can check out below:
Final: Marlins 1 – Mets 0
The Miami Marlins defeated the New York Mets this afternoon at Tradition Field by the final score of 1-0. For a full box score recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- The Mets only had 2 hits this afternoon. One hit each from Juan Lagares & Yoenis Cespedes.
- Sean Gilmartin pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits with 3 strikeouts.
- Jim Henderson pitched a clean inning with 1 strikeout.
- Logan Verrett pitched 3.2 scoreless innings allowing only 2 hits, with 3 strikeouts.
- Addison Reed pitched a scoreless inning only allowing 1 hit with 1 strikeout.
- Final 19 Mets batters were retired in order today.
Since there is not much to write about in this game, as the Mets seemed to be just going through the motions, I will leave a link below of a highlight of a nice play made at first base by Wilmer Flores. Flores seems to look comfortable at first and I think defensively he will be fine wherever he plays. The confidence he carried from the second half of last season seems to have carried over into this spring. It also looks like those defensive lessons from Keith Hernandez are paying off as well. Yes I know the Mets haven’t won a game in their last twelve played. Am I worried? The simple answer is no.
- The Mets will play their final 2016 Grapefruit League game at Tradition Field tomorrow afternoon against the Washington Nationals, with a 12:10 pm et start time. The game can be seen on SNY.
- Noah Syndergaard will get the start for the Mets, with Matt Harvey following him in relief to pitch two innings. The Nationals will send their ace right-hander Max Scherzer to the mound.
Mets release Carlyle, re-assign 4 others…
The New York Mets have announced this morning the release of RHP Buddy Carlyle. Carylyle’s 2015 campaign was cut short in July due to hip surgery last season, and he has struggled this spring with an 8.10 ERA in seven games. The 38-year old Carlyle is unsure if he will retire or continue pitching this season.
The Mets have also re-assigned INF Danny Muno, INF T.J. Rivera, INF Ty Kelly, and OF Roger Bernadina to minor league camp. The Mets have 32 players left in big league camp, which includes rehabbing pitchers Zack Wheeler and Josh Edgin.
Final: Blue Jays 3 – Mets 1
The New York Mets fell to the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon in Dunedin, by the final score of 3-1. For a full box score recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Bartolo Colon pitched 6 solid innings this afternoon allowing 3 hits, no runs, with 6 strikeouts.
- Hansel Robles pitching on back-to-back days pitched a scoreless frame with 1 walk and 1 strikeout.
- Juan Lagares and Wilmer Flores were each 1-4 at the plate this afternoon.
- Michael Conforto left today’s game early after 2 plate appearances due to back stiffness.
- The Mets lone run came from a home run off the bat of outfielder Patrick Biondi in the top of the 9th.
- Buddy Carlyle blew the save in the bottom of the 9th allowing a one out, 3-run home run by Blue Jays outfielder and former Mets organizational farm player Ezequiel Carrera.
- Former Mets outfielder Darrell Ceciliani was 2-2 for the Blue Jays this afternoon.
- Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki exited today’s game early after being hit on the right hand by a Bartolo Colon pitch in the bottom of the 4th.
- This was the first Mets game in Dunedin since a 1989 Spring Training game when multiple bench clearing brawls occurred between both teams, which included former Mets OF Daryl Strawberry being a main culprit.
- The Mets play with a split squad tomorrow, as half of the team will head to Ft. Myers to play the Boston Red Sox. Logan Verrett will take the mound for the Mets and oppose Red Sox righty Joe Kelly. First pitch is at 1:05 pm et and the game will not be televised or broadcasted on the radio.
- The other half of the Mets team will stay in Port St. Lucie as the Mets host the Houston Astros at Tradition Field with a 1:10 pm et start time. Mets ace Matt Harvey will take the mound against Astros ace left-hander Dallas Keuchel. The game can be seen on SNY and ESPN.
Where are they starting?
I wanted to take a look at the top ten prospects in the Mets farm system according to MLB.com, and see where they will start the season, where they are expected to finish the season, and the likelihood they are a factor with the big league club on a scale of one through five. An impact rating of five means they very likely will be up with the Big League club this season, and an impact rating of one means it is very unlikely they will be up with the Mets. An obvious rating of zero mean no impact will be made at the MLB level. Click the jump for the following ratings on the Mets top ten prospects according to MLB.com.
Luis Carpio will miss 2016 season.
The New York Mets have announced that minor league infielder Luis Carpio recently underwent surgery to repair a tear of his right labrum. The procedure was performed by Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He will miss the entire 2016 season. Carpio had a .304/.372/.359 line at rookie league Kingsport last season. The 18-year old was ranked as the Mets 7th best prospect by MLB.com heading into this season.
Dilson Herrera leads Colombia to WBC birth.
Dilson Herrera hit a solo homer that snapped a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning, to lift Colombia to a 2-1 win over Panama in the WBC Qualifying Tournament Final last night. With the win, Colombia advanced to the 2017 WBC. Herrera finished 2-4 last night and reached base seven times in Colombia’s three WBC games. Herrera spoke to an MLB reporter after the game and had the following to say;
“It was amazing. Amazing,” a choked-up Herrera said while holding back tears. “First of all, I want to say thanks to God for everything. I was just trying to make good contact. I was thinking of my country, I was thinking about my team. I said, ‘The game’s not over until the last inning.’ I was just trying to get on base for the third and fourth batters behind me. Just made good contact. When I saw my team and that situation, I have no word to describe [it]. I’m so happy and so excited for this opportunity.”
You have to feel happy for Dilson to be able to come through late in the game and send his country to it’s first ever WBC. It was only fitting he got the final out as well by fielding a ground ball and throwing the runner out at first. Herrera played a major role in Colombia’s success in the tournament, and we all have gotten a glance of what he is capable of on a much larger scale. Herrera is expected to be the Mets starting second baseman next season, and he will also be leading Colombia next March into the WBC. I provided highlights of last night’s blast below, in case you have not seen Herrera’s heroics yet.
Above The Mendoza 