Category: Minor League Baseball
Cardinals vs. Mets Lineups 1:10 pm et
Cardinals:
1. Kolten Wong (L) 2B
2. Stephen Piscotty (R) RF
3. Randal Grichuk (R) CF
4. Brandon Moss (L) 1B
5. Jedd Gyorko (R) SS
6. Brayan Pena (S) C
7. Anthony Garcia (R) LF
8. Jacob Wilson (R) 3B
9. Carson Kelly (R) DH
SP: Tyler Lyons LHP
Mets:
- Curtis Granderson (L) RF
- Neil Walker (S) 2B
- Yoenis Cespedes (R) CF
- Lucas Duda (L) 1B
- Wilmer Flores (R) SS
- Travis d’Arnaud (R) DH
- Michael Conforto (L) LF
- Eric Campbell (R) 3B
- Kevin Plawecki (R) C
SP: Bartolo Colon, RHP
- Today’s ballgame can be seen on SNY or MLB.tv.
Game Notes:
Avaliable Pitchers for the Mets: LHP Josh Smoker, RHP Jeurys Familia, and RHP Gabriel Ynoa.
VS. ST. LOUIS: Today’s game is the third of five games this Spring with the Cardinals…Each team has won a game thus far this Spring with St. Louis winning, 9-4, in Jupiter on March 7 and the Mets taking the game on March 10 in St. Lucie, 7-2.
RHP BARTOLO COLÓN: Is making his second start in Grapefruit League action today…Earned the win in his Spring debut on Monday vs. Detroit… Tossed 3.0 innings and allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts…
WILMER FLORES: Walked twice in two plate appearances on Friday and is batting .500 (7-14) with one double and one RBI in seven games played this Spring…Each of Flores’ six starts this Spring have come at third base.
Mets players in WBC Qualifiers…
On Monday five Mets players, most notably Dilson Herrera, will be leaving camp to represent their country in the 2017 WBC qualifiers next week taking place March 17th-20th. The qualifiers will be taking place in Panama City, Panama and Mexicali, Mexico. Xorge Carillio will be the only Mets participant not in Panama City, with his team participating in Mexico.
Another notable participant is Luis Guillorme, who has been ranked by MLB.com as the organization’s 23rd best prospect this season. Guillorme had a breakout season in the Minors as he was the South Atlantic League MVP for the Savannah Sand Gnats, and was the Mets Sterling Award winner for the Sand Gnats. He will be an intriguing player to watch including Herrera, during qualifiers.
I provided a list below of which players will be participating, and what country they will be representing…
Colombia:
- 2B Dilson Herrera
- RHP Nabil Crismatt
Mexico:
- C Xorge Carrillo
Panama:
- LHP Alberto Baldonado
Spain:
- SS Luis Guillorme
BREAKING NEWS: Cabrera out 2 weeks…
The Mets have announced that Asdrubal Cabrera has been diagnosed with a strained patella tendon in his left knee and will be out for 2 weeks. Cabrera will be given a platelet-rich plasma injection in New York today. It had been reported that Asdrubal Cabrera was on his way back to New York for more testing on his left knee, by Mike Puma of the NY Daily News this morning. Many people around the organization had maintained a tone that Cabrera had dodged a serious injury, including Assistant GM JP Riccardi. Riccardi told John Harper of the NY Daily News, “I don’t think it’s anything serious.”
Ruben Tejada will be the Mets starting shortstop for the time being, with Wilmer Flores retaining his utility role. This should put to rest all of the talk of Tejada being released or traded before Opening Night. It is now fair to wonder if Cabrera will be ready for Opening Night in Kansas City? In my opinion, I’m going to assume that Cabrera will begin the season on the disabled list, and Tejada will be the Mets Opening Night shortstop.
Rafael Montero among players optioned…
LHP Dario Alvarez, RHP Rafael Montero and RHP Akeel Morris have all been optioned to minor league camp…RHP Chase Bradford, RHP Paul Sewald and C Raywilly Gomez have been reassigned to minor league camp…There are now a total of 52 players in camp for the Mets.
It is a bit of a disappointing turn of events for Montero as he was vying for a bullpen spot. Montero’s spring has not gone the way he or the Mets envisioned so far, and his stock has taken a tumble over the past year. I hope Montero is able to get it all together soon, because he has proven in the past he has the make-up of a Major League pitcher. I expect Montero, granted he’s healthy, will start the year in AAA.
Jenrry Mejia Announcement
It has been reported this afternoon, that Jenrry Mejia is expected to make a big announcement tomorrow afternoon from his attorney’s office in New York. One can only assume that Mejia and his representatives will be pursuing some sort of legal action against Major League Baseball, and possibly the Player’s Association. Mejia had been banned from baseball last month after testing positive for PED’s for a third time. Mejia has been adamant that there has been a conspiracy against him from Major League Baseball, regarding his last two failed drug tests. Mejia also cited a lack of support from the MLBPA in regards to his last two failed drug tests. According to the NY Daily News, a press release from Mejia’s camp includes a witness willing to come forward and testify against Major League Baseball, “claiming that the league offered to pay him in return for steroid related testimony against a player.” Mejia is the first player ever to receive a lifetime ban for PED’s from Major League Baseball, and he apparently won’t go down without a fight.
Asdrubal Cabrera leaves game with injury
Mets starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera left Thursday afternoon’s tilt against the Cardinals with a lower left leg injury. Cabrera was tagging up from first base to second base when the injury occured. Cabrera was wincing and grabbing the leg, prompting Manager Terry Collins to pull Cabrera out of the game. Cabrera slightly limped off the field and was replaced by Ruben Tejada.
SNY reported during the third inning that Cabrera is dealing with a sore left knee.
You have to imagine the Mets will take it easy with Cabrera the next few days, and with Matt Reynolds reportedly dealing with a nagging hamstring, Tejada should be getting the bulk of the starts the next few days at short…
A Deeper Look into Mets Killers…
There are certain players that I have not grown fond of the Mets facing over the past several seasons, and I tend to call them Mets killers. These individual players are always having success against the Mets no matter how their individual season is going. What is even more frustrating is for the life of me I can’t figure out ways to get them out sometimes or I know the inevitable is about to happen in a high leverage situation. I listed some notable Mets killers on the season schedule this season that the Mets will be facing. I have provided stats for each player against the Mets and how those statistics translate to other teams in the league. To qualify for the list each player has to have played in at least 20 games against the Mets, and some teams have multiple players included on the list. Pictured is the all-time Met killer Chipper Jones, because nobody would be more appropriate to headline this article, right? Continue reading
Final Braves 5- Mets-4
Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets throws a pitch during the first inning of a spring training game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium on March 8, 2016 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Photo Credit: Getty Images / Stacy Revere
The Atlanta Braves rallied and defeated the New York Mets by the final score of 5-4 at Champion Stadium this afternoon. For a full box score recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- In Matt Harvey’s spring debut, he threw 3 innings allowing 3 hits on 1 ER with 2 walks and 1 K.
- In Juan Lagares return to the Mets lineup, he went 2-2 with 2 RBI’s.
- Wilmer Flores had a day at the plate going 3-3 with an RBI. He also committed an error in the field.
- Michael Conforto was 1-2 with a run scored.
- Travis Taijeron was 1-2 with a strikeout. Taijeron is still hitting a scorching .429 this spring.
- Ruben Tejada had a rough day at the plate going 0-3 with 2 K’s. He is batting a lowly .100 so far this spring.
- Rafael Montero pitched a inning of relief allowing 2 hits and an ER.
Happy Harvey Day everyone! Matt’s first start on the mound was good not great. Harvey breezed through the first inning with only 7 pitches thrown, and then found himself in a jam due to a Flores throwing error in the second. Harvey escaped the second inning jam with a 4-6-3 double play. He was soon in another jam, after loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk, with one out in the third. Nick Markakis drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and a nice throw by Roger Bernadina nailed the runner advancing to third to get out of the inning. Harvey’s velocity constantly sat around 95-96 MPH this afternoon for his first start. A major contrast to his debut last season where he was throwing 99 MPH, which was extremely nerve wrecking for his first start back off a major operation. All in all can’t wait for Harvey Day’s to start counting in the standings, as I expect a big season out of Matt this year, especially with the further development of his nasty slider.
Lagares & Flores each had great days at the plate. It seems the Wilmer Flores chant is making its way around different Florida parks all spring as Mets fans were very enthusiastic to see him today, and he delivered when literally called upon.
Emilio Bonifacio capped off a 2-run, 9th inning rally by the Braves with an RBI single to come back, and defeat the Mets this afternoon. A known Mets killer, Bonifacio has 5 hits in 7 at-bats against the Mets this spring.
- The Mets return to Port St. Lucie to face the New York Yankees at 1:10 pm et. The game can be seen on SNY, MLB Network, and MLB.tv. The game can also be heard on WOR 710 AM.
- RHP Jacob deGrom will make his spring debut against Yankees RHP Ivan Nova.
Who is Travis Taijeron?
Who is Travis Taijeron? Many of you might ask that question to yourself recently when reading Mets box scores, or watching Spring Training action so far. Taijeron has done nothing but mash early in Grapefruit League action, to a batting average of .417. Continue reading
Above The Mendoza 