Make-The-Mets-O-Meter: Week 1 - Pitchers

by Eric Simon on Feb 18, 2009 8:00 AM EST

The Mets have a veritable "Who's Who?" of fringe prospects, has-beens and never-will-bes in camp this year, and while you can always find a wide spectrum of organizational fodder in spring training, this year's grab bag is simply bursting at the seams with that which shall be foisted at the wall in the event that something actually sticks. This is the third year we've played the ole Make-The-Mets-O-Meter, but I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't credit my good friend Martin Gandy for doing it first at Talking Chop.

The Mets have so many players in camp that I've split the inaugural breakdown into batters and pitchers, which I will publish separately. We'll begin with the pitchers.

Player		Comment
Michael Antonini, LHP		23-year-old lefty, pitched last year at Double-A Binghamton. Good control, good changeup.
Tony Armas, RHP		ERA approaching 8.00 in 8.1 innings with the Mets last year.
Adam Bostick, LHP		Came to the Mets from Florida in the deal for Matt Lidstrom and Henry Owens. Has more than a strikeout per inning over seven minor league seasons.
Rocky Cherry, RHP*		Plucked from the Orioles in December's Rule 5 draft. Decent minor league peripherals. 6'5".
Valerio De Los Santos, LHP		Not much to like here. De Los Santos is 36 and lefty. He had pretty good control in the minors but that didn't seem to translate in his 256 big league innings.
Matt DeSalvo, RHP		Gets a lot of groundballs but doesn't do anything else particularly well.
Elmer Dessens, RHP		38 years old. Has had exactly one good year as a starter and zero as a reliever.
Nelson Figueroa, RHP		Unlike most of the other mediocre pitchers in camp, at least we know him.
Casey Fossum, LHP		Once the centerpiece in the Curt Schilling-to-the-Red Sox deal, Fossum has an 83 ERA+ in 782 innings and doesn't do anything particularly well.
Freddy Garcia, RHP		Once a reliable workhorse, Garcia's last two seasons have been injury-riddled and he had to settle for a make-good minor league deal with the Mets. He's close to an even money bet to win the fifth starter spot.
Dillon Gee, RHP		Dee allowed just 24 walks in 157.1 innings between St. Lucie and Bingo last season.
Livan Hernandez, RHP		Was: a very good pitcher for the Expos thirty some years ago. Is: very fat.
Brandon Knight, RHP*		Made two starts for the Mets last year. Probably going to lose the numbers game.
Eddie Kunz, RHP*		A little ruff™ around the edges.
Tom Martin, LHP		Old. Lefty. Pitched for the Mets in 2001. Really.
Carlos Muniz, RHP*		Probably organizational filler at this point.
Jon Niese, LHP*		Had a decent shot of making the team before the Mets signed Garcia, Hernandez, et al to minor league deals. Unless Niese flat out pwns in spring training he'll probably start the season in Buffalo.
Darren O'Day, RHP*		Likely to miss 2009 due to injury.
Bobby Parnell, RHP*		Very good fastball; has an outside shot of making the bullpen.
Connor Robertson, RHP*		Acquired in the Scott Schoeneweis deal. Nothing to write home about.
Heriberto Ruelas, LHP		No idea who this is.
Kyle Snyder, RHP		Someone's gotta throw BP, right?
Brian Stokes, RHP*		Flashed mid-nineties heat late in the season with the Mets. Bullpen spot might be his to lose.
Tobi Stoner, RHP		Has shown pretty good control in the minors. Has a great name.
John Switzer, LHP		See: Snyder, Kyle.

Key:
= Chance of making the Mets is unchanged.
= Chance of making the Mets is going down.
= Chance of making the Mets is going up.
* = player on 40-man roster

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Comments

I like this.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Feb 18, 2009 8:35 AM EST reply actions

Agree

But I hate the people on the list.
Except Tobi Stoner.

by Reg Dunlop on Feb 18, 2009 9:07 AM EST up reply actions

I can get behind some of these guys

O’Day
Garcia
Knight
Stokes
Parnell
Robertson
Niese
Gee
KUNZ!

If more than 2 make the team we’re in trouble, but it’s a nice mix of prospects I’m curious about, retreads that might have something left and guys who never got a shot (some deservedly so.) This is how the backend of the roster should be filled out in my opinion.

by Sokojoe on Feb 18, 2009 9:21 AM EST up reply actions

In a perfect world

Tobi Stoner and Jung Bong would be in the same bullpen.

phliadelphoe ite domum!

by Doc Manhattan on Feb 18, 2009 9:59 AM EST up reply actions

Your perfect bullpen?

Or Grant Roberts’s?

by Eric Simon on Feb 18, 2009 10:12 AM EST up reply actions

kudos

for making the Roberts joke instead of the more obvious Phelps joke

by cjmulrain on Feb 18, 2009 11:38 AM EST up reply actions

This is a Mets blog

I thought Grant Roberts WAS the obvious joke, but still a good one

by JoshNY on Feb 18, 2009 12:33 PM EST up reply actions

true

but that happened like 8 years ago, and Phelps only happened a few weeks ago. With peoples attention spans these days, I bet even a lot of Mets fans forgot about Roberts

by cjmulrain on Feb 18, 2009 12:43 PM EST up reply actions

kazmir's

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Feb 18, 2009 2:45 PM EST up reply actions

Well done, sir.

How about we throw Brandon Weeden into the mix as well? Or how about an all-Weeden battery? And there’s always Jared Potts

by BobbyV_Incognito on Feb 18, 2009 8:31 PM EST up reply actions

Hope so

I especially likedBobby Parnell in Lazy Sunday.

The 2009 NY Mets: WE GOT K-ROD! OMG, Putz, too! Sign Lowe! Lowe's a Brave. Sign Manny! Tim Redding, WTF? Sign Manny! Sheets or Perez? SHEETS! Perez?? Oh, Sheets is hurt -- good job, Minaya! WTF?! SIGN MANNY!

by ZaBlanc on Feb 18, 2009 9:19 AM EST reply actions

red vines = PED?

Pretty Enjoyable Dessert?

by mmxii on Feb 18, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions

showdown

Rocky Cherry vs. Adrian Gonzales (SDP) (or Adrian Beltre if he gets traded)

I’d like to see that happen.

by mmxii on Feb 18, 2009 9:20 AM EST reply actions

Nelson Figueroa

What’s “mediocre” about Figueroa? Is it his 1.35 ERA, 1-0, in September 2008 when they finally recalled him from AAA? Or is it the no-hitter he had into the 10th inning last month in the Venezuela Winter League playoffs; he won 1-0. Yeah, it’s only winter ball, but how many major leaguers have pitched 9 innings of no-hit ball at anytime in their careers from Little League on? He can spot start, pitch 3-4 innings of middle relief, and a late inning if needed. Let’s see how he does in Florida. Mediocre? I don’t think so.

by hdarvick on Feb 18, 2009 10:32 AM EST reply actions

AAAA players

are mediocre.

by supermets on Feb 18, 2009 10:42 AM EST up reply actions

really

I think guys who show flashes after years in the game but never put together consistent results are the very meaning of the term mediocre.

by Endys Game on Feb 18, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions

Figgy

I think you have mistaken “medicore relative to the average big league pitcher” with “mediocre relative to the average non-playing civilian”. Figueroa is a phenomenal player compared to me. He is a mediocre player compared to Oliver Perez (100 ERA+ last year).

by Eric Simon on Feb 18, 2009 11:21 AM EST up reply actions

Figgy

Seems to be the greatest beneficiary of “intangibles” love from sensible Met fans. I’m guilty of it too, he seems like a decent guy who puts everything into it. Not that that should have much (anything) to do with clear-headed analysis but hey…

by deadspy3 on Feb 18, 2009 12:20 PM EST up reply actions

It's not so much the 1.35 ERA in September 2008 that makes Figueroa mediocre

as it is the .902 OPS against that same month, or the mediocre K:BB ratio, or the 92 ERA+, or the WHIP over 1.6.

by JoshNY on Feb 18, 2009 12:37 PM EST up reply actions

the mysterious heriberto ruelas

an excerpt summarizing his strange career that i linked to in my recent LOOGY post:

Ruelas debuted in the 2000 Arizona League with AZL Mexico, going 0-3 with a 8.08 ERA. He allowed 33 hits and struck out 24 in 22 1/3 IP. He made his Mexican League debut in 2002 with the Cafeteros de Córdoba, going 3-5 with a 7.73 ERA. In 2003, Ruelas was 3-2 with a 5.16 ERA for the Mexico City Red Devils. Rueles went 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA in the 2003 Baseball World Cup. He allowed 21 hits and 13 walks in 14 2/3 IP for the 2004 Red Devils, posting a 11.05 ERA. In 2005, Heriberto was 0-2 with a 11.25 ERA as a LOOGY for Mexico City. He allowed 26 hits in 16 innings spread out over 38 games. In 2006, Ruelas was 3-0 with a 4.23 ERA for the Monterrey Sultans, working a total of 27 2/3 IP in 38 games. In the winter of ’06, the left-hander was 1-0 with a 7.84 ERA for the Cañeros de Los Mochis and totaled just 10 1/3 IP in 25 contests. Ruelas pitched 36 games and 27 innings for Mexico City in 2007, going 2-2 with a save and a 6.33 ERA. He gave up a .330 batting average. In 2008, Heriberto pitched 44 games (35 innings) for Mexico City and was 2-1 with a 5.91 ERA. source BR.com

by Rob Castellano on Feb 18, 2009 7:50 PM EST reply actions

confused about o'day

does anyone know the specific rule about keeping o’day on our roster this season? i know hes somewhat exempt from the typical rule 5 restrictions (making him a very good pick) but i know theres some sort of catch, he can’t spend the entire season on the DL or he must make an appearance before september or something like that…

by Rob Castellano on Feb 18, 2009 7:57 PM EST reply actions

He counts against the 40 man roster

And has to be on the 25 man all year the next year.

by Gina on Feb 18, 2009 8:40 PM EST up reply actions

He can spend the season on the DL

According to Wikipedia

To prevent the abuse of the Rule 5 draft, the rule also states that the draftee must be active for at least 90 days. This keeps teams from drafting players, then placing them on the disabled list for the majority of the season. For example, if a Rule 5 draftee was only active for 67 days in his first season with his new club, he must be active for an additional 23 games in his second season to satisfy the Rule 5 requirements.

So if he’s not on the active roster for at least 90 days in 2010, we have to give him back. BTW, there’s next to nothing on mlb.com about the Rule 5 draft.

by BobbyV_Incognito on Feb 18, 2009 8:57 PM EST up reply actions

i will now be rooting for rocky cherry and heriberto ruelas

soley because of their names. seriously, can you put anything before ‘berto’ and have it NOT be a name?

HELLO HELLO MR WILPON. WE WANT THE MANSION NOT THE CONDO.

by kendynamo on Feb 18, 2009 9:02 PM EST reply actions

One of my favorites is Dagoberto

by JoshNY on Feb 19, 2009 8:57 AM EST up reply actions

Livan Hernandez summary FTW.

"But it's not over yet, everybody thinks it over, but if we can just get the Earth to reverse rotation...this thing can be played again. So there you go, New York Mets......motherf*ckers." - Jon Stewart

by pingel on Feb 18, 2009 10:04 PM EST reply actions