Scouting the Sally - Jeurys Familia, SP, NYM

by Baseball Handyman on Apr 24, 2009 8:42 PM EDT

Jeurys Familia (4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K) -Quickly becoming a serious sleeper in the Mets organization, Jeurys Familia is off to a great start posting a 2-0 Record with a 0.63 ERA and .128 BAA in his first three 2009 starts. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, the 19-year old righty was impressive in his four innings of work throwing an 88-92 MPH fastball and rudimentary breaking pitch; Typical of young Dominican hurlers.

Looked his listed height of 6'3"; Legs looked well developed; Upper body has some room for growth
Throws across his body; May gain velocity if he learns how to incorporate his lower half more
Fastball sat at 88-92 throughout the first and second innings
Weak lineup made solid contact during innings 1-2
Jumped to a consistent 90-92 MPH in the 3rd inning
Fastball dropped to 88-90 MPH in the 4th
Tired in the 5th; Fastball dropped to 86-88 MPH
Free and easy arm action at 89 MPH; Took some effort to get into the 90+ MPH range
Threw first breaking pitch in the 4th inning
Curveballs thrown were in the 76-78 MPH range
Curveballs became sharper as Familia tired; Seemed to be overthrowing them at first
Baseball IQ? Did not know fielding responsibility in sac bunt situation

If Familia continues his hot start, he won't be an unknown for long. For now however, temper your enthusiasm for his hot start as his lack of a breaking pitch could hinder his progression as he moves up through the system. Fortunately for Familia, he has time on his side as I would expect him to spend the entire 2009 season in Savannah before moving up a level in 2010.

Maikel Cleto would have ranked 8th on Mets top 10 lists this past year and Familia is similar in many respects. Cleto, however, was pumping 97 MPH on the gun with Familia falling 5 MPH short of that. With that said, Familia could break the Mets top 20 with an outside shot at the top 15.

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Familia's definitely interesting

Do you know anything about this Valdespin kid? Where the hell did he come from? 3 for 5 again tonight, 1.058 OPS now. He’s got a nice swing and he can run too. His DSL and GCL numbers are interesting, if easy to overlook. He was basically Luis Castillo in 2008 during his DSL stint, and though he walked a lot less in the GCL, he added a bit of pop and struck out a lot less. He’s already got 3 HR, 2 3B and 2 2B through about 60 PAs, and he flashed 30 SB speed during his time in instructs and Rookie Ball.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 24, 2009 10:51 PM EDT reply actions

Valdespin

He has only played in one of the two games I have caught so far, but he was able to turn on an Andrew Brackman fastball for a double over the first base bag. He was, however, thrown out at third base trying to stretch a double into a triple with two outs. YIKES! Also, I saw him get thrown out stealing by a country mile as a pinch runner when his run could have been the game winner.

Temper your excitement with him though. He’s already 21.5 years old and in his first stint in full season ball. With the Mets propensity to ridiculously rush young Latin players, Valdespin being in Savannah should speak volumes about what the organization feels about him.

Mike Newman
baseballhandyman.com

by Baseball Handyman on Apr 25, 2009 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah that's what I figured

I was tempted to do a profile on him, but not having seen him play and understanding he’s old for his league in an organization that likes to rush players, I figured I’d give it at least another month to see if he keeps it up. How do you think they’ll handle the logjam at 2B in Savannah though? Do they promote Veloz to Bingo and then move Satin up to St. Lucie? It almost seems like they’d be better off moving the 24 year old Satin straight to Bingo and leaving Veloz in St. Lucie, where he’s finally starting to show some of his ability.

I do get the impression that the Mets are being a bit more patient this year. They held all their 2008 first rounders in St. Lucie (I know they’re not Latin teens, but the Mets did have a tendency to rush their early draft picks too, like Milledge and Pelfrey), and I think that was the only reason for the major rush job they pulled this year, putting Tejada in Bingo (They wanted Havens to play SS in St. Lucie). They kept Veloz in St. Lucie though and didn’t do anything THAT crazy with Flores or Marte. Savannah was the right place to put those two.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 25, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Log jam

The log jam at 2nd base isn’t the concern, it’s finding innings for everybody on that staff that worries me. Satin at 24 and still in A- is the epitome of an organizational player. He and Valdespin will likely share 2B/DH duties and both bats can remain in the lineup.

One of the byproducts of the Mets drafting so many college pitchers is that they are going to take up rotation spots on lower level rosters when those spots can be used for teenagers.

The Gnats currently have 7 pitchers worthy of rotation spots. It’s going to take some juggling to ensure they all get their fair share of innings.

Mike Newman
baseballhandyman.com

by Baseball Handyman on Apr 26, 2009 7:28 AM EDT up reply actions

My feeling on Satin

He’s kind of a ringer for Savannah. I’m not saying I expect him to be more than an organizational player, but it is just his second pro year and he got a bit of attention when he was drafted. Its an interesting pitching staff though. Lots of interesting arms, but no real big hype prospects.

Any word on Wilmer? Valedespin started at SS the last couple days. I feel like I remember hearing Flores tweaked something recently but I can’t find it or put my finger on where I heard it.

by Mark Himmelstein on Apr 26, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions