Mets Daily Farm System Report - 9/5: Mets Call Gee, Evans & Valdes

by Rob Castellano on Sep 5, 2010 11:00 AM EDT

New York Mets Daily Farm System Report -- Results from the night of Saturday, September 4, 2010.

The Usual Suspects

AAA - Buffalo (74-68)

RF Jesus Feliciano: 1-4, 2B, R, BB, K (.340/.385/.410)
CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: 1-4, RBI, K (.209/.281/.318)
3B Zach Lutz: 0-4, 2 K, E(1)
1B Nick Evans: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R (.314/.385/.557)
2B Justin Turner: 0-4 (.309/.370/.470)
RP Sean Green: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K (1-1, 4.64, 21.1 IP, 23 H, 8 BB, 20 K, 1 HR)
RP Manny Alvarez: 2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 WP (0-2, 6.00, 6 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR) He's had a strong season but Triple-A has gotten the best of him in 2010
The club gave out their awards the other day, LF Lucas Duda & LHP Pat Misch were rewarded with Batter and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively, while RHP Dillon Gee got Comeback Player of the Year.
ROSTER MOVES: If you didn't hear, with Buffalo officially out of playoff contention 1B Nick Evans, RHP Dillon Gee & LHP Raul Valdes will be joining the big club on Labor Day in DC; does that mean IF Justin Turner won't be back up? For now, the Bisons added IF Jonathan Malo & RHP Manny Alvarez, both making their third tour of duty with the club in 2010.

AA - Binghamton (66-74)

CF Sean Ratliff: 1-2, R, 2 BB (.320/.375/.574) For Ratliff, I'm happier with those two walks than I am with two hits
1B Josh Satin: 0-4, K (.309/.396/.478)
3B Eric Campbell: 1-2, HR(6), BB (.276/.323/.443) He needed that
2B Jordany Valdespin: 1-3, R, BB, K, SB(4) (.233/.245/.301)
SP Robert Carson: 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HB (1-6, 8.32, 48.2 IP, 68 H, 23 BB, 30 K, 7 HR) Looks like they got him out early to end his season on a good note

Hi-A - St. Lucie (66-75)

SS Wilmer Flores: 3-4, RBI, R (.300/.324/.415)
1B Stefan Welch: 1-2, 3B, 4 RBI (.256/.326/.396)
DH Kai Gronauer: 2-3, 2 R, BB (.324/.376/.403)
C Francisco Pena: 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB (.303/.333/.364)
SP Jim Fuller: 5 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1 WP (3-2, 3.38, 24 IP, 26 H, 9 BB, 25 K, 2 HR) Great season for the bulldog lefty

Lo-A Savannah (73-64)

CF Matt den Dekker: 0-4, K (.365/.425/.490) After a torrid start, he's batting .257 over his last ten games
SS Robbie Shields: 1-4, E(9) (.285/.329/.455)
3B Aderlin Rodriguez: 1-4, K (.231/.290/.385)
SP Taylor Whitenton: 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 K (8-9, 4.57, 108.1 IP, 110 H, 68 BB, 113 K, 6 HR)
Tonight is Bark in the Park night in Savannah so bring the dog!

SHORT-SEASON LEAGUES

SS-A Brooklyn (50-24)

LF ZeErika McQueen: 1-3, R, BB, 2 K (.176/.263/.176)
CF Cory Vaughn: 0-4, BB, 2 K (.303/.394/.540)
SS Wilfredo Tovar: 1-5, K (.277/.324/.338)
C Blake Forsythe: 0-1, RBI, 2 BB, K, SB(1) (.238/.310/.396)
SP Jonathan Kountis: 3.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, 1 WP (1-1, 5.95, 3.2 IP, 23 H, 14 BB, 23 K, 2 HR)

Star of the Night

For lack of any truly great performances yesterday, let's go with Buffalo's 1B Nick Evans, after a customary 2-for-4 day with an RBI double. Nick has been a revelation in 2010, beating up Eastern League pitching in the first half and faring even better in Triple-A where he's batting .314 with a .243 ISO. He's also managed to find his way on base in 34 of the 37 games he's played with Buffalo and is once again in the long-term picture as a potential very legitimate Major League bat.

Our Goat of the Night is also from Buffalo, reliever RHP Manny Alvarez, who surrendered three runs in the seventh to give Lehigh Valley the lead for good yesterday. Alvarez has actually had a very strong season and though he's had trouble with Triple-A thus far, keep in mind that he'd never pitched above Hi-A before this year and is now over thirty innings past his total from last season. Thanks in large part to his stellar 1.32 BB/9 this year, I still consider Alvarez someone definitely worth watching next spring.

System Roundup

The Bisons went ahead early but couldn't quite hang on as they fell to the IronPigs 4-3. Buffalo was a solid 3-for-10 with RISP but a blow-up, 3-run seventh inning for RHP Manny Alvarez in his return to Triple-A pretty much sealed this one. Boxscore
Both teams scored in the first and then it went quiet until the B-Mets managed to pull ahead to the final score of 3-2 over the Senators. Back at third with the promotion of Lutz, 3B Eric Campbell hit his first homer since returning to the club. LF Brahiam Maldonado added a longball of his own and with a solid performance out of LHP Robert Carson and the bullpen, that was all Binghamton would need. Boxscore
St. Lucie took this rain-shortened affair 8-2 over Fort Myers. As he has all year, LHP Jim Fuller pitched really well (5 IP, 1 ER) while the international trio of SS Wilmer Flores, C Kai Gonauer & 1B Stefan Welch combined for seven hits and five RBI's. After a rough second half, St. Lucie has finally found it's rhythm, winning six of their last eight games. Boxscore
Starter RHP Taylor Whitenton wasn't bad in this one but his offense deserted him in his 6-2 loss to Asheville. With CF Matt den Dekker cooling off, the club managed just six hits and went 0-for-4 with RISP. Boxscore
In a game with 28 hits and six lead changes, the Cyclones fell just short of the ValleyCats, 8-7. Starter RHP Jonathan Kountis was hit hard, surrendering two homers and five runs through four innings. The bullpen wasn't much better, including fireballer RHP Ryan Fraser who wasn't terrible but gave up the game-winning run in the ninth. Offensively, Brooklyn was clicking as they managed thirteen hits, including the fifth bomb of the year for RF Will Cherry. Despite the loss, the Cyclones still have more than twice as many wins as losses. Boxscore

Poll

Do you think RHP Jenrry Mejia should start 2011 in the majors?

Yes

114 votes

No

150 votes

264 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 26 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Yeah Nick Evans.

Hope he makes it to Chicago on time

by twon8 on Sep 5, 2010 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

Mejia's 1st MLB start was with the wind blowing out in Wrigley and his catcher in his 1st MLB game

Lets see a few more starts before passing judgement.

by Russ on Sep 5, 2010 11:55 AM EDT reply actions

I'm not sure if you're for or against Mejia starting in the majors in 2011

Sounds like for, if I had to guess.

by James Kannengieser on Sep 5, 2010 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Tentatively For

I watched his recent game in Buffalo. Mejia’s breaking ball is outstanding. He still needs to work on his changeup, but that can be done with the Mets. As long as he is able to be an effective starter at the major league level, there is no reason to send him back down. if, however, he can’t demonstrate that he is currently an effective MLB pitcher, then he should start next season in AAA.

by Russ on Sep 5, 2010 12:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Gotcha

I still think he should begin 2011 as a starter in Triple-A. He’s never thrown more than 94 innings in a season, and has just 110 or so career innings at AA or above, including 32 in MLB this season. And hasn’t exactly been dominant in those innings. If he is on the Opening Day roster in 2011, it would absolutely have to be as a starter. With Santana-Pelfrey-Niese-Dickey, that’s four average to above average starters expected to be around, with hopefully some $$ available for free agency (Vazquez? Lilly? Couple possibilities) and trade opportunities explored. I don’t see the urgency to start him in MLB, with superior options already available.

by James Kannengieser on Sep 5, 2010 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm wary of free agent signings

I believe that free agent signings should be limited to filling positions that the organization can’t (with appropriate contracts), or to sign players that are so outstanding that it is simply not realistic that a farm system will be able to develop such a player.

2B is an area where the Mets should look to the free agent market this winter, but they should try to sign a player to a 1 year contract. I could even see a 2 year contract, but that’s the limit.

Starting pitching could be a similar situation depending on how Mejia pitches in his his remaining starts this year. Mejia is the only Mets prospect (if he still qualifies as a prospect) who is a credible candidate to be starting pitcher #5 in 2011. By 2012, Mejia should be ready, if he isn’t already. As I see it, if the Mets do sign a free agent pitcher in the off season, it should strictly be for a 1 year contract.

The exception to the above are truly elite players. Lets say that we’re having this conversation a year from now and Ike Davis went .280/.320./480 with 90 RBIs, but we can sign Albert Pujols who just finished a typical Albert Pujols season. The Mets should sign Pujols to a 5 year/$150 million contract.

Cliff Lee? Pass. He’s 32 years old, and his performance since he has been traded has been poor. He’ll want the the type of contract that the Mets will regret.

The Mets do need to something in the free agent market to address 2B. They may also need to something to address starting pitching, but they also may not need to go down that path if Mejia has some impressive outings in the coming weeks. In both cases, the Mets really need to stay away from long contracts.

by Russ on Sep 5, 2010 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

How about Kuroda

or Webb to an incentive based contract, neither of them will command major money. And with all the things that can go wrong from year to year with pitchers I would say building some starting depth is something we absolutely need. I mean lets say we go into next season relying on Meija and he’s not ready, then what? We put Gee in that spot? Misch? And then what if Dickey and Niese regress? You’re suddenly looking at a pretty pedestrian rotation.

mediocrity thy name is Wilpon- jdon

by Gina on Sep 5, 2010 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

How long is the contract?

Also, are you talking about Brandon Webb? Either would be worth a shot with a short term contract, especially if the contract is incentive based. I’m just very wary of 3+ year contracts with players who are surrounded with question marks.

by Russ on Sep 5, 2010 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions

De La Rosa or Vasquez

for 2 years max is what I want. The former is very underrated and the latter is coming off of a season widely regarded as ugly with his W/L and ERA. A move to the NL and Citi should help.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
In lobby for Josh Byrnes/Chip Hale as Mets 2011 GM/Manager.

by Ogre39666 on Sep 5, 2010 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Kuroda would be a very good fit

solid, durable and might take some pressure off Pelfrey.

"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"

by feslenraster on Sep 5, 2010 9:20 PM EDT up reply actions

oops check that

I forgot Kuroda was hurt in 2009.

"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"

by feslenraster on Sep 5, 2010 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions

He's also 35...

Save Jenrry Mejia!
In lobby for Josh Byrnes/Chip Hale as Mets 2011 GM/Manager.

by Ogre39666 on Sep 5, 2010 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions

everybody says

that pitchers need a certain number of minor league innings, particularly non-college, of course. the mets always ignore these axioms, and never develop anyone good. Gooden was the exception. they seem to regard it as a rule

by jdon on Sep 5, 2010 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions

There are exceptions to rules

Look, Mejia should have spent the entire season in AA and AAA, and he should be making his first MLB appearance next week, but Jerry and Omar were Jerry and Omar. Mejia is here now, and he’ll have a few more starts. Let’s see if Mejia is good enough to be a MLB starter now, or if he should start next season in Buffalo.

by Russ on Sep 5, 2010 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions