New York Mets Daily Farm System Report - Results from the night of Friday July 2, 2010.
The Usual Suspects
AAA - Buffalo (43-39)
- RF Fernando Martinez: 1-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, K (.250/.300/.417); homer was his fifth
- 1B Val Pascucci: DNP (.225/.344/.550)
- LF Lucas Duda: 2-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB (.328/.409/.759); fifth-straight, boys and girls
- 1B Mike Jacobs: 2-4, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, BB (.257/.308/.463); Jacobs has his own streak going: four straight games with a walk
- SP Pat Misch: 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR (8-4, 3.40 ERA, 103.1 IP, 107 H, 18 BB, 58 K, 8 HR); more solid work from the All-Star
AA - Binghamton (42-39)
- CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: 1-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (.271/.320/.469); homer came in the first game
- LF Sean Ratliff: 2-6, R, 2 2B, K (.301/.325/.616)
- 3B Nick Evans: DNP (.291/.360/.514); sat out of both games for some reason
- 1B Josh Satin: 1-6, R, BB, K (.284/.355/.403)
- SP Chris Schwinden: 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR (4-5, 4.53 ERA, 45.2 IP, 52 H, 9 BB, 33 K, 3 HR); pitched a complete game shutout
- SP Scott Shaw: 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR (4-6, 6.92 ERA, 67.2 IP, 82 H, 34 BB, 42 K, 13 HR); having a terrible year, the home runs are a major problem
- RP Roy Merritt: 0.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR (1-3, 4.79 ERA, 47.0 IP, 46 H, 14 BB, 36 K, 4 HR); really pitching poorly since his demotion back to Bingo
Hi-A - St. Lucie (39-38)
- 2B Jordany Valdespin: 4-8, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI, K, SB (.317/.349/.485)
- SS Wilmer Flores: 3-8, 3 RBI, K, CS (.450/.463/.450); still no extra-base hits
- 1B Stefan Welch: 1-6, R, 2B, K (.296/.363/.443)
- CF Juan Lagares: 0-7, R, K SB (.167/.205/.194); wondering if he was moved up too quickly
- LF-RF Joey August: 1-6, K (.299/.360/.402)
- SP Eric Beaulac: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR (3-2, 3.45 ERA, 62.2 IP, 57 H, 33 BB, 39 K, 0 HR); didn’t pitch poorly but still don’t like that strikeout-to-walk ratio
- SP Brandon Moore: 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 0 HR (1-0, 3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 1 HR); a capable outing
- REHAB ALERT: DH Carlos Beltran: 2-3, 2B, RBI (.423/.448/.538); only played the first game, and that as the DH
Lo-A Savannah (45-34)
- 3B Jefry Marte: 1-4, R, K (.234/.315/.348)
- RF Cesar Puello: 1-4, RBI, 2 K (.259/.339/.317)
- CF Pedro Zapata: 3-4, 2B, RBI, CS (.291/.352/.381); one of the few St. Lucie batters to have a notworthy day
- SS Wilfredo Tovar: 2-4, R, 2B, SB (.393/.469/.464); ditto
- SP Darin Gorski: 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 6 K, 3 HR (2-4, 3.79 ERA, 57.0 IP, 57 H, 19 BB, 51 K, 6 HR); extreme flyball tendencies bit him yesterday
SS-A Brooklyn (9-6)
- CF Darrell Ceciliani: 1-3, 2 BB (.414/.460/.638); must have heard me complaining about his lack of walks the other day—five since
- RF Cory Vaughn: 1-4, BB, K (.268/.364/.589)
- 1B Jeff Flagg: 2-4, RBI, BB, K, SB (.322/.369/.525); knocked in Brooklyn’s only run
- SP Mitchell Houck: 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 HR (2-0, 0.87 ERA, 20.2 IP, 15 H, 8 BB, 16 K, 0 HR); great start was wasted
RK Kingsport (3-8)
- CF ZeErika McQueen: 5-5, 2B, 4 R (.400/.434/.480); best game as a pro, probably
- 3B Aderlin Rodriguez: DNP (.225/.279/.500)
- C Nelfi Zapata: DNP (.222/.364/.259)
- RF Javier Rodriguez: 3-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI (.395/.442/.658); another great day
- SP Jake deGrom: 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR (0-1, 6.75 ERA, 6.2 IP, 13 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HR); vast improvement over his first outing
Star of the Night
Lots of options today. Do I go with Lucas Duda, the man on the home run streak? How about ZeErika McQueen, who had five hits? Nah, I’m going with Javier Rodriguez, the Mets’ 2008 second-round pick, who knocked in five runs and hit a homer for the second-straight game. Rodriguez has obvious physical talent. He’s tall, lean, looks like a ballplayer. But he was extremely rough around the edges—calling them "edges" might be an exaggeration—coming out of Puerto Rico, and he showed nothing in the GCL before this season. And he’s been hitting a ton, decimating Appalachian League pitching so far this season. I still think you can question his approach at the plate until he sees stronger pitching in A-ball, but he’s off to a tremendous start, and I’m guardedly optimistic right now.
Binghamton reliever Roy Merritt is the Goat. Scott Shaw didn’t do the B-Mets any favors in the second game yesterday, but it was still winnable until Merritt got his mitts on it.
System Roundup
- All right, I have to ask: Is Lucas Duda ever going to stop? Duda hit a home run in his fifth-straight game and also added a double and a pair of walks as the Bisons defeated Rochester, 12-4. There was plenty of offense to go around; Justin Turner had three hits, and Mike Jacobs knocked in three with a pair of doubles. In fact, every hitter in Buffalo’s lineup had at least one hit. Pat Misch wasn’t great, but he was good enough, giving up four runs (two earned) over seven innings. Boxscore
- Bingo played two against Portland on Friday, and the two games were about as different as can be. The B-Mets turned to two starters who have kind of been in the doghouse lately, Chris Schwinden and Scott Shaw. One surpassed expectations, the other kept on disappointing. Schwinden was the surprise, pitching a complete game shutout in the first game, winning 10-0. He held the Portland lineup to just two hits, not walking a soul. Meanwhile, the offense was incredible. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Raul Reyes, and Jonathan Malo all hit homers, and Sean Ratliff contributed a pair of doubles (Boxscore. The second game didn’t go as well, and while the hitters didn’t do much, the pitching didn’t give them a chance. Shaw was poor again, going just three frames, and the bullpen was even worse. Edwin Ramirez gave up a run over a pair of innings, but Roy Merritt and Emary Frederick combined to give up six over less than two innings of work. Boxscore
- Not to be outdone by Binghamton, St. Lucie also played two on Friday, and, unlike Bingo, they swept Fort Myers. The first game went into extra innings, a 1-1 tie. But Rafael Fernandez reached base on an error with one out in the eighth, and Jordany Valdespin doubled. Wilmer Flores than singled home Fernandez, and Carlos Beltran brought home Valdespin on a sac fly to put the Mets up by two. And it’s a good thing, too, because Jose Bierd allowed one run back in the bottom of the inning. The final: Mets, 3, Miracle 2 (Boxscore). The second game was nearly as close despite a 7-3 final. The Mets took a 3-3 tie into the top of the seventh but scored four runs that inning. Ryan Mollica put the Mets on top with an RBI single and was followed by RBI base hits by Valdespin and Flores. A passed ball to bring home the fourth run served as the cherry. Boxscore
- Darin Gorski allowed three home runs and six runs over five innings, and Greenville beat the Sand Gnats, 8-3. As has been the case for most of the season, the Sand Gnats defense once again let them down, committing three more errors. Bright spots? Not too many. Wilfredo Tovar had two more hits despite one of the errors being his. Pedro Zapata went 3-for-4 with a double. Nick Santomauro didn’t go 0-for-4 with two strikeouts for a change, contributing a double of his own instead. Boxscore
- The Cyclones lost a heart-breaker to Staten Island, 2-1 in 10 innings. Jeff Flagg singled home Cody Holliday in the first inning, and that was all the scoring Brooklyn managed over the remaining nine innings. Mitchell Houck pitched seven strong innings once again, lowering his ERA for the season to 0.87. Boxscore
- Yesterday I asked, "Is Kingsport terrible or what?" Well, last night they had 22 hits and scored 13 runs, beating Pulaski 13-1. I’m feeling a tad sheepish right now. ZeErika McQueen had five hits, Ismael Tijerina had four, Javier Rodriguez and Albert Cordero had three apiece. Jake deGrom two relievers held Pulaski to just one run and five hits. Boxscore
- The GCL Mets’ game against the GCL Nationals was suspended with the Nats up, 5-1.Boxscore