In the wake of yesterday's announcement of Savannah's star-studded Opening Day lineup, the Double-A Binghamton Mets released their roster today to far less prospect fanfare.
In Wally Backman's first year as manager, the B-Mets crop is headlined by a couple of lefty hurlers who appeared for the club last season in Robert Carson and Mark Cohoon while underrated righty Josh Stinson will get the Opening Day start. Righties Brandon Moore and 2010 dud Brad Holt will round out the rotation.
On the diamond, Jordany Valdespin will man short, sandwiched by fellow prospects 3B Eric Campbell and 2B Josh Satin. Kai Gronauer will handle things behind the plate. The talent pool drops off pretty significantly from there though; and for those hoping to see Matt den Dekker make the jump to Bingo you'll likely have to wait as he seems ticketed for an early season stint in St. Lucie. In short, the pitching's all right but runs might be tough to come by out at NYSEG Stadium this summer.
However, the most interesting takeaway from all this is the absence of 2008 first-rounder and alleged second baseman of the future, Reese Havens. And for those projecting Havens to break camp with the Triple-A club, he didn't make that cut either. Instead, it's highly likely that Havens will stay behind in extended spring training as he was a beat behind the rest of camp thanks to offseason rib surgery addressing long-term oblique problems. Additionally, don't be too surprised to see Havens begin his 2011 campaign on a short stint with St. Lucie, at least until the snow has melted up in Bingo.