Mets Daily Farm Report - 4/14/13: Celebrate Lita's Birthday With Some XTreme Pitching Performances

AAA - Las Vegas 51's (4-3)_______________________________________

COLORADO SPRINGS 4, LAS VEGAS 5 (/11) (Box)

Walk off! Walk off! Walk off!

Zack Wheeler took the mound for the 51's, and everyone tuned in. He threw 5.1 innings of mixed result baseball, allowing six hits and three runs (including a Tyler Colvin home run to start off the 2^nd inning), but striking out eight batters while walking none. A comedy of errors and a Jamie Hoffmann three-run home run bailed out Wheeler in the bottom of the second, and put the 51's on top 3-1, but the Sky Sox kept nibbling. A Corey Dickerson triple and Nolan Arenado double in the 4^th plated another run, and a Ben Paulsen triple plated Arenado in the 6^th, tying the score. The 51's scored another run in the 7^th on a Juan Lagares home run to inch ahead of the Sky Sox 4-3, but Tyler Colvin homered again in the top of the 7^th, tying the game once again- Landon Powell's bases-loaded groundout to end the 6^th inning loomed large there. In nine innings, no winner could be determined, so we got some extra baseball. The inning began with Juan Lagares drawing a walk. With pinch-hitter Travis d'Arnaud at bat, Coty Woods threw a wild pitch, allowing Lagares to get over to second. This led to a d'Arnaud walk, and a Wilmer Flores bunt (what a team player!). With runners at second and third, Josh Satin was unable to get the job done, stranding the pair. Reese Havens, who came into the ballgame in the 6^th as part of a double switch, lined a single to centerfield, winning the game and salvaging the series.

• CF Juan Lagares: 2-5, R, BB, RBI, HR (2)
• 2B Wilmer Flores: 2-5, 2B, E (2)
• RF Andrew Brown: 0-3, R, 3 BB, 2 K
• 1B Josh Satin: 0-5, R, BB, K
• 3B Zach Lutz: 0-3, BB, K
• 3B Reese Havens: 1-2, RBI
• LF Jamie Hoffmann: 1-4, R, BB, K, 3 RBI, HR (1)
• RHP Zack Wheeler: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 8 K, HR; Reportedly he's over a blister that was nagging him over his first two starts. However, it's worth noting that he's suffered from finger-related issues of this nature more than a couple times in his pro career.
  
• RHP Jeurys Familia: 2 IP, 1 H
• RHP Armando Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K

AA - Binghamton Mets (6-4)_____________________________________

NEW HAMPSHIRE 3, BINGHAMTON 6 (Box)

Binghamton scored early and scored often against Fisher Cats starter and 18^th century gentleman, Austin Bibens-Dirkx. In the 1^st inning, with bases loaded, Allan Dykstra hit a sac fly. In the 2^nd inning, Blake Forsythe hit a solo homer. In the 3^rd inning, Cory Vaughn hit a three-run dinger. In the 5^th inning, with bases loaded, Cesar Puello hit a single that drove in a run; it could've been more, as Allan Dykstra was gunned down at the plate by Fisher Cat left fielder Kevin Pillar. On the pitching side of the ledger, Rafael Montero put together a decent outing. He lasted only 5 innings, and allowed two earned runs (including a Brad Glenn home run), struck out six while walking only one. Mark Cohoon relieved Montero for two innings, allowing a few hits but not allowing any runs. Jack Leathersich faced two batters, walking one and striking out the other, and Jeffrey Walters pitched the 9^th, earning his second save of the year.

• CF Darrell Ceciliani: 0-3, R, K, HBP
• SS Danny Muno: 0-3, BB
• DH Allan Dykstra: 0-1, R, 2 BB, K, RBI
• LF Cory Vaughn: 1-3, R, BB, K, 3 RBI, HR (1)
• RF Cesar Puello: 1-4, 3 K, RBI
• C Blake Forsythe: 1-2, R, BB, RBI, HR (1)
• RHP Rafael Montero: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, HR
• LHP Jack Leathersich: 0.2 IP, BB, K
• INJURY UPDATE - Cory Mazzoni will apparently miss his next start due to 'arm soreness'. File this in the 'Long-term Reliever' column. Taking the spot start will be St. Lucie starter Luis Mateo; even a day's work in Double-A shows you that the organization thinks highly of the 23-year-old fireballer.

Hi-A - St. Lucie Mets (7-3)________________________________________

ST. LUCIE 8, BRADENTON 2 (Box)

St. Lucie won the series, trouncing the Marauders 8-2 on a balmy 84-degree, partly cloudy Sunday afternoon. The St. Lucie Mets scored in the 1^st and 2^nd innings, took a little break, and scored another in the 3^rd. Starter Angel Cuan, who had been keeping Bradenton off the board until that point while striking out six batters, gave up a solo homer to clean-up hitter Jose Osuna to start off the bottom of the 4^th, and allowed an additional run to cross the plate on a series of hits and a hit batter. That would be his only blemish, and the only runs the Marauders would score for the rest of the game. The St. Lucie offense was not content with three runs, though. They would score another run in the 6^th and 7^th, and would put up a three spot in the 8^th, on the power of a Brian Harrison home run.

• DH T.J. Rivera: 1-3, R, 2 BB, K, RBI, SB (1)
• 2B Robbie Shields: 0-5, RBI
• SS Matt Reynolds: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, RBI
• 1B Brian Harrison: 3-4, R, 2 RBI, HR (1), CS (1)
• LF Travis Taijeron: 0-4, R, 2 K, RBI
• C Albert Cordero: 0-4, BB
• CF Gilbert Gomez: 2-5, R, K, 2 SB (2,3)
• RHP Angel Cuan: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, HR

Lo-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (5-5)__________________________________

ROME 2, SAVANNAH 1 (Box)

Despite a well-pitched game by Rainy Lara, the Sand Gnats lost to the Rome Braves. Savannah out-hit the Braves 8 to 4, but Rome made those hits count more. The Sand Gnats took the lead first, scoring on a Eudy Pina fielder's choice in the bottom of the 3^rd. They would hold the lead until the 6^th, when Rome scored two runs. With bases loaded and no outs, Ronald Luna hit a groundball to third baseman Cole Frenzel, who threw it to catcher Kevin Plawecki and prevented a run from crossing the plate. The next batter, Josh Elander, hit a single that plated two runs, and chased Lara from the game. His replacement, Bret Mitchell, struck out the next two batters to keep the score at 2-1 and give Savannah a chance to make a comeback. The Sand Gnats tried, but were unable to: in the 7^th, they got a man on first and second, but were unable to cash in and in the 8^th, they had men on the corners, but were unable to cash in. Shae Simmons came in to pitch for 9^th Rome and shut down Savannah, striking out two en route to his fifth save.

• CF Brandon Nimmo: 2-4, K, CS (1)
• 1B Jayce Boyd: 0-4
• C Kevin Plawecki: 0-4
• LF Stefan Sabol: 0-3, BB, SB (3)
• 3B Cole Frenzel: 2-3, R, BB
• SS Phil Evans: 3-4, K
• RF Eudy Pina: 1-4, 2 K, RBI
• RHP Rainy Lara: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 7 K, E (1)

2013 Amazin' Avenue Mets Top 50 Prospect Rankings

Ranking in the top ten since 2010, the 26-year-old Havens failed to appear in the latest AA Mets Prospect Rankings. (Photo Credit Chris McShane)

Star of the Night

Pitchers at all levels struck out a large amount of batters (Lara: 7, Cuan: 8, Montero: 6, Wheeler: 8), but A) either allowed an equal number of hits, B) a few runs, or C) lasted only a few innings. As a result, I am not going to award any of them the star for tonight; while good, nobody truly stood out with an eye-catching performance. Instead, I'll give it to Reese Havens, whose 11^th inning heroics won the ballgame.

Goat of the Night

Nobody performed particularly bad last night, which is a good thing. Kevin Plawecki and Jayce Boyd, the cogs of the Sand Gnat offense (hitting .410/.455/.667 and .368/.467/.553, respectively), were shut down last night, and as a result, Savannah lost a tight game and the system just missed a sweep for the day. They can each wear a horn apiece.

More from Amazin' Avenue:

• Rainy Lara: Sleeper Prospect for 2013?
• Is Wilfredo Tovar still a sleeper prospect?
• Alonzo Harris: From the 39th round to the Show?
• How to evaluate pitching in Brooklyn