Mets Daily Farm Report - 4/16/13: Nimmo, Flores, and d'Arnaud continue to impress

AAA - Las Vegas 51's (6-6)_______________________________________

COLORADO SPRINGS 19, LAS VEGAS 5 (Box)

This game certainly won't go down in the history books as one of the better ones in Mets Minor League history. The 51's committed 6 errors to go along with the 18 hits and 7 walks Colorado Springs would rack up, so the 19 runs may actually have been a bit flattering. There were some real positives at the plate though, most notably the 3 walks from Travis d'Arnaud and a 3-hit night from Wilmer Flores.

• C Travis d'Arnaud: 1-2, 3 BB, K, HR(1), R, 2 RBI, E
• 3B Wilmer Flores: 3-5, K, R, E
  
• 2B Reese Havens: 0-5, E
• CF Juan Lagares: 2-5, 3B, 2 RBI
• LF Zach Lutz: 1-4, BB, 2B
  
• DH Josh Satin: 0-4, BB, K
  
• RF Andrew Brown: 2-5, 2B, E
• RHP Armando Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K, 0 BB

AA - Binghamton Mets (6-5)_____________________________________

PORTLAND 7, BINGHAMTON 4 (Box)

It was a rough night overall for the B-Mets, as they managed just 4 hits and struggled on the mound in a 7-4 loss to the Sea Dogs. That includes starter Luis Mateo, who made his anti-climactic Double-A debut in this one. The 23-year-old was shaky all evening, balking on two separate occasions. Even worse, Mateo left the game after three with an apparent arm injury:

Lopez said Mateo's issue was in his right forearm/elbow. Mateo got checked out by the team doctor, but he may also get an MRI to be safe.

— Lynn Worthy (@PSBLynn) April 16, 2013

Here's BP prospecter Hudson Belinsky:

A little bit more detail on Luis Mateo: threw three pitches in the top of the fourth inning, all fastballs in the low 80s. This after...

— Hudson Belinsky (@hudsonbelinsky) April 16, 2013

...running the FB up to 95 in the inning prior. Looked to be in pain, catcher walked out after third pitch, then he left the game.

— Hudson Belinsky (@hudsonbelinsky) April 16, 2013

Sounds bad; more to come on that soon, I'm sure. The highlight of the night for Mets fans was probably Juan Centeno breaking up the Portland no-hitter with 2 outs in the 7th inning, hitting a 2-run double that kept the game surprisingly close. Unfortunately, Chase Huchingson let the game get away in the 9th though, allowing 3 more runs to assure the Mets would drop to 6-5. Centeno provided another highlight in getting tossed after Huchingson was called for a balk in that inning, the third called against the B-Mets on the evening.

• SS Wilfredo Tovar: 0-3
  
• LF Darrell Ceciliani: 0-4, 3K
• 2B Danny Muno: 0-3, BB, 2 K
• RF Cesar Puello: 1-3, BB, 2 K, 2B, RBI
• CF Alonzo Harris: 0-3
  
• C Juan Centeno: 1-3, K, 2B, 2 RBI
  
• RHP Luis Mateo: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 K, 3 BB, HR; Based on the news above, don't be surprised to see Mateo hit the DL as well...bummer
  
• LHP Chase Huchingson: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 K, BB, HR
• INJURY UPDATE - Cory Mazzoni's mystery 'arm soreness' has been diagnosed as elbow neuritis, otherwise known as tennis elbow. The severity of the injury is unclear; however the team has placed Mazzoni on the 7-day DL.

Hi-A - St. Lucie Mets (8-3)________________________________________
ST. LUCIE 6, CHARLOTTE 3 (Box)

The Mets system looked better at the lower levels than it did up top yesterday, and that was due in large part to Domingo Tapia. The righty managed 8 strikeouts while only walking 1, keeping the Mets in the game until they'd explode for 6 runs in the 6th inning. Pedro Feliciano threw an inning in this game as well, and the St. Lucie radar gun had his fastball sitting at 86-87 for most of the outing.

• 1B Aderlin Rodriguez: 0-3, RBI, E
  
• SS Matt Reynolds: 0-3, BB, 2 K, R
• DH Gilbert Gomez: 2-3, R
  
• C Cam Maron: 1-3, BB, K, RBI, R
  
• CF Travis Taijeron: 1-3, K, R
• RHP Domingo Tapia: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 8 K, BB, HR
• LHP Pedro Feliciano: 1 IP, H, BB, K

Lo-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (6-5)__________________________________

SAVANNAH 8, GREENSBORO 5 (Box)

The Gnats made it a 2-2 night for the system jumping on Greensboro early. By the time they turned the ball back over to Logan Taylor in the 4th, they had already built up a 6 run lead. Taylor gave 3 back right away, but 2 more Savannah runs in the 5th pretty much put the game to bed.

• CF Brandon Nimmo: 3-5, HR(1), 5 RBI, R
  
• DH Kevin Plawecki: 1-4, 2B, 2 R
  
• SS Phillip Evans: 1-5
  
• 1B Jayce Boyd: 2-5, K, 2B
• C Jeffrey Glenn: 2-3, 2 BB, 2 R
• RHP Logan Taylor: 4 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 K, BB

2013 Amazin' Avenue Mets Top 50 Prospect Rankings

Travis d'Arnaud earned the no. two spot in the latest AA Mets Prospect Rankings. (Photo Credit: Chris McShane)

Star of the Night

There are a few players probably more deserving of the star of the night last evening, but for my money it has to be Travis d'Arnaud. The homerun was nice, but his 3 walks bring him up to 12 in just 43 plate appearances this season. Considering that his walk rate was the one major concern I had about him at the time of the TRAID, this is just wonderful to see.

Goat of the Night

I'll pass the goat of the night to the 5 Las Vegas players who committed 6 errors in their 19-5 loss to Portland. The pitching staff didn't look all that great to begin with, and our defense essentially made them work 2 extra inning on top of it. Well done guys*.

*Ironically, Travis d'Arnaud committed 1 of those errors. Star and goat in the same night? Sounds like he's ready for the Mets.