*All results from games played on Monday, August 25th, 2014
Triple-A - Las Vegas 51's (78-60)_______________________________________
ROUND ROCK 3, LAS VEGAS 9 (Box)
This is likely my last prospect report of the season--vacation starts this Thursday--so I want to leave some parting thoughts on some of this season's notable prospects.
- SS Matt Reynolds: 1-5, 2 R, 2 RBI; Reynolds has far exceeded my expectations this year, having rolled through Binghamton and continuing that success in Vegas. Expectations should be tempered for him going forward, though. My concerns are that he's probably a well below average defender at short, a large part of his success this year is due to inflated batting averages on balls in play, and his strikeout and walk numbers in Vegas were not great. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the bench at some point next year, hopefully as a better version of what Justin Turner was for the Mets.
- 3B Josh Satin: 3-5, R, RBI; It turned out I was right to be skeptical of Satin as the short half of a first base platoon. I did not, however, expect him to crash back down as hard as he did. It looks like Satin may end up as a Quad-A type who bounces around for a few years providing organizational depth for various teams.
- DH Bobby Abreu: 1-4, RBI, BB, K
- RF Andrew Brown: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI
- CF Cesar Puello: 1-3, R, 2 K; I've let it be known how I feel about Cesar so I won't rehash it all again here. Hopefully this isn't the last recap I write with him in it.
- C Kevin Plawecki: 2-4, R; Plawecki is on a steady path to the majors after dominating Double-A and holding his own since his promotion to Triple-A. It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle him next year if he continues to hit, especially now that d'Arnaud seems to have settled in. It wouldn't shock me if he takes over the back up catching duties later on next year given how poor the production has been from that position this year.
- 1B Brandon Allen: 2-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB
- LF Cory Vaughn: 0-4, 2 K
- 2B Anthony Seratelli: 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, K
- RHP Matthew Bowman: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Double-A - Binghamton Mets (82-52)_____________________________________
NEW BRITAIN 1, BINGHAMTON 4 (Box)
- CF Brandon Nimmo: 1-2, 2 BB; I love Brandon Nimmo. I'm definitely biased when it comes to him. I'm not sure if it's because of his unorthodox background, his affable nature, his ability to draw a walk, or just the fact that I've seen him in person a couple of times but whatever it is, he's my guy. And you couldn't have realistically scripted a better season for him. He's answered the two biggest questions I had coming into the year: could he cut down on the strikeouts and would the power the develop? The strikeouts have certainly come down and the power is beginning to develop. Hopefully Nimmo will be settling into the majors come this time next season.
- 2B Dilson Herrera: 1-4, K; There's probably no prospect in the system who has done more for his status than Dilson Herrera. Coming into the season the projection was a potential major-leaguer at second but with question marks about whether there was too much swing and miss in the bat. But now, after destroying Double-A pitching as the youngest position player in the Eastern League, I think the question has gone from, "Is he a major-leaguer?" to "How good of a major-leaguer can this kid be?" I'm still skeptical on Herrera because I haven't seen him in person and he hasn't gotten the love from the national outlets that I crave. I imagine that will change this offseason as the prospect lists start rolling in. Herrera's ascension has been one of--if not the--best stories of this minor league season.
- 3B Brian Burgamy: 0-3, BB, K
- 1B Jayce Boyd: 1-3, R, 2B; Coming on strong of late but I think the same questions about his power remain and will ultimately keep him from playing at the highest level.
- RF Kyle Johnson: 2-4, RBI, K
- DH T.J. Rivera: 2-3, 2 R, 2B, BB, K
- RF Travis Taijeron: ; Hits his way through every level. The strikeouts continue to be problem, though. He's my bet for 2015's guy who crushes because PCL and everyone starts clamoring for his promotion.
- SS Wilfredo Tovar: 0-3, RBI
- RHP Rainy Lara: 7.2 IP, 5 H, R, ER, BB, 4 K
Advanced-A - St. Lucie Mets (31-32 / 71-61)_____________________________________
CHARLOTTE 8, ST. LUCIE 5 (Box)
- 3B Jeff McNeil: 0-5, K
- SS Gavin Cecchini: 0-3, BB, K; The recent hot streak has made this year all the better for Cecchini, who came into the year with pretty low expectations. I think at the start of the season people's general opinion on Cecchini was "meh" and now it's evolved to thinking there may be something here. I actually might be a little more optimistic than most on Cecchini, thanks in no small part to the solid reports we got from Toby Hyde regarding his defense and his strong strikeout and walk numbers this year.
- 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 3-5, R
- RF Jared King: 2-4, 3B, RBI
- DH Phil Evans: 0-4
- CF Gilbert Gomez: 1-4, 3B
- LF Maikis De La Cruz: 3-4, 2 R, 2 2B, BB
- LHP Angel Cuan: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, 2 K
Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (38-25 / 82-47)__________________________________
NO GAME (SCHEDULE)
I'll admit to being down on Dominic Smith. I know he's young and I know Grayson isn't the best park for left-handed hitters but we haven't gotten one good report on him all year. Add to that the bad body and the fact that he's a first baseman and it leaves me skeptical about his future. Would love to be proven wrong.
Short-A - Brooklyn Cyclones (38-31)__________________________________
BROOKLYN 1, STATE ISLAND 2 (Box)
- DH John Mora: 0-4, BB, 2 K; About as good a season as Mora could have hoped for. Came stateside, earned a two level promotion, did very well at that new level. I imagine he'll start next season in Savannah.
- C Adrian Abreu: 2-5, 2B, K
- 3B Anthony Chavez: 1-4, 2B, 3 K
- LF Michael Conforto: 2-5, RBI, K; Why this organization has stuck Conforto in the NYPL since he signed is a bit beyond me. I feel like it's inarguable that he would have been better served facing more advanced pitching and adjusting to it. Perhaps it won't matter and by this time next season he will be leading the B-Mets to the playoffs.
- 3B Jhoan Urena: Apparently ejected prior to the game starting.
- 2B Tyler Moore: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
- 1B Pedro Perez: 1-5, K
- DH Michael Bernal: 1-3, BB, 2 K
- RF Tucker Tharp: 1-3, 2 K
- SS Alfredo Reyes: 0-4, R, 2 K
- LHP Alberto Baldonado: 4 IP, 3 H, R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Rookie - Kingsport Mets (33-31)__________________________________
JOHNSON CITY 5, KINGSPORT 3 (Box)
- SS Luis Guillorme: 1-5, R
- 2B Jean Rodriguez: 1-4, R, BB, K
- DH Vicente Lupo 1-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
- 3B Eudor Garcia: 0-4
- RF Wuilmer Becerra: 1-4, K; I'm excited about Becerra. Definitely happy to see him work his way into the top-10 prospects in the system discussion.
- LF Oswald Caraballo: 1-3, BB
- 1B Zach Mathieu: 1-4, 2B, 2 K
- C Jose Garcia: 1-4
- CF Ivan Wilson: 0-2, K; Wilson needs to figure out a way to harness his game and limit those strikeouts. There's a prospect in here but there's a lot of work still to be done.
Rookie - GCL Mets (31-25)__________________________________
GCL CARDINALS 4, GCL METS 0 (Box)
I have nothing intelligent to add about the GCL. If you're hitting, please keep hitting next year. If you're not hitting, you should probably start hitting soon. Oh, and Tyler Badamo is interesting.
Star of the Year
Dilson Herrera is my star of the season.
Goat of the Year
Too harsh to go with Domingo Tapia? The answer is probably Cesar Puello but ((insert excuse here))
Welp, unless one of the affiliates make it to a championship game--certainly a possibility this year--that's it for me. Thank you for reading and thank you for commenting. It's been fun.