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Mets Daily Prospect Report, 8/7/16: Wheeler, and Crismatt, and Szapucki, oh my!

By Steve Sypa
MLB: Miami Marlins at New York Mets
Zack Wheeler
Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

*All results from games played on Saturday, August 6, 2016

Triple-A - Las Vegas 51s (57-58)

LAS VEGAS 10, FRESNO 8 (Box)

Josh Zeid, as one would expect, did not perform particularly well, giving up seven runs on eight hits over four-plus innings. His Fresno counterpart, Edison Frias, was just as bad, giving up eight runs on ten hits over three-plus innings. After Chase Hutchinson allowed a run in the sixth, the game ended up being tied 8-8. In the bottom of the eighth, T.J. Rivera doubled with the bases loading, plating L.J. Mazzilli and Niuman Romero, putting the 51s on top 10-8. Josh Smoker came in to pitch the ninth and put the game to bed, striking out- swinging- all three batters he faced

Double-A - Binghamton Mets (52-60)

HARTFORD 8, BINGHAMTON 6 (Box)

The B-Mets jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first thanks to a Matt Oberste RBI single and a Victor Cruzado three-run homer, but that lead was squandered in the fifth, when the Yard Goats plated five runs and turned a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 lead. Binghamton made it closer, scoring a run in the eighth and a run in the ninth, but they were unable to get over the hump.

Advanced-A - St. Lucie Mets (57-50 / 22-18)

ST. LUCIE 4, BRADENTON 3 (Box)

Hey, look who’s back! Jim Henderson pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out a batter. With the score tied 1-1, St. Lucie unloaded for three runs in the fifth, with David Thompson driving in one and Tomas Nido driving in two. Casey Delgado began the ninth with a double, prompting closer Corey Taylor to be brought in to shut the door. He allowed two Marauders to score before recording the last out of the game, making things much hairier than need be.

Oh, yeah- Zack Wheeler pitched against live batters in an actual game for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last March. He pitched an inning, throwing eleven pitches for strikes and six for balls. He allowed a hit and walked a batter. He might have gotten another inning, but an hour rain delay nixed any such plans, if they existed. His fastball sat in the low-to-mid 90s, hitting 95 MPH on the gun multiple times.

Low-A - Columbia Fireflies (51-61 / 15-27)

ROME 2, COLUMBIA 0 (Box)

My guy- he is officially one of my guys, now- Nabil Crismatt had an impressive Columbia Fireflies debut, allowing two runs over six plus innings, allowing four hits (one was a home run), walking none, hitting a batter, and striking out seven. Crismatt, unfortunately, got tagged with the loss because the Rome Braves blanked the Colaflies.

Short-A – Brooklyn Cyclones (24-24)

TRI-CITY 4, BROOKLYN 1 (Box)

I mean, what else is there to say about Szapucki right now? Yeah, you can point out that his handedness and arm slot are going to give him an advantage against other players his age, and that MCU Park favors pitchers over hitters, and that few NYPL hitters have seen a slider like his, but in the end, it’s all moot: Thomas Szapucki is legit. The Valley Cats- one of the best offenses in the league, simply couldn’t touch him. He maintained a no-hitter through the first five innings of play, walking three and striking out eleven. He struck out the side in the third and again in the fifth, recording nine of his strikeouts swinging and two looking. I noticed the southpaw seemed to very much favor working the outer half of the plate in his first two starts; in last night’s game, Szapucki worked inside to quite a few left-handers and right-handers, recording what I count as 12 outs- either by flyball, groundball, foul, or strikeout- with pitches inside. With an elevated pitch count, Tri-City finally got to him in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs and ending his night. Taylor Henry and Ty Williams pitched an inning each and allowed a run apiece. Brooklyn, which scored a quick run in the second, was held scoreless for the rest of the game, and dropped back to the .500 mark for the season.

Rookie – Kingsport Mets (15-28)

BURLINGTON 12, KINGSPORT 5 (Box)

That’s two days in a row now that the Burlington Royals have spanked our Kingsport Mets. Jake Simon let the Royals jump all over him, and his replacements Luis Carreno and Max Kuhns didn’t do much better themselves.

Rookie – GCL Mets (16-21)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

Star of the Night

Thomas Szapucki

Goat of the Night

Rainy Lara

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