2015 Monday Morning Mets Minors Players of the Week

Image from this 2013 interview

June 22-28, 2015

            Keeping track of the hottest minor leaguers in the Mets farm system, I will be rotating through the lower level teams covered here.

Hitter of the Week: Travis Taijeron. Kirk and Recker are two obvious choices, but they’re basically major leaguers, so it was down to Diehl and Taijeron, but Taijeron offered a more complete package.

Starting Pitcher of the Week: There were too many good choices this past week, but I thought Michael Fulmer looked great in his start.

Relief Pitcher of the Week: Giving the nod to Christian Montgomery, who struck out 6 of 11 batters faced last week.

Team of the Week: The Las Vegas 51s had some huge performances offensively, and they only lost once

Previous weeks: 4/9-19, 4/20-26, 4/27-5/3, 5/4-10, 5/11-17, 5/18-24, 5/25-31, 6/1-7, 6/8-14, 6/15-21

Las Vegas 51s 45-32

5-1 record

Pitchers

Matthew Bowman – 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 4 SO 96 Pitches (64 Strikes), 9 GO: 4 FO; He’s allowed just 5 ER over his last 3 starts, stretching 20.1 IP, with 21 H and 6 BB for a .637 OPS allowed, but just 7 K’s and a 4% swinging strike rate

Darin Gorski – 5.2 IP, 5 H, R, 3 BB, 4 SO, HR, 100 Pitches (58 Strikes), 4 GO: 3 FO; Gorski continued his up-and-down PCL career with another good start at home, where he has a 2.29 ERA in 7 starts, and just a .654 OPS allowed

Rainy Lara – 6 IP, 7 H, R, 3 BB, 4 SO, HR, 85 Pitches (56 Strikes), 3 GO: 1 FO; Lara has now had 2 straight solid starts for Las Vegas, allowing just 3 ER over 11 IP

Tyler Pill – 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 SO, 95 Pitches (52 Strikes), 4 GO: 3 FO; He was very poor in Fresno, but has allowed 2 ER or less in 3 of his last 4 starts, with a 10% swinging strike rate Recap

Chase Bradford – 2.2 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), BB, 4 SO; Up to 6 straight scoreless appearances stretching 7.2 IP, with 9 K: 1 BB

Chase Huchingson – 2.1 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 SO; Hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 19^th with Binghamton, a span stretching 15.2 IP, with a 32.3 K%: 8.1 BB%, and 10 hits allowed

Cody Satterwhite – 5 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 4 SO; Threw multiple innings in both of his outings last week

Zack Thornton – 3.1 IP, H, 5 SO; He’s cooled off after an excellent May (0.84 ERA/.398 OPS allowed), but had 4 straight scoreless appearances last week

Batters

Brandon Allen – 7-18, .389/.429/.500, 2 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SF, 5 SO; He has an 1.100+ OPS over his last 50 PA

Alex Castellanos – 7-23, .304/.360/.435, 4 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 8 SO; 11 doubles and 2 homeruns over his last 21 games played

Daniel Muno – 9-21, .429/.500/.429, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, HBP, 5 SO; slashing .439/.511/.463 since returning to the 51s on June 15^th

Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 6-19, .316/.417/.842, 9 R, 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, HBP, SH, SB, 6 SO; He has a hit in 8 of 10 games since returning with 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, and 6 K

Anthony Recker – 8-19, .421/.476/.947, 6 R, 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, BB, HBP, 5 SO; 5 homeruns, 4 walks, 11 strikeouts in 37 PA since returning = 54% TTO

T.J. Rivera – 7-21, .333/.364/.524, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, HBP, 2 SO, 2 GIDP; He’s 20-53 since being held hitless for 12 games

Travis Taijeron – 7-17, .412/.524/.765, 5 R, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, HBP, 6 SO, CS; He’s actually done better overall on the road (.930 home OPS/1.028 road OPS), and his splits vs. righties aren’t terrible (.877 OPS vs. R/1.174 OPS vs. L)

Wilfredo Tovar – 7-19, .368/.400/.368, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB, SO, GIDP, CS; Not going to win any silver slugger awards, but a high OBP + his glove is at least an interesting backup infielder

Binghamton Mets 38-36

3-4 record

Pitchers

Luis Cessa – 12 IP, 17 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 12 SO, 184 Pitches (126 Strikes), 12 GO: 4 FO; Cessa has now allowed 1 R or fewer in 5 of his last 6 starts, with a 1.59 ERA over 39.2 IP, and a 10.9 K%: 4.6 BB% Recap 1, Recap 2

Michael Fulmer – 7 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 SO, 87 Pitches (56 Strikes), 8 GO: 2 FO; He’s on a roll over his last 3 starts, with a 0.52 ERA over 17.1 IP, and a 25.8 K%: 6.1 BB% Recap

Robert Gsellman – 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 102 Pitches (61 Strikes), 5 GO: 5 FO; Has a 2.88 ERA over his last 4 starts (25 IP), thanks to a 15.7 K%: 8.8 BB%, and a .609 OPS allowed Recap

Gabriel Ynoa – 14.2 IP, 12 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 SO, HBP; 1.66 ERA over his last 3 starts (21.2 IP), but only 7 strikeouts during that span Recap 1, Recap 2

Dario Alvarez – 2.2 IP, 4 SO; Struck out half the batters he faced over 2 perfect appearances, and has a 0.00 ERA over 8 June appearances

Adam Kolarek – 3.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 SO; Kolarek had a rough two weeks that started at the end of June, but he has a 0.93 ERA over his last 7 appearances, with 11 K over 9.2 IP

Batters

Brock Peterson – 9-23, .391/.462/.783, 3 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, SB, 8 SO, GIDP; 26-72 with 8 doubles and 4 homeruns in 20 games since joining the B-Mets

St. Lucie Mets 37-37

3-4 record

Pitchers

John Gant – 7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 SO, 10 GO: 3 FO; Has a 2.23 ERA in 5 starts since joining the St. Lucie Mets (32.1 IP), with a 28.4 K%: 6.7 BB%, and a .579 OPS allowed

Casey Meisner – 7 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 6 SO, 103 Pitches (65 Strikes), 10 GO: 1 FO; Finishes his SAL career with a 2.13 ERA over 76 IP, as he allowed 1 R or less in 8 of 12 starts

Logan Taylor – 7 IP, 6 H, R, 3 SO, HBP, 8 GO: 7 FO; Despite 6 ER in his start before this one, Taylor has a 2.70 ERA over his last 5 starts (30 IP) thanks to a .571 OPS allowed, but he has a 13 SO: 11 BB ratio during that time

Robert Whalen – 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (0 ER), 4 BB, 4 SO, 8 GO: 2 FO; His numbers have been trending the wrong way since April, but he’s still a 21-year old having success in his first taste of the FSL – 2.1 years younger than the average FSL player per BB-Ref

David Roseboom – 2.2 IP, 2 H; Promoted to St. Lucie and kept his scoreless streak going, it’s up to 15.2 IP over 15 appearances, and he has 24 of 26 scoreless appearances overall

Josh Smoker – 3 IP, 5 SO, Struck out 5 of 9 batters faced this week, hope to get a look at him with Binghamton during the second half

Batters

Jeff McNeil – 12-30, .400/.471/.533, 8 R, 2 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 3 SB, SO, CS; He has three 4-hit games since May 23^rd, and is 41-116 overall during that stretch, with an OPS just under .900

Dominic Smith – 11-30, .367/.424/.467, 2 R, 3 2B, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO, GIDP; Playing great defense at 1B, and maintaining an ~.900 OPS over his last 200 PA

Savannah Sand Gnats 39-33

1-2 record

Pitchers

Martires Arias – 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 13 SO, 97 Pitches (66 Strikes), 6 GO; That’s a 21% swinging strike rate over his last 2 starts (per gameday), and a 32.7 K% over his last 5 starts

Batters

Luis Guillorme – 1-5, .200/.636/.200, 2 R, 6 BB, 2 SB; Drew a walk in 5 straight PA’s at one point this past week, and has provided consistent production at the top of the Sand Gnats lineup

Vicente Lupo – 3-9, .333/.333/1.111, 2 R, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 5 SO; His plate appearances have ended in a TTO 52% of the time this season, and he has a 39.5 K%

John Mora – 4-10, .400/.400/.700, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, SO; He has 6 doubles and 5 triples over his last 17 games (72 PA) for a .932 OPS

Jean Rodriguez – 3-8, .375/.444/.750, 3 R, 2B, 3B, BB, SB, 2 SO; He’s been cold in June, but has a hit in 7 of 9 games

Brooklyn Cyclones

6-3 record

Pitchers

Tyler Badamo – 12.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 10 SO, HR; Badamo was on a limited innings limit with the GCL Mets last year, but he was too good for that league, and is off to a great start for the Cyclones Recap 1

Matt Blackham – 7 IP, 3 H, BB, 7 SO; Excellent first pro start, inducing a 15% swinging strike rate

Craig Missigman – 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 SO; He was wild and never got comfortable with Kingsport last year, but he’s off to a quick start with Brooklyn

Christian Montgomery – 3.1 IP, 6 SO, 11 BF; Another reliever who was very wild with Kingsport last year, but struck out 26.4% of batters faced

Alex Palsha – 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 SO, HBP; The Cyclones closer is off to a quick start

Carlos Valdez – 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 SO; Back in Brooklyn after struggling with Savannah to start the season

Batters

Michael Bernal – 8-28, .286/.375/.643, 8 R, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 10 SO, CS; Manager Tom Gamboa says he’s taking better at bats this year

Jeffrey Diehl – 9-21, .429/.429/.810, 2 R, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, 7 SO, CS; The 21-year old is off to a quick start in his second chance with Brooklyn, but plate discipline numbers are still less than promising

Michael Katz – 6-25, .240/.300/.520, 6 R, 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, SB, 2 SF, 7 SO; Hit his first two pro homeruns in consecutive days over the weekend

Vinny Sienna – 12-33, .364/.436/.455, 6 R, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 5 BB, SB, SAC, 6 SO; Siena has really impressed Gamboa so far, and is expected to hit in the 2-hole for Brooklyn for the foreseeable future

Lunch with the Stars! CoRoT-2a: Star Blasts Planet With X-rays, for lunch time reading: http://t.co/RqKYqZ2xkM #NASA pic.twitter.com/eu94nPDyUy

— Chandra Observatory (@chandraxray) June 26, 2015