Mets Minor League Daily – August 31, 2015

All your Mets minors needs in one place.

Updated throughout the day and night.

Minor News

If you have any link tips, suggest them to @Astromets31 on twitter and I’ll add them in.

            Check out yesterday’s results here, and the Mets minors Players of the Week here.

            David Conde of Legends On Deck talks about T.J. Rivera’s scorching August, and suggests the Mets should call him up in September – I disagree. I’ve watched a lot of Rivera since the middle of last season, and he gets more seeing-eye singles and soft infield hits than any other player I’ve seen, he has average speed, and he’s average at best with the glove.

            Lynn Worthy of PressConnects says that Akeel Morris is finding his groove at the right time. He’s been great after an initial pair of hiccups with Binghamton, and should at least be sitting in the Mets bullpen as an option by the end of September (in my opinion).

Mets Affiliates Games

Scheduled starters and start times (EST), game notes, and results as they come in

2015 Monday Morning Mets Minors Players of the Week

Image from the Kingsport Mets Facebook Page

August 24-30, 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: The Kingsport Mets stepped it up as a team this week, and nobody more so than their talented shortstop Milton Ramos

Starting Pitcher of the Week: In the non-Steven Matz division, the winner is Thomas McIlraith, who has finished the season as the hottest pitcher on a potentially interesting K-Mets staff.

Relief Pitcher of the Week: Tim Peterson only faced 5 batters this past week, but he struck out 3 and induced a double play groundout from another, which meant he was credited with 2 IP.

Team of the Week: Not only did the Kingsport Mets have the best record among this group, they also clinched a playoff spot.

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, 6/22-28, 6/29-7/5, 7/6-12, 7/13-19, 7/20-26, 7/27-8/2, 8/3-16, 8/17-23

Double-Digit Strikeout Effort From Gee Not Enough Against Round Rock

Las Vegas 51s @ Round Rock Express

August 30, 2015

Dillon Gee @ Anthony Ranaudo

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Las Vegas	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		3	9	1
Round Rock	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	X		5	9	1

W: Patton (1-0, 0.75 ERA); L: Alvarez (2-1, 2.61 ERA); Save: Mendez (5, 2.78 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Dillon Gee (4.87 ERA) – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 10 SO, HR, 99 Pitches (65 Strikes), 3 GO: 5 FO

Scott Rice (1.69 ERA) – 0.2 IP, H, 1 GO

Cody Satterwhite (4.61 ERA) – 0.1 IP, 1 IR – 0 S

Dario Alvarez (L, 2-1, 2.61 ERA) – 0.1 IP, H, 2 R, BB, 1 GO

Zack Thornton (3.57 ERA) – 0.2 IP, H, SO, HBP, 1 GO, 2 IR – 2 S

Anthony Ranaudo (4.34 ERA) – 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 5 SO, HR, 94 Pitches (66 Strikes), 5 GO: 6 FO

Luke Jackson (H, 11, 4.34 ERA) – 0.2 IP, H, R, 2 BB, SO, 1 GO

Jimmy Reyes (BS, 1, 2.40 ERA) – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 GO, 3 IR – 1 S

Spencer Patton (W, 1-0, 0.75 ERA) – 1 IP, H, SO, 1 GO: 1 FO, 1 IR – 0 S

Roman Mendez (S, 5, 2.78 ERA) – 1 IP, H, 2 GO

Batters

Eric Young – 2-4, BB

Daniel Muno – 1-3, 2B (14)

Eric Campbell – 1-2, RBI (18), GIDP

Johnny Monell – 1-4, 2 SO

Kevin Plawecki – 1-4, R

Travis Taijeron – 2-4, R, HR (24), 2 RBI (69)

Matt Reynolds – 1-4, R

Jared Hoying – 1-4, R, HR (22), RBI (57)

Drew Stubbs – 1-4, 2 R, SB (10), SO

Nomar Mazara – 1-4

Ed Lucas – 3-3, R, 2B (16), 2 RBI (45), BB

Joey Gallo – 1-4, R, 2 SO

Brett Nicholas – 2-4, 2 RBI (2), SO

Recap

            The Las Vegas 51s spoiled a great performance from Dillon Gee Sunday evening in Round Rock, losing because they couldn’t convert on their scoring chances against the Express pitching. Gee was masterful against the young Round Rock lineup, and he set a season high with 10 strikeouts, including 2 of young stud prospect Joey Gallo, and 5 in a row at one point. Gee’s changeup has generally been considered his best pitch, and the threat of that pitch allowed him to throw his 90 MPH heat by good fastball hitters all night – again, this included Gallo. He did allow a homerun to Jared Hoying in the 3^rd, but he otherwise limited the hard contact from the Express batters.

            An error from Brandon Allen opened the door for a 1^st inning run for the Express, and it would’t be the only misplayed ball behind Gee on Sunday. Travis Taijeron gave the 51s a 2-1 lead in the 2^nd inning, but that wouldn’t last long, as the Express jumped back in front 3-2 in the 3^rd. The 51s would scratch out a run against the Round Rock bullpen in the 7^th, but the Las Vegas bullpen didn’t do much better in the 8^th, surrendering the go-ahead runs as the 51s fell for a third straight night.

            Las Vegas returns home for a crucial 4-game set with El Paso to start the week. Darin Gorski (10-8, 5.18 ERA) is scheduled to pitch opposite Robbie Erlin (6-6, 6.04 ERA) at 10:05 PM, with 1.5 games separating the two teams within the PCL Pacific Southern division. The end of the series could decide which team goes to the playoffs, or these two teams could end up in the same spot with 4 fewer games left to play. Either way, this is what watching a baseball team all season is all about. Watching your team fend off 1^st place in the final week of the season, with a postseason berth on the line – it will be soooooooooooooooooooooooo… much sweeter if the Mets can hold on and clinch the NL East.

Scoring Highlights

B-Mets Blow Two Leads And Then Lose In Extra’s

New Hampshire Fisher Cats @ Binghamton Mets

August 30, 2015

Casey Lawrence @ Robert Gsellman

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
New Hampshire	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	2		5	11	0
Binghamton	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	7	1

W: McFarland (3-3, 1.84 ERA); L: Kolarek (2-3, 3.96 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Robert Gsellman (3.06 ERA) – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 SO, 83 Pitches (54 Strikes), 11 GO: 2 FO

Akeel Morris (2.63 ERA) – 2 IP, BB, 3 SO, 29 Pitches (18 Strikes), 2 GO

Jeff Walters (1.76 ERA) – 1 IP, H, 2 GO: 1 FO

Adam Kolarek – 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, 3 GO

Casey Lawrence (4.55 ERA) – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, HR, 99 Pitches (66 Strikes), 4 GO: 6 FO

Chad Girodo (0.62 ERA) – 2 IP, H, 4 SO, 31 Pitches (21 Strikes), 2 GO

Blake McFarland – 2 IP, BB, SO, 4 GO: 1 FO

Batters

L.J. Mazzilli – 1-5, SB (5), 2 SO

T.J. Rivera – 2-5, R, 2B (10)

Josh Rodriguez – 1-4, RBI (74), BB, SO

Vince Belnome – 2-3, 2 R, HR (1), RBI (13), BB, SO

Jonathan Galvez – 1-4, 2B (19), 2 SO

Dwight Smith – 2-4, R, 2 RBI (42), BB

Melky Mesa – 2-5, R, SO

K.C. Hobson – 1-4, R, SAC, SO

Kevin Nolan – 1-4, 2B (20), BB

Jack Murphy – 1-4, 2B (12), 3 RBI (20), SF, SO

Derrick Chung – 2-4

Shane Opitz – 1-4, SAC, SO

Jorge Flores – 1-4, R

Recap

            The Binghamton Mets got a boost to their rotation with the return of Robert Gsellman Sunday afternoon, but he was unable to guide them past the Fisher Cats in this game. Gsellman was pitching for the first time since 8/19, and he picked up right where he left off, inducing groundouts and weak contact early in the AB. He was working so efficiently that despite having a 5-inning limit (per B-Mets radio announcer Tim Heiman, and seems logical since he’s nearing his season innings limit), Pedro Lopez let him go out there for a 6^th inning, although he might’ve regretted that. Gsellman would surrender a run during his final inning of work, squandering the slim lead he was given.

The B-Mets put a run on the board in 3 straight innings, but they could only scratch out two singles after the 4^th. Akeel Morris came in to relieve Gsellman first, and he was great over his two scoreless innings, allowing only a walk to the one batter he probably didn’t want to face (Dwight Smith Jr.). Jeff Walters kept the scoreless streak alive in the 9^th, but Adam Kolarek could not recover after allowing a leadoff but single in the 10^th. New Hampshire would eventually load the bases against Kolarek with just one out, and then Jack Murphy doubled home two game-winning runs before Kolarek rebounded to retire the final two batters of the frame.

The Binghamton Mets head to Reading for a series with the 1^st place Fightin Phils to start the week, and have the fortune of Steven Matz (1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitching for them against Jake Thompson (3-1, 1.97 ERA). Matz’s first rehab appearance with Binghamton was a smashing success, and he’ll be on a 80-pitch count limit tomorrow.

Scoring Highlights

Mets Minor League Daily – August 30, 2015

All your Mets minors needs in one place.

Updated throughout the day and night.

Minor News

If you have any link tips, suggest them to @Astromets31 on twitter and I’ll add them in.

            Check out yesterday’s results here.

            The Las Vegas 51s placed Darrell Ceciliani on the 7-day DL yesterday after he appeared to pull a hammy during Friday night’s game – see GIF here. Brooks Conrad was activated in his place.

            Ali Sanchez and Adonis Uceta were promoted to the Kingsport Mets as the GCL Mets season came to an end. Eucebio Arias and Joe Shaw were moved to the 60-day DL.

            It was reported that the Mets traded Matt Koch and Miller Diaz to the Diamondbacks for Addison Reed. They both appear to be relievers at best themselves, so it’s a smart trade for the Mets. Koch is currently the better prospect, showing a solid low-90’s fastball that will hit 94-96 MPH on occasion (more when he was in the pen) and a nice slider. Diaz was still starting with St. Lucie and he has some swing-and-miss potential, but he’s been wild too wild to be consistent thus far in his minors career.

            Andrew Kahn of MiLB wrote up a nice piece on the K-Mest clinching the Appy division title.

Gershon Rabinowitz of Baseball Essential wrote about how Mets prospect Desmond Lindsay is living out his dream.

Check out some game action of Luis Guillorme in this YouTube video.

Mets Affiliates Games

Scheduled starters and start times (EST), game notes, and results as they come in

Early Struggles From Bowman Sinks Las Vegas

Las Vegas 51s @ Round Rock Express

August 29, 2015

Matthew Bowman @ Chi Chi Gonzalez

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Las Vegas	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		1	7	0
Round Rock	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	X		4	10	1

W: Gonzalez (7-7, 3.67 ERA); L: Bowman (7-16, 5.43 ERA); Save: Scheppers (2, 0.75 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Matthew Bowman – 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 BB, HR, 96 Pitches (60 Strikes), 11 GO: 6 FO

Zack Thornton (3.61 ERA) – 1 IP, H, SO, 1 GO

John Church (4.09 ERA) – 0.2 IP, H, SO, 1 GO

Dario Alvarez (0.90 ERA) – 0.1 IP, 1 IR – 0 S

Chi Chi Gonzalez – 6 IP, 5 H, R (0 ER), 2 BB, 3 SO, 96 Pitches (58 Strikes), 9 GO: 3 FO

Will Lamb (H, 4, 5.96 ERA) – 1 IP, SO, 1 GO: 1 FO

Ross Ohlendorf (H, 5, 4.17 ERA) – 1 IP, BB, 2 SO, 1 GO

Tanner Scheppers (S, 2, 0.75 ERA) – 1 IP, 2 H, 2 GO

Batters

Eric Young – 1-2, 2 BB, SB (3), CS

Dilson Herrera – 1-3, SAC, SO

Eric Campbell – 1-4, 2 SO

Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 2-3, R, BB

Brandon Nimmo – 2-3, SO, 2 CS

Drew Stubbs – 1-3, 2B (5), 2 BB, SB (9)

Nomar Mazara – 1-4, 2 RBI (10), BB

Ed Lucas – 2-4, R

Joey Gallo – 2-4, R, HR (14), 2 RBI (32)

Ryan Rua – 2-4, R

Carlos Corporan – 1-4

Beamer Weems – 1-4, R, SO

Recap

            Las Vegas fell to Round Rock by a score of 4-1 for a second straight night, but maintained their 2.5 game lead over El Paso because they lost as well. 51s starter Matthew Bowman would allow a two out rally in the 2^nd and then a two run bomb to Joey Gallo in the 3^rd inning, and that was more than enough for Round Rock starter Chi Chi Gonzalez and company. After a great run to finish the 2014 season with Las Vegas, Bowman has put together a forgettable 2015, and you can’t just blame his struggles on the high offense environments in the PCL, he’s just been bad.

Bowman still left Las Vegas in a good position to win, and then Zack Thornton, John Church, and Dario Alvarez combined for 2 innings of scoreless relief behind him, but the 51s base runners kept running into outs. They went 1-4 on stolen base attempts, which stunted a few rallies before they had a chance to start. Overall, It was not a good effort for Las Vegas, who lost Darrell Ceciliani, who has been one of their hottest hitters to the DL Saturday, after he appeared to pull a hammy Friday night. Just like the B-Mets, the Las Vegas offense has been all in or bust lately instead of consistently putting up the 5-6 runs they need to go on a winning streak – they have a scoring average of 5.33 runs/game, but have lost 6 games during which their pitching has allowed 4 R or less since 8/13.

This series wraps up Sunday evening at 7:05 PM, with Dillon Gee (7-3, 5.02 ERA) scheduled to face off with Anthony Ranaudo (7-5, 4.42 ERA), and Las Vegas looking to snap a 2-game skid.

Scoring Highlights