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| Michael Paez (left), Jordan Humphreys (center), and Adonis Uceta (right) |
Reviewing the first-half of the Columbia Fireflies
The
Columbia Fireflies started the season with a five-game win streak, but then
spent most of the next six weeks hovering just above .500. Then everything
started clicking on both sides of the ball for Columbia and the team went on a
ridiculous run to the top of the division, only to finish a half-game shy of
the playoff spot they would’ve clinched. The team was 5.5 games out of first on
5/26 and then went on a 16-4 streak to leap frog into 1st place.
They ran out of magic during the final weekend in Charleston, but they gave
anyone following along an exciting finish to the half. Also, if this had been
the Majors, there would be countless posts about how ump’s
arguably cost the Fireflies the opening game against Greenville earlier
that week, as the Drive were the team the ended up winning the division by a
half-game.
There were some inconsistent
performances and injuries early on in the season, as some players were
adjusting to playing full season ball for the first time, and the two returning
players (Dash Winningham and Milton Ramos) got off to slow starts at the plate.
But the team had two guaranteed wins nearly every turn through the rotation, as
they went 20-2 with Merandy Gonzalez and Jordan Humphreys on the mound, so they
were able to avoid any long losing streaks. Also, Gene Cone was a consistent
on-base presence at the top of the lineup, with Michael Paez and Dash
Winningham taking turns driving him in. Those two finished with 40+ RBI’s
apiece and Paez collected 31 XBH in the first half, so he was often in scoring
position for Dash too.
As for the top-two position player
prospects on the team, 18-year old Andres Gimenez has been a sparkplug at
times, always batting in the two-spot, while playing very good defense at
shortstop. 20-year old Desmond Lindsay took awhile to get going, but he was
really showing off his tools by the end of the half, and his range in center
field has looked very nice.
Records reset for the second half
Thursday, and the Fireflies are likely to lose “3-4 players”
to promotion, per Manager Jose Leger, so the second half will be a new
challenge for Columbia. The most obvious candidates for promotion are Jordan
Humphreys, Merandy Gonzalez, and Michael Paez, but a few relievers merit
consideration too (see the Fireman award comment). Dash and Gene Cone are
probably ready for a promotion too, but there might not really be room for them
in St. Lucie.
First-half
MVP: Michael Paez. One of the top hitters in the SAL this
year and a consistent force from the 3-spot in Columbia’s offense.
Cy: Jordan Humphreys. Merandy’s been a co-Ace for Columbia
this year, but the stats favor Humphreys in almost every category – I don’t
just mean the stats favor Humphreys over Merandy, I mean the stats favor
Humphreys over the rest of the SAL.
Fireman: Adonis Uceta. Matt Blackham and Max Kuhns have been
lights out this year too, so this was the only tough decision of the three.
Gabriel Llanes - 76.2 IP, 81 H, 32 R (25 ER), 16 2B, 1 HR,
12 BB, 37 K (24 K/Sw), 146 GB: 55 FB: 45 LD: 8 PU, 994 Pitches (685 Strikes),
109 Swinging, 135 Called, 11% SwStr, 19.8% Whiff/Swing, 13 Pitches/IP, 316 BF,
2.93 ERA, 3.58 FIP
Llanes has faced
lefties and righties 158 times each: 26 K: 5 BB, .034 ISO vs. RHB, 11 K: 7 BB,
.096 ISO vs. LHB. He’ll occasionally throw a pitch that drops out of the zone,
but for the most part his low-90’s fastball-slider-changeup mix doesn’t have a
lot of movement, which is why he’s not a big swing-and-miss guy. That said, the
stuff does have enough late movement (usually down) to make Llanes effective,
which is why he’s posted a 57.5% groundball rate to date. The question is
whether more advanced hitters will square his stuff up with more consistency
than SAL batters or if they keep pounding the ball into the ground at a near
elite rate.
Merandy Gonzalez - 69.2 IP, 50 H, 16 R (12 ER), 7 2B, 3 3B,
3 HR, 13 BB, 65 K (42 K/Sw), 80 GB: 53 FB: 33 LD: 25 PU, 910 Pitches (649
Strikes), 13.1 P/IP, 12.4% SwStr, 273 BF, 1.55 ERA, 3.14 FIP
Merandy made two
starts with no official pitch info, so no whiff/swing (pitch info from
Fangraphs seems reliable). He’s dominated lefties and righties pretty equally
by OPS, but in different ways: 27.8 K%: 4.9%, .108 ISO vs. RHB, 18 K%: 4.5 BB%,
.059 ISO vs. LHB. This reflects that his curve, which he throws more often to
righties, is the better out pitch for him. He also throws a mid-90’s fastball
that is reported to get up to 97 MPH, and his change is a potential average or
better pitch as well. One NL scout who saw him this year put a #3 starter upside
on him, per the Cola broadcast. Merandy likes to change eye levels and work to
both sides of the plate, and he’s shown a good ability to hit the corners.
Jordan Humphreys - 69.2 IP, 41 H, 12 R (11 ER), 11 2B, 3 3B,
2 HR, 9 BB, 80 K (59 K/Sw), 69 GB: 52 FB: 31 LD: 21 PU, 1004 Pitches (706
Strikes), 154 Swinging, 161 Called, 15.5% SwStr, 27.2% Whiff/Swing, 14.8
Pitches/IP, 257 BF, 1.42 ERA, 2.27 FIP
Humphreys and Merandy
are both fastball-curveball-changeup pitchers, and Humphreys has been reported
to get his heater up to 95 MPH this year, but they have very different pitching
styles. Humphreys attacks like a classic power arm, throwing his heater at the
top of the zone, daring guys to swing, and dropping in a pretty nasty hook,
which he’ll sometimes bounce. Per Jarrett Seidler of Baseball Prospectus, some scouts like his change more than his
curve, and he does have a higher strikeout rate vs. lefties: 31.9 K%: 3.7 BB%,
.086 ISO in 135 PA vs. LHB, 30.3 K%: 3.3 BB%, .102 ISO in 122 PA vs. RHB. He
hasn’t allowed more than 2 runs in any one start, and he’s only allowed as many
as 2 runs in three of his starts.
Harol Gonzalez - 65.2 IP, 70 H, 31 R (28 ER), 12 2B, 1 3B, 6
HR, 102 TB, 22 BB, 49 K (32 K/Sw), 98 GB: 49 FB: 38 LD: 20 PU, 936 Pitches (616
Strikes), 11.2% Swinging strike rate, 283 BF, 4.11 ERA, 4.50 FIP
Harol had three shaky
outings over his first five starts, but hasn’t allowed more than 2 runs in a
start since (2.04 ERA over 39.2 IP). His fastball can reach the low-90’s, and
he’ll mix in some breaking balls, but it’s the changeup that stands out for
Harol G, which is probably why he’s had more success against lefties so far
this year: 17.6 K%: 3.7 BB%, .094 ISO, .653 OPS in 136 PA vs. LHB, 16.7 K%:
11.1 BB%, .162 ISO, .842 OPS in 144 PA vs. RHB. He’ll have to prove himself at
Double-A in a year or to start 2019, but he’s an arm worth keeping an eye on.
Blake Taylor - 56.1 IP, 54 H, 34 R (25 ER), 13 2B, 2 3B, 6
HR, 89 TB, 28 BB, 52 K (35 K/Sw), 83 GB: 36 FB: 28 LD: 18 PU, 886 Pitches (571
Strikes), 11.4% Swinging strike rate, 253 BF, 3.99 ERA, 4.82 FIP
Taylor issued multiple
walks in 8 of 10 starts during the first half, and he issued one walk in both
of those other starts, so it’s not hard to identify his biggest problem. He
does get a good number of swinging strikes, which reflects how much movement he
can get on his secondary stuff, but guys with 11+% walk rates in the SAL often
have to move to the pen down the line.
Gary Cornish - 19.1 IP, 20 H, 9 R (9 ER), 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR,
34 TB, 2 BB, 15 K (12 K/Sw), 32 GB: 12 FB: 12 LD: 8 PU, 288 Pitches (199
Strikes), 26 Swinging, 59 Called, 9% SwStr, 18.6% Whiff/Swing, 14.9 Pitches/IP,
81 BF, 3.26 ERA, 3.17 FIP
After serving time for
a 50-game suspension, Cornish started his season on June 1st and
he’s made 3 starts to date. He’s mostly a 4-seam (low-90’s, t-95), curveball
pitcher, but the Cola broadcast has said he’s working on adding a sinker into
the mix more, which will be more upper-80’s. Nice start for Cornish after he
posted a 44 K: 3 BB ratio over 25 IP out of the Cyclones pen last year, but
he’s a bit too advanced for this level already, and he’s already 23.
Thomas Szapucki - 16.1 IP, 16 H, 7 R (7 ER), 6 2B, 23 TB, 5
BB, 11 K (7 K/Sw), 21 GB: 13 FB: 15 LD: 4 PU, 278 Pitches (176 Strikes), 27
Swinging, 39 Called, 9.7% SwStr, 19.7% Whiff/Swing, 17 Pitches/IP, 71 BF, 3.86
ERA, 3.39 FIP
Arguably the Mets top
starting pitcher prospect, Szapucki’s season got off to a later start than
expected because he was diagnosed with a shoulder impingement during Spring
Training. He hasn’t shown his best stuff yet, but he was still too much for
Charleston to handle over his final two starts of the half.
Colin Holderman - 15.2 IP, 10 H, 11 R (8 ER), 3 2B, 2 HR, 19
TB, 3 BB, 17 K (14 K/Sw), 16 GB: 13 FB: 7 LD: 4 PU, 250 Pitches (150 Strikes),
32 Swinging, 37 Called, 12.8% SwStr, 28.3% Whiff/Swing, 16 Pitches/IP, 65 BF,
4.60 ERA, 4.27 FIP
Holderman made a
splash when he struck out 11 over 6 scoreless innings of one-hit ball during
his first start of the year, but then had to leave early in two of his next
three starts with an apparent injury, and he has been on the DL since.
Jake Simon - 15.1 IP, 14 H, 9 R (8 ER), 2 2B, 1 HR, 19 TB, 7
BB, 12 K (9 K/Sw), 25 GB: 5 FB: 6 LD: 4 PU, 245 Pitches (147 Strikes), 21
Swinging, 44 Called, 8.6% SwStr, 20.4% Whiff/Swing, 16 Pitches/IP, 63 BF, 4.70
ERA, 4.87 FIP
Simon is 88-91 from
the left side with a nice curve and projection for more velocity to come from
his 20-year old arm. He’s been moved to the Cyclones roster for the start of
their season, but he should be back to Columbia soon unless he struggles. He
was nearly flawless outside of 2 innings for Columbia (4 runs scored in both,
came back-to-back and then he tossed a scoreless 4th), and he took a
2-hitter into the 6th during his last start with Columbia.
Relievers
Adonis Uceta - 30.1 IP, 13 H, 6 R (6 ER), 1 2B, 2 3B, 18 TB,
14 BB, 36 K (29 K/Sw), 24 GB: 25 FB: 11 LD: 7 PU, 491 Pitches (330 Strikes), 79
Swinging, 64 Called, 16.1% SwStr, 29.7% Whiff/Swing, 16.2 Pitches/IP, 119 BF,
1.78 ERA, 2.74 FIP
Uceta really emerged
as The Dude in this pen over the last month of the half: 0 R allowed over his
last 11 appearances (16.2 IP, 22 K: 5 BB, 4 H, 59 BF, .251 OPS). Outside of a 4
R appearance right before that stretch, he was very good to start the season
too, but he had a different mound presence by the end of the half. Even during
the SAL All-Star game, as the toughest hitters in the SAL dribbled their way to
a bases loaded situation, Uceta never looked phased. He struck out 3 during his
inning of work to strand the bases loaded and keep the game tied. He’s been
coming into tough situations all season and bailing teammates out, stranding 14
of 16 inherited runners total.
Matt Blackham - 28.2 IP, 23 H, 8 R (8 ER), 4 2B, 2 3B, 31
TB, 14 BB, 41 K (34 K/Sw), 27 GB: 15 FB: 17 LD: 4 PU, 514 Pitches (335
Strikes), 87 Swinging, 89 Called, 16.9% SwStr, 35.4% Whiff/Swing, 17.9
Pitches/IP, 120 BF, 2.20 ERA, 2.55 FIP
Mid-90’s heat should
get him to the upper levels of the system, but he’ll have to stay healthy
(hopefully the arm injuries are behind him). Walk rate for the half wasn’t too
good, but he walked just 4 batters over his last 9 appearances (12 IP, 50 BF),
so that’ll be something to follow in the second half.
Taylor Henry - 26.1 IP, 29 H, 10 R (10 ER), 6 2B, 1 3B, 3
HR, 46 TB, 8 BB, 20 K (11 K/Sw), 38 GB: 24 FB: 17 LD: 7 PU, 367 Pitches (235
Strikes), 44 Swinging, 52 Called, 12% SwStr, 24% Whiff/Swing, 13.9 Pitches/IP,
115 BF, 3.42 ERA, 4.62 FIP
Henry finished the
half with a streak of six-straight scoreless appearances, and he’s generally
been reliable this year, but he hasn’t done much to stand out yet.
Max Kuhns - 25.2 IP, 14 H, 9 R (9 ER), 2 2B, 16 TB, 10 BB,
38 K (25 K/Sw), 23 GB: 16 FB: 9 LD: 4 PU, 420 Pitches (263 Strikes), 49
Swinging, 101 Called, 11.7% SwStr, 30.2% Whiff/Swing, 16.4 Pitches/IP, 102 BF,
2.10 ERA, 2.15 FIP
Kuhns finished the
half on the DL after dominating for two months: .413 OPS vs. RHB, .434 OPS vs.
LHB. 14 of his 17 appearances were scoreless, which includes a streak of 10
straight scoreless appearances (15.1 IP), and 9 appearances during which Kuhns
allowed 0 hits.
Joseph Zanghi - 22.2 IP, 28 H, 15 R (10 ER), 3 2B, 1 HR, 34
TB, 11 BB, 30 K (24 K/Sw), 27 GB: 16 FB: 15 LD: 8 PU, 351 Pitches (242
Strikes), 59 Swinging, 62 Called, 16.8% SwStr, 32.8% Whiff/Swing, 15.5
Pitches/IP, 109 BF, 3.97 ERA, 3.15 FIP
Sits low-90’s from the
right side and was showing good control until a 4-walk appearance at the end of
the month.
Austin McGeorge - 12.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 2B, 1 3B, 13
TB, 4 BB, 16 K (15 K/Sw), 17 GB: 9 FB: 3 LD: 2 PU, 174 Pitches (120 Strikes),
46 Swinging, 20 Called, 26.4% SwStr, 46% Whiff/Swing, 13.7 Pitches/IP, 53 BF,
1.42 ERA, 2.29 FIP
The righty was
promoted after just one month with the Fireflies, and he’s been just as
reliable since joining St. Lucie. For the season, lefties are just 3-35 against
him with 14 K: 5 BB and 0 extra base hits in 40 PA.
Darwin Ramos - 11 IP, 23 H, 9 R (7 ER), 4 2B, 1 3B, 29 TB, 4
BB, 10 K (8 K/Sw), 23 GB: 6 FB: 10 LD: 3 PU, 199 Pitches (123 Strikes), 29
Swinging, 24 Called, 14.6% SwStr, 29.3% Whiff/Swing, 18.1 Pitches/IP, 56 BF,
5.73 ERA, 2.90 FIP
The 21-year old righty
was listed on Brooklyn’s opening day roster, but he showed enough
swing-and-miss potential while with Columbia that he could be back this year.
They have him listed in their rotation for now, so we’ll have to see how the
Mets plan to use him.
Joel Huertas - 8.1 IP, 12 H, 10 R (10 ER), 5 2B, 17 TB, 4
BB, 6 K (3 K/Sw), 13 GB: 5 FB: 7 LD: 4 PU, 124 Pitches (77 Strikes), 15
Swinging, 15 Called, 12.1% SwStr, 24.2% Whiff/Swing, 14.9 Pitches/IP, 39 BF,
10.80 ERA, 3.63 FIP
The Mets 16th
round pick from the 2014 draft underwent Tommy John Surgery after a rough start
to the season. He’s never performed up to his potential in the system, but
he’ll still be a 22/23 year old lefty with upside, so he should get more looks
within the org.
Adam Atkins - 7 IP, 11 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 2B, 12 TB, 2 BB, 6 K
(2 K/Sw), 14 GB: 8 LD: 1 PU, 101 Pitches (68 Strikes), 6 Swinging, 17 Called,
5.9% SwStr, 11.8% Whiff/Swing, 14.4 Pitches/IP, 31 BF, 2.57 ERA, 2.77 FIP
The funky side-arming
righty started the year with St. Lucie but was swapped for McGeorge after just
five appearances. He has been very effective against righties this year (.568
OPS allowed on the back of a .355 BABIP), but lefties have SSS killed him at
both levels. Always ROOGY upside with funky side-armer’s, but it’ll be hard for
him to reach the upper levels if he has to be taken out for lefties. That style
of bullpen management is accepted at the major league level, but the Mets have
rarely used minor league bullpen guys like that the past few seasons (Scott
Rice and rehabbing Josh Edgin come to mind as possibly the only exceptions, but
that was in Triple-A).
Cameron Griffin - 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 2B, 9 TB, 3 BB,
6 K (1 K/Sw), 9 GB: 3 FB: 5 LD: 3 PU, 103 Pitches (69 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 25
Called, 2.9% SwStr, 6.8% Whiff/Swing, 16.3 Pitches/IP, 32 BF, 1.42 ERA, 2.68
FIP
Started and ended the
half with Columbia, but spent two months pitching for St. Lucie in between.
Hitters
Gene Cone - 284 PA, 0.242/0.352/0.304, 36 R, 9 2B, 3 3B, 25
RBI, 41 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SF, 52 K, 4 GIDP, 6 SB, 2 CS, 7.6% SwStr, 19.7%
Whiff/Swing, 4 Pitches/PA, 0.305 BABIP, 97 wRC+
Cone has been a very
good defensive outfielder for the Fireflies this year and he’s been a good on
base threat at the top of the Fireflies lineup, but he has almost no hip action
in his swing, which limits his ability to drive the ball. He reminds me of Endy
Chavez, and he appears to have similar upside as a player. I never saw Endy in
the minors (he started his minor league career shortly before I turned 10!),
but he posted a slash line similar to Cone’s current line when he was a 21-year
old in Capital City (the Mets SAL affiliate at the time): .253/.340/.292 with
36 K: 34 BB in 290 PA. His overall line is brought down by a .181 BABIP in 89
PA against LHP.
Michael Paez - 263 PA, 0.290/0.376/0.509, 32 R, 21 2B, 2 3B,
8 HR, 43 RBI, 27 BB, 7 HBP, 5 SF, 56 K, 1 GIDP, 9 SB, 6 CS, 10.9% SwStr, 22.2%
Whiff/Swing, 3.8 Pitches/PA, 0.345 BABIP, 150 wRC+
Paez hasn’t been
getting much attention as a prospect yet, but he’s been one of the top
offensive players in the Mets system to date. You wouldn’t expect much pop from
a 5’9 infielder, but Paez has shown a good ability to pull the ball for power,
with all but two or three of his extra base hits coming to the left of second
base (depends on how strict you want to be about one of his doubles hit to dead
CF). I didn’t really get to see much video of him at Brooklyn, so I’m not sure
what his transformed
swing looked like, but either he made that work for him, or the Mets let
him go back to what he was doing with Coastal Carolina (spray charts from
Brooklyn paint a very different hitter).
Dash Winningham - 262 PA, 0.244/0.294/0.429, 24 R, 11 2B, 11
HR, 46 RBI, 16 BB, 3 HBP, 5 SF, 59 K, 6 GIDP, 1 SB, 3 CS, 12.5% SwStr, 25.5%
Whiff/Swing, 3.7 Pitches/PA, 0.272 BABIP, 103 wRC+
Dash slumped hard for
the last couple of weeks in April but then went on the type of tear you’d
expect from a minor league in the PCL, not in the SAL: 8 doubles, 10 homers
over 133 PA (.314 ISO). Ideally, Dash would be moving up to St. Lucie during
the second half, but with Pete Alonso blocking first base and not looking ready
for Double-A, that seems unlikely. Instead, it’s likely he’ll have to prove
that he can sustain that level of production with Columbia in the second half –
not necessarily the .300+ ISO (though that wouldn’t hurt), but the good power
and improving K/BB rates would be nice too see.
Luis Carpio - 259 PA, 0.257/0.320/0.304, 31 R, 11 2B, 17
RBI, 23 BB, 1 HBP, 5 SF, 40 K, 10 GIDP, 9 SB, 4 CS, 6.8% SwStr, 15.9%
Whiff/Swing, 3.5 Pitches/PA, 0.303 BABIP, 84 wRC+
Carpio got a lot of
attention in Mets prospect circles when
Jeff Paternostro talked him up after getting a rookie-ball look at him, but
then he missed most of 2016 with a shoulder injury (labrum tear that required
surgery), and he hasn’t hit that much yet in 2017. His arm will limit him to
second base, but he’s been a good fielder there this year. He won’t be 20 until
7/11, so there’s still plenty of time for him to right things at the plate, but
he hasn’t done much to stand out there yet this year.
Tim Tebow - 229 PA, 0.224/0.319/0.338, 27 R, 12 2B, 1 3B, 3
HR, 21 RBI, 23 BB, 5 HBP, 66 K, 8 GIDP, 2 CS, 12.9% SwStr, 29.3% Whiff/Swing,
3.7 Pitches/PA, 0.318 BABIP, 95 wRC+
I knew he’d be a big
draw, but I don’t think I realized how many sports news outlets and bloggers
would be looking to report, speculate, or share any little bit of news about
him. I guess everyone is just looking for the easy link clicks, but I wish
they’d write something more original than, “expect the Mets to call him up in
September if they’re out of the race so they can try to cash in on Tebow.” I
don’t even do Google news searches for the Columbia Fireflies articles anymore
because there are often pages worth of new posts about Tebow burying anything
of note.
Desmond Lindsay - 197 PA, 0.190/0.320/0.356, 32 R, 7 2B, 1
3B, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 30 BB, 2 HBP, 2 SF, 60 K, 2 GIDP, 4 SB, 3 CS, 13.7% SwStr,
33.7% Whiff/Swing, 3.9 Pitches/PA, 0.253 BABIP, 100 wRC+
Lindsay recently said
he started
watching old videos from when he was having success and “backtracking” his
swing to get it back to where it was. Whatever he did was working great, as he
was off to a red-hot June before hitting the DL on 6/14. As usual, no official
word on the injury, but I think it would’ve been announced had he re-injured
his hamstring again, and his last official game action involved a home plate
collision that could’ve led to a minor injury.
Milton Ramos - 166 PA, 0.229/0.279/0.288, 15 R, 7 2B, 1 3B,
16 RBI, 11 BB, 1 SF, 1 SAC, 33 K, 7 GIDP, 9 SB, 3 CS, 10.7% SwStr, 23.1%
Whiff/Swing, 3.5 Pitches/PA, 0.289 BABIP, 64 wRC+
Ramos still shows the
defensive ability and occasional offensive upside that led to the Mets drafting
him in the 3rd round of the 2014 draft, but he’s heading for a
seventh straight month with a sub-.700 OPS in the SAL (doesn’t include the
3-game sample from September 2016). He does have a .311/.367/.378 line over his
last 49 PA, so maybe the 21-year old can finally break out at the SAL in the second
half.
Andres Gimenez - 157 PA, 0.268/0.329/0.359, 16 R, 5 2B, 1
3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 8 BB, 5 HBP, 2 SAC, 28 K, 2 GIDP, 2 SB, 4 CS, 9.7% SwStr,
19.2% Whiff/Swing, 3.6 Pitches/PA, 0.321 BABIP, 102 wRC+
Gimenez hasn’t had
many big games at the plate, but he’s found a way to contribute or get on base
nearly every night, and he’s more than holding his own as an 18-year old in
full season ball. Defensively, the kid is a lot of fun to watch and should
stick at shortstop as an above average defender moving forward.
Ali Sanchez - 156 PA, 0.223/0.292/0.266, 20 R, 3 2B, 1 HR,
13 RBI, 12 BB, 2 HBP, 1 SF, 2 SAC, 17 K, 5 GIDP, 2 SB, 2 CS, 5% SwStr, 10%
Whiff/Swing, 3.2 Pitches/PA, 0.246 BABIP, 67 wRC+
Sanchez has thrown out
18 of 35 would-be base stealers and shown steady improvement at the plate
throughout the seaso: .332 OPS, .000 ISO, 4.9 BB% in April (61 PA); .700 OPS,
.035 ISO, 6.6 BB% in May (61 PA); .710 OPS, .143 ISO, 14.7 BB% so far in June
(34 PA). He doesn’t have the strongest arm from behind the plate, but his
movements are very fluid and his throws are consistently accurate, which is why
he’s had such success throwing out runners this season.
Jay Jabs - 137 PA, 0.244/0.321/0.358, 14 R, 8 2B, 2 HR, 16
RBI, 14 BB, 41 K, 1 GIDP, 12.7% SwStr, 29.6% Whiff/Swing, 4.3 Pitches/PA, 0.350
BABIP, 99 wRC+
After a slow start to
the season, Jabs has posted a 0.746 OPS over his last 100 PA, but his
all-or-nothing approach leads to a low contact rate.
Reed Gamache - 101 PA, 0.207/0.297/0.299, 11 R, 3 2B, 1 3B,
1 HR, 11 RBI, 10 BB, 2 HBP, 2 SF, 26 K, 1 GIDP, 1 CS, 10.9% SwStr, 24.5%
Whiff/Swing, 4.1 Pitches/PA, 0.274 BABIP, 76 wRC+
Righty hitting utility
guy worked on his opposite field approach during the first half and was
starting to see some results in June, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes
the year back with Columbia, or at least has a good campaign with Brooklyn.
Jose Miguel Medina - 93 PA, 0.205/0.239/0.216, 12 R, 1 2B, 3
RBI, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 1 SAC, 26 K, 4 GIDP, 3 SB, 1 CS, 16.1% SwStr, 32.3%
Whiff/Swing, 3.5 Pitches/PA, 0.290 BABIP, 34 wRC+
Speedy 20-year old
outfielder played good defense in RF but didn’t hit or walk much during his
month with Columbia. He’s been assigned to Brooklyn, and while he could always
hit his way back to Columbia this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he spends
most of the season with the Cyclones. He also had a cameo with St. Lucie in
May, and he finished with 1 2B, 1 3B, and 2 BB’s in just three games there.
Brandon Brosher - 93 PA, 0.221/0.337/0.442, 11 R, 2 2B, 5
HR, 10 RBI, 10 BB, 4 HBP, 1 SF, 0 SAC, 37 K, 0 GIDP, 4 SB, 1 CS, 16.8% SwStr,
44.1% Whiff/Swing, 4 Pitches/PA, 0.324 BABIP, 125 wRC+
The catching prospect
whose power former Cyclones Manager Tom Gamboa once compared to Mike Piazza’s
is connecting often enough to put up a team-best .221 ISO, with much of that
damage coming during his 8 starts in June (1 2B, 3 HR). From what I can tell,
he’s showing a nice ability to frame pitches, but his framing technique has backfired
a few times, leading to most (if not all) of his 7 passed balls to date. Given
the power upside, it would be nice to see Brosher get a lot more than 2 starts
as the DH in the second half, but I guess that will depend on if Tebow sticks
around and whether or not there is a third catcher on the roster.
Blake Tiberi - 22 PA, 0.167/0.318/0.222, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 4
BB, 5 K, 1 SB, 6.5% SwStr, 18.8% Whiff/Swing, 4.2 Pitches/PA, 0.231 BABIP, 72
wRC+
The Mets 3rd
round pick from 2016 requried Tommy John Surgery earlier this season, but it
shouldn’t knock him out as long as it would a pitcher, so he should be back
sometime in 2018.
Jacob Zanon - 13 PA, 0.500/0.692/0.750, 3 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 4
BB, 1 HBP, 4 SB, 2.1% SwStr, 6.7% Whiff/Swing, 3.6 Pitches/PA, 0.500 BABIP
He’s been out with a
concussion since early April but is heading back to Columbia after a rehab game
with Brooklyn.
Anthony Dimino - 12 PA, 0.700/0.750/0.800, 4 R, 1 2B, 2 BB,
1 GIDP, 1 SB, 1 CS, 3.3% SwStr, 9.1% Whiff/Swing, 2.5 Pitches/PA, 0.700 BABIP
Kept hitting after a
quick promo to St. Lucie but then hit the DL in mid-May.
Ricardo Cespedes - 12 PA, 0.417/0.417/0.500, 1 R, 1 2B, 3
RBI, 3 K, 16.2% SwStr, 27.3% Whiff/Swing, 3.1 Pitches/PA, 0.556 BABIP
Interesting 19-year
old outfielder hurt his leg tripping over a bullpen mound on his way in from
the outfield during his fifth game of the season and no word on when he’ll be
back.
Dan Rizzie - 7 PA, 0.167/0.286/0.167, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 20%
SwStr, 41.7% Whiff/Swing, 3.6 Pitches/PA, 0.250 BABIP
Defense-first catcher
was added to the roster at the end of the month because Ali and Brosher got a
little banged up during the same game.
Recaps
Date – Starting Pitcher
SAL
All-Star Game – Dash Winningham (MVP, 2B, 2 RBI), Michael Paez (1B, R),
Merandy Gonzalez (1 IP, K, 7 Pitches), and Adonis Uceta (1 IP, 3 K) highlights
Recap Count
Merandy Gonzalez (8 + ASG)
Jordan Humphreys (7)
Gabriel Llanes (7)
Harol Gonzalez (5)
Blake Taylor (4)
Gary Cornish (2)
Jake Simon (2)
Thomas Szapucki (2)
Joel Huertas (1)
9 lives: we’ve completed our 9th dive between Saturn & its rings, as simulated here in @NASA_Eyes. More science coming up. #SaturnSaturday pic.twitter.com/Ttd198hwb5— CassiniSaturn (@CassiniSaturn) June 18, 2017
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