Church Struggles, Mets Drop The Finale In Bradenton

St. Lucie Mets @ Bradenton Marauders

May 4, 2017

Andrew Church @ Pedro Vasquez

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
St. Lucie	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0		4	10	2
Bradenton	3	2	2	0	1	0	1	0	X		9	12	2

W: Vasquez (2-2, 2.64 ERA); L: Church (1-3, 5.10 ERA)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Andrew Church (L, 1-3, 5.10 ERA) – 3 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 ER), 1 2B, 2 HR, 14 TB, 1 BB, 2 K (2 K/Sw), 2 GB: 5 FB: 4 LD: 3 PU, 75 Pitches (50 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 13 Called, 4% SwStr, 8.1% Whiff/Swing, 25 Pitches/IP, 20 BF

Adam Atkins (3.38 ERA) – 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 TB, 2 BB, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 4 GB: 2 LD, 42 Pitches (23 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 8 Called, 7.1% SwStr, 20% Whiff/Swing, 21 Pitches/IP, 9 BF

Cameron Griffin (6.48 ERA) – 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 TB, 2 BB, 1 K (0 K/Sw), 1 GB: 1 FB: 3 LD: 1 PU, 40 Pitches (23 Strikes), 0 Swinging, 12 Called, 0% SwStr, 0% Whiff/Swing, 24 Pitches/IP, 9 BF

Johnny Magliozzi (3.12 ERA) – 1.1 IP, 1 GB: 3 FB, 13 Pitches (11 Strikes), 1 Swinging, 5 Called, 7.7% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 9.8 Pitches/IP, 4 BF

Batters

RF - John Mora - 1-5, 1 R, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 6.2% SwStr, 12.5% Whiff/Swing, 3.2 Pitches/PA

1B - Anthony Dimino - 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 4.8 Pitches/PA

DH - Wuilmer Becerra - 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 CS, 2.5 Pitches/PA

C - Patrick Mazeika - 1-4, 1 RBI, 3.5 Pitches/PA

3B - Jhoan Urena - 3-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 CS, 13.3% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 3.75 Pitches/PA

SS - J.C. Rodriguez - 1-4, 1 K, 1 SB, 5.9% SwStr, 12.5% Whiff/Swing, 4.25 Pitches/PA

LF - Jeff Diehl - 2-4, 1 2B, 1 K, 5.6% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 4.5 Pitches/PA

2B - Vinny Siena - 0-4, 2 K, 17.4% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 5.75 Pitches/PA

CF - Enmanuel Zabala - 1-4, 3 K, 26.7% SwStr, 66.7% Whiff/Swing, 3.75 Pitches/PA

Wuilmer Becerra

Patrick Mazeika

Recapish

            The St. Lucie Mets dropped the series finale in Bradenton 9-4 Thursday night, meaning they take a 3-1 loss for the series. Wild starting pitching was the problem for St. Lucie in the first two games of this series (both losses), but Church was in the strike zone as often as he usually is Thursday night (and that’s often), he just wasn’t throwing quality strikes. The Mets offense knocked out another 10 hits, nearly matching the Bradenton total, but finished with just one extra base hit.

            Church struggled in each of his three frames, and he also allowed a well-struck extra base hit in each frame. Logan Hill provided the first dagger when he hit a three-run homerun for his 7^th blast of the year in the 1s. Kevin Krause made it 5-0 when he hit a two-run homerun in the 2^nd. Finally, and after another error from Jhoan Urena at 3B (his fifth of the series while playing the hot corner), Mitchell Tolman smacked his third double of the year in the 3^rd inning to set up the final two runs scored against Church (which promptly came around to score on a Casey Hughston single). Church struck out Hughston and Hill in the 2^nd, but never really got any traction in this start.

Errors and A Power Lefty Too Much For St. Lucie In Bradenton Opener

St. Lucie Mets @ Bradenton Marauders

May 1, 2017

Justin Dunn @ Taylor Hearn

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
St. Lucie	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		3	5	3
Bradenton	0	0	4	0	0	0	4	0	X		8	9	0

W: Hearn (3-2, 3.86 ERA); L: Dunn (1-2, 5.33 ERA)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Justin Dunn (L, 1-2, 5.33 ERA) – 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R (1 ER), 1 2B, 6 TB, 4 BB, 6 K (4 K/Sw), 1 GIDP, 4 GB: 4 FB: 3 LD: 2 PU, 93 Pitches (54 Strikes), 10 Swinging, 18 Called, 10.8% SwStr, 27.8% Whiff/Swing, 17.4 Pitches/IP, 25 BF

Alex Palsha (5.25 ERA) – 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 2 2B, 6 TB, 1 BB, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 3 GB: 1 FB: 2 LD: 1 PU, 32 Pitches (17 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 2 Called, 9.4% SwStr, 20% Whiff/Swing, 19.2 Pitches/IP, 9 BF

Cameron Griffin (6.75 ERA) – 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K (0 K/Sw), 1 FB: 1 LD, 19 Pitches (9 Strikes), 5 Called, 19 Pitches/IP, 4 BF

Batters

CF - John Mora - 0-4, 1 K, 6.7% SwStr, 12.5% Whiff/Swing, 3.75 Pitches/PA

SS - J.C. Rodriguez - 0-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SB, 11.8% SwStr, 50% Whiff/Swing, 4.25 Pitches/PA

DH - Wuilmer Becerra - 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB, 16.7% SwStr, 44.4% Whiff/Swing, 6 Pitches/PA

3B - Jhoan Urena - 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 17.6% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 4.25 Pitches/PA

1B - Patrick Mazeika - 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 3.25 Pitches/PA

LF - Jeff Diehl - 0-4, 3 K, 22.2% SwStr, 44.4% Whiff/Swing, 4.5 Pitches/PA

2B - Vinny Siena - 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 10.5% SwStr, 22.2% Whiff/Swing, 4.75 Pitches/PA

C - Dan Rizzie - 0-4, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 5.9% SwStr, 12.5% Whiff/Swing, 4.25 Pitches/PA

RF - Enmanuel Zabala - 1-4, 1 K, 13.3% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 3.75 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            The St. Lucie Mets made their MiLB.tv debut as they visited Bradenton for the first time this season Monday night, but they couldn’t come away with a win. Top Mets pitching prospect Justin Dunn struggled with command and controlling the running game at times, but it was the errors committed behind him in the 3^rd inning that left him with the L in this game. Marauders starter Taylor Hearn is a big power lefty (hit 97/98 throughout the start) who lost control at times (4 BB), but really only made one big mistake (see below).

2016 Monday Morning Mets Minors Players of the Week #3

Wuilmer Becerra (31) is a big dude

April 25-May 1, 2016

            Keeping track of the hottest minor leaguers in the Mets farm system.

Hitter of the Week: Wuilmer Becerra hasn’t been playing in the field due to a sore throwing shoulder, but he’s been hitting nearly everyday as the team’s DH.

Starting Pitcher of the Week: Tyler Pill. Chris Flexen tossed his best start of the year last week, but he gets edged for the weekly award because Pill lasted one out longer, with one fewer run allowed, and better whiff numbers.

Relief Pitcher of the Week: Akeel Morris was dominant again last week, striking out 5 of 11 batters faced.

Team of the Week: The Binghamton Mets, who had their 6-game winning streak snapped Sunday afternoon.

Previous weeks: 4/7-4/17, 4/18-24

GIF’s of the week: 4/7-14, 4/15-21, 4/22-28

Las Vegas 51s 11-11

5-1 week

Pitchers

Sean Gilmartin - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 2B, 3 TB, 4 BB, 5 K (5 K/Sw), 5 GB: 1 FB: 4 LD: 1 PU, 82 Pitches (46 Strikes), 10 Swinging, 11 Called, 12.2% SwStr, 28.6% Whiff/Swing, 16.4 Pitches/IP, 20 BF

Gilmartin earned a rain-shortened complete game win on Thursday, and kept PCL batters guessing at his secondaries all April

Gabriel Ynoa - 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 2B, 6 TB, 2 BB, 3 K (3 K/Sw), 8 GB: 4 FB: 5 LD: 2 PU, 91 Pitches (69 Strikes), 10 Swinging, 16 Called, 11% SwStr, 18.9% Whiff/Swing, 13.6 Pitches/IP, 27 BF

Ynoa is throwing a two seamer more often this year, and that pitch helped him lower his ERA to 1.48 last Tuesday

Paul Sewald - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 2B, 5 TB, 1 BB, 5 K (4 K/Sw), 6 GB: 3 FB: 1 LD: 1 PU, 71 Pitches (47 Strikes), 10 Swinging, 14 Called, 14.1% SwStr, 30.3% Whiff/Swing, 17.8 Pitches/IP, 17 BF

Sewald keeps putting up big numbers out of the pen for Mets affiliates, and his slider has looked nasty this year

Josh Smoker - 2 IP, 1 H, 1 2B, 2 TB, 1 BB, 3 K (1 K/Sw), 3 GB: 1 LD, 33 Pitches (22 Strikes), 7 Swinging, 7 Called, 21.2% SwStr, 46.7% Whiff/Swing, 16.5 Pitches/IP, 8 BF

Chasen Bradford - 2 IP, 2 H, 1 2B, 3 TB, 1 K, 4 GB: 1 FB: 1 LD: 1 PU, 31 Pitches (25 Strikes), 4 Swinging, 4 Called, 12.9% SwStr, 19% Whiff/Swing, 15.5 Pitches/IP, 8 BF

Bradford’s command was great in April, and he had a very effective month out of the 51s pen, though his strikeout rate dropped to just 13.7%

Erik Goeddel - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 TB, 1 BB, 2 K (2 K/Sw), 1 GB: 1 FB, 23 Pitches (12 Strikes), 5 Swinging, 1 Called, 21.7% SwStr, 45.5% Whiff/Swing, 23 Pitches/IP, 5 BF

Goeddel has struggled with command a little in the PCL air

Jeff Walters - 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 TB, 2 BB, 2 K (0 K/Sw), 3 GB: 2 FB: 1 LD: 1 PU, 55 Pitches (31 Strikes), 3 Swinging, 7 Called, 5.5% SwStr, 12.5% Whiff/Swing, 23.6 Pitches/IP, 11 BF

Walters velocity has crept back up to 93-95 MPH this year

Batters

2015 Split Review: Wuilmer Becerra

Eudor Garcia (28) and Wuilmer Becerra (31) stood out when hanging around the Savannah cages last year

            When dealing with lower level prospects, it’s really best not to focus too much on stats, which is advice I’m obviously not following here. Wuilmer Becerra is going to grow, both physically and as a hitter, so, for example, how many infield hits he had in 2015 won’t matter in a year. But I’m not using this series to make any predictive claims from stats, and I’m only comfortable talking about Mets prospects I have at least seen on MiLB.tv anyway, so any descriptive comments I make in this series are what I think from having watched and read about these guys. My goal with the splits is to find some trends to follow this year, trends that support or dispute some common perceptions about the prospect, and/or trends to suggest a player was lucky or unlucky in some batted ball designation.

2015 with Savannah (including postseason): 121 G, 500 PA, .291/.343/.423, 68 R, 28 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 64 RBI, 101 K: 34 BB (20.2 K%: 6.8 BB%), 17.8% Swinging Strikeout rate, .355 BABIP, .132 ISO, 118 wRC+, 53.8 GB%: 21.2 FB%: 19.5 LD%: 5.4 PU%

2015 in the VWL: 107 PA, .392/.406/.510, 20 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 14 K: 0 BB (13.1 K%: 0 BB%), .430 BABIP, .118 ISO, 153 wRC+, 50 GB%: 19.3 FB%: 21.6 LD%: 9.1 PU%

            Mets OF prospect Wuilmer Becerra is already well known to a good portion of Mets fans as the ‘non-elite’ throw-in from the R.A. Dickey trade, but 2016 should be the year he becomes known across baseball as a stud prospect for the team. Among Mets position prospects, Becerra offers a unique blend of above average speed (my present grade on him, but he's projected by many outlets to slow down to average as he develops) and above average power, and he plays solid defense in RF with a strong arm. He’s not without his flaws – for example, he has a tendency to chase breaking pitches out of the zone – but I felt like he was underrated across the boards in Mets rankings this offseason. In their 2016 Prospect Guidebook, Baseball America ranked him as the #10 Mets prospect, saying, “Scouts who like Becerra project him as a future big league regular who can do a bit of everything, but unless his power develops further, he might lack a carrying tool.” I link to 18 of his hits at the bottom of this post, including 3 homeruns and a 400+ foot triple, so you can see for yourself the impressive power he’s capable of. From what I’ve seen, he’ll have enough power, the question is whether he’ll make enough contact and/or learn to lay off breaking stuff out of the zone. Last year I saw Becerra live in Rome during May, and on MiLB.tv in April, May, August, and September, so I got to see him a decent amount. Below I look back at some splits from his 2015 to look for some trends to watch as he advances through full-season ball, and then share the links to GIFs of him I posted last year. Unless he finishes the year in Binghamton, those are probably the only MiLB.tv GIFs I’ll have of him until 2017, but I do hope to end up at a few St. Lucie games this year, so hopefully I’ll get some live coverage of him anyway.

Knapp Drives Savannah Against Greenville

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Greenville Drive

September 5, 2015

Game One

Ricky Knapp @ Anderson Espinoza

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Savannah	0	1	1	1	1	0	0		4	9	1
Greenville	0	0	0	2	0	1	0		3	7	2

W: Knapp (8-3, 2.60 ERA); L: Espinoza (0-1, 8.10 ERA); Save: Baldonado (1.91 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Ricky Knapp – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 5 SO, 94 Pitches (66 Strikes), 7 GO: 2 FO

Alberto Baldonado – 1.1 IP, H, 2 SO, 2 GO, 1 IR – 0 S

Anderson Espinoza – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 68 Pitches (43 Strikes), 5 GO: 2 FO

Jake Drehoff (2.89 ERA) – 3.2 IP, 5 H, R, 3 SO, 59 Pitches (43 Strikes), 4 GO: 2 FO, 2 IR – 0 S

Batters

Luis Guillorme – 3-4, R, 2 2B (16)

Wuilmer Becerra – 1-4, RBI (63), SO, CS

Eudor Garcia – 1-4, R, SB (5), 3 SO

Jean Rodriguez – 1-3, R

Tomas Nido – 2-3, RBI (40), SO

Patrick Biondi – 1-2, R, BB, 2 SB (38), SO

Michael Chavis – 1-3, R, 2B (29), SO

Rafael Devers – 2-3, 2 R, 2B (36), RBI (68)

Andrew Benintendi – 1-3, RBI (15), 2 SO, CS

Nick Longhi – 1-3, 2B (27), RBI (62)

Javier Guerra – 1-3

Danny Mars – 1-3, SO

Recap

            Savannah welcomed their league MVP back to his customary spot in the lineup during game one Saturday afternoon against Greenville, and his bat picked up right where he left off before busting a finger on 8/26. Guillorme had 3 hits in this game, including a pair of doubles, as part of a 5-hit combined effort in this double-header (plus he drew two walks in game two). Sand Gnats starter Ricky Knapp was strong early, and battled through some Greenville threats late to keep Savannah on top. Alberto Baldonado took over for Knapp after he allowed the tying run to reach 2B, and Baldonado closed out the game by retiring 4 of the 5 batters he’d face.

The Drive started 17-year old Anderson Espinoza for the first time, and he was very impressive. He was on a pitch limit, and he ended up charged with all 3 Savannah runs, but considering his age relative to the league, he was brilliant. Espinoza mostly threw his fastball, which ranged from 93-97 MPH per the Greenville announcer, but he also mixed in a few really nice looking curveballs, and a few really nice looking changeups (see below for some examples). He seems like a future top prospect candidate, and you can read more about him from Baseball America here.

These two would play one more Saturday night, with Savannah looking to sweep a double-header, and the Drive looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Scoring Highlights

Sand Gnats Jump Out Big Early But Then Lose On A Drive Off In Greenville

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Greenville Drive

September 3, 2015

Josh Prevost @ Luis Ramos

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Savannah	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		5	7	1
Greenville	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	2		6	12	2

W: Harris (3-4, 2.77 ERA); L: Baldonado (0-7, 1.95 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Josh Prevost (3.75 ERA) – 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 83 Pitches (56 Strikes), 9 GO: 1 FO

Tim Peterson (H, 3, 1.69 ERA) – 1 IP, H, BB, 2 SO

Ben Griset (H, 6, 3.00 ERA) – 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 GO

Alex Palsha (H, 1, 0.00 ERA) – 1 IP, 2 GO

Alberto Baldonado (BS, 2) – 0 IP, H, 2 R, BB, HR

Luis Ramos (7.12 ERA) – 0.2 IP, 5H, 4 R, 32 Pitches (20 Strikes)

Carlos Pinales (4.14 ERA) – 3.1 IP, R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 62 Pitches (37 Strikes), 3 FO

Kuehl McEachern (2.52 ERA) – 4 IP, 2 H, BB, SO, 42 Pitches (25 Strikes), 7 GO: 1 FO

Ryan Harris (W, 3-4, 2.77 ERA) – 1 IP, 3 GO

Batters

Jonathan Johnson – 1-3, R, BB

J.C. Rodriguez – 1-3, R, BB

Wuilmer Becerra – 1-4, R, 3 RBI (62), SB (16)

Eudor Garcia – 1-4, SO, GIDP

Michael Katz – 1-3, R, BB, SO

Tyler Moore – 1-4, RBI (12), SO

Natanael Ramos – 1-4, RBI (3), SO, GIDP

Rafael Devers – 3-4, 2 R, 2B (35), BB

Andrew Benintendi – 2-5, 2 R, 2B (3), HR (4), 2 RBI (14

Nick Longhi – 2-4, R, RBI (61)

Joseph Monge – 3-4, R, 2B (23), 2 RBI (37)

Recap

            The Savannah Sand Gnats jumped out early in this game, and then the Drive spent the rest of the game slowly coming back until the 9^th, when Andrew Benintendi ended the game with a walkoff blast to RF. The Sand Gnats jumped all over Greenville starter Luis Ramos in the 1^st inning, knocking him out of the game before Prevost ever took the mound. Savannah starter Josh Prevost was pretty effective in this start, but he was limited to 5 innings after needing 30 pitches to get through the 2^nd inning. His heavy sinker looked nice, and he had a good feel for his changeup. Tim Peterson and Alex Palsha each threw a scoreless inning of relief for Savannah – it was Palsha’s SAL debut – but the Drive scored a pair of runs against both lefty relievers Ben Griset and Alberto Baldonado. For Greenville, it was the 3-4 combo of Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi that were the drivers behind the comeback. They combined to go 5-9 with 2 2B’s, 4 runs scored, and the walkoff blast. But it was the great efforts out of the pen from Carlos Pinales and Kuehl McEachern that even gave those two Drive batters a chance to win the game for Greenville.

            This series continues Friday night at 7:05 PM, with Martires Arias (7-5, 2.43 ERA) scheduled to pitch opposite Ben Taylor (0-2, 3.40 ERA). I have included as many highlights from this game as possible, but if there are moments missing (like an RBI single from Natanael Ramos in the first), it’s because the Drive broadcast is terrible. They have the cameras, but then someone will decide to show us viewers a runner standing around at 3B while Josh Prevost strikes somebody out (that’s just one of many examples I could give from this game).

Scoring Highlights