Rubber Ducks Beats Up on B-Mets Bullpen in the Opener

Nimmo picked up a SF, but it wasn't enough for Bingo on this night

Binghamton Mets @ Akron Rubberducks

April 9, 2015

Matt Koch @ Will Roberts

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	1	0		5	10	3
Akron	0	0	1	0	3	5	1	4	X		14	17	3

W: Martin (1-0, 0.00 ERA); L: Tapia (0-1, 54.00 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Matt Koch (5.79 ERA) – 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 SO, 86 Pitches (57 Strikes), 6 GO: 2 FO

Domingo Tapia – 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), HBP, 3 GO, 1 IR – 1 S

Chase Huchingson (5.40 ERA) – 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, SO, 3 SO: 1 FO, 3 IR – 3 S

Batters

T.J. Rivera – 2-5, R, 2B (1), 2 RBI (2), SO

Dustin Lawley – 2-4, R, 2B (1), HR (1), RBI (1), E

Xorge Carrillo – 2-3, R

Eudy Pina – 1-4, SB (1), SO

Recap:

            Things were going great for the B-Mets in their opener, until the bullpen came in, and then the Rubber Ducks took over. Including an inherited runner from Koch, which Tapia allowed to score, the bullpen was on the mound for 12 of the 14 Rubber Ducks runs in just 3.1 IP – this should end up being a good pen, but some new guys might need to get their feet wet in AA for a little before they get rolling. One experienced arm in the pen is Adam Kolarek, who was hit around for four runs in the 8^th, and looked the same as he did in his disappointing 2014. For Koch, this had to be a very disappointing outcome, as he was one out away from a great opening day start, but would have to leave after giving up back-to-back doubles due to his 85-pitch limit. Still, he was more effective than I expected given pedestrian numbers in St. Lucie and multiple seasons without seeing him – I liked his 92-94 MPH fastball, and it seemed like he was throwing an effective slider. As I mentioned at the top, before this got out of hand, things were looking pretty good for the B-Mets, so let’s review how they ended up 4-1 heading to the bottom of the 5^th and pretend the game ended there. Fresh slate of games tomorrow anyway! Rainy Lara starts for Bingo in game 2 of the series, Friday night at 6:35 pm.

Mets Minor League Daily – April 10, 2015

Updated throughout the day and night

Minor News

            Check out yesterday’s results here.

            Check out Toby Hyde’s preview of the full season minor league rosters: Las Vegas 51s, Binghamton Mets, St. Lucie Mets, and Savannah Sand Gnats.

            The Mets farm system features a number of players among the youngest in their league to start the 2015 season.

            Toby Hyde previews 6-pitchers with the potential to pitch in the big-league bullpen someday.

            The 51s made the top-10 most talented minor league team list at MLB.com.

Minor Games

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

Mets Series in Review: @Nationals

Mets start 2015 off right!

Dates: April 6, 8-9

Results: Win 2/3

W 3-1, L 2-1, W 6-3

Current Record: 2-1

MVMet: Travis d’Arnaud came through with multiple big hits throughout the series and looked generally awesome. After a rough spring, T∂A’s performance was really reassuring.

LVMet: Alex Torres had a wild streak in the 2^nd half of last season with the Padres, and he did not have a good start to his Mets career Thursday afternoon.

Statistics:

Mets Minor League Opening Day Preview

Opening day is Thursday for the Las Vegas 51s, the Binghamton Mets, the St. Lucie Mets, and the Savannah Sand Gnats, so it’s time to dust off the Mets Minor League Daily report. This will be updated with lineups as they come out throughout the day Thursday.

Minor News

            I’ll put the real lineups up as they become available, but I’ve put the ‘best lineups’ available below.

            B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez spoke to the media about the roster – Astromets Mind also reviewed the Las Vegas, St. Lucie, and Savannah roster too.

            Speaking of Savannah, it looks like they’re being moved out of town, and might call Columbia, SC home in 2016. Local Jessica Leigh Lebos says, “Say it ain’t so, Gnate.”

            The Mets re-upped their Player Development Contract with the Binghamton Mets through 2020. Still, there was once again recent concern of the franchise leaving.

            Adam Rubin profiled the surprise rise of T.J. Rivera as a utility infielder last season.

            The B-Mets are excited to begin their title defense, and have a lineup-stocked top to bottom, says Fox 40.

            The TCPalm has a St. Lucie Mets preview.

            The Sand Gnats have returned to Savannah, and SavannahNow says Casey Meisner is looking to continue his momentum in Savannah.

            Here is a preview of the PCL, and the MiLB Mets Prospect Primer.

            Lynn Worthy had a nice preview of the B-Mets season.

Learn more about Kyle Regnault at MetsMerized Online, a lefty the Mets brought in from Indy ball in the Canadian American league.

4/9

The Las Vegas Review Journal says Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are highly touted but not yet ready for the majors. The LVRJ also reviewed the new clock rules introduced this year.

Brandon Nimmo talked to WBNG about being more consistent in Binghamton this season.

SavannahNow previews the Gnats opening day.

Minor Games

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

Manager Pedro Lopez on the B-Mets

Pedro Lopez addresses the media

            Tuesday was media day for the Binghamton Mets, and Pedro Lopez discussed his team at length in an interview that can be listened tohere, care of Tim Heiman. I transcribed the roster relevant quotes below, but there are still some interesting quotes from Lopez on his time in Venezuela this past offseason, and on what he can learn as a manager this season, if you're interested. Heiman is the BMets radio announcer, and posts pre- and post-game interviews to his blog throughout the season, so check it out.

On 2015

“We got guys back that, in my eyes, deserve to be in AAA. Our system right now is stacked with good players and some guys needed to come back.”

“I told them they are one step away from the big leagues here, look at Dario Alvarez and Dilson Herrera from last year.”

Reviewing Initial Minors League Rosters for the Mets Affiliates: Las Vegas 51s

That had to be a great interview...

Reviewing the initial 2015 rosters announced for the Mets 4 full-season affiliates: Las Vegas 51s, Binghamton Mets, St. Lucie Mets, and Savannah Sand Gnats

            Good news everybody, Major League Baseball has begun and Minor League Baseball is on its way! Last season the Mets had 3 full-season teams make the playoffs: Las Vegas, Binghamton (won championship), and Savannah. This year, they might go 4/4, as these rosters are loaded – they’re not a consensus top-5 farm system for nothing. Considering the Mets are carrying an extra relief pitcher for now, with two strong relief options are on their way back from injures (Vic Black and Bobby Parnell, who can rehab with Las Vegas for a few weeks), there will likely be a lot of roster adjustments coming over the first few weeks. It seems unlikely the Mets would hold a top prospect down a level just for the first few weeks of the season – major prospects got their promotions in June during the 2014 season – so these roster adjustments are likely to be minor for now. With full-season minor league baseball set to debut Thursday, let’s take a look at the initial rosters that have been announced for the Mets affiliates. If you’re interested in following along at home this season on MiLB.tv, you can find a summary of the games that will be available for each affiliate here – there are 249 scheduled, including nightly 51s games starting as Mets games end.

Savannah, St. Lucie, Binghamton

Note: I plan to update with official 25-man rosters by Thursday game times

UPDATE: Erik Goeddel has been promoted to take Jenrry Mejia's place in the bullpen - Mejia is backdated to Sunday. More roster updates to come.

UPDATE: Duane Below has stayed behind in XST to get stretched out into a long-man/spot starter role.

UPDATE: MiLB.com has Steven Matz listed as going for Las Vegas Thursday

Las Vegas 51s

            The 51s will be anchored by strong pitching this year, but they have plenty of guys to provide offense in the highest scoring environment in pro baseball. This roster will feature the Mets consensus top-5 prospects at the same time if Brandon Nimmo gets called up in time, and they will all play with Las Vegas at some point regardless. The outfield is currently the weakest link of the 51s, especially with the loss of Cesar Puello to the DL for now, but it should be one of their strengths by the end of the season. Here is the initial roster, let’s check it out.

Reviewing Initial Minors League Rosters for the Mets Affiliates: Binghamton Mets

Image from @MetsFarmReport

Reviewing the initial 2015 rosters announced for the Mets 4 full-season affiliates: Las Vegas 51s, Binghamton Mets, St. Lucie Mets, and Savannah Sand Gnats

            Good news everybody, Major League Baseball has begun and Minor League Baseball is on its way! Last season the Mets had 3 full-season teams make the playoffs: Las Vegas, Binghamton (won championship), and Savannah. This year, they might go 4/4, as these rosters are loaded – they’re not a consensus top-5 farm system for nothing. Considering the Mets are carrying an extra relief pitcher for now, with two strong relief options are on their way back from injures (Vic Black and Bobby Parnell, who can rehab with Las Vegas for a few weeks), there will likely be a lot of roster adjustments coming over the first few weeks. It seems unlikely the Mets would hold a top prospect down a level just for the first few weeks of the season – major prospects got their promotions in June during the 2014 season – so these roster adjustments are likely to be minor for now. With full-season minor league baseball set to debut Thursday, let’s take a look at the initial rosters that have been announced for the Mets affiliates. If you’re interested in following along at home this season on MiLB.tv, you can find a summary of the games that will be available for each affiliate here – there are 249 scheduled, including nightly 51s games starting as Mets games end.

Savannah, St. Lucie, Las Vegas

Note: I plan to update with official 25-man rosters by Thursday game times

UPDATE: Matt Koch has been named the opening day starter, story here. The link also suggests that Michael Fulmer might start the season on the inactive list.

UPDATE: Fulmer will stay down in XST for a few turns in the rotation as he stretches out. He finished 2014 injured, so it's probable he's just behind everyone else after recovering this offseason, as it's been confirmed on twitter that he pitched with full health in Spring Training.

Binghamton Mets

            The league champion B-Mets start the season with a solid roster that should be anchored by a strong starting rotation. The roster is a mix of young talent with upside and solid AA depth players, including several who are ready for AAA, which should lead to another successful season in Binghamton. The team will have 61 games covered by MiLB.tv this season, so I hope to get a lot of gif coverage :). Here is the initial roster.

Reviewing Initial Minors League Rosters for the Mets Affiliates: St. Lucie Mets

Image from SportsLogos

Reviewing the initial 2015 rosters announced for the Mets 4 full-season affiliates: Las Vegas 51s, Binghamton Mets, St. Lucie Mets, and Savannah Sand Gnats

            Good news everybody, Major League Baseball has begun and Minor League Baseball is on its way! Last season the Mets had 3 full-season teams make the playoffs: Las Vegas, Binghamton (won championship), and Savannah. This year, they might go 4/4, as these rosters are loaded – they’re not a consensus top-5 farm system for nothing. Considering the Mets are carrying an extra relief pitcher for now, with two strong relief options are on their way back from injures (Vic Black and Bobby Parnell, who can rehab with Las Vegas for a few weeks), there will likely be a lot of roster adjustments coming over the first few weeks. It seems unlikely the Mets would hold a top prospect down a level just for the first few weeks of the season – major prospects got their promotions in June during the 2014 season – so these roster adjustments are likely to be minor for now. With full-season minor league baseball set to debut Thursday, let’s take a look at the initial rosters that have been announced for the Mets affiliates. If you’re interested in following along at home this season on MiLB.tv, you can find a summary of the games that will be available for each affiliate here – there are 249 scheduled, including nightly 51s games starting as Mets games end.

Savannah, Binghamton, Las Vegas

Note: I plan to update with official 25-man rosters by Thursday game times

UPDATE: Official roster and press release

UPDATE: MiLB.com has Robert Gsellman listed as starting Thursday.

St. Lucie Mets

            The initial St. Lucie roster is out and looks awesome, so this team should be heading back to the playoffs after missing in 2014. I want to go live in the region where they play FSL games for this season, as this roster is full of top prospects. The pitching staff has an unexpected surprise and features a deep rotation with 3 top-25 prospects – the pen isn’t as complete though. In the field, these Mets will be playing 5 top-25 prospects regularly early in the season, and most of them will likely spend the entire season with St. Lucie. I’m excited for this season in St. Lucie!

Reviewing Initial Minor League Rosters for the Mets Affiliates: Savannah Sand Gnats

Image from SportsBizDaily

Reviewing the initial 2015 rosters announced for the Mets 4 full-season affiliates: Las Vegas 51s, Binghamton Mets, St. Lucie Mets, and Savannah Sand Gnats

            Good news everybody, Major League Baseball has begun and Minor League Baseball is on its way! Last season the Mets had 3 full-season teams make the playoffs: Las Vegas, Binghamton (won championship), and Savannah. This year, they might go 4/4, as these rosters are loaded – they’re not a consensus top-5 farm system for nothing. Considering the Mets are carrying an extra relief pitcher for now, with two strong relief options are on their way back from injures (Vic Black and Bobby Parnell, who can rehab with Las Vegas for a few weeks), there will likely be a lot of roster adjustments coming over the first few weeks. It seems unlikely the Mets would hold a top prospect down a level just for the first few weeks of the season – major prospects got their promotions in June during the 2014 season – so these roster adjustments are likely to be minor for now. With full-season minor league baseball set to debut Thursday, let’s take a look at the initial rosters that have been announced for the Mets affiliates. By the way, if you’re interested in following along at home this season on MiLB.tv, you can find a summary of the games that will be available for each affiliate here – there are 249 scheduled, including nightly 51s games starting as Mets games end.

St. Lucie, Binghamton, Las Vegas

Note: I plan to update these posts with any roster news I see break before Thursday

UPDATE: MiLB.com has Corey Oswalt listed as starting Thursday for Savannah.

Savannah Sand Gnats

            This might be the final season of Savannah baseball for a while, so hopefully they can make it memorable and win one last SAL title for the faithful locals. Their most recent SAL title came in 2013, with Steven Matz on the hill for the clincher for his first time – he’d do that again for Binghamton in 2014. It's not clear how much offense this team will get on a consistent basis, but the pitching staff is mostly an advanced group for this level (except for staff 'ace' Casey Meisner), so they should keep them in most games. I think the outfield can be pretty potent, but the infield was left pretty unproven when Amed Rosario and Jhoan Urena were skipped to A+. There might be a couple of prospects missing from this initial list still heading to Savannah: Octavio Acosta is a little older, but finished the season with some strong appearances for Savannah; Alfredo Reyes might be a more interesting 2B option than Johnson and Rodriguez, though I do want to see more of Rodriguez too; Michael Katz is a 2014 draftee who was having a strong season with Brooklyn before an injury; Dash Winningham is a teenage 1B prospect from the 2014 draft with some pop and some serious #want; Eudor Garcia is a nearly 21-year old 3B prospect (might be a future 1B prospect) from the 2014 draft who didn’t stand out in his pro debut, but has raw power and good plate discipline – Eudor and Dash could join the team after some time in XST (or sooner) to try and give a boost to the corner infield spots if needed. I’m not guaranteeing any of those players are with Savannah early this season, and there are likely less interesting depth options I haven’t considered, but I could see an argument for them making the roster, especially since the infield could be a potential weak spot. Also, although no catchers were mentioned, this roster is light on catching experience, so I wouldn't be surprised if some 'veteran' depth piece bounced on and off the roster.

The Three-Team Race in the NL East

Photo made by @MEDIAGOON at MetsPolice

The Nationals are the favorite pick to win the NL East, but there should be a real race between the top 3 teams in the division. Comparing the 3 teams starters in a position-by-position breakdown.

            The NL East is an interesting division this year, as there should be 3 teams fighting at the top of the division standings and for a playoff spot, and 2 teams fighting for last place in the major league standings. The division could end up with 3 playoff teams and the top 2 picks in the 2016 draft. The Mets, Marlins and Nationals will each get 38 games against the Braves and Phillies this season (more than 20% of the seasons total games), so they will have plenty of opportunities to boost their records beating up on inferior talent. Of course, the Mets, Marlins and Nationals will be battling each other just as often, so the final NL East standing will likely come down to how these teams do against each other. For this comparison, I will use 2015 Fangraphs depth chart projections.

C

Team	Player	PA	Slash	wRC+	fWAR
Mets	Travis d’Arnaud	480	.257/.293/.434	112	2.5
Marlins	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	448	.228/.305/.390	94	1.4
Nationals	Wilson Ramos	448	.268/.314/.439	109	2.9

            Considering we’re dealing with projections, it makes sense to start this 3-team comparison looking at those players who don the tools of ignorance. Since the league average catcher had a 94 wRC+ in 2014, all 3 teams are likely to get at least average offense from the position. The Mets have the edge by wRC+, and we all know TdA is one of the best pitch framers in the league, but the rest of his defensive game gets knocked, so he takes a hit in fWAR. Since fWAR doesn’t consider pitch framing yet, it’s likely undervaluing TdA’s contribution a little.

Rank: Push between TdA and Ramos, Salty 3^rd