NFT: 2014-Mets Minor league stuff

Of his nine strikeouts, eight were swing-and-misses.


Impressive

Cecchini - 2 for 5
Nimmo - 2 for 4, HR, 2 BB, K
Herrera - 2 for 5, 3B, K
Smith - 0 for 5

I don't recall seeing him shut out, even in the one game without a walk I think he got a single.

AAA-Verrett
AA-Lara
A+ TBD
A Gsellman

was pumped that Gorski did so well last night. she's a KU grad

Can he keep it up? Probably not, but I'm curious to see if he can improve as a hitter.

That's mildly encouraging.

Dave (Queens): Brandon Nimmo has gotten off to a hot start and has continued his trend from last year of taking a ton of walks - do you see his possible profile as similar to Shin Soo-Choo; decent avg, high obp, 20 hr power, decent speed, can fake it in center?

Matt Eddy: It's easy to forget how tooled-up Choo was as a Mariners prospect, but he swiped 40 bases and hit 15 HR as a 21-year-old in a pitcher's park at Double-A San Antonio in 2004. This is Nimmo's age-21 season at High-A St. Lucie, and while I think he has a strong batting eye, decent speed and at least average power, I don't think he has Choo's ceiling. I'm thinking maybe somewhere between Ryan Sweeney and Will Venable, perhaps. A perfectly acceptable starting RF.

Quote:
Bren (Pearl River, NY): Do you think Akeel Morris has any chance to start, or has he find his niche as a big bullpen arm?

Matt Eddy: If he keeps pitching like this, it will be hard to resist the temptation of trying to start him. Be warned, though, Morris walked 6.1 per nine as a mostly-starter in two years at Rookie-level Kingsport.

Toby Hyde, Mets Minor League Blog:

Q: Scott writes:
Toby, did Akeel Morris really strike out ALL NINE batters he faced in 3 innings of work the other night? Can you make even a brief post on what you saw and how he managed to do that? Thanks.

A: Nope. Morris did not strike out all nine batters he faced on Wednesday night in Savannah. He fanned nine of eleven batters he faced. He allowed a leadoff walk in the sixth and then struck out the next three straight. In the seventh, he induced a flyball out and then struck out the next two. His eighth inning began with a strikeout/wild pitch combo and then he struck out the next three, two swinging, one looking for the fun four strikeout inning.

The Mets drafted Morris as a very raw arm in the 10th round of the 2010 draft out of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. He had played very, very little organized baseball until he started auditioning for MLB teams in the run up to the draft itself. He’s listed at 6’1″, 170 lbs, and he’s still rather slender by the standards of professional pitchers. He’s a little dude with a live arm. In spring training he was regularly 92-94 mph and he has 96 in there when he maxes out. There’s effort in his delivery, but he has a really quick arm so his four-seamer jumps on hitters. He uses the fastball a lot.

He showed something off-speed in that nine-strikeout performance. I’m not sure what it was – it was poorly defined. I was told he coming into the season, that he had a curve and slider.

Re-listening to my broadcast, eight of his nine strikeouts came on fastballs and one I did not identify. More than half were up or away. Right now, he’s just blowing away SAL hitters.

It’s taken four years for Morris to reach a-ball as he struggled to throw strikes as a starter in the Gulf Coast League in 2010, and the Appalachian League in 2011 and 2012. Even last year, when he was excellent in the Brooklyn bullpen, he walked over 12% of opposing hitters, the same as he did in the Appalachian League in 2012. The difference was that his strikeout rate hopped to 33% last year.

He’s easily the best arm in the Savannah bullpen right now.

Morris needs to improve his fastball command and the breaking stuff needs plenty of work. He’ll put up numbers in the SAL out of the bullpen strictly by blowing his fastball by guys. We see some relievers post big strikeout rates in the SAL every year. Out of the bullpen in his two outings, he’s thrown strikes on 68% of his pitches. If he can maintain that over a few more moderate length relief outings, he could earn a starting spot or piggyback role where the innings would certainly be productive developmentally. I still think he’s a reliever in the end, but even MLB relievers are usually starters in a-ball.




A: Quite possibly, but he’s not going anywhere for a while. After turning 21 in March, he’s off to a really nice start hitting .348/.516/.565 with two doubles and a homer with eight walks and seven strikeouts in 31 PA. If this spray chart is to be believed, he’s using the whole field nicely. His homerun was pulled to rightfield, just like his two homers last year while his two doubles came from drives to left field. His singles have mostly been back up the middle and into centerfield.

Brandon Nimmo see Binghamton this year

2-3 2 RBI hitting .385

Cecchini 0-2, BB
Gsellman 4 innings 3 hits 1 run 0 earned 0 walks 2 k's

Matz 6 innings 5 hits 4 runs (2 earned) 1 walk 6 k's

we got us a young outfielder. However, it is only April 11 so that's a big if.

dark horse SS possibility ?

In comment 11613867 pjcas18 said:

Quote:

for mets minors aggregate information. MLB Farm - ( New Window )

This is fucking awesome. Thanks.

And Dan, this thread is your best of all time. Seriously this is great.

Seth.


HH, ya never know but he hasn't hit much at all as a pro (Reynolds) and the glove is probably average. Might be something there though (he hit in college).

Pill was awful 4.2 innings 10 hits 7 runs 1 walk 4 k's
Leathersich 2.1 innings 2 hits 1 run 1 walk 4 k's (48 pitches 28 strikes)
Plawecki 2-4, 2b
Boyd 0-4 2 k's

He might be the answer at C, if TDA isn't.

time soon. 2015

Now up over .400, 13 for 32 on the season.

Re: Plawecki, is there anything to see that suggests he can be more than Josh Thole in the bigs?

someone that profiles to eventually move to the pen, or do we think he's a starter too?

Would the absolute fastest case for Nimmo would be a callup June next year? That would assume a promotion to AA at some point this year along with continued success.

took an 0 for 4 with an error last night. Sad to see him off to a bad start.

view deGrom as a starter but of their "best" starters he's the most likely guy to be moved to the pen.

AAA-Montero-5:05
AA-Robles 1:35
A+ Tapia 1:00
A Flexen

5 innings 0 runs 0 hits 2 BB 2k

Dilson Herrera 3-3 hitting . 325

Nimmo 0-3

Montero 3 innings 0 runs 0 hits 2 BB 2 K

5 no hit innings so far tonight

Young 2 homers for Vegas

Nimmo has started well but the K's are becoming a concern again. Herrera similar situation (good start, lots of k's)

Forsythe traded to the A's for future considerations

Through 6, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 SO on 80 pitches

lol

Summary
The Mets’ diminutive right-hander has torched the Pacific Coast League (PCL) thus far, but the organization may need to get creative if its to best utilize his services.

Notes
Cashman Field, the home of the Las Vegas 51s and Rafael Montero, is one of the most difficult parks to pitch in throughout the minor leagues. According to Statcorner.com, 15% more runs are scored at Cashman than the average PCL park. The PCL is difficult enough on pitchers to begin with. Through 150 games, PCL games have averaged 10.2 runs per game compared to the MLB average of 8.4 runs. When Toronto and Buffalo’s agreement forced the Mets to Las Vegas, many wondered if the move would have a negative effect on the team’s prospects.

Rafael Montero didn’t get the memo. After 88.2 innings of sub-3 FIP ball in 2013, he’s been dominant through his first three starts of 2014. Montero, demonstrative out of the windup, gets ahead of hitters with a fastball he throws from a three quarter arm slot. While he isn’t overpowering, his superb command of his fastball and slider has allowed him to dissect Triple-A batters.

Montero is joined in the Las Vegas rotation by Noah Syndergaard and and Jacob deGrom. If Syndergaard performance mirrors his elite pedigree and deGrom continues to impress — he joined Montero on Baseball America’s Hot Sheet on Friday — the Mets’ front office will be forced to devise a development plan for a trio at the next level. At the moment, the Mets’ rotation is full, so the Mets will need to be creative if they want the trio to face MLB hitters and build upon last season’s workloads. Some on the internet, though I cannot recall where, have suggested the Mets implement a piggyback rotation like the ones the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Astros implement in the minor leagues. It’s a radical thought, but if the Mets are to protect Syndergaard, Montero, deGrom and current starter Jenrry Mejia, a piggyback rotation will allow the quartet to continue to develop against baseball’s best hitters.

starters-

Thor, Peavey, TBD, McGowan

Savannah, GA - Savannah Sand Gnats reliever Akeel Morris has been named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for his dominant appearances during the week of April 3 through April 13. Over three appearances, the righthander struck out 14 batters and has yet to allow an earned run in his six and two-thirds innings.

I am rooting for you!

Mike, he's been scratched for Cessa:)

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Thor 5 innings 5 hits 2 runs 2 walks 5 k's (88 pitches 60 strikes), solid performance

Carreno 2 innings 1 hit 0 runs 1 walk 2 k's

Edgin 1 inning 2 hits 0 walks 1 k

Walters 1 inning 1 hit 0 runs 0 walks 1 k (save)


Chris Young 2-3, 2 walks, 1 k

Wilmer 1-4, bb, k

Puello 1-4, 2b, error

AA-

Plawecki 1-3, 2b, bb
Boyd 1-4, K
Lawley 0-4, 2 k's (he's been awful)
Vaughn 0-4, 2 k's (even worse)
Reynolds 1-4, 2b
Tovar 1-4 (started well)
Leathersich 1 inning 3 hits 1 run 1 walk 1 k (35 pitches 22 strikes)


A+
Cessa 5 innings 6 hits 2 runs 2 walks 2 k's
Herrera 1-5, 2b (no k's)
Nimmo 2-5 (no k's)
TJ Rivera 2-3
Evans 1-4, K


A (game suspended)
Smith 0-2 (rough go of it early)
King 0-1, BB
McGowan 4.1 innings 2 hits 0 runs 1 walk 1 k

Today's starters-


AAA- deGrom
AA-Bowman
A+-Koch
A- continuation of yesterday and game 2 Knapp

Vaughn has stunk at the plate but frequently I see in box scores that he is throwing out runners. Is his arm that good or is the base running that poor or a combination of both?

Vaughn has a roughly average arm, In fact all of his tools are at least average... except the hit tool. I still think he has a shot to be a Scott Hairston type (or Justin Maxwell) (solid bench/platoon guy) but he's 25 repeating AA, it's sort of now or never for him. Vaughn did hurt his arm twice last year so no idea how it looks this year.

The long of it: Vaughn has long been a favorite of Mets prospect watchers. The power/speed combo, the athletic bloodlines, and, while we're not selling jeans here, he definitely looks good in a uniform. And hey, if you toss out his non-Double-A stats (he was rehabbing for most of that time after all), his line looks even a bit better. Squint hard enough, and you might even convince yourself he's a 20/20 guy. And hey, the swing is better now than it was when he first started his pro career, there's much less pre-swing motion, and he no longer has his hands low and everything cocked forward. Unfortunately, it's still very long and doesn't stay in the hitting zone very long. Because of this Vaughn is especially vulnerable to pitches down around his knees or offspeed stuff that breaks down and away, and despite the higher hands, you can still beat him up in the zone. He doesn't use his legs much and relies on the long swing path and his upper body strength for most of his power. Righties eat him up if they can locate down or spin a breaking ball. In the field he is a steady hand in left, but the arm probably limits him to that spot. The left-field profile is tough, especially since I don't see him making enough contact at higher levels to really tap into his solid-average power.

The projection: 5th outfielder/right-handed pinch hitter

His PECOTA ranking is a stunner
Link - ( New Window )

it's lick Hicks-Nicks with me on Kevin

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joining the team in case Lagares needs to be DLed

Ugh, Kirk sucks. I guess we don't really have many other options. Abreu will be able to get on base until he's like 50 but he'd be a disaster in the field.

a shocker.
Link - ( New Window )

Stephen Drew continues to make so much sense for this team, but he's literally wasting one of his last prime years of his career.

this long, you don't spend a 3rd round draft pick and 10+M (even prorated) for Stephen Drew.

He is not the difference on this team.

The advantages with him are he can go back to AAA when Chris Young comes off the DL and he can play CF defensively

funny how Tejada's first few games were "decent" and yet he's literally the worst SS in baseball on 4/15 in terms of WAR. He literally couldn't rank any worse.

favorite prospect Matt Bowman and the BMets rained out.

With his fastball as the only pitch even touching average, Robles relied on his ability to throw strikes, change the hitters’ sight lines, and make the ball move. His fastball sat 89-91 with excellent arm-side life, and he had 92-93 mph when he needed a little extra. …. Both his slider and changeup were consistently below average but he did enough with them to keep hitters off the fastball. Without progress from his secondary offerings, Robles doesn’t have a starters’ profile, but he could survive as a middle reliever who relies on a funky delivery with deception and possibly an extra tick on the heater when used in short bursts.