Mets Minor League Blog Report 9-24-08
Toby Hyde
- Hawaii Changes
- GCL Wrap
1. Hawaii Changes
The Mets made two changes to their HWB delegation. Ages in parentheses, RHP Junior Guerra (23) replaces RHP Stephen Clyne (24) and C Jordan Abruzzo (24) replaces C Francisco Pena (18).
The 5’11” 213 lb Guerra pitched over four levels in the system, spending most of his July with Savannah where he was 1-1 with two saves in 25.2 dominating IP. He gave up just 14 hits and two walks while punching out 34. Guerra didn’t give up a hit in his four innings at St. Lucie to conclude his season. I missed Guerra when I saw Savannah, but an AL scout told me that he liked Guerra a little bit as a relief prospect. After all, Guerra had thrown 93-95 mph the night before to go along with an 83 mph slider. A strong Hawaii showing could set up Guerra for an Opening Day assignment to Binghamton and a rapid rise through the system in 2009.
Abruzzo, who the Mets picked in the 13th round in 2007, played at three levels in 2008 showing some power, and solid receiving abilities to go with an aggressive approach. Like Guerra, his Hawaii assignment should prepare him to start 2009 in Binghamton. Unlike Guerra, Abruzzo is not a candidate for a subsequent rapid ascension.
Abruzzo began his first full professional season by hitting his way out of Savannah (.300/.347/.448) in 54 games, earning a mid-June promotion to St. Lucie. With the Gnats, Abruzzo walked just 13 times and struck out 36 in 203 AB. Installed in the middle of the St. Lucie batting order, Abruzzo hit .303/.333/.455 in 19 games. In 66 AB, he walked twice and struck out seven times with six extra base hits. Dropped down to Brooklyn on July 12th, Abruzzo put up his weakest line of his tri-part season as a Cyclone going .275/.309/.440 in 49 games. He celebrated his 24th birthday on August 2nd by going 0-4 against Staten Island. Abruzzo is what he is at this point: a catcher with a little pop and receiving abilities that will keep him employed for the foreseeable future. Catchers never, ever go away, because finding an MLB caliber defender is so hard.
2. GCL Wrap
I’m going to be going through the Mets system team-by-team here. I’m starting with the GCL today. The plan is to do AAA Thursday, and St. Lucie Friday. That leaves Brooklyn, Binghamton, Kingsport and Savannah for next week.
The GCL Mets finished 27-27, which will be the last reference I make to the team’s wins and losses in this recap. The wins and losses don’t count at this, or any other minor league level. The GCL is a place for players to begin professional careers.
I saw this GCL team in Florida in July. I’ve written this before, but it bears repeating: I had a lot of fun watching the GCL games. It’s just baseball on back fields in spring training complexes with outfield walls made of chain-link fence. For a baseball nut like me, that’s pretty cool.
The GCL players are years from the majors and in discussing them, one must take a long-term view.
After each player’s name comes Bat/Throw – Ht/Wt – How Acquired - Birthdate
Outfielders to Know
CF Javier Rodriguez –R/R– 6’2” 165 lbs - 2nd rd 2008 - 4/4/90
.193/.258/.237 – 3 2B, 1 HR, 10 BB, 27 K – 135 AB, 38 G
Sure, he didn’t hit as an 18-yeard in the GCL in his first exposure to professional baseball, but Rodriguez, who was a surprise as a second-round pick, is a tremendous athlete. Not just lanky, but truly skinny, Rodriguez covers a lot of ground in centerfield with his plus speed. I saw him take better routes at noon in the GCL game than Ezequiel Carrera took at night in the FSL. He has more than enough arm for center. Obviously, at some point, he’ll have to hit – turning tools into production.
RF Cesar Puello – R/R – 6’2” 195 – NDFA – 4/1/91
.305/.350/.364 – 6 2B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 32 K, 13/18 SB – 151 AB, 40 G
I was a little surprised when I first saw Puello. He’s not built like the typical 17-year-old baseball player from the Domincan Republic. Nope, he’s got some strength and size in his chest and arms. He hasn’t turned that muscular frame into power yet, but he was just 17. Instead, he showed a really nice feel for the barrel of the bat which he was able to translate into line drives into both gaps. He didn’t use his lower half much for power, but when he integrates that into his swing, he will start driving the ball more.
Infielders to Know
3B Jefry Marte – R/R – 6’1” 190 – NDFA (7/2/07) – 6/21/91
.325/.398/.532 – 14 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 13 BB, 30 K – 154 AB, 44 G
Jefry Marte has precocious and precious power for a 17-year old. In the games I saw him play, he showed bat speed, strength and some plate discipline. However, Marte was trying to pull nearly everything. Only when a pitcher got in on his hands and jammed him, did he send a ball (accidentally) to the right side. The Mets were pleased with Marte’s progress at third, although he remains very raw. He has enough arm for the position, but must learn to attack groundballs more aggressively. This, like hitting to the opposite field, will come with time and experience. Marte’s bat makes him one of the Mets better prospects.
2B Alonzo Harris – R/R – 5’10” 165 – 39th Rd 2007 – 11/16/89
.308/.379/.510 – 6 2B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 23 K, 7/9 SB – 104 AB, 33 G
Some within the Mets were surprised that Harris signed for a very small bonus out of McComb (MS) HS, but the fleet Harris was a pleasant surprise all around in 2008. He has plus-plus speeed, and started to drive the ball late in the season. After one extra base hit, a double in 41 July AB, he clubbed nine XBH in 51 August AB, a month when he hit .294/.410/.627.
SS Luis Nieves – R/R – 5’11” 155 – NDFA (2/4/06) – 12/15/88
.205/.205/.261 – 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 BB, 19 K – 88 AB, 26 G
He might never hit, but man, does he play a smoooooth SS. The footwork, hands, and arm all work very well for the young Venezuelan.
Pitchers
RHP Eduardo Aldama – R/R – 6’1” 180 – NDFA (7/15/06) – 12/23/89
1-5, 4.75 ERA, 12 G, 9 GS, 47.1 IP, 48 H, 36 R, 25 ER, 1 HR, 13 BB, 42 K
Aldama was the first guy I saw throw in the GCL and it was rewarding after a morning of travel to see something like an MLB caliber fastball. Aldama was 89-94, mostly sitting at 91. He can work it up and down in the zone. His secondary offerings include a curveball from 74-78 that was mostly 76 and a changeup. He showed some feel for the pitch, at one point throwing four straight to pick up a strikeout when he was struggling with his fastball command. His delivery is a little unusual. He’ll sit back into it, dragging his body to the firstbase side.
RHP Kyle Allen – R/R – 6’3” 195 – 24th Rd 08 – 2/12/90
1-1, 2.12 ERA, 11 G, 5 GS, 34 IP, 24 H, 13 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 10 BB, 45 K
After walking seven batters in his first 14.1 innings out of the bullpen, Allen walked just three batters in 19.2 IP as a starter to finish off the season. That improvement in his control is key. Allen works off a fringy fastball that touched 91, but was more often 88/89 when I saw him in July. In that outing, he fell in love with his breaking stuff, mixing in too much curve, slider and changeup trying to be too cute. On the other hand, the slider had its moments and flashed potential to be an average MLB pitch. Allen was born on an Air Force Base in Portugal, (his dad spent 22 years serving) but moved to the U.S. as a toddler.
LHP Robert Carson – L/L – 6’4” 230 – 14th rd 07 – 1/23/89
1-0, 1.57 ERA, 5 GS, 23 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 25 K
A pair of dominant outing in July, 12 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 16 K, proved that big lefty was ready for challenges beyond the GCL and earned him a promotion to Kingsport. Carson missed much of 2007 after being struck on the head by a ball, but had a healthy and productive ’08. Carson is the only player in this GCL review who I didn’t see play live, since he threw the day before I arrived in Florida. His fastball sat was 90-93, and his secondary offerings were a slider and a changeup. He told me in July that he was very pleased with the development of the slider this year.
As a lefty with good size and velocity, I really like Carson’s ceiling – which could be an MLB rotation sometime around 2012 or so.
RHP Jenry Mejia
2-0, 0.60 ERA, 3 GS, 15 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 15
Big time arm and a very unusual pitcher, but I’m going to write more about Mejia when I get to the Brooklyn Cyclones, where he spent more time.
RHP Jeurys Familia – R/R – 6’3” 185 – NDFA (7/13/07) – 10/10/89
2-2, 2.79 ERA, 11 GS, 51.2 IP, 46 H, 20 R, 16 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 38 K
I’d been told to expect big things from Familia’s right arm, but he was just ok when I saw him. I think the 18 year old just had an off day for me in Vero Beach. He showed off a fastball that was 89-92, mostly around 90, to go with two pitches - a slider (77, 78 mph) and a change up (84) - that need about the amount of work you’d expect from an 18-year old his first professional season. However, sometimes the big fastball is there from his loose delivery. In his first start in the GCL in 2008 he was dialing it up 94-96 mph. A scout from an American League club confirmed that he saw Familia dealing similar gas in instructs in 2007. So go figure.