Mets Minor League Blog Report 9-19-08
Toby Hyde
In this issue:
- Havens to Hawaii
- Mets Move Closer to Buffalo
- Friday’s Stories
1. Havens to Hawaii
Full Hawaii Winter Baseball rosters will be announced Friday.
Earlier this week, Hawaii Winter Baseball, announced that Reese Havens will be playing for the Honolulu Sharks. At the time of the announcement, he was one of five 2008 first round picks to head to the Islands, joined by Buster Posey (#5, Giants), Yonder Alonso (#7, Reds), Jason Castro (#10, Astros) and Jeremy Bleich (#44, Yankees).
Only 23 of the 30 MLB organizations are sending players to Hawaii, complemented by six Japanese teams and one Korean organization. I am disappointed that nearly a quarter of all MLB teams will not send their players to HWB. Fans of those seven teams should be alarmed that those teams do not value the development of their prospects and the value of extra plate appearances or pitches.
2. Mets Move Closer to Buffalo
Thursday was the first day that MLB teams could officially negotiate with minor league teams, but as Mike Harrington noted in the Buffalo News, the “rule …has routinely been flaunted during this process.” Harrington also wrote that “it's believed that [Bison] officials met with officials from the New York Mets to firm up a PDC that will be announced here Monday.”
Meanwhile, Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden visited Alliance Bank Park in Syracuse. Bill Ladson at MLB.com wrote that Syracuse is the frontrunner to be the Nationals new AAA affiliate. Matt Michael in the Post-Standard, pointed out that the Mets and Chiefs do not have a meeting scheduled.
Harrington wrote about the Indians officially announcing what everyone knew, that they would sign a new PDC with the Columbus franchise which is opening a new stadium, Huntington Park, in April 2009.
3. Friday’s Stories
Stories I will be following throughout the day Friday at metsminorleagueblog.com:
- BA’s release of the NYP Top 20 Prospects List. Where will Brad Holt, Reese Havens, Ike Davis and Jenry Mejia land?
- Any affiliation developments in AAA.
Toby Hyde has written about the Mets organization since 2004. Please pass this along to friends, family, co-workers, and Mets fans of all stripes. To sign up for the email newsletter, click here. Even better, please visit my site at http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com.