Hope everyone is staying cool. The farm remains hot. Well, except for Kingsport, who had a doubleheader. As always, minor league twin bills are seven inning affairs. Onward!
Buffalo 5, Syracuse 1
Wally Backman called last night the best start of the year for Jeurys Familia, and it is hard to disagree. In a week that saw ESPN’s Keith Law muse that the Mets could use Familia in mop up work at the big league level (as well as give Matt Harvey some work in the pen since he has little to prove at AAA) Familia tossed 6.1 innings, allowing a run on five hits while walking one and striking out five. To cap it all off, Jenry Mejia toss two scoreless and the oft traveled Chris Schwinden went the final .2 innings to close it out. Familia’s ERA has now dipped to 4.98. Also of note, Matt den Dekker’s struggles in AAA continue, as he went 1 for 5 with three more strikeouts, though he did score a run.
Binghamton 8, Richmond 4
Wilmer Flores continues to pound AA pitching, all while shuffling around the diamond defensively. Playing third last night, Wilmer went 3 for 4 with a solo homer and two runs scored. His slash line is now .390/.433/.576 since his promotion to Binghamton. Interestingly, he has yet to play the outfield (just third primarily, with some first and second thrown in). Juan Centeno also added a 3 for 4 effort with a run and an RBI, and Reese Havens was 1 for 2 with a run and three walks. Mark Cohoon got the win going seven strong, allowing a run on five hits (one homer) while walking one and striking out three.
St Lucie 6, Jupiter 5
Zach Lutz hasn’t shattered into a million pieces yet in his rehab from a broken hand, going 1 for 3 with three RBNI, and Corey Vaughn added a solo homer as part of a 2 for 4 night to pace the Lucies. Erik Goeddel labored through 4.1 innings, but Taylor Whitenton righted the ship with 2.2 scoreless for the win.
Savannah 1, Charleston 0 (10 innings)
How’s this for a pitcher’s duel? Aderlin Rodriguez led off the bottom of the tenth with a solo blast to send the Gnats home happy, but the real story was the Savannah hurlers. Michael Fulmer turned in another strong performance (7IP, 0R, 2H, 1BB, 4K) and Chase Bradford (2 IP) and TJ Chism (1 IP) kept the River Dogs off the board. 2nd round pick out of Arkansas Matt Reynolds was 1 for 4 and is now hitting .286/.318./.476 since making his pro debut and sliding over to short from third.
Brooklyn 7, Williamsport 6 (11 innings)
Another extra inning affair! The Cyclones tied it in the seventh thanks to a two run homer by Jace Boyd and a two out RBI single by Brandon Nimmo (2 for 5, 1 RBI). Nimmo has now gotten off the interstate, getting his slash line up to .203/.373/.344. In the bottom of the eleventh, Richie Rodriguez drew a bases loaded walk to end it. John Mincone continues to dominate in relief, going two perfect innings for the win, while striking out five. His ERA is now 0.82. Phillip Evans was 0 for 4 on the night as his slump continues, and Kevin Plawecki was 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
Elizabethton 6, Kingsport 2 (Game 1)
Toby Hyde at Mets Minor League Blog had an interesting point about why teams like Elizabethton Twins dominate the Appalachian League – and one could also add why the Staten Island Yankees dominate the New York-Penn League (well, not this year, but most). Teams like the Mets have two short season affiliates (one at Rookie Level, one at Short Season A level), allowing players to play at levels more appropriate for their talent . In the Mets case, the WIlpons will make sure that the strongest players will certainly make it to Brooklyn for the higher profile (and franchise owned) affiliate. Teams like the Yankees and Twins only have one short season affiliate, thus concentrate all the players that are not ready for Low A in one place, allowing for stronger squads. Anyway, that is a nice way of saying the beat goes on for the K-Mets. John Gant gave up five runs in 4.1 innings, and Kingsport general lack of firepower made that an almost impossible hill to climb.
Elizabethton 5, Kingsport 4 (Game 2)
The Twin completed the sweep in the nightcap, although the K-Mets fought back in this one. A sixth inning rally fell just short, as the Mets put up three but the Twins were able to hang on. Gavin Cecchini was 0 for 7 over the two games and is now at .241/.279/.293. Cristian Chivilli got the start and took the loss, going 3.1 innings, while giving up five runs on two hits and six (!) walks.
10 comments
Bryan
7/7/2012-9:34am at 9:34 am (UTC -4)
I was at Buffalo’s game and I’ll have a post on Familia’s outing and more a little later.
Bryan
7/7/2012-10:51am at 10:51 am (UTC -4)
Here it is: http://realdirtymets.com/2012/07/07/in-person-account-of-familias-outing-last-night/
Stickguy
7/7/2012-9:43am at 9:43 am (UTC -4)
Strong outing for Familia.
That should help get his trade value up!
and please, start playing Flores at 2B on a daily basis. Unless the team already has plans to let Wright walk, he needs to find a position to settle at that is not 3rd base, and soon, because he is going to hit his way to the majors quickly at this point (seems to be on the DW plan this season!)
and 2nd looks like the only place he could possibly have an opening to go to.
Of course, they could be looking to trade Wilmer, but until DW is locked in LT, they really can’t afford to trade their only viable MiL option (marte is not that close, and lutz can only play 2 weeks at a time. and is not that good)
Sylow59
7/7/2012-10:06am at 10:06 am (UTC -4)
I think Tovar is the 2Bman sometime next year with Flores in LF, Valdy in CF and Kirk/dD/Duda in RF (with at least one of them gone). This assumes Wright re-signs.
Stickguy
7/7/2012-10:18am at 10:18 am (UTC -4)
tovar can play D. still not convinced he will hit enough to stick and start int he majors, but certainly an interesting prospect. And in that scenario, since he seems to be a better glove man, you could see tejada shifting to 2B.
But, I don’t see Flores in LF, since they have never even tried him out there. Unless you think Sandy plans to Murphy him?
also, that alignment (especially MI) is going to be severely devoid of power. You are really depending on Ike and Duda (part time) to carry the HR load.
Bryan
7/7/2012-10:50am at 10:50 am (UTC -4)
Flores is not playing the outfield, him and Duda in the outfield together at Citi would be a disaster. Valdespin will not be a starting CF on a team that thinks its going to compete for a playoff spot. den Dekker is not playing RF, he doesn’t have the arm, and he is an elite CF defensively. If he’s in the majors, he’ll be playing CF, even if he’s not a full time starter.
Tovar is interesting. I keep wondering if you can manage with him and Tejada in the middle infield; great defensively and few K’s, but devoid of power.
Peter Duffy
7/7/2012-12:24pm at 12:24 pm (UTC -4)
I think it is worth considering Flores for an OF corner. If for nothing else than to show off versatility to another team that may be interested. If Wright signs another contract with the Mets, thrid is taken. Looks like Ike will have first for the foreseeable future. Short is out of the question. And I really doubt he has the ability to handle second full time.
Bryan
7/7/2012-12:35pm at 12:35 pm (UTC -4)
It can’t hurt to try him in the OF, but I don’t see it as the long-term solution. I also don’t understand why people automatically think he’ll be better at 2B than Murphy and why he’ll be ready to play in the big leagues there so soon with so little experience there. I really think he’s best off at 3B, which is unfortunate for the Mets.
Mr North Jersey
7/7/2012-11:24am at 11:24 am (UTC -4)
Great to see Familia respond with a solid outing. Keep it up kid.
Stickguy
7/7/2012-1:19pm at 1:19 pm (UTC -4)
on a side note, when the hell does what Bay did 4 years ago for another team, and his ridiculous contract, stop guaranteeing him a full time job in between his DL stints?
how about some measure of accountability, and needing to show something at least vs. LHP first?
and if they are playing him, Hairston better be starting in CF or RF too.