There was a lot of interesting stuff on the farm last night: there was two walk-offs, four wins against just one loss, great starts by Collin McHugh and Michael Fulmer, what could possibly be Zack Wheeler’s final AA start, multiple rehabbing big leaguers, and I make special mention of not one, but two guys that are really good at talking a walk. Take a look:
Louisville 5, Buffalo 4
Collin McHugh made his best AAA start so far pitching 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing just 5 hit and a walk while striking out 6. Unfortunately Fernando Cabrera imploded in the 8th inning, allowing 4 runs that tied up the game. Then in the bottom of the 9th, you guessed it, Pedro Beato let up a walk-off homer. For a while this one looked like a surefire victory for the Herd as they put up a 3-spot in the first inning on a double by Josh Satin off major league vet Brett Tomko, who was chased from the game after 3 innings. Zach Lutz, Adam Loewen, and Josh Rodriguez also had doubles. Mike Baxter was 1 for 3 with 2 walks. Matt Den Dekker was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Lucas Duda was not in the lineup, but he should be from this point forward in either left field or at first base.
New Britain 11, Binghamton 2
In a noon start time Zack Wheeler had his second straight start that did not go so well, giving up 6 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits in 4 innings. He did strike out 5 and walked none, so there are some positives to take away. After pitching a complete game and just dominating on July 14th Wheeler has given up 14 runs in 7.2 innings in his last 2 starts. Still, his next start could very well be for Buffalo. Frank Francisco pitched later in the game and let up 2 runs on 3 hits in .2 innings, walking 1 and striking out 1, although 1 of those runs was an inherited runner that Brad Holt allowed to score. Offensively the B-Mets had just 4 hits, all singles. Wilmer Flores was hitless for the 3rd time in 4 games and is hitting .190 over his last 10 games. However, Reese Havens is hitting .260/.394/.403 in July; that guy knows how to draw a walk.
St. Lucie 6, Bradenton 5
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th Kai Gronauer grounded to the shortstop, who flipped the ball to the centerfielder, who could not turn the double play, giving the Lucies the old walk-off fielder’s choice. Kyle Allen got the start and pitched a solid 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits. Chase Huchingson pitched 2 shutout innings, as he makes the move to the bullpen where he has a shot to become a LOOGY. Taylor Whitenton walked 3 and let in 2 runs, blowing the save, but Jack Leathersich struck out 3 around a hit and a walk to earn the win. Alonzo Harris led the way with 3 hits and scored the game-winning run. T.J. Rivera, Richard Lucas, and Aderlin Rodriguez all had 2 hits. A-Rod drove in 3 runs and hit his first homer since being promoted to St. Lucie. Cesar Puello is back on the DL with a hamstring injury.
Savannah 6, Kannapolis 2
Michael Fulmer was fantastic again, going 5 innings and giving up just 3 hits and a walk while striking out 8. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but what Fulmer has done this year as a 19-year old in full-season ball is nothing short of phenomenal. Dustin Lawley, Greg Pron, and Cole Frenzel all had multi-hit games; Frenzel had 3 hits, including 2 doubles. Gilbert Gomez doubled, walked twice, drove in and scored a run; he’s 20 years old and his OBP is 100 points higher than his average (the Mets front office likes that).
Brooklyn 3, Batavia 2
Gabriel Ynoa struck out 5 and let in just 2 runs over 6 innings to earn the win. Then Paul Seward threw 3 shutout innings, allowing just 1 base runner to earn the save. Alexander Sanchez and Stefan Sabol both had 2 hits and hit back-to-back homers in the 6th to provide all 3 Cyclone runs. Sabol, Richie Rodriguez, and Brandon Nimmo all doubled.
The K-Mets were off last night but will play a double header tonight.
13 comments
NJstuckinTX
7/26/2012-8:56am at 8:56 am (UTC -4)
Fulmer is looking special. Can’t wait to see how his career progresses. I know it all means little at this point, but he could be joining a young mets pitching corps in 2-3 years.
Stickguy
7/26/2012-8:58am at 8:58 am (UTC -4)
that would be a nice gift from Pedro and the Yankees.
Stickguy
7/26/2012-9:33am at 9:33 am (UTC -4)
I did not realize Aderlin was in PSL for some reason. Nice.
And just send Havens up to Buffalo to see what he can do there. No way do I think SPin is a viable option at 2B now, and it would be nice to have someone in AAA ready to call up if they manage to get a team to pay big for Murphy’s bat.
NJstuckinTX
7/26/2012-9:37am at 9:37 am (UTC -4)
+1
srt
7/26/2012-9:53am at 9:53 am (UTC -4)
Over on AA yesterday, they put up a post and poll, making a case for calling up McHugh instead of Harvey. Not sure why….maybe just a slow day in the blog word?
McHugh looks like a ML pitcher who should be able to stick as a back end of the rotation type. Harvey projects to be better than that. I think AA was making a case for not bringing up Harvey before he was ready but instead throwing McHugh to the wolves. I didn’t quite get the logic.
Stickguy
7/26/2012-10:08am at 10:08 am (UTC -4)
It makes sense to me. I suggested that at some piont in a discussion around wh to bring up.
Basically, Mchugh has more time in, and is essentially done developing. That is, he has pretty much mastered his arsenal and control, so it is what it is going to be. And since he is done developing at the AAA level, if they think he can survive in the majors, bring him up.
Leaving Harvey down is for him to keep working on the areas he needs to improve on. Ultimately the ceiling is higher, but they think he needs to work on things in the minors to get there.
srt
7/26/2012-10:33am at 10:33 am (UTC -4)
I’m on the fence about this.
I can see the logic in bringing up McHugh instead of Harvey. Then again, bringing up Harvey now, seeing what he has at the ML level, might give all a better idea of what he needs to work on to be a mainstay in the rotation next year.
If Harvey really gets shelled, they can move onto McHugh, I suppose.
Think I might have felt differently if we were really in this race right now.
gategem
7/26/2012-10:44am at 10:44 am (UTC -4)
“Think I might have felt differently if we were really in this race right now.”
Precisely. Inform Harvey that he will stay in the rotation and since the team has fallen into a black hole they’re not depending on him to make the team relevant this season. Harvey is one piece among many in building for the future and this is an opportunity for Harvey to get his feet wet.
TRS86
7/26/2012-10:46am at 10:46 am (UTC -4)
Honestly I am with Stick. Bring up McHugh. It’s classic. You don’t expect as much out of him but he is more near his ceiling. You have 2 rotation spots basically open anyway so then you bring up Harvey in a few more weeks. Best of both worlds.
wanny
7/26/2012-10:51am at 10:51 am (UTC -4)
I’m glad you two finally admit to being “together.”
srt
7/26/2012-10:59am at 10:59 am (UTC -4)
LOL, wanny….
Here’s an idea….why not bring them both up while Johan is on the DL? Can always send Hefner back down or move him to the BP.
Bryan
7/26/2012-4:24pm at 4:24 pm (UTC -4)
McHugh will definitely be a ML pitcher, but they just didn’t get him to AAA soon enough for him to get called up much before September. If there’s room on the 40 in September I’m sure he’ll come up then, if not he’ll be added during the off season and will either be rotation depth or the long man next year. As for right now, I don’t think he’s a better option than Harvey, and he’s not as integral to the future as Harvey, so it’s not as critical to get a look at him before next season.
wanny
7/26/2012-10:55am at 10:55 am (UTC -4)
I just dont understand the trade Murphy chatter. Young, controllable hitter. We need more of these, not fewer.
Besides, he will never have huge trade value because of his defense and his home run power. Chicks dig the long ball.