The Mack Attack: June 13, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Friday, June 13, 2008

The Mets' Billy Wagner just blew his third consecutive save opportunity, ruining a brilliant outing by Johan Santana, who pitched seven scoreless innings of 3-hit ball, striking out 10. Unless the Mets' offense can bail him out, you have wonder whether acquiring Santana was worth the price. The Mets might have been better off keeping outfield depth with all of their OF injuries! - Baseball Digest

Moises Alou said that he thinks a return to the disabled list "is a possibility." If anyone knows what injuries necessitate a trip to the disabled list, it's Alou. He says that his calf doesn't feel any better on Thursday, and that he doesn't feel very good. He's made one at-bat after being reinstated earlier this week

 

Mets Playing Above Expectations – mid-June report:

-forget ranked prospect lists… who cares about kids batting .222

What we’re really interested in is who is playing either to their level, or above it, and thus, could someday, as they used to say on ‘The Jeffersons’, ‘move on up to the East Side’.

My list, in order of who I think has the most potential are:

1. SP Jon Niese/B-Mets - Niese was lights out in April, ho-hum in May, but has refound the touch in June and now owns a 4-4, 3.18 season record, but has given up only 5 ERs in the last 27.2 innings he has pitches (5 outings).

2. 3B/1B/LF Dan Murphy/B-Mets – Murphy has slowed down his torrid pace a little, but he’s still putting up David Wright-type (I can’t believe I just said that) numbers: .321/.373/.490, 8 HRs (3 in one game last week). Major trade bait, but also is beginning to play some OF and 1B.

3. SP Dillon Gee/Lucy - this is the ‘other Dillon’ that no one gives any credit to. Well, just ask his teammates who are is dead last this year and they will tell you he’s the real deal. 4-5, 3.82 in 13 games… 3.32 in last 10.

4. RP Eddie Kunz/B-Mets – Kunz jumped all the way from draft pick to AA and has shown he can handle himself with the big guys. 17 saves in 19 attempts (still weak against the lefties), but watch out if Wagner keeps blowing up.

5. SP Dylan Owen/Lucy - Owen has had the kind of year everyone expected at Lucy and remains on target to mature to the majors come 2010. So far, his 4-4, 3.39 record for a horrible team speaks to his individual talent.

6. SP Angel Calero/Lucy - Calero has been the darling of the Sand Gnats staff, though he had as much offensive support as Tobi Stoner didn’t get last year. Still, check the numbers: 3-5, 2.57 in 12 starts + a 1-0 start at Lucy this week. Calero has pitched well his entire Mets career and he’s looking less and less like a fluke. Remember this name.

7. 1B/LF Nick Evans/B-Mets – okay, I told ya so. The kid was not ready for the Bigs, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t produced a wonderful season at AA ball: .297/.363/.559. He’ll get another shot, this time maybe at 1B.

8. SP Bobby Parnell/B-Mets – Parnell came to camp with the ranking of #2 Mets SP prospect, but stumbled out of the gate. However, in the past 4 outings, he has given up only 4 earned runs 22.1 IP while piling up 24 Ks.

9. SP Tobi Stoner/B-Mets – Tobi just can’t seem to find a team that will hit behind is superb pitching. Couldn’t catch a break last year in Savannah, and Lucy wasn’t much different; however, he still was able to post stats of 2.60 ERA in 9 starts (1-5). It just ain’t Stoner’s fault that there are no bats in Lucy, and he has fully earned the jump to the B-Mets he got this week. Watch for him to put the heat on Jon Niese as the top ranked SP project in the organization.

10. SP Sal Aguilar/B-Mets - Nobody ever talks about this guy. He’s 7-1, 2.86 for a team that has as many loses as they have wins, and he just keeps being bypassed as a possible major leaguer. He did turn 26 this year, but what does a guy have to do to get some respect?

11. SP Mike Antonini/Lucy - Just a lights out year in Savannah (4-4, 2.71, in 13 starts) earned him a bump to Lucy this week. Not far behind Calero in MLB potential.

12. SP Elvin Ramirez/Gnats - 5-5, 3.09 in 13 starts for a team with basically no bats. Past 10 games : 4-4, 2.26. Has done very little wrong this year and is backs up behind a bunch of lower level talented starters. Only 20 years old.

13. RP Jose Bierd/Gnats - Where did this guy come from this year. All he’s doing in Savannah is 1-0, 1.05 in 20 relief appearances, which includes 7 saves. Beird just turned 23 which is like a child for Mets relievers, so we may have something here.

14. C/DH Jordan Abruzzo/Gnats – has been stuck at DH for most of the season behind slowly developing Francesco Pena. Season stats: .307/.351/.439 in 189 at bats. Great bat speed and just looks like a pro batter in the box. This kid deserves a full time catching position… now… in the organization.Turns 24 in August.

15. RP Edgar Ramirez/Gnats – Ramirez is 3-1/3.03 for the season (13 appearances) and 2-1, 3.13 in his past 10 games.This included a 5/18 appearance where he gave up 2ER in 0.1 IP for a 54.00 ERA. Just imagine what his stats would be without this game. Edgar turns 25 in Novembe, which is a baby in the Mets bullpens; however, he needs to keep the heat on so he follows Antonini and Calero to Lucy.

16. OF Ezequiel Carrera/Lucy – okay, I know, the guy is only hitting .262/.325/.398 in 206 at bats, but yu have to remember this is A+ ball and he was born about 3 weeks ago. Carrera is doing an all-star job at the age of… well, his 21st birthday was yesterday.

17. RP Emary Frederick/Lucy – Emary has the best K/IP ration in the organization last year before injuring his arm mid-way through the season. So far this year, he has posted a 0-0, 3.14 performace in 8 appearances, that included one early-on disaster that yielded 4 ERs. Take that out, and he’s thrown 12.1 IP, 1ith 14 Ks, and only 1 earned run.

18. DH Mike Carp/B-Mets - Carp had a miserable hitting year last year, but has really turned it on in 2008 as the B-Met’s DH (.355/.409/.555/.964). The bad news is he has been reduced to a DH with the emergence of Nick Evans. This is one of your 2 big time 2008 mid-season trade baits (along wih Murphy), preferably to an AL team.

19. 3B Greg Veloz/Gnats – Veloz was one of those crazy phenom 16-year olds signed out of Latin America, and he actually won a Sterling Aawrd in 2006 for his efforts there. Last year, he had a hard time finding a starting position, and, though he did start off slow this year in Savannah, he is slowing returning to the prospect tag he was given once he hit puberty. “Speed” has slowing bumped his 2008 hitting stats to .257/.297/.350, and leads the entire organization in stolen bases.

20. OF Casey Craig/Gnats – Craig’s credentials scream of a future AAAA player; however, he has single-handedly brought the Sand Gnats into contention for the first time as a Mets affiliate. This year’s stats are: .343/.411/.467 and he turned 23 in January. A definite Lucy outfielder in 2009.

21. OF/3B/1B Josh Petersen/B-Mets – we all know there’s no chance in hell that Peterson starts some day for the Mets, but we have to recognize that, when he does get in, he puts up decent numbers. This year, .294/.365/.406 in 143 at bats split between Lucy and the B-Mets. His versatility scream of a possible Mets utility player some day. Turned 25 this past April.

22. C Tony Maccani/Gnats – the ‘Rodney Dangerfield’ of Mets minor league catches, Macanni can’t get in a game, what with Pena and Abruzzo both making the all-star team this year. When he does get in, he has hit .318/.400/364. Another Gnats catcher that deserves a full time gig.

 

Draft News:

 

The Mets have agreed to terms with first-round draft choice Reese Havens, a shortstop from the University of South Carolina, SI.com has learned. The Mets will pay Havens, the 22nd overall pick in last week's amateur draft, a signing bonus of about $1.4 million. Havens only has to compete a physical for the deal to be finalized. The Mets also are close to signing their third pick, pitcher Brad Holt, from UNC-Wilmington, the 33rd overall pick, and are said to be making progress with their fourth pick, outfielder Javier Rodriguez from Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. Negotiations haven't yet begun with the Mets' first pick, first baseman Ike Davis from Arizona State University, whose team has been playing in the college playoffs. Davis was the 18th pick overall. Havens hit .359 for South Carolina. He is considered a possible catcher down the road. The $1.4 million is roughly "slot'' money for the 22nd pick. – SI.com

 

Scoutingbook.com on Mets first rounders:

18. Isaac Davis, 1B, NYM

Another slugger who went a little earlier than expected, and again it's to a team that could sorely use some power from the first base position. Ike is a legitimate threat to hit 40 homers in the big leagues, and his refined college approach to the strike zone means he should do it without Howardesque strikeout numbers. One of the draft's most polished picks, Davis could be ready as soon as 2009.

22. David Havens, SS, NYM

A successful shortstop in college whose range is a bit of a question in pro ball, South Carolina graduate David Havens could make a heck of a second baseman for a future Mets infield that already includes two All Stars and the player picked just before him in the 2008 Draft, first baseman Ike Davis. A solid line drive hitter with plus plate discipline, Havens could be a long-term keystone for New York

B-Mets

Salvador Aguilar tossed a season-high seven shutout innings, helping the Binghamton Mets to a 1-0 win over the Harrisburg Senators at NYSEG Stadium Thursday. The victory ends Binghamton’s two-game losing streak, as they finish their six-game home stand with a 4-2 mark. For most of the game, Aguilar (7-1) was locked in a pitchers’ duel with Harrisburg’s Marco Estrada. Estrada struck out six over six scoreless innings, while Aguilar held the Senators to two hits, fanning six as well. The B-Mets (35-30) didn’t break the scoreless tie until the seventh. Salomon Manriquez greeted reliever Luis Atilano with a leadoff single. Josh Petersen then laid down a bunt that Atilano (0-1) threw into centerfield for an error. Two batters later, pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy walked, loading the bases for Eric Reed. Reed followed with a line-drive single to left, scoring Manriquez. Harrisburg (36-28) was kept off the scoreboard by relievers Eude Brito, who tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, and Eddie Kunz, who worked around two errors in the ninth to notch his 16th save in 18 chances.

 

Gnats:

Jake Eigsti ripped a single into center field for a game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Sand Gnats a thrilling 2-1 win before 2,857 at Historic Grayson Stadium on Thursday night. The victory is the 31st of the season for Savannah, the most since the Sand Gnats won 31 games in the second half of 2005. In the ninth, Carlos Guzman moved Richard Pena to third on a single to left with one out, setting the stage for Eigsti. The third baseman smashed the walk-off hit into the outfield to end an 0-for-34 drought by Savannah hitters in the series and secure a series spilt and winning homestand for the Gnats (31-36). Austin Hinkle (0-2) surrendered the hit to Eigsti and picked up his second loss. With the victory, Sand Gnats Manager Donovan Mitchell earned his 100th career win as a manager. He had 69 wins in two seasons with the Kingsport Mets entering this season. The game was a pitcher’s duel, with Maikel Cleto and Alex Cobb exchanging zeroes throughout the early innings. Casey Craig got to Cobb in the first though, blasting his fourth homer of the season, a deep solo-shot over the wall in right to hand Cleto a 1-0 lead. Cleto held the advantage until the fifth, when Shawn Williams singled in a run to tie it. The Gnats right-hander departed after 7.0 innings, yielding 1 run on 3 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4. Nick Waechter threw a scoreless eighth before Nick Abel (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.

 

Minor League Bios:

Eddy Camacho P L L 6' 1" 180 23 09-17-1982 Cal State Northridge

In 2003, Camacho played for the La Crosse Loggers of the Northwoods League before going to Cal State Northridge. The strange thing is the fact that the two years he pitched in college were really nothing special: 1-9, 5.99, 1.91 in 2003 and 2-4, 5.66. 1.90 in 2004.

However, the Mets still signed Camacho in 2004 as an undrafted free agent, let him appear in 3 games for the GCL Mets, and then shipped him off to Brooklyn where he allowed only 19 hits in 44 innings pitched (3-1, 0.69, 0.77) and earned the nickname “everyday Eddy”. Go figure. 2005 brought more success, this time at St. Lucie (2-4 2.74 10 saves). 2006 was a “breakout” year for Camacho at Binghamton. He appeared in 53 games, posted a 3.63 ERA (an absolutely great number for AA ball) and struck out 61 in 79.1 innings pitched. His 3 season minor league totals are 8-9 in 119 games, 2.61, 1.14 and 148 Ks in 172.2 IP.

In 2007, Camacho did pitch for New Orleans (2-1, 4.44, 1.41 in 32 relief appearances), pitched a little for St. Luice (1-1. 2.77, 0.92 in 9 stints), but wound up ending the season for Binghamton (0-0, 0.00 in 5 appearances).
In September 2007, Camacho was assigned to play in the Arizona Winter League (which is always a sign that the organization wants to invest more time and money in you).

This Day in Mets History:

1998 - The first triple play ever completed at Dodger Stadium is turned by Darren Dreifort, Eric Young, Jose Vizcaino and Bobby Bonilla.

And lastly:

It’s not the heat. It’s the humility.” - Yogi Berra