Early in the season I supported the Mets having Jordany Valdespin in the MLB lineup.  He has speed and power and the Mets future would not be Collin Cowgill.  Then his play stopped justifying my faith.

By the end of his time in the majors he was hitting .188/.250/.316 and was only 4 for 7 stealing bases.

It came as no surprise when the Mets sent him to the minors.  Well.. as no surprise to anyone but Valdespin.

The player exploded into a tirade, damaging the clubhouse and basically throwing a class A temper tantrum.  He even tried to fabricate an injury to prevent from being shipped off to the minor leagues.  The issue here and all through his time with the Mets is that Valdespin doesn’t see himself as a 25 year old kid who hit an OPS of .566 in 66 games.  He sees the next great Dominican Baseball Hero.

There is obviously a disconnect between results and Valdespin’s own mental image of himself… until now, maybe.

In 11 games since his demotion to AAA he’s been on fire:

  • 44 ABs
  • 22 Hs
  • 4 2Bs
  • 2 3Bs
  • 2 HRs
  • 6 BBs
  • 4 SOs
  • 2 SBs
  • 3 CSs
  • .500/.560/.818
  • 1.378 OPS

Those are undeniably great numbers but you have to imagine that the Mets will never bring that ego back into their clubhouse.   At least we’d hope.  The questions are: Where did this come from? Have other teams noticed? Should we care?

The answers… are your own.

AAA:

Matt Den Dekker is doing what I asked – Before the season I said that Den Dekker needed to Strike Out less than or equal to the number of games he’s played.  24 Games in AAA, 24 Ks.

Ruben Tejada is consistently hitting – He still has no power or speed to talk of but he’s just not slumped since reaching AAA.

Wilmer Flores is ready for the MLB – He’s officially healthy again and the only thing holding him back is that Daniel Murphy is holding down the 2B job.

Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrob are holding their own – Look, it’s hard to survive as a pitcher in AAA Las Vegas and while neither is turning in head-turning success, the Mets will have MLB starters on their hands soon.

Jack Leathersich Update – He’s righted his ship some after a rough trio of outings in early July.  12 Walks in his last 10 games is not good though.

AA:

Cesar Puello continues to hit as he waits for his fate – The MLB has already begun to try the major leaguers in the Biogenesis scandal and are handing out suspensions without actual testing.  I expect the MLB to have their own issues in 2014 as the MLBPA sues them for the methods they are using to get their information.  Meanwhile, .387/.524/.548 is the line for Puello’s last 10 games.  He could be in AAA any day now but the suspension looms.

Darrell Ceciliani coming on strong – He’s getting on base more and stealing more.  He’s got a shot at being a very good 4th OF and a smaller chance of being a useful leadoff hitter.

Jeff Walters is a name I don’t mention much – But I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make the Met’s 2014 bullpen.

Darin Gorski is healthy – He threw 9 strong innings and took the loss on July 25th.  Despite the loss, you can’t fault his pitching.

Noah Syndergaard’s best AA start so far – 6.0 IP, 1 Hit, 1 ER, 0 BBs and 8 Ks… that tells me he belongs at this level or higher.

A+:

Cory Vaughn in A+ ball again – I still don’t know why he’s being held back in A+ but I’d bet they are trying to work on a specific aspect of his game.

Matthew Bowman, a Top 20 prospect? – As I begin the planning stages of my personally Top 20 (Which will not come out until minor league playoffs are over) Bowman has made the list of candidates.

Full Season A:

Brandon Nimmo showing signs – He’s got his 10 game OPS up to .756 but he’s striking out way too much now.

Gabriel Ynoa not so great outings – He’s given up 7 ERs in his last 2 games and only gone a combined 10 innings.

Matthew Koch’s best start – 7.0 IP, 1 Hit, 1 ER, 0 BBs and 3 Ks.  Not bad.

Steven Matz walking people – Mets have decided to rest Matz who has walked 20 batters in his last 10 games.

Short Season A:

NO OFFENSE – L.J. Mazzilli is one of the better stories and his OPS is only .690.

Robert Gsellman will be the 2014 Ace of Savannah – He pitched as high as Port St. Lucie this year but it seems clear that he’s better off pitching to players his own age.

Akeel Morris is GOOD and BAD – His ERA sits at 0.00, he’s got an OPP Avg of .139 and he’s got 29 Ks in 22 IP, but Morris is walking far to many.

Rookie APP:

Champ Stuart should be on your radar – He was supposed to need to learn his baseball skills but all I’m seeing is success so far for this speedy OF.

Robert Whalen getting good results – 47 Ks in 39.2 IP with only 6 ERs is a pretty good showing.

Persio Reyes is worth noting – Last two games: 15.0 IP, 6 Hits, 1 ER, 1 BB and 18 Ks.  WOW!

Rookie GCL:

Travis d’Arnaud getting up to speed – In 4 rehab games his OPS is a healthy .971.

Dominic Smith heating up? – He’s hitting more doubles and has his 10 game OPS at 1.081.

6 comments on “Mets Minors: Jordany Valdespin enjoying Vegas

  • Chris F

    Maybe we can get something in a trade? I’d hate to see him back in NY.

    • Joe Vasile

      I’d look at a team like the Marlins. Valdespin is AT BEST a toss-in. A team like Miami is usually willing to risk big egos.

      • TexasGusCC

        Not in ten division. If he has to go, send him to Seattle or Houston where the fans won’t see him doing anything good too often. You never know…

      • TexasGusCC

        Sorry, not in the division. No proofread.

  • Jerry Grote

    A note on JV … the other night, he once again pulled the HR dramatics. Apparently he practically taunted the opposing pitcher.

    End of the evening, the BS ended with pitchers throwing at players and both the manager and JV getting thrown out.

    I don’t care what he hits, I don’t care if we can’t get much value for him. This guy is simply too stupid for words. Get him out of Dodge.

    • Chris F

      IM 1000% in agreement. He’s a bad seed.

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