Noah SyndergaardIf I were in the Mets marketing department I’d be contacting Tom Hiddleston and Marvel Studios about teaming up on some advertising for the Asgardian hero who will shortly arrive in Queens.  We’ve all heard about Noah Syndergaard, time and time again, but he’s starting to look worthy of Mjolnir.  For those who don’t pay any attention to players until they reach the majors, here’s the scoop:

The Mets traded R.A. Dickey for Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard and Wuilmer Becerra before the 2013 season.  Syndergaard dominated 12 starts in Port St. Lucie, after which he was promoted to Binghamton where he appeared to improve his success.  He finished 2013 with 117.2 IP, a 3.06 ERA and 133 Ks.  Yet, the biggest hurdle still remained; he had to pitch in Las Vegas.

Thus far in 2014 he’s pitched well but it’s over his last four starts that he’s really began to look like that “Ace”.  In his last 23.2 IP he’s struck out a sizeable 33 batters and only walked 7.  In Las Vegas and the PCL, the hits and runs are hard to avoid, but the strikeouts and control are the real deal.  All of this adds up to a promotion at some point in June and a very impressive rotation in the near future.

AAA:

Andrew Brown is killing it – .348/.456/.697 in 17 games at Vegas he’s driving the ball with absolute authority.

Taylor Teagarden is bring the power – He’s hit 8 home runs in 2014 and is slugging .731 on the year.

Rafael Montero is trading hits for walks – In order to keep his ERA down, Montero is living on the corners and this has led to far more walks than his career averages.

AA:

Kevin Plawecki off to a slower start – Nothing about 2014 has been “bad” for Plawecki, but he’s not hitting nearly as well as he had in 2013.

Wilfredo Tovar is still keeping his name out there – His defense is superior to Ruben Tejada and Omar Quintanilla’s and he’s got an OPS of .799 on the year.

Darin Gorski needs to be promoted – His success in AA is good but it won’t mean much until he can do that in AAA or the MLB.

Jack Leathersich could be nearly ready – He’s cut down his walks and he’s kept runners from crossing home.  He can’t get to Queens soon enough.

A+:

Steven Matz struggles with control – 8 walks in his last 10.0 IP is troubling.

Beck Wheeler is solid in relief – In his last 10 outings Wheeler has only given up runs once.

A:

Don’t look know, it’s Gavin Cecchini – He’s got an OPS of 1.086 over his last 10 games.

Akeel Morris update – 30 Ks in 18.2 IP with 7 hits, 10 walks and no earned runs.

15 comments on “Mets Minors: Noah Syndergaard shows he’s still mighty Thor

  • Peter Hyatt

    I think his slow start in the minors was due to his bitterness about not being able to stay in the majors. I also think this attitude is exactly what we want in a fierce competitor. He was particularly embittered about the delay of June to get an extra year out of him. This comes from his own statement about being sent down “no matter” how well he performed.

    He is going to be exciting to watch.

    Imagine watching him, Harvey and Wheeler in a three game weekend series! Those are the types of games where my family has “Met parties” and invite people over.

    Well, it’s been quite a long time since a Met party was worth having and since I moved to Maine, where Boston fans are, well, let’s just say…they don’t like it when I praise Bill Buckner.

  • Jerry Grote

    I understand Gavin was injured, or at least removed from a game pending some results.

  • Metsense

    How real is the Savannah Sand Gnats pitching staff? Six starters with sub 3.00 ERA’s and two relief pitchers at 0.45 and 0.00 ! All seem to have good to great k/bb ratios. I realize it is a long way to the majors, and it is a pitchers league, but it is a solid foundation for the future.

    • David Groveman

      Pay attention to the k/9 and bb/9 of the pitchers more than the more typical WHIP and ERA. I am far less excited by Miller Diaz’s great numbers than by Akeel Morris or Robert Cole’s. Pitchers do well in savannah. Don’t read into it too much.

  • Chris F

    As excited as we all are, I think it is worth entertaining the possibility he comes out of the gate and is not Matt Harvey, or Jose Fernandez. Remember all the way back to Zack Wheeler, our projected 1B starter, who looks more like a middle-end of the rotation guy at the present time. Will he end up a front end guy? I hope so, but dont bet on it. With all the anxiety about the big club and its management (Adam Rubin’s column today was very to the point), the spotlight of hope is aimed right at the kids coming up. But until Syndergaard shows he can put down Molina in a high leverage situation and throw 200 innings in the Show, a lot of caution needs to be exercised. Even if the PCL is hitter friendly, guys like Stanton will be ready to eat whatever Noah will serve up.

    • Rob Rogan

      I don’t think we can rush to judgement just yet on Wheeler. We’ve been spoiled by the almost immediate success of pitchers like Harvey and Jose Fernandez, but the typical ascension of high-end pitching prospects is slower than that.

      Your overall point is something that we (including the Mets FO) should remember. What happens if Wheeler and Thor and Montero and d’Arnaud etc. actually don’t work out? What’s the plan then? Wait for the next wave of prospects and hope it ends up differently with them? At some point they’ll need to turn some of these prospects into established players via trade so they have some known (good) commodities to continue to build around. That needs to happen soon. Like this summer soon.

      • Chris F

        I agree.

      • Jerry Grote

        Wheeler in 24 starts since becoming a pro has an FIP of 3.88 and a WHIP of 1.38. Among qualified pitchers in 2013, he’s roughly in the top 38-40 in the NL, basically placing him somewhere between a #2 and a #3.

        That said, the vast majority of the other 38-40 are older and on the flip side, the very top of that list is dominated by the likes of Harvey, Fernandez, Teheran, Miller, Baumgartner.

        (I had to get this posted before he pitches in Yankee Stadium tonight).

        • Chris F

          Thanks for the numbers JG. In my thinking, even if that projects as high as 2, given Harvey, Niese, and Gee (the last two quite proven arms), that slots Wheeler in at 4 on this staff. Im perfectly fine with that by the way.

          As far as Syndergaard goes, from the start, I thought he might be the treasure of the Dickey trade. Time will tell, but I cant wait to see him next month some time. Im hoping he launches out of the gate with fury!

          • Jerry Grote

            Yah … and I’d love to trade Wheeler. (ducks)

            Honestly, if you and I and everyone can see that he’s a #2 pitcher but on our team is a #4 … that’s excess value we can capture in a trade.

            Package him up and move him out for that bat at SS we need. Starlin Castro, here we come.

            • Chris F

              yep, exactly. Id trade Wheeler today

              Castro scares me, but maybe Renteria instills some strong work ethic into him. They may be looking so dump that contract.

  • Name

    deGrom up. Germen DL.

    • Jerry Grote

      which is only stopgap.

      Unless deGrom flops, this means someone else is odd man out insofar as German will stick. My guess is Rice.

      • Name

        TC loves his lefties so my guess is Valverde.

  • Patrick Albanesius

    The bullpen looks like it will be turned over quite a lot soon. I imagine only Familia, Germen, and Torres remain until the end of the season.

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