Wow! What a way to start a season in which all pressure was applied. With an impeccable 10-3 record sugar-coated by an active 8-game winning streak, the Mets have gotten great pitching from four out of five starters, timely offense, and a solid bullpen-until the last two games. However, as Mets fans we should know that getting excited is just a temporary high. All these wins inevitably leads to something going wrong and we should have sensed it earlier. First it was Josh Edgin, then Zack Wheeler, Jenrry Mejia disappointed everyone, the face of the Franchise fell, and now the two most productive players have fallen: Travis d’Arnaud and Jerry Blevins. What’s interesting about the last three is that all of them could have been prevented. In any case, d’Arnaud and Blevins appear to be out until June. Was the right call made in deciding Kevin Plawecki and Hansel Robles to replace the two injured players?
Behind the Plate:
Pros and Cons of Plawecki:
By this time, many Mets fans have heard of the consistent Plawecki. The knack on him is that he substitutes tons of raw homerun power for an extremely high double rate. He blasted 38 doubles in 2013 and another 24 in 2014 (in 102 fewer plate appearances). Plawecki has been on the Mets prospect radar for a couple of years now ever since being drafted in the first round of 2012. He was a compensation pick for the loss of Jose Reyes along with Matt Reynolds. The good news is that he appears to be a low strikeout hitter that can get on base at a reasonable rate. Unfortunately, by pushing him directly to a “successful” major league tem, there is a chance that Plawecki will not be able to contribute right off the bat. Considering the shoes he is attempting to fill, there is a good chance that Plawecki will crack under the enormous pressure to contribute as much as d’Arnaud.
Other options:
With the lack of depth behind the dish, after d’Arnaud and Plawecki there are not really a ton of intriguing options. The only one that could actually be considered is bringing up Johnny Monell, the Spring Training animal. He would probably be involved in a rare catching platoon between Anthony Recker and himself. This would not be a great idea considering the supposed drop-off in production.
Verdict: Calling up Plawecki was clearly the right call as well as the risky choice in this scenario. He has the best chance to take the bull by the horns and run with the opportunity.
In the Bullpen:
Pros and Cons of Robles:
In 2012, Robles seemed like one of the top organizational prospects posting a 1.11 ERA through 72.2 innings (12 starts) in Brooklyn. He still remained off of many prospect maps because of his age compared to his location and did not exactly prove much with a 3.78 ERA in 2013. He went into 2014 as starter in Binghamton, but was not too successful as a starting pitcher (4.86 ERA). When he shifted to a relief role he excelled: through 20 innings, he posted a 1.80 ERA and struck out 24 batters. Robles has been inside the Mets organization since 2009 and has maintained a quality track record at virtually every level. He has not been a strikeout machine in his career and only really has two pitches that appear to be above average (his fastball and his slider). That being said, many of the Dominican starters-turned-relievers within the Mets system have been successful in recent years.
Other Options:
The Mets bullpen has been an immense problem for years, but appears to be taking shape over the last two seasons. However, the loss of lefty Blevins appears to hurt the Mets. If the Mets had wanted a lefty to replace him, they would have had numerous options. Jack Leathersich appears to have harnessed a bit more control this season- zero walks and ten strikeouts in five innings, and longtime farmhand Darin Gorski has been electric this season (1.80 ERA) as a starter. In addition, veterans Scott Rice and Duane Below have both been solid thus far. In the end, it seems that Alderson is pleased with his current group of lefties.
Verdict: This was not the right call. There were a few options that deserved the call-up more, but were also quite risky. Robles was a safe pick and could mete out great results, so in the end it appears that Robles could be a successful stop-gap option.