This season we’ve seen Rafael Montero, Kevin Plawecki, Jack Leathersich and Dilson Herrera ascend from AAA to the majors. The two biggest names still in Sandy Alderson’s back pocket are still out in Vegas and they have taken things up several notches recently.
I’m talking, of course, about Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. They are the two pitchers you’ve heard about increasingly since Spring Training. Syndergaard is the second piece of Alderson’s epically beneficial deal that sent R.A. Dickey to Toronto. He has a “Top Prospect” pedigree and the stuff to put him shoulder to shoulder with Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler (when healthy) and Jacob deGrom. Steven Matz, on the other hand, wasn’t even drafted by Alderson. He was taken in a year, like 2015 will be, where the Mets had no first round pick. Matz was a high ceiling lefty pitcher who scouts worried would pitch himself rapidly into injury. Injury is exactly what occurred and Matz has made his way back into the picture thanks to a healthy 2014.
What should we know about them?
At face value, Syndergaard is a righty and Matz is a lefty. Syndergaard is larger and will probably throw (consistently) harder fastballs. Syndergaard gets a lot more attention because of his pedigree but they both, frankly, appear to be destined to put up highlight numbers in the major leagues. It is this writer’s opinion that Matz will transition more smoothly to the majors. This is based, in no small part, upon the pitching that we saw this Spring.
What are they doing lately?
Matz has managed to work around control issues all season and has a crisp 1.84 ERA to show for it. In his first 15.1 innings pitched he walked 11 batters and struck out 14. this K/BB would not take him far at the major league level. He was managing to limit hits though. He only gave up 11 hits in that same time and that led to only giving up 5 earned runs. Now, he’s already turning out better production. Over his last two starts he’s thrown 14.0 IP, given up 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out 17. These are numbers that Terry Collins won’t ignore for long if Jonathon Niese, Bartolo Colon or Dillon Gee are fumbling.
Syndergaard is a different issue. He only managed 7.2 IP in his first two starts and sat on a 4.70 ERA. He’d only struck out 7 batters compared to the 6 he’d walked and he went down with a minor injury. That injury seems to have given him some time to bounce back. In his last two starts he’s also managed 14.0 IP and he’s only given up 6 hits, 2 walks and he’s struck out 19 batters. The Mighty Thor has his ERA down to 1.66 and his eyes are set on joining the Metropolitan lineup this season.
Just trying this out, but what do people think of giving Matz the nickname Loki? Just an idea.
AAA:
Travis Taijeron is hitting but… – Don’t start writing Taijeron into a Met lineup any time soon. He’s struck out 16 times in his last 10 games and he cannot afford to be that undisciplined if he’s going to serve a role in the majors.
Alex Castellanos isn’t a “prospect” but… – He’s certainly providing a solid bat to the Las Vegas lineup.
Matt Reynolds has kept up – He’s hitting .333 over the past 10 games and he’s got 12 doubles in a season 24 games old. He’s also walked a bit more of late.
AA:
Gavin Checchini hasn’t disappointed yet – He’s not shown a ton of power or speed but he’s hitting and not striking out and that is pretty good.
A+:
Michael Conforto has slowed down – He’s still producing but his numbers are falling back to earth a little. This proves that it might have been too hasty to call for his promotion to AA.
A:
Wuilmer Becerra is starting to come around – He’s slowly beginning to produce in Savannah. Nobody on the team is really hitting, but he’s starting to round into the best hitter of the lot.
Casey Meisner is still being effective – People should understand that his 1.93 ERA only reflects his gamesmanship. Most of his success is not tied into his “stuff”.
David Roseboom is pretending to be Leathersich – The last time a lefty reliever struck out this many batters in Savannah it was worth noting. Let’s hope it’s worth noting again.
Logan Verrett has also been returned to our organization.
Saw that. It’s good news but he doesn’t factor into long-term plans.
It would seem we’ll need to trade one of Colon/Gee/Niese by midseason to make room, but odds are one of them will hit the DL.
Video from before the 2015 season started that pegs Casey Meisner @ 91-94 mph
http://m.mlb.com/det/video/v48909183/top-prospects-casey-meisner-rhp-mets
Regarding Meisner when you talk about his gamesmanship do you mean this in a negative or positive?
His gamesmanship is a positive. When I watched him in Brooklyn I did not see the raw stuff of a major league starter but he was effective at limiting damage.
His results have been good but I can’t see him progressing to the major league rotation.
We all have are opinions whether he will make the MLB. I believe he will make the MLB. I admit Meisner is raw, however fans and scouts don’t realize Meisner has never had any professional pitching coaches throughout his baseball career until being drafted by the Mets. He has tons of raw talent and has improved every year since being drafted by the Mets due to the coaching he is getting at the minor league level. In Brooklyn he had a rocky start but he overcame made improvements and finished very strong. The Mets have a “diamond in the rough” and got Meisner for a heck of a deal. Take Church for example. Mets drafted him as there second draft pick for a lot more money and from what I have heard Church never pitched in High School. In your opinion do you see Church as the better pitcher over Meisner? My opinion NO. Where is Church now? Extended spring training. Where is Meisner? Savannah.