Mets Minors: Michael Fulmer and other traded Mets prospects

Arizona Diamondbacks Traded RHP Addison Reed to New York Mets; St. Lucie Mets Traded RHP Miller Diaz to Visalia Rawhide and Binghamton Mets Traded RHP Matt Koch to Mobile BayBears.

Miller Diaz – Diaz spent the better part of six minor league seasons starting for the Mets making stops in the VSL, DSL, GCL, APP, SAL, NYP and FSL along the way.  He was in the midst of a mediocre season for Port St. Lucie when he was traded, having surrendered nearly a hit an inning and a walk every other inning.  Diaz’s best ability is getting a fair amount of strikeouts and he did manage 15 of those in the 12 innings he hurled for the Visalia Rawhide but the other peripherals have stayed mostly the same.

Matt Koch – Koch, similar to Diaz, profiled as organizational filler.  He gave up hits and walks but unlike Diaz he wasn’t as strong with striking batters out. That being said, He was great in his 7.1 IP for the Mobile BayBears.  He gave up two hits four walks and struck out 6.  It is unlikely the Mets will live to regret losing either player.

Oakland Athletics traded Eric O’Flaherty and cash to New York Mets for Darwin Frias.

Darwin Frias – Frias doesn’t have to do much to make the Mets regret trading for O’Flaherty.  Thankfully he doesn’t project as much of anything.  Frias pitched 7.1 innings for the Vermont Lake Monsters and while his numbers are good, he was 23 and pitching in the New York Penn league.

Detroit Tigers traded LF Yoenis Cespedes to New York Mets for RHP Luis Cessa and RHP Michael Fulmer.

Michael Fulmer – Fulmer was signed by the Mets in July of 2011.  He quickly rose in stock to being one of the top Met prospects and then injuries, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom made us forget all about him.  In 2015 Fulmer enjoyed a resurgent campaign, first with Port St. Lucie and later with Binghamton.  Brian Joura even profiled Fulmer while I was on vacation, Link.  We are very happy with Mr. Cespedes thus far, but we should note he’s probably going to be pretty good for Detroit.  In 31.2 IP for the Erie SeaWolves he managed a 2.84 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and struck out 33 batters.  Fulmer is a name we might very-well miss in the next few years.

Luis Cessa – Cessa is a name that some people were quite fond of.  He was only 23 and already pitching in AAA and had some success during his time there.  Overall he was less successful though.  Opponents hit .354 against him and his 1.81 WHIP and 8.51 ERA made him easily expendable.  With the Toledo MudHens it was more of the same.  He gave up fewer hits but also issued more walks and suffered with a 5.97 ERA in 7 starts.

Oakland Athletics traded RHP Tyler Clippard and cash to New York Mets for RHP Casey Meisner.

Casey Meisner – Meisner was a frequent topic on Mets360 this year and was the featured player back in May.  Meisner didn’t profile as a front of the rotation starter based on his raw pitches but had succeeded well at every level of the minors he’d reached.  The Mets traded for Clippard just a few days before learning they’d be losing Jenrry Mejia and it works out that this was a “necessary” move but Meisner ended his season well for Oakland as well.  In 32.1 innings for the Stockton Ports, Meisner lowered his Advanced A ERA and WHIP while also increasing the frequency of his strikeouts.  Meisner will still only be rated as a #3 pitcher at best but he continues to look like a pitcher who will make his way to the majors.

New York Mets traded RHP John Gant and RHP Rob Whalen to Atlanta Braves for 3B Juan Uribe, LF Kelly Johnson and cash.

John Gant – Gant was featured in my Midseason Top 10 and was one of the inclusions people questioned.  “Was hoping for a better than Gant #10” or “There are several pitchers I like better than Gant and I’m really surprised that you have him ahead of Cessa.” The reality was, that I’d seen Gant in 2013 and had monitored his progress in 2014 and saw key improvements in his numbers.  Gant is a pitcher who is not easy to get a hit against and a pitcher who mixes control with power.  After being traded to the Mississippi Braves he improved again finishing the year with 40.2 innings, a 1.99 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 43 strike outs.  He may not be a star but he is a talented and underrated pitcher.

Rob Whalen – Whalen has suffered a number of injuries in recent years and gone from diamond in the rough to organizational filler.  His walks were up in 2015 and his strikeouts were down. He’s pitching well enough to continue to rise up through the minors but looks like he has a ceiling somewhere around AAAA.

New York Mets traded CF Matt den Dekker to Washington Nationals for LHP Jerry Blevins.

Matt den Dekker – den Dekker was traded to Washington where he was used in the majors as a part-time defensive replacement.  Thanks to his power he did manage a .667 OPS but he still doesn’t get on base often enough to become a full-time major league player.

San Diego Padres traded LHP Alex Torres to New York Mets for RHP Cory Mazzoni and Brad Wieck.

Cory Mazzoni – Mazzoni was traded to San Diego and was immediately moved into full reliever mode.  He flourished in AAA where he posted a 3.97 ERA, 46 strikeouts over 34 innings and a 1.09 WHIP.  The problem came when he was promoted to the majors and saw his ERA balloon to 20.77 in 8.2 innings.

Brad Wieck – Wieck is another pitcher who is more impressive to see in person.  He began the year for the Mets in Savannah and was shipped to San Diego’s Fort Wayne affiliate, the TinCaps.  He posted a 2.61 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP and earned a promotion to the Lake Elsinore Storm.  Sadly, he looked over-matched in Advanced A seeing his numbers take a significant plunge across the board.