Two Bad Outings Propel Brad Holt's ERA

In his last 10 games, Binghamton Mets reliever Brad Holt has a 4.70 ERA; however, if it were not for two of those games, his ERA would be 1.19. Both games were against the Portland Sea Dogs. In both, he pitched just one inning. And in both, he gave up three hits and three runs.

If Portland were in first place in the B-Mets division, his failures against them would be more understandable; however, the Sea Dogs are in last place, a half game behind Binghamton, which is in next-to-last place.

In seven of the other games, he held the opponent run-less, and in the eighth one, he gave up two runs. He had one of his best outings against the league leader, New Hampshire, holding them scoreless and hitless in two innings.

One noticeable difference between his early success and his later performance is in his walks to strikeouts ratio. In 2008, it was about 1:3. In 2009, it was about 1:3.5. In 2010 and 2011, it's been close to 1:1.

In December 2010, Baseball America ranked Holt as the Mets 10th best prospect. If he wants to increase that ranking, he needs to regain the control he had early in his career and perform better against cellar dwellers.

The Mets selected Holt in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft.

Michael Fulmer Finally Signs Contract

According to Jim Callis of Baseball America,

Supplemental first-rounder Michael Fulmer Tweeted (via @MFulmer12) on June 23 that he had reached an agreement with the Mets. Nearly a month later, he officially signed with the team for $937,500.

Fulmer signed for $160,800 above the slotted amount for his draft position. Unfortunately, Callis doesn't reveal the cause of the delay.

Now the Mets need to ink Nimmo and Verrett, and they'll have signed their top ten 2011 draft picks.

☛ Dimming Met fans day was the team's play against Florida. Bobby Parnell showed he has a ways to go before he can be counted on as a closer after giving up both the game-tying and game-winning hits in the same inning.

With regard to Logan Morrison's game-tying four-bagger, after the game Parnell said “I wanted to bounce it off the plate, and I just didn’t get it down there.” He added, “It was just the wrong pitch in the wrong situation.”

The pitch bounced alright, but off Morrison's bat and over the centerfield fence. The blast tied the game. Then, John Buck slammed another Parnell pitch for the game-winning double, giving the Mets their sixth loss in the last 10 games and dropping them below .500.

☛ Fortunately for Mets fans, Juan Lagares' play eased some of the pain from the New York Mets defeat. In his second game for Binghamton since his promotion from St. Lucie where he hit .339 with an .876 OPS, the 22-year-old outfielder went 5 for 5 with two doubles and a triple, increasing his total base count to 10.

Lagares has been in the Mets organization since 2006.

Harvey Hit Hard in Latest Start

Pitching in Double-A is not like pitching in college or in Single-A. In his start today with the Binghamton Mets, Matt Harvey lasted only three innings. He surrendered seven run on six hits, including two homers. His Double-A ERA is now 9.24.

Nieuwenhuis Named Player of the Week

Binghamton centerfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis has been named the Eastern League's Player of the Week. Since his promotion to the B-Mets last season from St. Lucie, he's been proving his hitting ability.

Last season, in 36 plate appearances with Binghamton, he hit .406. So far this season, in 351 plate appearances, he's hitting .306. In his last 10 games he's batting .511.

Nieuwenhuis currently leads the Eastern League in runs scored and doubles and is second in hits.

The Mets drafted him in 2008 in the third round. The Mets first draft choice that year was Ike Davis.

Two Met Prospects Hitting Well

Though the B-Mets lost, Josh Satin continues to have a hot bat. After going 1 for 4, his average is now .353 in 34 at bats in Double-A. Satin started the season with St. Lucie, hitting .316 for them, including five homers. Surprisingly, Satin, a righty, is hitting right-handed pitchers much better than left-handed ones. Against, righties, he's hitting .407; whereas, against lefties, he's hitting only .143. He's one of the Mets best second base prospects. This is Satin's third season in pro ball.

Manning centerfield for the B-Mets is Sean Ratliff. In yesterday's game, Ratliff, who's hitting .314, batted second. He, too, got a hit in four at bats. A left-handed hitter, he's hitting well from both sides with the B-Mets. Left-handed, he's hitting .313; right-handed, he's hitting .308. Ratliff's in his third pro season. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.



☛ Jenrry Mejia made his Binghamton debut. He was the first of six pitchers. In 2.1 innings, he yielded two hits, a run, and struck out three.

Minor League Baseball Cap - Binghamton Mets Home Cap by New Era (6 7/8)

Binghamton and St. Lucie lose

Another Mets pitcher did poorly in his 2009 debut. This time it was Brad Holt, the Mets #4 prospect. Yesterday, pitching for St. Lucie against Sarasota, Holt lasted just 3.2 innings, surrendering nine runs on seven hits and four walks. On the positive side, the two pitches who followed him, Nicholas Waechter and Stephen Clyne, gave up just two hits, no walks,and no runs in 5.1 innings. As for the St. Lucie hitters, two got extra-base hit, both doubles, with one hit by Ike "Double" Davis.

Also on Thursday, in Double-A, Binghamton lost its second game to Trenton in 14. Starter Dylan Owen, who I thought was the best pitcher last season in the Mets Minor League system, pitched five innings, surrendering only three hits and two runs. The only negative: He walked five.

Tonight, the Mets big leaguers play in Florida against the unbeaten Marlins. John Maine takes the mound against Anibal Sanchez. The Mets should be happy he's on the mound. The 10 current Mets who've faced Sanchez average a career OPS against him of .871. In contrast, the 11 current Marlins who've faced Maine average a career OPS against him of .690.

After three games, three Mets have OPS's above 1.000: Church (1.227), Delgado (1.095), and Wright (1.071). Luis Castillo, who was supposed to have reported in excellent shape, is hitting only .167. Hopefully, in warmer weather he'll hit better.

Mets #15 prospect could be B-Mets #1 player

The Binghamton Mets, the Mets Double-A affiliate, has some of the Mets better prospects on its roster. Among its starting pitchers, Mike Antonini is a player to watch. During Spring Training he pitched five innings for the New York Mets, limiting opponents to three hits and no runs. In 2007 with the Brooklyn Cyclones, the left-hander threw 19.2 innings and had a 0.46 ERA. Last season, Antonini pitched 199.1 innings for three Mets minor league teams and had a 2.62 ERA. Particularly impressive was his WHIP: only 1.079. Baseball America rates Antonini as the Mets 15th-best prospect.

Besides Antonini, the B-Mets pitching staff includes Jose Sanchez, who's played for the B-Mets the last two seasons and seems to have topped out at the Double-A level, right-handers Eric Brown and Dylan Owen, the latter a pitcher with a big upside, Ryan Coultas, an infielder converted to pitcher, and Adam Bostick, a player who also appears destined to spend his remaining playing time in the minors.

A surprising member of its pitching staff is Fernando Nieve, whom the Mets optioned to Binghamton rather than to Buffalo. Nieve has big league experience, spending two seasons with the Houston Astros.

Here is the B-Mets starting lineup in last night's 5-3 opening-day victory:

Garcia, E CF
Tejada SS
Thole C
Bowman 3B
Duda 1B
Bouchard 2B
Wabick LF
Stewart DH
Loadenthal RF
Antonini P

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At Cincinnati, the NY Mets beat the Reds 9-7. I hope that Francisco Rodriguez doesn't have too many more innings like he had yesterday in the ninth. He threw 30 pitches, loading the bases; only 12 were strikes. But Rodriguez wasn't the only Met pitcher to throw a lot of pitches. Starter Mike Pelfrey threw 104 in his five-inning stint. Let's blame the weather for their lack of control: It was 54 degrees. Hopefully, when the weather warms, the pitchers' control will improve.

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