Your Binghamton Mets

[MFS62]

http://2006.bmets.com/news/viewarticle.asp?a=796

I wonder.
Is it the same Enrique Cruz who was lost in the Rule V Draft a few years ago?
Anybody know?

Later

[Guest SI Metman]

Nope, this Enrique Cruz was an ex-MFY

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/C/enrique-cruz-1.shtml

B-Mets took 3 out of 4 from Akron this Opening Weekend.

They played 15 innings today and won on a walkoff homer from Jorge Padilla. Henry Owens faced 6 men, he struck out 6 men.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Holy Carl Hubbell, Batman!

[Frayed Knot]

From 'Ask BA':

Q: -- What do you think of Mets righthander Henry Owens? The New York papers were hyping him during spring training and his Double-A numbers (no hits, two walks, 14 strikeouts) are ridiculous so far, albeit in just six innings. Any chance we could see him in Shea Stadium this year?


A: -- Owens is one of the best stories in a Mets system that has been depleted by trades. He hit just .277-6-20 at NCAA Division II Barry (Fla.) as a senior catcher/DH in 2001. With his baseball career figuring to end there, he planned on attending medical school. But scouts liked his arm strength, and the Pirates' Delvy Santiago signed him as a nondrafted free agent with the intention of converting him to the mound.

Owens showed a mid-90s fastball and was able to simply blow heat by hitters in the low minors from the start, but coming up with an effective second pitch was more problematic. He was bothered by elbow tendinitis and back problems throughout 2004, after which the Mets grabbed him in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft.

It took Owens a couple of months to get fully healthy last year, but once he did, he had a 1.04 ERA and 41 strikeouts in his final 26 innings at high Class A St. Lucie. His fastball hit 100 mph when he pitched in the Puerto Rican Winter League, and his slider made some strides. It's still not a finished product, however, as evidenced by Owens' performance in big league camp this spring, when he had a 10.50 ERA and opponents strafed him for 12 hits in six innings.

The Mets are off to a good start, and Owens still has work to do on his slider, so a promotion isn't imminent. But if he continues to perform and the slider improves, New York is going to be tempted to give him a look later this year.

[Frayed Knot]

Mike Pelfrey to start for Binghamton on Saturday

[nymr83]

beware, Victor, beware.

[Guest SI Metman]

The problem with Owens if any is that he just turned 27 this past Sunday.

B-Mets got 1-hit tonight. Pelfrey's debut will be on the road which sucks since I'll actually be in Binghamton this Saturday.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"Are you kidding me? You can't have Punjabs in the dugout!"

[Frayed Knot]

And speaking of promotions;
... if you're looking for someone who the team is either real high on or maybe is hyping for purposes of mid-season trade bait it might be Carlos Gomez; the speedy, just turned 20 y/o, OFer who the Mets recently promoted from Hagerstown directly to Binghamton.

Off to a slow start so far: .197/.300/.263; 9 SB w/2 CS; 18 Ks/8 BBs in 76 ABs

[Frayed Knot]

Some stuff on Gomez from a BA Q&A:

Q: What should Met fans make of Carlos Gomez? The Mets are hyping him as having better tools than Milledge, but he seems to struggle at the plate. What's the deal?

A: Matt Meyers:
Some people in the org say he has better raw tools than Milledge, which means they could be better, but aren't yet. At this moment, he is faster and has a better arm than Milledge. In fact, his arm and speed might both be legitimate 70 tools (on the 20-80 scale). But the most important tool, hitting, he lags behind Lastings. The organization certainly believes in him and this spring they felt they finally saw him truly responding to instruction and applying it quickly. As a result, they decided to have him skip high A. So far, he has been OK when you consider he skipped a level. He has a ton of upside, but has a ways to go. Guys like him often fail badly (see Escobar, Alex), but can be spectacular (see Guerrero, Vlad).

[MFS62]

My boy Henry Owens is still overwhelming AA hitters.
As of last night his record is:
1-1, 1.50 ERA, 10G, 12 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 SV, 5 BB, and 27K.

Later

[MFS62]

Last year's #1 draft pick, righthander Mike Pelfrey makes his first start for Binghamton today.

Later

[smg58]

I forgot to mention that I got to a B-Mets game last week. The park is nice. The rest of Binghamton, well...

My impressions. Jorge Padilla has major league power. Evan MacLane pitched, but does not strike me as a name to remember. I didn't get to see Carlos Gomez use his speed. Brett Harper is huge, but has no home runs to show for his size; he should develop power down the road.

[MFS62]

Owens update.
Through last night's game:
13 1/3 innings, 31 Ks

Writers are soon going to have to add "that's not a misprint" when they report his stats.

Later

[nymr83]

The B-Mets lost 1-0 to Erie, but look at Pelfrey's first AA game:

5 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts!

he left the game with a runner on and 2 outs, i'll assume due to a pre-determined pitch count.

[Guest Edgy DC]

B-Mets manager Juan Samuel, struck in the face by a foul ball off the bat of Akron's Pat Osborn 4/24, underwent surgery to repair his nose and cheekbone Monday in New York. He isn't expected to return to the dugout until Saturday at the earliest. Kevin Morgan, the NY Mets' Coordinator of Field Instruction and a former B-Mets infielder ('95-'97) is serving as the interim manager. He is wearing number four....

---

oursportscentral.com

[Gwreck]

Alay Soler now a Binghampton Met.

From Adam Rubin's Daily News Blog:

]Cuban defector Alay Soler, who went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in five starts for St. Lucie, has been promoted to Double-A Binghamton. Special assistant Tony Bernazard said Soler hit 94 mph his last outing. It had been in the upper-80s this spring. The Mets might face a difficult decision with Soler after the season. He will make at least $800,000 in 2007 unless Mets brass tries to pass him through waivers, which would allow other teams to claim him.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think Pelfrey was to go today, but I just checked and Bingo has been rocked for 20 hits, losing 7-5 in the ninth.

[MFS62]

Pelfry-4ip, 13h, 3so, 1bb, 5r--today.
I think all but two of the hits (doubles) were singles.
His AA ERA now stands at 4.66 in two starts.

The game started in the morning. Maybe his internal clock wasn't working.

Later

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Soler makes a nice spash in his AA debut.
6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 0 BB

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060506&content_id=67985&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

We saw the B-Mets last night. They lost to Trenton 6-3. Collazo was the B-Mets starting pitcher - he gave up three in the first and one in the second before settling down a bit. The B-Mets were baffled by Trenton's Philip Highes in the beginning, but they eventually learned how to hit him and he was gone midway through the game. Juan Samuel is the manager, and he's a hesitant third base coach - the game might have been closer if he sent a couple of guys who wound up stranded at third.

This wasn't an impressive bunch of B-Mets. Over the years I usually see guys at this level that seem worth following, but I wasn't too attached to anyone last night.

[nymr83]

]Philip Highes

Is this P. HUGHES, or another guy altogether? If its Hughes he's a well regarded pitchig prospect, if its "Highes" I've never heard of him.

[Guest Edgy DC]

B-Met Prospects

Michael Pelfrey P
Carlos Gomez OF
Henry Owens P
Matt Lindstrom P
Brett Harper 1B
Michel Abreu 1B
Bobby Malek OF
Zac Clements C
Andy Wilson C
Corey Ragsdale SS
Jay Caligiuri 3B

You can even throw Yunir Garcia in and make it three prospective catchers on the roster, but there's been a lot of non-hitting going on.

[nymr83]

I'd cut that list down to Pelfrey, Owens, Gomez, Lindstrom, and Abreu if you want a list of guys likely to ever get 500 PA or 150 IP in the majors

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I meant Hughes - that was a precaffienated typing error.

[seawolf17]

ScarletKnight41 wrote: I meant Hughrs - that was a precaffienated typing error.

And that was a caffeinated typing error.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

That was a replying on the Sidekick typing error.

[Guest SI Metman]

Nymr83 wrote: I'd cut that list down to Pelfrey, Owens, Gomez, Lindstrom, and Abreu if you want a list of guys likely to ever get 500 PA or 150 IP in the majors

Owens hasn't played in almost a month, Gomez has been injured and isn't hitting a lick, Abreu is 31... Really, the list of B-Mets prospects is a lot shorter than you'd expect.

[duan]

outside of the 40 man roster guys AAA & AA really is a bit of a wasteland at the moment isn't it

[MFS62]

Owens has been throwing on the sidelines, reports his arm feels good, and may start a rehab assignment soon. (I just read that, and have forgotten where I read it).

Later