Adopted - Evan MacLane

[Guest SI Metman]

I'll jump in the pool and adopt Evan.



He's a 23 year old lefty out of a California CC who is anchoring the B-Mets rotation. He was a 25th rounder in 2003 but has been pitching well on every level to put himself on a quick track

career numbers

He's 1-0 in 3 starts so far this season. His WHIP is 1.07 and he has averaged 8.17 k/9 for his career. I expect great things from him and I think he could see Norfolk at some point this summer.

A pic from his earlier days:

[Guest SI Metman]

My kid got his first start at Norfolk tonight and defeated the Toledo Mud Hens.

He allowed 3 hits and 3 runs (only 1 earned) over 7 innings while whiffing 4.

[MFS62]

The reports said he 23 years old.
For some reason I thought he was much older than that.

Later

[Guest SI Metman]

Holy crap, I'm a proud poppa tonight.

7 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 12 K against the Columbus Clippers.

Way to beat those Yanks early kid.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Twelve whiffs in seven innings in the International League is nothing to sneeze at.

[Guest SI Metman]

Nice report from Adam Rubin's blog:

http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/archives/2006/05/mets_minor_league_report_514_b.php

May 14, 2006
Mets Minor League Report 5/14 (Blog Edition)

Evan MacLane could have played college baseball at Hawaii. Instead he opted for slightly less exotic Kingsport, Tenn. – home of the Mets’ short-season affiliate in the Appalachian League.

MacLane, a soft-tossing lefthander pitcher, accepted a $7,500 signing bonus and four semesters of future paid education after the Mets drafted him in the 25th round in 2003. Jedd Soto, MacLane’s junior college coach at Feather River in Quincy, Calif., recommended taking the Mets’ opportunity after watching his right fielder, Josh Greene, decline a similar opportunity the previous year, break a foot and not get another chance.

MacLane, 23, has made the most of the opportunity. After beginning the season at Double-A Binghamton, MacLane advanced to Norfolk. He tossed seven scoreless innings in his Tides home debut last night, striking out 12 and issuing no walks in a 6-0 with against Columbus. In his Triple-A debut Monday, MacLane limited Toledo to three runs (one earned) and three hits in seven innings while striking out four and walking one.

Overall, he’s struck out 41 and walked only three batters this season – remarkable control that dates back to his JUCO days.

“My coach hated when we walked people,” MacLane said.

The southpaw draws comparisons to lefthanders Tom Glavine and Jamie Moyer because of his solid control and modest fastball velocity (83-86 mph). He speculated that a righthander with similar velocity probably would go undrafted, but credited former Mets scout Chuck Hensley, now an agent, for repeatedly attending his games.

About MacLane’s only blemish since turning pro came in the Arizona Fall League last year. Faced with the increased level of competition from his regular-season experience in ’05, spent mostly at high-A St. Lucie, MacLane overthrew and struggled.

“I saw those guys throwing really hard and thought I needed to do something more,” MacLane said.

He soon concluded: “You’re not going to throw 88, 89 mph by anybody.” And after allowing seven runs in two innings in his AFL debut, he steadily improved – allowing only three earned runs in 16 innings over his final three starts for Grand Canyon.

MacLane may not make an appearance in Flushing this season, with Mike Pelfrey and Alay Soler seemingly ahead of him on the depth chart. But he should get an invite to big-league spring training in 2007, where he presumably would have a chance to make an impression, just like Brian Bannister did this year.

“I’d love it,” MacLane said.

[Guest SI Metman]

Impressive outing tonight against Durham.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2006_06_10_noraaa_dubaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb

Fell 1 out short of the shutout, giving up the run before being lifted.

6-0 with a 2.11 ERA in the International League. Probably the best pitcher in the Mets minors not named Pelfrey at this point.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And on the same night, a performance by Soler really stops up the development pipeline.

[MFS62]

According to my friend out there, an Arizona sports radio station is reporting that Evan is on his way as the PTBNL in the Shawn Green deal.

EDIT: Its official:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2557946

Later

[Guest SI Metman]

Well, I lost that one. Best of luck E-Mac. I'll be rootin for you in the desert.