Adopted: P.J. Conlon

[Edgy MD]

He's as Irish as Kelsey's goat, and as successful as Noah Syndergaard. Meet P.J. Conlon, currently leading the South Atlantic League in wins; second in ERA (by 0.01) and innings, third in WHIP. He walks a Colóniano 1.15 per nine and he's a handsome, rakish little divil also.



Just ask Debbie or Courtney or whoever.



Her name (or her social media handle) might actually be "Peach." I'm not sure.

P.J.'s all about pitchability. Scouts don't talk about his arsenal, but how he uses it. He'll be using it in Flushing before you know it.

[smg58]

I picked him up in the Ottoneu league for a buck about a month ago. I'm hoping it pays off.

[Edgy MD]

And just like that, P.J. is promoted to St. Lucie.

My investment is paying off IMMEDIATELY!

[smg58]

I'm not surprised, although his last start was easily his weakest of the season to date. His most memorable outing was 10 innings (yes, 10!) against Hagerstown on June 4. He avoids walks and the long ball (10 BBs and 4 HRs in 78.1 IP), and apparently is super efficient with his pitches when he's on. It will be interesting to see how his game plays at a higher level.

[smg58]

The first start with St. Lucie on Friday was decent -- 7 IP, 2 runs, 7 hits, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 HR.

[Edgy MD]

Good enough to win, certainly, but in our offensive-challenged times, it took 14 innings for the Saints to knock off Palm Beach.

They did in dramatic (if passive) style, though, with PB scoring a run in the 14th, and St. Loo scoring two in the bottom of the inning ... on a pair of bases-loaded walks.

[Edgy MD]

Belfast Boy is undeterred by the promotion to the Florida State League, having launched with a 2-0 record and a 2.33 ERA, giving him an overall 10-1, 1.97 mark.

He's given up one homer in 27 innings as a Floridian. In celebration, his birthplace of Northern Ireland is making noise about uniting with the Republic of Irleand.

[smg58]

Conlon's final appearance of 2016 (on September 7) was arguably his weakest (three runs and eight hits in four innings), but the home run he allowed was only the second in his entire stint at St. Lucie. He finishes the year with a combined ERA of 1.79, allowing all of six home runs over 146 innings. All signs are pointing to him starting next season at Binghamton.

[Edgy MD]

P.J. was honored with a MILBY award for the top minor league starting pitcher. I don't know what a MILBY is or which body confers it, but it was voted on by the "fans." Which fans? Again, I dunno. But P.J. says that it's an "hone."

[Frayed Knot]

Kevin Kernan -- the Post's man who's skipping the Super Bowl circus this year in order to get a jump on the Florida beat -- asks if Conlon is the Mets' next rising star?

47 Irish born big leaguers but none since 1945

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think that all he needs to do is grow his hair a little longer and he's in!

It seems he may move quickly. Invited to major league camp... I wonder where he'll start the season? I would think Binghamton is most likely, but who knows? Maybe to ease his innings count he may see time in the bullpen. The Mets are a little short on lefty relievers. I don't think he'll make the jump directly from Single A to Queens, but he's 23 years old, so... maybe?

(EDIT: I posted the above before I saw the news about Blevins returning.)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Like a lotta minor league dominators without ovewrwhelming "stuff" this lad will have to keep proving it. The video in that Post story would suggest part of his skill is in the delivery which seems to hide his arm speed along with the ball.

[Edgy MD]

I have to say, that article reads really weird. It's like a pile of facts indifferently ordered that Kernan only hints at trying to weave into a narrative. It's like he got started late, and was ordering his notes, but the deadline was coming and he had to turn in what he had.

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I wonder where he'll start the season? I would think Binghamton is most likely, but who knows? Maybe to ease his innings count he may see time in the bullpen. The Mets are a little short on lefty relievers. I don't think he'll make the jump directly from Single A to Queens, but he's 23 years old, so... maybe?

Unless and until spring injuries start rearing their ugly heads, I have him rounding out a Bingo rotation along with Tyler Pill, Ricky Knapp, Casey Delgado, and Chris Flexen.

Las Vegas looks to open with Seth Lugo, Gabriel Ynoa, Adam Wilk, Sean Gilmartin, and Rafael Montero.

That outlook could actually change before the spring, as in the next couple of days, the Blevins/Salas roster pinch makes for a real DFA threat to the likes of Gilmartin and Montero.

[Edgy MD]

The Belfast Telegraph and Irish Central each published a dispatch from St. Lucie this morning.

[smg58]

Conlon sports a 2.12 ERA, an 0.882 WHIP, and a 16/2 K/BB ratio after 3 games and 17 IP for Bingo. His strikeouts are up, but he uncharacteristically allowed a home run in his first two games. His most recent start (6 shutout innings with 3 hits, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts) was a solid as it gets, though.

[Edgy MD]

He's a rapid climber. A "quickie," as Branch Rickey would say.

I'm seeing a mid-season callup to Vegas and his second straight season of rocking two levels.

[smg58]

Conlon rebounded from two bad starts in dramatic fashion yesterday, posting one hit, one walk, and 9 strikeouts over seven shutout innings against New Hampshire. His current stat line stands at a 3.31 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP, with 35 Ks in 32.2 IP.

[Edgy MD]

PJ has had a rough mid-summer but has straightened it out the last two starts, giving up one run over 13 1/3 innings.

He now sits at 7-7 with a 3.68 ERA and hopes to visit the destitute Las Vegas rotation someday soon.

[smg58]

Conlon finished the regular season in the pen. His wrapped up with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, but since he re-located he pitched 10.1 IP with 7 hits, 3 walks, 12 Ks, and one unearned run. He probably starts next season in the pen in Vegas, but in the meantime the B-Mets have a playoff series with Trenton.

[smg58]

Conlon smoked in his first start at Vegas yesterday: 6 IP, 1 run, 4 hits, 9/1 K/BB. Unfortunately the pen imploded and the 51s blew the game.

[smg58]

He's only had one good start since the first one, but that didn't stop him from getting the emergency call-up for tomorrow's start. Welcome to the show!

[A Boy Named Seo]

the mid-game interview was super choppy, but dad is Irish and mom is Scottish? PJ sounds more San Diego than Belfast nowadays, but it was cool to see his fam going nuts, jumping up and down, and waving flags like it was some World Cup match.

[Edgy MD]

He's got a little of the Da's Belfast accent in there.

Looked good for three innings at a time, anyways. And deGrom got his rest.