Cutnpaste: - Stefan Welsh, Elvin Ramirez, Hale on Tejada, Zack Wheeler, Harry Parker

10-10-11: - https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/132edccbf718965f - Another consistent performer, the Australian Stefan Welch played 124 of St. Lucie’s 140 games at first hitting .271/.361/.438 with a career-high 16 home runs. The wiry Welch was repeating the level at age 22 and looks like a fine organizational piece.

The Nationals announced this afternoon that they have returned right-hander Elvin Ramirez - a hard-throwing reliever they took in the first round of the Rule 5 draft last December - to the New York Mets. Ramirez came into spring training with a chance to make the team, as the Nationals tried to build a bullpen full of pitchers whose fastballs could approach 100 mph. But he was delayed by visa issues, and missed the entire season after shoulder surgery. The Nationals would have had to keep Ramirez on their 25-man roster for the first 90 days of the 2012 season to avoid offering him back to the Mets. - http://www.masnsports.com/the_goessling_game/2011/10/nationals-return-ramirez-to-mets.html

"His physical presence has improved. He's gotten bigger. He's gotten stronger. And I think he will continue to. And that's enabled him to make all the plays he needs to. He's shown he can make the play deep in the hole. The one play he struggled with -- that slow-hit ball in the hole where he has to get around it and backhand it -- he had been going at it at a funny angle. He showed a couple of times toward the end he could make that play. "I think he definitely can be an everyday shortstop. The thing we always worried about was, a guy gets up there and hits .200, you can't have that in the major leagues anymore. You can't have the guy who fields everything but only hits .200, .210. I think he can hit at .250 in a bad year and maybe hit .270, .280. We know he can occupy the eight hole, which is a tough place to hit. And he was really doing the job in the two hole behind Jose." - http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7116773/new-york-mets-ready-turn-ruben-tejada-jose-reyes-bolts

10-19-11: - Zack Wheeler, dealt straight up for Carlos Beltran at the 2011 Trade Deadline, is the New York Mets’ top prospect according to mlb.com.  The New York Mets’ top prospect ended the season with 129 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA in 115 innings.  Even more encouraging is that Zack Wheeler finished the year on fire after earning a promotion to High-A.  I was a little bit surprised that Matt Harvey did not receive the New York Mets’ No. 1 spot after advancing to Double-A in his first professional season, but he was No. 2 on the list so its not like he got shafted or anything.  According to the mlb.com article, Zack Wheeler is working with a four-pitch arsenal – your basic fastball, change-up, slider and curve quartet.  Its still a work in progress, but if he can find consistency with his secondary offerings his repertoire will take a step forward from the fastball, change-up, slurve trio he was previously working with.  Not only is he adding more pitches to his arsenal, but according to Paul DePodesta, the New York Mets’ director of player development, Wheeler was up to 99 mph with his heater.  The high octane combined with the improved secondary stuff and improved command (only five walks in 27 High-A innings) has me excited and I’m sure I can say the same for New York Mets fans everywhere.  This won’t be the last I say about Zack Wheeler this offseason - http://www.rantsports.com/new-york-mets/2011/10/18/zack-wheeler-ends-2011-as-the-new-york-mets-top-prospect

Harry Parker played a pretty significant role on the Mets ’73 pennant-winning team. He went 8-4 with a 3.35 ERA and saved 5 games as a reliever and spot starter.  He was the losing pitcher in game 4 of the NLCS, giving up a game-winning HR to Pete Rose in the top of the 12th, and was also the losing pitcher in game 3 of the WS, another extra-inning affair. Harry returned to the Mets in ’74, and saw the most work of his career, accumulating over 130 innings for that 71-91 squad. Unfortunately, he went 4-12 in the process, and was waived by the summer of ’75. - http://mets360.com/?p=8240&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29

Cutnpaste: Josh Satin, Aderlin Rodriguez, Francisco Rodriguez, Mike Cameron, Stefan Welsh

9-15-11: - http://centralny.ynn.com/content/sports/557217/satin-named-mets-top-minor-leaguer   - Life just keeps getting better for Joshua Satin, who picked up his first major league hit in his first at-bat with the Mets Labor Day weekend and who has also picked up a pretty major minor-league honor. Satin has been named the New York Mets minor-leaguer of the year after hitting .323 with 12 homers and 76 RBI's while splitting time with Binghamton and AAA Buffalo this season. Satin was named an Eastern League all-star this summer, the third straight year he has earned a minor league all-star honor. The 26-year-old in his fourth season with the organization became the first B-Met ever to hit for the cycle and strung together a 15-game hit streak with the Bisons

9-15-11: - http://scoutingthesally.com/new-york-mets-third-base-prospect-aderlin-rodriguez-ranking-2011  - The scouting report for (Aderlin) Rodriguez after his 2011 season remains similar from a power standpoint. He’s still young, has plenty of power potential, but the holes in his offensive game were really exposed in full season baseball. His future at 3B is also now even more in doubt than at this time last year even though he appears to be in better physical shape. I am not a big fan of players comps, but at this point in his career, it is hard not to compare him to former San Francisco Giants prospect Angel Villalona, although he was admittedly younger as a player in the “Sally”. They share similar body types, similar prospect profiles and even similar statistics in the Sally League. Rodriguez has the potential to be the best power bat in the Mets system, but 2011 has made it more difficult to visualize.

9-15-11: - http://www.metstoday.com/7026/uncategorized/k-rod-shows-true-colors  - On Tuesday, reliever Francisco Rodriguez told a national baseball columnist that he wasn’t happy with the lack of save opportunities he’s had since the Milwaukee Brewers traded for him in July. When asked about his comments a day later, Rodriguez didn’t back off. “I wasn’t lying,” he said before the Brewers’ 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. “There’s been plenty of save opportunities, and I’ve pitched once in the ninth inning and it wasn’t a save. “I’m not happy. That’s the bottom line for me. They told me one thing; they haven’t done it. And I stand by what I said. “I’m not lying. I’m not creating something out of nowhere. I’m just saying the facts, and that’s pretty much it.”

9-15-11: - The Marlins cut outfielder Mike Cameron late Monday night for conduct detrimental to the team. Two sources on Wednesday gave the reason: Cameron got into a verbal altercation with a flight attendant on the team's charter flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta on Sunday. The altercation did not turn physical, but the charter company filed a complaint. The Marlins' front office believed it could not keep Cameron after the incident. He wasn't in the team's longterm plans, anyway, and his release gives the Marlins a chance to give Bryan Peterson (.280) more at-bats over the final two weeks of the season. Cameron was hitting .238. - Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2011/09/umncaa-investigation-update-plus-dolphins-heat-marlins.html#ixzz1Y3A33jtK  

9-15-11: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/international-affairs/2011/2612324.html   - Australia's roster includes fewer affiliated minor leaguers. The group includes ex-big leaguers Justin Huber and Chris Oxspring; first baseman Stefan Welch (Mets), coming off a .271/.361/.438 season with 16 home runs in the high Class A Florida State League; World Baseball Classic veteran James Beresford (Twins) at shortstop; outfielder Tim Kennelly (Phillies) and his brother Matt (Braves), a catcher; and righthander Hayden Beard (Padres).

Building 2012 Rosters Prospects First - Picks 66-70

66 – 1B Stefan Welsh – Welsh has done very little wrong but he’s in an organization that right now has too many first basemen. First, you have Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, Josh Satin, and Nick Evans in Queens and there’s also Alan Dykstra ahead of him going to Buffalo. 16-HRs, 53-RBIs, and an OPS of .805 in 430-Abs is great, and will definitely get him to Binghamton next spring, but then what? ETA – out of system via trade




photo by Allan Greene

 67 – OF Pedro Zapata – Zapata is a no-pop speedster that plays the outfield. He’s had a very nice season (.293/.330/.391/.721) for St. Lucie and there’s a slot waiting for him in Binghamton next spring. I especially like the 34 stolen bases and only six errors all season. Most of the outfield talent in the system is either at his level or below, so his fate is in his own hands. ETA: Utility 2014

68 – IF Wilfredo Tovar – Tovar has moved over to second base and has done a decent job for the Sand Gnats (.253/.320/.322/.648) this season.He did have 20-errors, but doesn’t everyone at this level? I don’t consider Tovar major league material and he should bounce around the organization for a few more years. Look for him to start second for Lucy next spring. ETA: AAAA





photo by Allan Greene

 69 – OF Alonzo Harris – Harris has been lost and passed by in Savannah for the past few years. He even changed positions from second base to the outfield in hopes of turning a coach on. So far, it hasn’t. He can’t stay in Savannah for a third year, and there’s four other guys projected for St. Lucie, so I have him as either the 5th outfielder there, or out of the system. ETA: OOS 2014

70 – 1B/OF Travis Ozga – A different version of the Alonzo Harris saga. Ozga is way down the pecking order at first base , so he tried this year to light a spark in the outfield. Zero home runs isn’t going to hack it though. I have him as a utility outfielder in Binghamton in 2012.




Rosters So Far:


Buffalo: (15) –SP Chris Schwinden, Collin McHugh, Brandon Moore, RP Robert Carson, Rhiner Cruz, Eric Beaulac, Jose De La Torre, IF Alan Dykstra, Reese Havens, Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Fernando Martinez, Mike Baxter, Juan Lagarus


Binghamton: (17) – SP: Mike Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, Darin Gorski, Armondo Rodriguez, RP Jeff Kaplan, Nick Carr, Josh Edgin, Brad Holt, IF Juan Centeno, Stefan Welsh, Wilfredo Tovar, Jefry Marte, OF Matt den Dekker, Cesar Puello, Pedro Zapata, Travis Ozga


St. Lucie: (17) – SP Greg Peavey, Taylor Whitenton, Angel Cuan, Tyler Pill, Ryan Fraser, RP Hamilton Bennett, Cory Mazzoni, Jack Leathersich, Chase Huchingson, IF Albert Cordero, Alonzo Harris, Wilmer Flores, Robbie Shields, Aderlin Rodriguez, OF Cory Vaughn, Gilbert Gomez, Darrell Cecilliani


Savannah: (7) – SP Akeel Morris, Alex Panteliodis, Erik Goeddel, Logan Verrett, Marcos Camerena, RP T.J. Chism, IF Cam Maron


Brooklyn: (5) – SP: Michael Fulmer, Juan Urbina, Domingo Tapia, IF Phillip Evans, OF: Brandon Nimmo


Kingsport: (5) – SP Luis Mateo, Christian Montgomery, Steve Matz, OF Vincente Lupo, Eudy Pena


GCL: (0) –


DSL: (1) – IF Elvis Sanchez,