Today is the last part of the Q&A we were fortunate enough to have with Lynn Worthy of the Press and Sun-Bulletin. Enjoy!
Is there a player you’re most excited to see promoted to Binghamton from the lower levels?
I’m very interested to see Noah Syndergaard pitch. It looks like, based solely on statistics, that he is another strike-thrower. His strikeout to walk ratio seems impressive. He’s been a highly-touted prospect in both the Mets system and the Blue Jays system prior to the trade.
I’m also curious to see the power Aderlin Rodriguez has in person. I’m not sure how soon he’d be promoted. When it does happen, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to Eastern League pitching. Specifically, can he make adjustments when pitchers get an idea of what his strengths and weaknesses are. The pitchers certainly make adjustments in the Eastern League.
Who was your favorite player that you’ve covered and do you maintain friendships with many of the players that you get to cover?
The players who have been here for multiple years or who have been here for an entire season usually get to be fairly friendly. In some cases, I may drop a line to via social media to the guys who have gone on. I’m not sure if I have a favorite guy, but there are several I’ve enjoyed just talking to about things that weren’t directly related to their own play.
I’d list Rob Carson, Greg Peavey, Erik Turgeon (now retired) and Reese Havens among those. Mark Cohoon is back here this season, and he’s a great guy to cover. McHugh was always good to talk baseball and pitching with. I’m sure I’m forgetting some.
Looks like Travis Taijeron is off to a nice start, but wow… Cesar Puello is on fire. What can you tell us about him?
Puello has been in one of those stretches where he hasn’t missed his pitch many times, if any. He had a three-game series here against Trenton where he went 7-for-12 with two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, four runs scored, and only ONE strikeout.
He’s had several reporters like myself ask him about the reports that he could possibly face suspension because of Biogenesis, but he hasn’t let any of it distract him. He regularly talks about being faithful and reading the Bible. I believe one time I saw him carrying a Bible in the clubhouse.
He talked to me a few times about working on getting on top of the ball more instead of upper cutting, and allowing the strength in his legs and lower body to generate power.
He really seems locked in to the point where he is looking for a particular pitch or location, and he’s not giving in and chasing other pitches early in the count as he may have done earlier in the season.
I’m sure Lynn will have the privilege of watching Syndergaard in person very soon this season. He’s on the Florida State League All-Star team, and has posted a 3-3 record, 3.11 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 16 walks in 63.2 innings pitched. I’ll be interested to see how he adjusts to the next level of play.
We all know how great Cesar Puello has been hitting lately, but man, it must be awesome to watch it in person and get to chat with him about it. I enjoyed hearing about changing his upper cut, letting his lower half do the work at the plate. It’s amazing how a small adjustment such as that makes a huge difference in his production, but hey, that’s how hitting works sometimes. You can move your hands or feet an inch, and it changes everything.
Thoughts From Satish R.
I’m looking forward to seeing Syndergaard in AA very soon actually. He has recently cooled off and may not see his promotion as quick as possible — but the organization is smart enough to let him try his hand up there at least a few times before next year. Syndergaard has very advanced stuff and could probably adjust to the level of competetion he’ll be facing there — but AA will be a major test for him. He is one of our more exciting prospects, however, and could settle down while improving his stock further.
There’s not much to be said about Cesar Puello that has not already been said in the past seven days since he’s been on the biggest tear in the world. I wish this BioGenesis cloud would clear off him. First off, nothing has been proven. Secondly, the clinic was closed last year, so it is honestly safe to say this year is the result of his own hard work and perhaps good faith. He has always had the potential — and now he’s turning it into results.
To follow Lynn’s reporting on the Binghamton Mets, you can follow his B-Mets Blog, or on Twitter: @PSBLynn.