Righthander Noah Syndergaard, second baseman T.J. Rivera and outfielder Dustin Lawley have been selected to represent the St. Lucie Mets for the Florida State League All-Star Game to be played on June 15 game at Dunedin.
TC Palm writes:
Syndergaard, 20, is 2-3 in 11 starts with a 2.81 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings. He was acquired by the Mets in the offseason in a trade involving Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.
Rivera, 24, is batting .297 with 13 doubles and 25 RBIs in 51 games. He hit a combined .320 with nine home runs and 66 RBIs in stints with St. Lucie and the South Atlantic League’s Savannah Sand Gnats last season.
Lawley, 24, is batting .242 with 11 home runs, 16 doubles and 40 RBIs in 54 games. Lawley ranks third in the FSL in home runs, fourth in RBIs, second in extra-base hits and fifth in total bases.
Rivera is fast becoming one of my favorite hitting prospects in the system. His gritty play and intensity is trumped only by his all-around talent and skill set.
Syndergaard is also making quite a name for himself since joining the Mets and I’ve even heard from more than few people who think that ultimately he will be the prize from the Dickey trade and not Travis d’Arnaud. Of course there’s a better than 50/50 chance that the Mets will trade some arms for an outfielder at the trade deadline and if that’s the case, Syndergaard could be the one to go. I hope not.
Can I just say that I’m baffled that Dustin Lawley got selected over Travis Taijeron? I don’t want to take anything away from Lawley, but Taijeron is batting .303/.399/.573 in 185 at-bats with 20 doubles and nine home runs. He leads the team with a .972 OPS which is over 150 points higher than Lawley. I guess the MLB All Star selection process isn’t the only one that’s flawed.
I also wanted to point out the excellent season by RHP Matthew Bowman. Matt kind of fell through the cracks because he’s only made five starts for St. Lucie since being promoted from Savannah. In those starts Bowman is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. Overall the 22-year old righty is 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA. His strikeout to walk ratio is off the charts and in 62.2 innings he’s racked up 61 strikeouts while walking only 9 batters.
Okay, I’m done complaining. 🙂
Congratulations to Syndergaard, Rivera and Lawley!