Wheeler’s starting to look like the real deal. (Photo: Michael Baron)

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas defeated Albuquerque, 4-3.
• Binghamton was rained out.
• St. Lucie was also rained out.
• Savannah took down Rome, 3-2.

Prospect Pipeline

• Well…he did it again. I’ve been hesistant with Zack Wheeler since the beginning of the 2013 season, but I can hold nothing else against the young man. He is pitching like an ace – with veteran like poise on the mound and in a hitter’s league, no less. I had high expectations for him and he is beginning to get there. I still don’t think we’ll see him promoted until past the Super Two date, but hey, a little more practice never hurt anyone. Except maybe Allen Iverson.
• I make this statement, of course, because Wheeler is coming off yet another good start for the 51s last night. His line was solid, as he allowed two runs over seven-and-a-third innings pitched, while striking out seven batters. Perhaps the most important thing to take away is that for the third straight start – he walked only one batter. Something to note, via my buddy Mitch Petanick… “In his final strikeout in the eighth inning, he was still hitting 96 mph on the radar gun…wow.”
• It was his third straight quality start in a row. Is it conceivable that the mechanical change and removal of his blister actually were the final things needed to flip the switch for Zack Wheeler? Honest to god, I have no idea, but I will take the performances he is providing as of late. The Harvey and Wheeler show might be coming to a wreck of a team near you within a month…
• Speaking of AAA pitching, our current rotation after Wheeler includes Carlos Torres, Chris Schwinden, and D.J. Mitchell – with Collin McHugh being the last man. I know Meija will eventually be back in that mix too, but wow, it is not inconceivable to understand why Buffalo decided not to renew with the Mets. By the way, wouldn’t Collin McHugh be better out there than Shawn Marcum at this point? Honestly. McHugh could get called up if Familia hits the DL, but Greg Burke is also a likely candidate.
• Rainy Lara really needs to be promoted soon. His domination of the league continued Friday with seven strong innings, where he allowed just one earned run and set down eight men via strikeout. His ERA at this point STILL stands at under 1.50 and he really needs a challenge. He does not have dominant stuff and he needs to learn how to work against hitters who won’t be overmatched against his pitches. I see a path for Lara to the MLB in terms of success however, as he could end up being a versatile Jeremy Hefner type guy down the line with better control at the worst. You could make the case for the promotion of Rafael Montero, Rainy Lara, Noah Syndergaard, and Zack Wheeler… what a problem to have, right?
• And on the topic of promotions, I need to start counting the days until they jump Kevin Plawecki to AA. As a player with some college polish, AA should at least serve as a challenge for him – as he is clearly too advaced for A ball. His skillset is shining through, however, and he continued to demonstrate his gap power with a double in last night’s game, his second straight game with a two-bagger. It was his 19th on the year, and he has now reached base in 22 straight games.
• Wilmer Flores is looking like he might be beginning to break out this season, as he slammed his second home run in three games last night in support of Wheeler. Flores has hit all three of his home runs at home so far this season. He is in the midst of a so-so campaign, but is still very ripe at just 21 years of age.
• Seeing Captain Kirk settle down nicely in the PCL with the 51s and bang out a three-hit game on Friday, I can’t help but worry that he is going to end up as one of those AAAA outfielder types. I always saw potential for more from him.
• Danny Muno may have hit a home run on Friday evening – but someone needs to tell him that his twitter was hacked and it sends out spam DMs.
• The Mets played like an MiLB team yesterday, so I should probably give them a mention. There’s a part of me that hopes Matt Harvey drills someone today to show a little support for JV1 out there.

Stat Line of the Day

Zack Wheeler: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER, 7 K

Tweet of the Day

Thank you to all my fans for the support. I love my fans….. #teamJV1 # papivaldy

— Jordany Valdespin (@jordany023) May 12, 2013

Transactions

Chad Zurcher, Savannah’s shortstop, was placed on the 7-day DL yesterday. Robert Gsellman was added to their roster and was effective.

Domingo Tapia was placed on the 7-Day DL on Friday for the St. Lucie Mets with a burnt hand, and Carlos Vazquez of the Brooklyn Cyclones was called upon to take his place in a corresponding move. Jennry Meija was later added in place of him, to start his rehab assignment. Angel Cuan made the start in Tapia’s place on Friday. For the record, Tapia burned his non-pitching hand.

Mark Cohoon will be starting the first game of a double-header for Binghamton tomorrow as they return a six-man rotation with Cory Mazzoni returning from injury. However, Tyler Pill has been shutdown after being diagnosed with a right shoulder capsule injury. You can thank Lynn Worthy for that little tidbit.

According to Adam Rubin, Terry Collins told him that Frank Francisco was supposed to throw a side session yesterday, and did not.