(Photo Credit: Allen Greene Photography)
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Las Vegas 51s (42-69, fourth in the Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern division) have had enough struggles this season, but it way get worse with the promotion of Amed Rosario.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (61-46), second in the Eastern League Eastern division) are trending upwards, having won their last four series.
The St. Lucie Mets (49-59, sixth in the Florida State League South division) are in a funk, but Peter Alonso is not. The second-year first baseman hit .336/.997 with eight home runs in July.
The Columbia Fireflies (56-51, fourth in the South Atlantic League Southern division) avoided an embarrassing defeat on Tuesday by staving off 10 Charleston runs, after Columbia had jumped out to an 11-0 lead.
The Brooklyn Cyclones (14-29, fourth in the New York-Penn League McNamara division) were nearly no-hit for the second time in franchise history on Thursday, but a Walter Rasquin triple to lead off the ninth inning foiled the Tri-City effort.
The Kingsport Mets (16-24, fourth in the Appalachian League West division) rekindled their early season offense by scoring nine runs on Thursday, thanks to an Anthony Dirocie grand slam, his ninth home run this season.
The GCL Mets (10-20, fifth in the Gulf Coast League East division) scored nine runs in a rain shortened game last Saturday, helped by a two-RBI effort from second-round pick Mark Vientos.
The DSL Mets1 (34-18, second in the Dominican Summer League South division) have benefited from Malky Mena‘s superb season on the mound. He has recorded a 1.85 ERA in ten starts.
The DSL Mets2 (37-15 first in the Dominican Summer League San Pedro division) feature two batters with .340 averages, in Yoel Romero and Jhoander Saez.
METS MINORS NEWS & BUZZ
Columbia Fireflies RHP Matt Blackham was named the South Atlantic League reliever of the month for July. During the period, the 2015 29th-round pick did not allow an earned run in 15 innings, while striking out 23 batters across his eight outings. Read more here.
The Brooklyn Cyclones set a franchise record in Wednesday’s victory by stealing eight bases. The mark was achieved with the help of three swiped bags each from Walter Rasquin and Jose Miguel Medina, and one from Quinn Brodey and Edgardo Fermin. Read more here.
The Cyclones announced that 2017 Mets first round draft pick David Peterson will make his professional debut on Friday against the Lowell Spinners. Peterson, who will start the game, is only scheduled to throw one inning. Read more here.
The Mets announced the initial assignments of the players acquired from the Boston Red Sox for Addison Reed. Jaimie Callahan will report to Triple-A Las Vegas, while Gerson Bautista and Stephen Nogosek have joined the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League. Read more here.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies announced Thursday that NYSEG Stadium will host the 2020 Eastern League All-Star Game.
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS
AVG – Yoel Romero .341 (DSL), Jhoander Saez .340 (DSL), Kevin Plawecki .337 (LVG), Dominic Smith .337 (LVG), Luis Santana .313 (DSL)
OPS – Dominic Smith .927 (LVG), Travis Taijeron .914 (LVG), Kevin Plawecki .910 (LVG), Peter Alonso .880 (STL), Luis Santana .867 (DSL)
HR – Travis Taijeron 21 (LVG), Dominic Smith 16 (LVG), Peter Alonso 13 (STL), Dash Winningham 13 (COL), Josh Rodriguez 11 (LVG)
RBI – Dominic Smith 73 (LVG), Travis Taijeron 67 (LVG), Michael Paez 60 (STL/COL), Dash Winninham 59 (COL), David Thompson 51 (BNG)
SB – Champ Stuart 32 (BNG), Jose Miguel Medina 24 (STL/COL/BRK), Jacob Zanon 22 (COL/BRK), Patrick Biondi 19 (BNG), Luis Carpio 16 (COL), Walter Rasquin 16 (BRK)
STARTER ERA – Jorge Cespedes 1.27 (DSL), Jordan Humphreys 1.79 (STL/COL), Malky Mena 1.85 (DSL), Ivan Santana 1.97 (DSL), Miguel Ramirez 2.03 (DSL)
RELIEVER ERA – Adonis Uceta 1.18 (STL/COL), Drew Smith 1.53 (BNG), Matt Blackham 1.80 (COL), Tim Peterson 2.30 (LVG/BNG), Joseph Zanghi 2.70 (COL)
SV – Stephen Nogosek 19 (STL), Cory Burns 15 (LVG/BNG), Adonis Uceta 11 (STL/COL), Tyler Bashlor 10 (BNG/STL), Tim Peterson 7 (LVG/BNG)
WHIP – Malky Mena 0.863 (DSL), Jordan Humphreys 0.868 (STL/COL), Miguel Ramirez 0.945 (DSL), Willy Taveras 1.000 (DSL), Ivan Santana 1.095 (DSL)
TRANSACTION REPORT
7/28
Tyler Pill optioned to Las Vegas from New York….Blake Taylor placed on Columbia’s disabled list….Dash Winningham placed on Columbia’s disabled list.
7/29
Marty Anderson transferred to Columbia from St. Lucie….Stephen Villines transferred to Brooklyn from Kingsport.
7/30
Ben Rowen placed on Las Vegas’ temporarily inactive list….Tommy Milone sent on a rehab assignment to Binghamton….Briam Campusano transferred to St. Lucie from GCL.
7/31
Jeff Glenn placed on Las Vegas’ disabled list….Jamie Callahan assigned to Las Vegas….Briam Campusano transferred to GCL from St. Lucie….Enmanuel Zabala placed on St. Lucie’s disabled list….Gerson Bautista assigned to St. Lucie….Stephen Nogosek assigned to St. Lucie….Colin Holderman sent on a rehab assignment to Brooklyn….Placido Torres sent on a rehab assignment to Brooklyn.
8/1
Matt Reynolds optioned to Las Vegas from New York….Amed Rosario recalled to New York from Las Vegas….Chasen Bradford recalled to New York from Las Vegas.
8/2
Josh Edgin sent outright to Las Vegas from New York….Miguel Gutierrez transferred to St. Lucie from GCL.
8/3
Ben Rowen activated from Las Vegas’ temporarily inactive list….Scarlyn Reyes transferred to St. Lucie from Binghamton….Mike Gibbons placed on St. Lucie’s disabled list….Jose Garcia activated from St. Lucie’s disabled list.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Over the past week, Anthony Dirocie has really begun to put his name on the map. The Kingsport outfielder hit .389/.421/1.000 with three home runs, nine runs driven in, and a grand slam. It has been a breakout season for Dirocie, who hit .245 with four home runs in his first three professional season, two of which were spent in the Dominican Summer League. Thanks to his recent play, Dirocie is hitting .239/.295/.514 with nine home runs and a 55:11 K:BB ratio this year.
UPCOMING SCHEDULES
Las Vegas: Oklahoma (8/4-6), Reno (7-10), @ El Paso (11-14)
Binghamton: @ Harrisburg (8/4-6), OFF (7), Erie (8-10), @ Akron (11-13)
St. Lucie: Tampa (8/4-6), Florida (7-9), @ Tampa (10-13)
Columbia: @ Augusta (8/4-6), Charleston (7-9), Hickory (10-13)
Brooklyn: Tri-City (8/4), Lowell (5-7), @ West Virginia (8-10), @ Hudson Valley (11-13)
Kingsport: Bristol (8/4-5), @ Johnson City (6-8), Princeton (9-11)
GCL: @ MIA (8/5), @ WSH (6), STL (7), @ HOU (8), OFF (9), MIA (10), @ WSH (11)
DSL1: @ WSH (8/5), OFF (6), @ COL (7), COL (8), NYY (9), @ NYY (10), MIN (11)
DSL2: ROJ (8/5), OFF (6), TX2 (7), @ TX2 (8), @ MIL (9), MIL (10), @ PHW(11)
As a reminder, all 51s, Rumble Ponies, and select Fireflies and Cyclones games can be seen on MiLB.tv.
Jacob, thanks for all the info. That’s a lot of hard work.
Question – Do you have scouting report on Dirocie?
It’s hard to get a read on his game when looking at his pro stats from year to year.
There’s an inconsistent tool portrait – OBP, K’s and speed fluctuate. Now this season shows power, but no running game. K’s and power up, OBP way down. That suggests he’s swinging for the fences, or has put on weight/muscle this season.
I see he plays all outfield positions. Can’t tell from that whether he’ll stick in CF or is more suited for the corners as he physically fills out and adds muscle.
So really, if you have access to a current scouting report with future projections from pro scouts to fill in the blanks…A link or synapses of what professional scouts say would be appreciated. Mets rarely develop power hitters, and power/speed guys, especially so inexperienced, so 9 homers in Kingsport from a player who previously showed base stealing inclination, stands out.
Thanks.