- So not only did Wilmer Flores play third base again — but he took Michael Wacha deep for his 15th home run of the year. Flores is approaching relatively impressive numbers for a full season of play (20 HRs, 100 RBI, .300+ average) and yet is still being kept down in Triple-A. The fact that he’s now gotten two consecutive starts at third feels like the ultimate tease, while all signs have pointed to him not being called up. In fact, our reader Kevin emailed me asking about the likelihood of Flores being called up and questioned the choice of Mike Baxter over Flores or Jordany Valdespin… and that’s a pretty good damn question.
- Speaking of Valdespin, he picked up two more hits last night to bring his average up to .466. He or Flores would’ve made sense as call-ups over Mike Baxter, especially since we lost an infielder and Baxter plays…well, the outfield. In a recent interview before Wright’s injury, dePodesta stated that we had a “full major league infield” and that there were “three other guys who could use ABs at first base.” Honestly, I can only hope that Flores taking reps at third means he’ll be called up within a week, because there’s really nothing else for him to do at Triple-A besides hit the 100 RBI mark. The organization is definitively against Valdespin at this point, so he’ll be lucky to see time with the MLB team in September…
- Sticking in Las Vegas, Rafael Montero dazzled with eight innings of one-run ball while allowing just four hits. The key, however, was zero walks — just like the Montero we saw in Binghamton. A low walk rate really feeds Montero’s dominance and shows that he is fearless in attacking the strike zone. He followed up two quality starts with perhaps his best showing so far in Triple-A.
- Noah Syndergaard set the tone for the Mets MiLB pitching earlier in the day with five shutout innings — and he was removed after just 66 pitches, so they are blatantly trying to restrict his innings. His stuff was so good, however, that he probably could’ve gone eight or even nine under regular circumstances, as he allowed just two hits. As I mentioned while recapping his performance yesterday, Travis d’Arnaud caught the start, and they showed amazing chemistry.
- Daniel Muno had a great game behind him with three hits, including a triple and a home run. He’s now batting .259.
- Rainy Lara was average yesterday, giving up four earned runs in seven innings of work, and took the loss because of it. His ERA jumped to 3.13, which is still pretty solid. Kevin Plawecki picked up a hit and RBI in the game to keep his average at a smooth .323, while Kyle Johnson picked up a pair of hits on his own.
- The normally reliable Beck Wheeler had a moment of weakness for Savannah yesterday, as he gave up three earned runs and saw his ERA jump to 1.96. He was working in relief of Seth Lugo, who struck out 10 batters over six innings and allowed just one run off two hits.
- L.J. Mazzilli hit his first professional home run as part of a two-hit performance for Brooklyn yesterday, so congrats! In sadder news, Akeel Morris saw his scoreless streak shattered.
- The K-Mets were demolished in a 17-1 blowout, but there’s always a game the next day…