1. Noah Syndergaard, RHP
Status: Warming up
Syndergaard earned the no decision in Binghamton’s playoff opening loss in extra innings to the Trenton Thunder, but he got himself back on track after a bad start on August 26th against Bowie. The right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts in six innings of work. MLB Trade Rumors also named our top prospect to their All-Prospect All-Star team, being one of three starting pitchers on the list. The future is bright for this 21-year-old.
2. Rafael Montero, RHP
Status: Neutral
Montero finished his regular season on a high note, but his first playoff start last night didn’t go as planned for the 51s. He allowed three runs on five hits (one homer), three walks, and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. As Christina said earlier today, I hope he gets another shot in the playoffs so we can see how he bounces back. He finished his regular season with a 12-7 combined record between Binghamton and Las Vegas, with a 2.78 ERA, 35 walks, and 150 strikeouts in 155.1 innings pitched.
3. Travis d’Arnaud, C
Status: Cold
Since last Friday’s series opener in D.C. against the Nationals, d’Arnaud is hitting .190 with two runs scored, one walk, and four strikeouts. He collected five hits, all of them singles, and has gone 1-for-13 since Sunday. So, he’s struggling a bit at the plate, to say the least. The Mets will be in Cleveland this weekend to play the Indians, and I’m hoping we see Travis bust out a little like he did last weekend, but sustain it through the rest of the week. In 49 MLB at-bats, he’s hitting .163/.263/.265 with one home run and three RBIs.
4. Wilmer Flores, 2B
Status: Cold
Like his teammate behind the plate, Flores’ struggles with the bat continue. He’s still battling a balky ankle, which seems to be attributing to his effectiveness in the batter’s box. He went hitless this week, but it only included six at-bats and two games played. In 20 games and 70 big league at-bats, Flores has put together a .229/.276/.314 with one home run and 11 RBIs.
5. Cesar Puello, OF
Status: Suspended
Puello’s received a 50-game suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis clinic. Thankfully, these 50 games can all be applied to this season since he’s on the 40-man roster. The outfielder was enjoying a breakout season in Binghamton, hitting .326/.403/.547 with 16 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases.
6. Dominic Smith, 1B
Status: Hot
Smith ended his first professional season on a high note playing with the K-Mets in the playoffs. He went 0-for-4 in their crushing late-inning loss to prematurely end the season, but that was the only game out of the five he appeared in where he didn’t get on base at least twice. That includes three multi-hit games and one multi-walk game. Between his play in the GCL and Appy League, Smith’s regular season line settled in at .301/.398/.439 with three home runs, 26 RBIs, and 13 doubles. That’s a pretty good way to start his pro career.
7. Brandon Nimmo, OF
Status: Neutral
Nimmo ended the SAL regular season cold, but is hopefully making his way back toward getting his bat hot in the playoffs against Augusta. In his final 10 regular season games, he hit .188/.316/.219 with only one double, but went 2-for-4 with two singles, a run scored, an RBI, a walk, and a strikeout in Savannah’s 10-2 playoff victory on Wednesday. His final line for the regular season comes in at .273/.397/.359 with two home runs, 40 RBIs, 16 doubles, six triples, and 62 runs scored (395 at-bats).
8. Michael Fulmer, RHP
Status: Injured
Fulmer took the mound on August 18th against Jupiter, but his outing was cut short at 3.1 innings because of a comebacker hitting him. He’s been diagnosed with biceps tendonitis, but was heading to New York to get himself checked out. In seven starts and 34 innings pitched for St. Lucie this season, Fulmer is 2-2 with a 3.44 ERA, 18 walks, 29 strikeouts, and .198 opponent batting average. We learned last week that Fulmer will remain on the disabled list for the remainder of the season.
9. Gavin Cecchini, SS
Status: Cold
Cecchini’s mid-season hot streak cooled down all the way to the end of 2013. While he collected at least one hit in his last 10 games played, he only slashed .231/.318/.256 during that time. It would have been nice to see Cecchini hit well after his hot streak subsided, but that was the most dominant streak we’ve seen from him since the Mets selected him in the first round of last year’s MLB draft. He finished his tenure with Brooklyn by posting a .273/.319/.314 with no homers, 14 RBIs, eight doubles, and 18 runs (194 at-bats).
10. Jack Leathersich, LHP
Status: Neutral
Leathersich has only gotten into one game over the last week, and he performed well. He didn’t allow a run on one hit, one walk, and one strikeout in one inning of work. I was a little surprised that Backman hasn’t used him over the first two playoff games for Vegas, but he’s nice and fresh for tonight. He finished his regular season in Las Vegas with a 2-0 record, 7.76 ERA, 2.10 WHIP, 29 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched.