It has certainly been an interesting week for the New York Mets organization.  Their recent run of losses and lackluster play has forced them to make some personnel changes in hopes to light a spark.  If you are a frequent visitor here then you are fully aware of how well the Met’s minor league teams are doing.  If you are new to this site, the Met’s minor league teams are impressing and have the best overall record combined with the four levels that are in-season.  It was only a matter of time before some players made an impression seeking out an early promotion.

Wilmer Flores was the first domino to fall.  Prior to his call up less than a week ago, Flores was .307 in 29 games with the Las Vegas 51’s.  He also had five home runs and 25 RBI to go along with his .360 OBP.  At the time of his promotion, the Mets two short stops, Ruben Tejada and Omar Quintanilla were hitting just below .200 and had an on base percentage below .300.  Flores who is known more for his bat than his defense was going to provide the Mets with some pop in a lineup that seems to be lacking in that department.  So far though this move hasn’t paid off the way they hoped it would.  Flores has appeared in three games so far and is 2-for-12 with three strikeouts.  This isn’t enough of a sample size in my opinion to determine if this move was a good one or not.  I still consider this a win-win move.  If Flores gets the chance and runs with it, the Mets will be able to fill a need in-house instead of looking elsewhere.  The other side of this is Tejada will have to step his game up a bit more with his job on the line.  I am not sure that was the case when Omar Quintanilla was there.  Time will tell.

The second move of the week was the promotion of the hot-hitting Eric Campbell.  “Soupy” as I will refer to him as, was hitting a staggering .355 for Las Vegas in 33 games.  Josh Satin was the casualty for this promotion.  Satin appeared in 15 games for the Mets and was 3-for-28 with 3 RBI.  Campbell will serve in a bench role as the first base job is occupied by Lucas Duda who is doing a fine job after taking that spot away from former Met Ike Davis.  Campbell has made an impact in the three games he has appeared in to start his big league career.  He is 2-for-6 with a double and an RBI so far.  His double came on Monday night against the New York Yankees when he entered as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning.  He would score his first major league run on a single by Lucas Duda on an absolutely perfect slide which avoided that tag.  Campbell was an asset for the 51’s and will play that same role with the Mets.  He can potentially get starts against left-handed pitchers and serve as a pinch-hitter when needed.  I for one am very excited to see what the 27-year old can do given the chance.

In one of the more anticipated moves so far this season, the Mets have promoted one of their top pitching prospects Rafael Montero.  This is an exciting time for Mets fans as we are about to witness our future, albeit a bit earlier than expected.  Montero had made eight starts in Triple-A this season for the 51’s and is 4-1 with an ERA of 3.67.  In 41.2 innings of work this season, he has given up 30 hits, walked 18, and has struck out 41.  He has been up and down a little but is certainly ready for the jump to the big leagues.  He has been the benefactor of a relatively high-powered offense in Las Vegas which makes mistakes a bit more forgiving.  He may not have that luxury in New York.  If there is a way of being thrown into the fire, the Mets are doing that with Montero.  He is scheduled to make his major league debut on Wednesday night at Citi Field against the Yankees.  Oh yeah, Masahiro Tanaka is pitching for the Yankees also.  Fire meet Montero.  Unfortunately for one member of the Mets rotation, this move is forced to move one to the bullpen.  To his disappointment Jenrry Mejia is that guy.  Mejia started the season very strong but has struggled his last couple of starts making the move a bit easier.  The Mets bullpen is certianly going to benefit from have Mejia back in it.  We were able to see that on Monday during his relief appearance against the Yankees when he went 1.1 innings giving up two hits and striking out a pair.  Montero is on a 180 innings limit this season so it will be interesting to see how he is used.

Tuesday the Mets announced the promotion of another starting pitcher Jacob deGrom.  deGrom, who isn’t as heralded as Montero, gets his first ever call-up to the major leagues and is being inserted in the bullpen.  deGrom was 4-0 in seven starts for Las Vegas with an ERA of 2.58.  deGrom was the New York Mets 9th round draft pick in 2010 and has worked his way up through the system as a starter.  This will be his first time coming out of the bullpen in his professional career but that shouldn’t be an issue.  deGrom has pitched his way into the minds of Mets fans and was certainly the next logical pitcher to make the jump to the major leagues.  This move was made due to the Mets placing Gonzalez German on the disabled list.  It is unsure how long deGrom will stay but he will need to seize every opportunity he is given just to give management something to think about.

This is certainly not going to be the last of the moves the Mets make this season.  The future looks bright and we are about to see just how bright.  With many more players to come including a certain 6’6 hard throwing right-handed pitcher, this is definitely a time to start getting excited.