Who’s Hot:
Jairo Perez – St. Lucie
The native Venezuelan has been swinging a hot bat lately. Through June 3rd, he has hit in 11 of his last 12 games played dating back to May 23rd. Over that stretch, he’s hit .457 (21 for 46) with a double, triple, home run, and 13 RBI. During this stretch, he’s raised his average to .351 on the season – good for second best overall in the Florida State League. He’s shown he can hit in the minors – in seven seasons in the the minors and indy ball, he’s hit .301 with a .371 OBP in over 400 games played. The questions is… can the 26 year old move up the ranks?
Steven Matz – St. Lucie
The 2nd round pick by the Mets in the 2009 draft has battled his way back from injuries that kept him making his professional debut until 2012. His last outing on June 1st saw him pitch 6.2 innings while allowing four hits, walking two, striking out four, and allowing zero runs. He’s putting together a very solid season in the Florida State League, having not allowed more than two earned runs in any single start. In 10 starts, Steven has a record of 3-3 with a 1.73 ERA. He’s struck out 51 batters in 57.1 innings with a WHIP of 1.22. Opponents are hitting .246 against him on the season and his ERA is 4th best in the league.
Paul Sewald – St. Lucie
The righty reliever was selected by the Mets in the 10th round selection out of the University of San Diego. In his last four appearances out of the pen dating back to May 22nd, in 4.1 innings he’s allowed just one hit, no walks, and struck out six batters. On the season, batters are hitting just .185 against him. In two innings on the season, his ERA is just 1.17 while striking out 29 batters with a WHIP of 1.13. In his third season of pro ball, he has a career ERA of 1.67 with a WHIP of 1.01 and averaging 1.2 strikeouts per inning.
L.J. Mazzilli – Savannah
On the list for the third straight week, Mazzilli finally had a 12 game hitting streak stopped on June 3rd. During his streak, Mazzilli went 21 for 47 (.447 OBP) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, a triple, four home runs, nine RBI and seven walks. During the streak, he also had a .519 OBP and slugged .787 for an OPS of 1.306.
Who’s Not:
Gilbert Gomez – St. Lucie
It’s been a tough last week for the Dominican Outfielder. For the week of May 28th-June 3rd, he hit just .133 (2 for 15). On the plus side, he did manage to get on base with walks, collecting five of them over the same span for a .350 OBP for the week. The 22 year old Gilbert is a career .246 hitter and is currently in his 6th season in the Mets system.
Aderlin Rodriguez – St. Lucie
A-Rod returns to the Not list. In his last nine games from May 13th-June 4th, he has managed just five hits in 39 at bats (.128 batting average) while striking out eight times and collecting zero walks. The 22-year old Dominican is in his 6th year in the Mets system and is a career .252 hitter in nearly 450 games. He does have some pop in his bat and has 70 minor league home runs, including 24 in 2012 between Savannah and St. Lucie.
(Photo Credit: David Conde/MMN)
