213 Miles From Shea

The Mets pulled a fast one on everyone as soon as the lockout ended. In November, the Mets claimed Antonio Santos after he was put on waivers by the Rockies and he was added to the Mets 40-man roster. Somehow right after the lockout ended, the Mets slipped him back through waivers. No other teams put a claim on his contract and he ended up off of the Mets 40-man roster.

Now, officially a Mets minor leaguer, he was given a non-roster invitation to Spring Training, so here we are.

Antonio was signed by the Rockies in 2015 and made his major league debut during the 2020 season. Between 2020 and 2021, Santos has pitched in 10 games, starting 1, totaling 17.1 innings with a 8.83 ERA, 4.97 FIP, and a 1.846 WHIP. In the minors he was used pretty much as a starter through the year 2019. He became a reliever during the pandemic and pretty much only pitched relief last year. In triple A, he posted a 7.94 ERA over 34 games and 45.1 innings. He had a successful winter for Licey where he posted a 1.00 ERA over 9 games and 9.0 innings of work.

According to MLB Savant, he has 5 pitches: mid 90’s fastball, high 70’s curveball, mid 80’s changeup, low to mid 80’s slider, and a mid 90’s sinker. In his two cups of coffee at the major league level he used his fastball about 50% of the time.

Repeating what we’ve said a lot this week – the Mets need pitchers. Between injuries last year and trades from the last few seasons, the Mets have lost quite a bit of pitching depth. Santos is part of the rebuilding of depth this year. The Mets will be taking looks at everyone on the depth chart this year as the Mets get ready to kick off their 2022 campaign.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, the Mets have an early Spring night game at home! Yes, I know Spring Training started late, but the point still stands, the Mets, at home during the Spring, generally avoid 6 PM starts. Tomorrow’s game is also a 6 PM start at home. I’m trying to not read too much into but if someone who controls the Mets schedule for the regular season is reading this please note that this Mets fan is a supporter of 6 PM over 7 PM starts, especially in April and September.

The Mets lost yesterday but that’s not what anyone really cares about. Scherzer made his spring debut! He pitched 5.0 innings and tossed only 72 pitches (if the game continued at that pace, he would have hit 100 pitches at the end of the 7th inning). Max allowed one run off three hits and no walks while striking out 5. What a glorious spring sight. The offense on the other hand yesterday wasn’t so great to look at as they compiled only two hits, one coming from Luis Guillorme who now has a small sample batting average of .571 and OPS of 1.714.

Mets Lineup:

1. Brandon Nimmo CF
2. Francisco Lindor SS
3. Jeff McNeil DH
4. Pete Alonso 1B
5. Robinson Cano 2B
6. Eduardo Escobar 3B
7. Mark Canha RF
8. Dominic Smith LF
9. James McCann C

Starting Pitcher: Jacob deGrom

What We’re Watching For:

Happy Jacob deGrom day! Jacob returns to the mound and we couldn’t be more excited. He battled injuries for significant chunks of last year but when he was on the mound he was untouchable. Over 15 starts and 92.0 innings he had a 1.08 ERA, 1.24 FIP, 0.554 WHIP, and a 373 ERA+. His 14.3 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and 3.9 H/9 marks were both the best in his career.

The lineup tonight is fairly close to what the starting lineup would look like without Starling Marte. More interesting is the defensive alignment – with Jeff McNeil at DH will get a look tonight at how Cano is on the same field as Escobar, Lindor and Alonso.

It’s Jacob deGrom day! Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets signed Jose Rodriguez out of the Braves system earlier this off-season. The Angels originally signed him in 2012 and he made a cup-of-coffee major league debut in 2019 at the age of 23 years old. Between 2019 and 2020, Rodriguez has pitched in 10 major league games, starting one, with 21.1 innings posting a 2.53 ERA in a very small sample size.

Last year the Braves used him as a starter in the minor leagues. In AA ball, he posted a 1.61 ERA and a 0.672 WHIP over 22.1 innings. AAA ball, where he was two years younger than the average player, wasn’t as kind to him. He posted a 5.29 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 78.1 innings.

According to his Baseball Savant page, he has a changeup (mid 80’s), 4-seamer (low 90’s), slider (low to mid 80’s) and a curveball (mid to high 70’s). In 2019 he also logged a low 90’s sinker in 2019 as well. The amount of pitches he has screams starter/spot starter/long reliever.

The Mets learned a lesson about arms last year – you can never have enough of them. Especially arms that can start games. Rodriguez would be fairly low down the depth chart thanks to some other moves the Mets made. That being said, he could easily be a spot started candidate this season depending on if he’s able to stretch his arm out where he is placed. Specifically, I’m thinking about a scenario where the Mets need one start, so it doesn’t make sense to go to Peterson or Megill. The Mets will be looking at him this spring both determine if he’s going to Binghamton or Syracuse and where on the Mets depth chart he falls.

The last couple of days we previewed pitchers in the prospect vein for the New York Mets, today we look at a veteran trying to push his way onto a major league roster this season.

Felix Pena was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 2009 and made his major league debut in 2016 as a 26-year old. He was traded to the Angels in 2017 and stayed with the Angels until he was released in 2021, and then signed by the New York Mets.

For the majority of his career he has been a reliever in the majors, with 2020 as his best season. He posted a 4.05 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 1.313 WHIP over 25 games and 26.2 innings. His 2018 season is also interesting – he started 17 of the 19 games (92.2 IP) he appeared in posting a 4.18 ERA, 4.04 FIP and a 1.241 WHIP.

Felix Pena spent most of last year in the minors, pitching in 31 games, making 7 starts, and logging 68.1 innings with a 8.43 ERA. He had much more success in the Dominican Winter league, making 7 starts (33.0 innings) with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.879 WHIP. Looking at his stat cast – he tosses a fastball and sinker in the low 90’s. He also has a slider and a change up in the mid 80’s. 2020 was the last year he pitched enough to register in the percentile rankings where he was in the 70’s or better for xwOBA, xSLG, BB%, Fastball Velocity, and Hard Hit%. But he was only in the 8th percentile for chase rate.

Depth is important for the Mets. His mix of starting and long relief does make him an intriguing player.

The Mets head back on the road this afternoon as they take on the Marlins for the first time this Spring.

Yesterday the Cardinals handed the Mets the first loss of the Spring. The Cardinals got off to a strong start, tagging David Peterson for 3 runs in the top of the first (in an inning that felt like a microcosm of Peterson’s entire 2021 season). After Peterson, Tylor Megill turned in an impressive performance scattering three walks and two hits over 3.0 scoreless innings. Miguel Castro also had a clean spring debut, striking out one batter in one inning of work.

But all of that was yesterday – today is a big day for the Mets as Max Scherzer makes his Mets debut!

Mets Lineup:

1. Luis Guillorme SS
2. J.D. Davis 3B
3. Dominic Smith 1B
4. Daniel Palka LF
5. Mark Vientos DH
6. Nick Plummer RF
7. Tomas Nido C
8. Khalil Lee CF
9. Mark Reynolds 2B

Starting Pitcher: Max Scherzer

What We’re Watching For:

Max Scherzer! The Mets came out swinging in free agency when they locked Scherzer into the rotation. Last year he posted a 2.46 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 0.864 WHIP (league leading), 6.0 K/9 (league leading) and a 1.8 BB/9 (league leading). Max is a big reason why there’s so much excitement around the team this year, and we’re just excited to see him in the orange and blue.

Colin Holderman and Eric Orze are also scheduled to pitch after Max. Both pitchers are non-roster invitees to Mets camp this year. Orze is the last player from the 2020 Mets draft still with the organization (four players have been traded, one player was released). Trevor Williams is also scheduled to start. He was acquired as part of the Javy Baez trade last year and rounds out the Mets starting pitching depth in Syracuse this season.

The Mets starting lineup today features all of the power from the first game of Spring. On Saturday the Mets hit three homers in the first inning (Guillorme, Smith and Plummer). Luis Guillorme ended the day with three hits and Dominic Smith ended the day with two hits. The Mets will also get a longer look at a few prospects today: Palka, Vientos and Lee. Palka was a source of offense yesterday, Vientos is a long time prospect in Mets system and Khalil Lee was acquired as part of a three way trade last year.

Let’s Go Mets!

In 2020 the Mets drafted Pete Crow-Armstrong, J.T. Ginn, Isaiah Greene, Anthony Walters, Matthew Dyer and Eric Orze. Pete was traded for Javier Baez, J.T. was traded for Chris Bassitt, Isaiah Greene was traded Francisco Lindor, Anthony Walters was released and Matthew Dyer was traded for Rich Hill. That means the only player still left from the 2020 draft is Eric Orze.

Did you think of that Will Smith gif of him looking around the empty living room? Us too.

Due to the pandemic, last year was the first year that Orze saw professional baseball action and he split his time evenly-ish between Brooklyn, Binghamton and Syracuse. First in Brooklyn he posted a 4.05 ERA over 13 games and 20.0 innings. Then in Binghamton he posted a 2.60 ERA over 11 games and 17.1 innings. He posted his best ERA, 2.19, in Syracuse over 10 games and 12.1 innings. In Brooklyn he was basically the average age in the league, in Binghamton he was 1.7 years younger than the average player. In Syracuse he was 4.0 years younger than the average player. As he faced older and better players, he got better!

Orze is also a double cancer survivor, beating cancer twice while he was in college. I’m hoping that we hear more of his personal story throughout spring training this year, especially if he sees work during SNY broadcasts.

Eric Orze has gotten better at each level of the Mets organization last year. The 24-year old falls into the prospect category for NRI’s. If he picks up this season where he left off in Syracuse, he’ll force the issue to see some time on the mound in Queens this year.

The Mets host the Cardinals for their first home spring training game of the year and for us in the Tri-State area, it is also the first televised Mets game of the year! Rejoice!

Yesterday the Mets kicked off spring training with a bang, hitting three homers in the very first inning against the Nationals. Luis Guillorme led off the game with a homer and ended the game with a total of three hits. Dominic Smith had two hits, including a homer. Before the game, Smith revealed that he was dealing with a major injury most of last season and that he feels great – the results last night agree with him. Nick Plummer, who is on the active roster for outfield depth, also added in a homer of his own.

The pitching yesterday for the Mets was great. Josh Walker started the game pitching 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out two. Walker is a non-roster invitee in camp this year fighting for his spot ont he Mets depth chart. Claudio, Holderman, Zastryzny, Orze and Nogosek all followed Walker and none of them allowed any earned runs. All of those pitchers listed are also non-roster invitees to major league camp.

We weren’t expecting to see too many regulars play yesterday – the first spring training game of the year, a road spring training game, and a night start – so we should see more familiar faces to make their spring 2022 debuts.

Mets Lineup:

1. Brandon Nimmo CF
2. Francisco Lindor SS
3. Jeff McNeil 2B
4. Pete Alonso 1B
5. Robinson Cano DH
6. Eduardo Escobar 3B
7. Mark Canha LF
8. Brian McCann C
9. Travis Jankowski RF

Starting Pitcher: David Peterson

What We Are Looking For:

The Mets the last two seasons would not have functioned without David Peterson in the rotation. The Mets last year would have fallen apart without Tylor Megill starting games. As of right now, both players are slated to start the year in Syracuse because the Mets heavily upgraded the rotation in the off-season. Both are slated to make their spring debuts tonight. Peterson is looking to have a bounce back year after his strong showing his rookie year where he posted a 3.44 ERA over 10 games and 49.2 innings. Megill had a solid rookie year with a 4.52 ERA over 89.2 innings. Homeruns were an issue for him – he gave up 19 leading to a 1.9 HR/9 rate.

The Mets starting lineup is very close to the lineup that we could see in the regular season, minus Jankowski in right field (No Marte today). This will be the first time we get a look at two off-season signings: Escobar and Canha. Escobar hit .253/.314/.472 last year with a 103 DRC+. Canha had a .231/.358/.387 line with a 114 DRC+. As a comparison – Brandon Nimmo had a 110 DRC+ last season and has a career 103 DRC+.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets play baseball today! We just won’t be able to see it!

The Mets head to the Nationals camp to play a rare night, Spring Training game. While you won’t be able to see it, you’ll be able to hear it on WCBS 880 AM.

The Mets have had an awesome off-season on both sides of a difficult work stoppage in baseball. The Mets will be showing off a much different lineup this year, but many of those players aren’t making the trip tonight. As you would expect early in spring, tonight’s starting lineup features multiple players who are in keep on Non-Roster Invitations (Palka, Reynolds, Mangum and Walker).

Mets Lineup:

1. Luis Guillorme SS
2. J.D. Davis 3B
3. Dominic Smith 1B
4. Daniel Palka DH
5. Tomas Nido C
6. Nick Plummer LF
7. Matt Reynolds 2B
8. Khalil Lee RF
9. Jake Mangum

Starting Pitcher: Josh Walker

What To Watch For:

Josh Walker was drafted by the Mets in the 37th round in 2017 – now he kicks off the Mets Spring Training schedule. The lefty is one of a few left-handed pitchers trying to break their way onto a Mets roster that is just missing left-handed pitching. Walker pitched a three different levels last year for the Mets (like fellow Non-Roster Invitee Eric Orze). Walker posted a 2.57 ERA over 21.0 innings in Brooklyn, 3.45 ERA over 44.1 innings in Binghamton and a 5.54 ERA over 50.1 innings in Syracuse. He was one year younger than the average player in AAA ball when he pitched in Syracuse last year. The Mets AAA rotation is stacked now thanks to moves at the major league level. This is step one this year to see where Walker ends up.

The Mets roster was a mess most of last year – which meant we got an extended look at Khalil Lee in the outfield. The incredibly athletic outfielder struggled at the plate, reaching base once over 18 plate appearances. It was a different story in the minor leagues though. Over 388 PA and 102 games he hit .274/.451/.500. That .951 OPS is fairly intriguing and way above his career minor league mark of .806.

Baseball! It’s back! Let’s Go Mets!

Today’s Non-Roster Invitee player should be familiar as Nogosek saw a cup of coffee with the Mets in 2019 and in 2021! Between those two years the right handed pitcher totaled 9.1 innings over 8 games, allowing 10 runs from 15 hits and 2 walks while striking out 11 batters.

Nogosek was originally drafted by the Red Sox in 2016 and he was acquired during the Mets partial tear down during the 2017 trade deadline. He was sent over to the Mets with Gerson Bautista and Jamie Callahan for Addison Reed. The flame thrower Bautista debuted with the Mets in 2018 and was part of the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade that sent him to the Mariners. He is currently a free agent. Jamie Callahan, who debuted with the Mets in 2017 was most recently in the Giants farm system and hasn’t pitched since 2019.

So the last man standing from the trade is Nogosek! Nogosek had a terrific 2019 campaign. He pitched in 11 games, 19.0 innings in Binghamton posting a 0.95 ERA. Then he went to Syracuse and posted a 1.15 ERA over 24 games and 31.1 innings. Then the pandemic happened. Last year he posted a 5.14 ERA and a 1.457 WHIP over 27 games and 35.0 innings.

He heads into Spring Training this year not on the 40 man roster and as a righty. Both things working against him seeing time this year. But he has gone to the majors twice already in his career and he’s already 27. If the Mets are in an injury crush and don’t want to rush someone up (or disrupt one of their starters lengthening out their arm in AAA) he is a candidate for a short call-up.

The total amount of prospects the Mets received in the 2017 and 2018 sell-off’s are starting to dwindle. We are hoping that Nogosek shows his 2019 self this spring and starts to make some noise in the Mets system.

Non-Roster Invitees essentially come from three categories:

1. Prospects not on the 40-man yet
2. Veterans trying to make it with a new club
3. Players in the organization for a while, and it’s time for them to take the next step

Today’s NRI comes from that last group. Colin Holderman was drafted by the Mets in the 9th round during the 2016 MLB draft. The right handed pitcher from Southern Illinois made his professional debut that same year in Kingsport, where he was about a year younger than the average player (20-years old vs the average age of 20.9 years). He posted a 3.86 ERA over 13 games and 18.2 innings.

Holderman, at least statistically, took a step forward last season, posting a 3.38 ERA and 1.000 WHIP between 24.0 innings in Binghamton and St. Lucie. For comparison, his career marks are a 3.95 ERA and 1.253 WHIP. The Mets then sent him to the Arizona Fall League where he did not have the best time, allowing 10 runs from 10 hits in 10.1 innings of work. That being said, take a look at this tweet:

In 8 Statcast-tracked Arizona Fall League games, #Mets RHP Colin Holderman induced swings on 21 offspeed pitches and got whiffs on 17.

81 percent!

Holderman also averaged 97 mph with his fastball and touched 99. Eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 Draft after going unprotected. pic.twitter.com/D2eEA3YW8x

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) November 20, 2021

Ultimately, the Mets learned a lesson last year about pitching and health. At times last year the Mets needed to go deep in their depth chart. With the way the roster is constructed right now, especially with how heavy the bullpen is with righty pitchers, If Holderman sees substantial time in the majors this year, one of two things happened. Holderman had a fantastic spring/time in the minors and really took a step forward (remember last year he posted a WHIP 0.253 points below his career numbers) or something went terribly wrong with the Mets.

This doesn’t fit anywhere else but I also wanted to mention that Colin Holderman is a huge fan of Coach Beard from Ted Lasso, at least from what I can tell scanning his Twitter. Obviously, Holderman has extremely good taste in television and that should boost him up the Mets depth chart alone.