Brad Holt- 4-1, 3.02 ERA in nine starts between St. Lucie and the B-Mets.

Last season, I said that I saw Holt as a starter for the foreseeable future, mainly due to the fact that not many knew what his secondary pitches were capable of. On top of that his power curve showed significant problems and came an amazingly long way in just a summer of hard work. This season is obviously still foreseeable and Holt has been excellent, averaging over a strikeout an inning and keeping opposing hitters to a measly .203 batting average. With his last start at the AA level yesterday, the future looks to be getting brighter by the way for the youngster.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis- Eight homers, 20 RBI and five steals in 47 games.

Overall, Captain Kirk is proving he can survive on the High-A level and has shown that he has more power than people gave him credit for last season. With his excellent defensive ability as well, I think a call up to AA is an inevitable one at some point this season. Nevertheless, he has to cut down on his strikeout totals and improve his ability against left-handed pitching. Otherwise, he’ll project more as a fourth outfielder than the starting outfielder many thought and still believe he can be when they watched him in Brooklyn last year.

Dylan Owen- 0-5, 6.97 in 10 starts in AA.

It seems that Owen’s start power has diminished a bit and he’s come back to earth. Maybe a stint in St. Lucie can revitalize him.

Ike Davis- .283, four dingers, 21 RBI.

Aside from an alarming amount of strikeouts, Davis is making a believer out of many who thought he jumped the shark in Brooklyn last season. On pace for a solid 15 homer, 70 RBI season, Davis projects to be more like the Lyle Overbay-type player I projected him to be everyday.

Jenrry Mejia- 4-1, 1.97 ERA in nine starts in St. Lucie.

Just called up to AA, Mejia, just like Holt is proving he may have what it takes to move up through the system at a pace not many expected. Many questioned his maturity at times last season, so it’s important to see how he handles his first rough patch with the B-Mets. Nevertheless, at 19, he’s quickly becoming one of the best prospects in the system.

Photo by Ron Hatcher.

Jeffries Tatford- 11 homers, 50 RBI in Savannah with a cup of coffee in St. Lucie. After wasting away in Brooklyn for two seasons, many believed he was going to eventually be released. However, he was called up to Savannah and responded marvelously, hitting .276 with 12 RBI in 30 games. If Ike Davis is promoted straight to St. Lucie this season and doesn’t hit Savannah first, Tatford will get more playing time and will continue to move up the organizational ladder.

Sean Ratliff- 15 homers, 55 RBI in Savannah and St. Lucie- Despite alarming strikeout totals, Ratliff showed some power towards the end of the season last year in Brooklyn and much like Servidio, showed an ability in the outfield that any team in the organization would be happy to possess. Simply put, Ratliff has the ability to be a star, he just has to find some sort of consistency at the plate. If that happens, expect those numbers I have posted up there. If not, expect a low batting average and high strikeout totals.

Eric Campbell- eight homers, 60 RBI in Savannah and St. Lucie- While he didn’t put up the power numbers many thought he would last season, Campbell is a good contact hitter with a penchant for clutch hits. He also has good patience for a youngster, a trait that is almost impossible to teach and something that should benefit him as he moves up the ladder. His ability to play a few infield positions and left field also make him extremely versatile and make it that much easier for him to get in the lineup. As well, his defense and speed are much better than most people give him credit for. If he can hit in the sixth spot and has a few guys in front of him that can get on base, Campbell will have a very good year this season.

Ike Davis- .270 BA, 15 HR and 75 RBI combined with Savannah and St. Lucie. Contrary to what many think, I don’t see Davis making his major league debut until sometime in 2010, most likely in August or September. His swing still has a few kinks in it and I think spending some time in A-Ball before heading up to High-A will help him address those concerns. When I spoke to Savannah manager Edgar Alfonzo after the instructional leagues were over this past Fall, he believed Davis had come a long way. Rather than push him through the system quickly, I think the Mets, who still have Carlos Delgado at first, will make sure Davis matures into the extra base hitter and slick fielder he’s supposed to be. I see that process beginning this season.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis- .300, six HR, 60 RBI, 30 SB with St. Lucie. Notice the higher batting average than last season? That’s because Nieuwenhuis has the tools to be an excellent professional outfielder and I believe this is the season that he begins to show it. If he can cut down on his strikeout totals from last season as well, he’ll be able to produce even more and may even warrant a call up to Double-A.

Josh Satin- .285 18 HR 59 RBI with Savannah. Eventually showing the tools of a solid second baseman last season, I think Satin would have shown a lot more if the Cyclones made the playoffs. Patient at the plate with a great approach, Satin will make a full-season team out of Spring training and begin to show some promise.

Jordan Abruzzo- .295 14 HR 55 RBI with St. Lucie and B-Mets. Not only is Abruzzo a great catcher that has the skills and attitude to manage a pitching staff at any level of professional baseball, he’s an extremely clutch hitter. While he’d secure himself a spot in Double-A right now if he could hit for more power, I think that after about 30 games this season, you’ll see him in Binghamton where he’ll earn his stripes and show why the fans at Brooklyn loved him so much. Good defensive catchers that can switch hit for power don’t grow on trees and Abruzzo can do it all. This will be the season, unless injuries slow him down, that he shows what he is truly capable of.

Photo by Ron Hatcher.

Matt Smith- Stay healthy and consistent. His first dozen games with Brooklyn this season, Smith was an on-base machine. He drew long counts and wasn’t scared to take a pitch in a hitter’s count. He was so good that after about a week, it seemed like the Clones had found their temporary replacement Reese Havens. However, after about 50 ABs, he started to swing a bit more than he was before and all of a sudden, his batting average was under .200 and his on-base percentage was average, rather than stellar. Playing through a few injuries during the time, Smith’s season was finished, leaving the Aces to look for another shortstop in what turned out to be an injury-riddled season for both Smith and Brooklyn. If healthy, he can and will be a solid middle-infielder at the Double-A level and perhaps even higher, despite being known more for his glove than his bat. It’s just a matter of him getting in the at-bats he needs to show the Mets what he’s truly capable of.

Nick Carr- Bring down those walk totals. 5-2 with 74 K’s and a respectable 3.80 ERA in 2007 with Brooklyn, Carr was starting to look like a sleeper prospect. Shedding 25 pounds before the season, the 2005 41st round pick seemed to be beginning to understood what it took to be succesful in professional baseball. That seemed to go out with window last season in Savannah and St. Lucie, where his walk totals were beginning to become a bigger problem than they were before. Never having amazing control to say the very least, Carr was averaging a K an inning in Brooklyn and less than a hit an inning as well, which made up for his mediocre at best control. Last season in St. Lucie, not only were his strikeout totals down, but his walk numbers were up as well as his hits allowed. In order for him to continue to develop into a solid power pitcher at higher levels, those numbers will obviously have to change.

Luis Rivera- Hit for more contact. Aside from hitting .318 with the B-Mets in 2007 in just 17 games, Rivera hasn’t hit over .260 since he hit .272 with the Cyclones in 2007. Already a great defensive player, all Rivera has to do is get himself over .260 and he’ll be able to get himself to stick in double- A. After that, he just has to continue to work hard at the plate and who knows what could happen. Once looked at as a more than solid contact hitter after hitting over .300 in every season he spent in college and both seasons he spent in the Cubs organization, Rivera hasn’t been the same offensive player in nearly two seasons.

Photo by Ron Hatcher.

After his first few games with the team that season, I remember the Brooklyn Papers had a story in there, where a then 17-year-old intern Nick Pauly, who’s now a good friend of mine and a damn good writer, was interning for a local paper and wrote a piece about how Gamero, as a part of his pre-at-bat ritual, wrote in the batter’s box before every at bat. Happy with the piece, Pauly then sent the article to his editor, who tinkered with it and changed the kicker, or the last few lines of the piece. What was originally a feel-good story about the struggling outfielder was morphed into some opinionated drivel about how Gamero should be writing his batting average, which was .143 at the time, in the batter’s box instead.

While Gamero never saw the piece and there was real no negative outburst from it, the piece did speak to the hearts of certain fans who wanted the guy to produce and were sick of his underachieving, which was going on for nearly a year and a half. So with that being said, expect how those fans felt when he was called back to help the team make the playoffs that season.

However, after hitting over .400 the final week of the season, Gamero became a cult hero and almost single-handedly powered the Cyclones offense over Joshua Paplebon and the Lowell Spinners. I can still remember the look on his face after a few of those games. It was almost like he finally started to understand what he had to do at the plate in order to be succesful. It was almost like you were seeing a player come into his own right before your very eyes.

Unfortunately, Gamero disappeared after that season and I haven’t heard any news about him after that. Finishing the ’06 season as strong as he did, it would have been interesting to see where he could have ended up.

Nevertheless, he’ll always remain in the team’s history as a player that for one magical week in September, shined brighter than ever before and fueled an unlikely playoff birth.

Photo by Conroy Walker.

Note- These are for players that either spent the majority of the season in Brooklyn or are important prospects worth watching. Considering how many shortstops this team had this season alone, this post could be longer than the declaration of independence.

Matt Smith- .198 BA, 2 HR 9 RBI- Despite his low batting average, Smith was a solid leader in the clubhouse, played adequate defense and drew a ton of walks before injuries derailed his season. With a host of players making the jump to the bigs this season in Binghamton and Smith already having some AA experience, he figures to start the season there.

Grade- C

JR Voyles- .223 BA, 3 HR, 15 RBI- Last season’s cult hero couldn’t cut the mustard in his second season in Brooklyn and it was easy to see that he wasn’t the same player. His defense wasn’t as sharp either, as several errors cost the team games down the stretch. However, if my memory does serve me correctly, the team won 29 of their 45 games after he was called up in mid-July, making him their honorary good luck charm. It’s still unknown how much his play had to do with that success though.

Grade- D+

Jose Jimenez- .212 BA, 4 HR, 16 RBI- He started off so strong, but ended abysmally, hitting .081 in his last 37 ABs. His 42 strikeouts in only 136 ABs were also a huge detriment to the team, going along with a less than mediocre .272 OBP. However, his power is still solid enough to land him at higher levels and if he can be a bit more selective at the plate, he can still develop into a solid infielder.

Grade- D

Ike Davis- .256 BA, 0 HR, 17 RBI- Joining the team after the first week of the season, Davis was supposed to be the team’s savior on offense. However, things just never materialized. Even with a .368 average through his last ten games, Davis was still a huge disappointment at the plate. Nevertheless, after a long college season, the youngster may need some rest. During the season, Davis also admitted he had a rib injury that was bothering him when he swung. With that being said, next season seems to look like the real test for Davis, as his time in Brooklyn will be remembered as mediocre. Aside from his less than stellar play at the plate however, Davis was something to behold on defense, making sensational plays all season, somewhat making up for his ineffective bat.

Grade- D

Reese Havens- .247 BA, 3 HR, 12 RBI- While 12 RBI in only 85 ABs isn’t too shabby for a guy tormented by injuries all season, everyone in the press box at Keyspan knew that Havens wasn’t himself, as he was dealing with injuries to his elbow and his groin all season. In spite of that, his patience at the plate and ability to hit in the gaps at Keyspan Park makes you think that once he’s healthy, he’ll be a more than adequate run producer.

Grade- B

Juan Legares- .250 BA, 1 HR, 7 RBI- Kind of hard to argue with 18 hits in 19 games for a 19-year-old in his second season of pro ball. His smarts on the base paths and rocket arm are also going to be fun to watch once he develops. In spite of all of that however, he needs to develop more patience at the plate before he can really show what he is capable of.

Grade B-

Eric Campbell- .260 BA. 4 HR, 28 RBI- One of the team’s most dependable bats this season, Campbell was unable to stay hot for a long period of time and had the epitome of a roller coaster season at the plate, hitting under .200 in September. It’s hard to knock his .313 BA and 23 RBI with runners in scoring position however and his dependable, but not flashy defense. His ability to play decent left field and sneakily solid speed may also increase his stock as his career progresses.

Grade- B

Josh Satin- .280 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBI- Another guy that was dependable whenever he was in the lineup and someone that could have benefited from his teammates being able to get on base a little bit more. Injuries however caused him to be miss a ton of time, and it felt like he was lost in the shuffle for a big part of the season as the team was trying to find it’s offensive identity. As it turns out, while many thought Satin was replaceable at second base, he ended up with the highest BA among players appearing in over 40 games. Steady on defense, the former All-American looks to have an interesting future ahead of him.

Grade- B+

Zach Lutz- .333 BA, 3 HR, 12 RBI- If this guy remained healthy all season, he was easily the team’s MVP on offense, maybe the league. A warrior at the plate and on the field, Lutz was also playing at 70-75 percent the entire season, making you wonder how effective he could have been if he’d be able to run more on his injured foot. 2009 will be an important season for him and it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up in the organization.

Grade- A

Wilmer Flores- 267. BA, O HR, 1 RBI- He started off uber solid in his first few games, but then showed an inability to hold his own against pitchers with more than a fastball. However, with his smooth and compact swing and some more experience, Flores may find himself on the fast track to the big leagues. His defense also could use a bit more polish as his lanky body was making up for instinctual mistakes that just don’t happen with older players. Some time at instructs and another summer in A ball may be the best step in his development as well, perhaps splitting time at Savannah and St. Lucie.

Grade B+

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

Through the team’s first 18 games this season, it looked like all the preparation had paid off for the 21-year-old Reading, PA-native, as he was leading the team with an uber impressive .340 batting average and nine RBI.

On Jul. 6 however, Lutz hit another barrier in his professional career, as he re-injured the same foot after grounding out in the third inning of a game against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

For a team already starved for offensive production, the absence of Lutz, which only lasted three games, was a heart-breaking one. Without the youngster manning the hot corner, the Mets Single-A affiliate scored only three runs.

The comeback was a short one however, as two games later Lutz found himself back on the DL, this time after getting 40cc of blood drained from a hematoma on his right quad and hasn’t been in the lineup since.

“I didn’t think it was that bad at first,” he said. “I went to the doctor and had an MRI and I couldn’t believe it.”

However, while Lutz’s latest injury is a setback for him, his endless devotion to the game has so far been able to bring him back to the spotlight.

Wearing a cast on his foot for nearly five months after his first injury last season, Lutz refused to take a day off in rehab. Working extremely hard on developing his upper-body, Lutz came to training camp looking like completely different from the 175-pound infielder he was the year before.

The way he did it is an interesting one.

“It was weird [rehabbing], because I was instructed to always keep my foot elevated,” said Lutz. “But I still did things when I was injured. It was really tough at times, but I had to do something. I usually went outside and put my right foot on a bucket and I would throw the ball around with my mother or father. I tried to do anything to stay active.”

Trying desperately to come back a better baseball player after the injury, Lutz believes he took his body to places it had never been previously.

He also sharpened his mind during that time as well.

“I went back to school and took four classes, which was a little weird as well,” he said. “I had to keep my foot elevated there too.”

By working so hard to continue playing the game he loves, Lutz unbelievably, ended up with an even greater appreciation for the sport than he did before.

“Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you question if you have the energy to go out and perform,” Lutz said. “Sometimes you take it for granted. But then, something like what happened to me can happen and it puts everything into perspective.”

Out for at least another two weeks, Lutz is itching to get back on the field and let his teammates know he isn’t ready to turn in the towel on his season.

“I’m going to keep my head up and keep working hard,” said Lutz during the team’s last homestand. “Hopefully it’s only a few more days until I get back on the field and start practicing with these guys. I want nothing more than to be on the field with my teammates.”

Link:

Box Score to Last Night’s 4-3 Cyclone Win

Photos by Ron Hatcher and Patrick Hickey Jr.