Mets Morning News for April 24, 2018

Your Tuesday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links

Can the Dark Knight rise again or has Matt Harvey been forever broken? That seems to be the question on every pundit’s mind this week.

Is Kevin Plawecki the long term answer for the Mets?

Seth Lugo has been throwing more curve balls and it appears to be working wonders.

Mickey Callway is a big fan of author Dan Coyle.

A lot of Mets have gotten married this past year.

Rusty Staub’s memorial...

Mazeika Taking Advantage Of Playing Time

With Travis d’Arnaud suffering a season ending injury and Kevin Plawecki breaking his hand, Tomas Nido and Jose Lobaton were rushed to the majors.  With respect to Nido, this was an opportunity for the Mets 9th best prospect to show the team he is ready to play at the Major League level. With the starting catcher for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas getting called up to the majors, there was going to be an opportunity for another catcher in the Mets organization to show what he...

Vargas Yields Three Runs In Rehab Start For Vegas

New York Mets left-hander Jason Vargas made a rehab start for Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday, allowing three runs on three hits over four innings. He threw 66 pitches, 42 of which were strikes. Vargas, 35, was injured during spring training when he was struck on his non-throwing hand with a come backer which subsequently broke his hamate bone. He had pitched in simulated games in recent weeks, but this was his first live game action since his injury. “I felt good,” Vargas said after his...

Mets Daily Prospect Report, 4/24/18: Oh so close to a cycle

Catch up on all the Mets prospects in yesterday's minor league action!

*All results from games played on April 23, 2018

EL PASO 6, LAS VEGAS 3 (BOX)

Jason Vargas’s rehab start was mediocre as the 51s blew an early lead and never rebounding. Vargas was handed an early 1-0 lead by Johnny Monell, but three doubles and a walk in the third led to three runs for El Paso. Vargas threw 66 pitches in his four inning start, striking out three and walking two (don’t...

Inbox: Plawecki the long-term answer for Mets?

Can Kevin Plawecki be expected to remain the starting catcher for the rest of the season after he returns from injury? How much leeway should Jose Reyes be given? Beat reporter Anthony DiComo has answers in the Inbox.

WATCH: Mets Kids Clubhouse, Episode 2: Going On An Adventure

In the latest episode of Kids Clubhouse, AJ Ramos, Steven Matz, Kevin Plawecki, and Seth Lugo discuss which adventures in the world they'd like to take some day. Plus, Mets first baseman Adrian Gonzalez demonstrates the best way to prepare once you step in to the batter's box.

Mets Other First Base Prospect: Jeremy Vasquez

Entering the 2018 season, the debate for the Mets future at first base hinged on two players: Dominic Smith and Peter Alonso.  The debate between the two presented a clear philosophical debate about what is and who should play first.  Lost in this debate between Smith and Alonso is the Mets 2017 28th round draft pick Jeremy Vasquez. After being drafted last year, Vasquez was assigned to Kingsport where he just mashed.  In 36 games, he hit .296/.394/.511 with eight doubles, seven homers,...

Mets Other First Base Prospect: Jeremy Vazquez

Entering the 2018 season, the debate for the Mets future at first base hinged on two players: Dominic Smith and Peter Alonso.  The debate between the two presented a clear philosophical debate about what is and who should play first.  Lost in this debate between Smith and Alonso is the Mets 2017 28th round draft pick Jeremy Vasquez. After being drafted last year, Vasquez was assigned to Kingsport where he just mashed.  In 36 games, he hit .296/.394/.511 with eight doubles, seven homers,...

The Mets might not need a second lefty in the bullpen

Jerry Blevins in the lone lefty, but he does have some unexpected help in the bullpen.

When the Mets signed Jose Reyes in the offseason, they designated lefty reliever Josh Smoker for assignment, a bit of a surprising move. It was curious because he was the only other left-handed option besides Jerry Blevins in the Mets’ bullpen, and righty Anthony Swarzak as their only addition to the bullpen in free agency.

There has been a lot of chatter about how they are lacking another lefty weapon...

Player Meter: Pitchers, April 16-22

A quick review of how the Mets’ pitchers fared over the past week.

After the Mets’ bullpen implosions over the last week, we know this week’s meter is going to be ugly. Hopefully the Mets have gotten it out of their system.

Let’s start with something good: Jacob deGrom. He has been lights out his past two starts, looking very much like vintage deGrom. Over the past week alone, he has been worth 0.7 fWAR, which leads whole the team and blows the rest of the pitchers out of the...

Mets Mind Boggler: Lowest K% for hitters

Can you name every Met to strike out in fewer than 9% of his plate appearances in a season?

Last week, we asked you to name Mets players who posted high single-season strikeout rates. For this week’s Mind Boggler, we’re covering players on the opposite end of the spectrum and asking you to name the team’s best contact hitters. Specifically, we’d like you to name every player in Mets history to post a strikeout rate lower than 9% in a season.

Every Met to strike out in fewer than 9%...

Player Meter: Position players, April 16-22

A quick review of how the Mets’ position players fared over the past week.

After their scorching hot start, the Mets are a .500 team over their past ten games. And the numbers show it, with a number of regulars struggling this week at the plate. Overall, the Mets have a 101 wRC+ as a team for the week, pretty much exactly in the middle of the pack.

Jay Bruce in particular, who may be suffering from the effects of his plantar fasciitis, has looked bad at the plate, posting a -40 wRC+ for...

Mets Morning News for April 23, 2018

Your Monday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links

After suffering another disheartening loss at the hands of the Braves on Saturday, the Mets got a bit of a reprieve from Mother Nature. The game was rained out and will now be a doubleheader on Memorial Day.

With Sunday’s rainout, everyone on the pitching staff will get pushed back a day but Jason Vargas will still make his debut against the Padres on Saturday. Beyond that the Mets might make some...

Flores Tells Mets: I’ll Be There For You

Wilmer Flores was slated to get the start at the hot corner on Sunday at SunTrust Park, before rain spoiled the occasion. It’s been a tough reality for Flores, who debuted for the Mets in 2013 and still doesn’t have a defined position. Regardless, he has picked up a first base glove frequently this year and has appeared in 18 of the team’s first 20 games. The 26-year-old wants an everyday role on this team, but has responded when called upon in a reserve capacity. Still, it’s...

Mets Daily Prospect Report, 4/23/18

Catch up on all the Mets prospects in yesterday’s minor league action!

*All results from games played on April 22, 2018

EL PASO 9, LAS VEGAS 6 (BOX)

Going into the bottom of the ninth, the game looked like a near runaway for the Chihuahuas. In his first ever Triple-A start, Marcos Molina gave up four runs in four-plus innings of work, struggling with his command and throwing only 57 of his 92 pitches on the afternoon for strikes. Corey Taylor, Kyle...

Can the New York Mets trust AJ Ramos?

The New York Mets are off to a fast start this season. At 14-6, they hold the second-best record in the National League, behind just the 15-6 Diamondbacks. However, despite their early success, this week has been a rough one, with the team losing four of six against the Nationals and Braves. While you can’t win them all, two of these losses particularly stung. The first was Monday night against the Nationals. The Mets held a 6-1 lead going into the 8th inning, where the bullpen completely...

Talkin’ Mets: Cerrone on Harvey, Wright, Mets Fans Bucket List

I am joined by Matt Cerrone of Metsblog. We discuss his book “The New York Mets Fans Bucket List” and the current team. Hear our thoughts on Matt Harvey, David Wright’s progress, and the importance of the team’s response to the recent gut-wrenching defeats to the Nationals and Braves. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RSS FEED iTunes Stores

Mets/Braves rained out, doubleheader scheduled for May 28

The Mets were looking for a split of their four-game series in Atlanta

The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves were rained out earlier today. The game will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Memorial Day, May 28. The first game will begin at 1:10pm EDT with the second game starting at 7:10pm EDT.

Zack Wheeler and Mike Foltynewicz were originally supposed to start the Sunday matinee in Atlanta. The Mets have a regularly scheduled off-day on Monday before beginning their three-game...

Mets Morning News for April 22, 2018

Your Sunday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

Jacob deGrom was fantastic again yesterday, but in a mirror image of his last start, the Mets once again blew a lead in the late innings, capped off by a walk-off bunt single from Ender Inciarte to carry the Braves to victory. The blown lead came at the hands of the relievers that were supposed to be the stalwarts of the Mets bullpen—Jeurys Familia, A.J. Ramos, and Jerry Blevins. The Mets’ offense...

Yoenis Cespedes wears his hat backwards—on a shirt!

Not everyone likes the way Cespedes wears his hat, and that’s a great reason to celebrate it.

Back in spring training, a certain New York City sports columnist made a big stink about Yoenis Cespedes’s clubhouse presence, mentioning along the the way that Cespedes did things like wear his hat backwards in practice. And that was really all the reason we needed to reach out and see if BreakingT could make a shirt with Cespedes wearing his hat backwards. They came through.