Top Pitching Prospects

By Chris Lee

With the questions abound regarding the Mets starting pitching rotation after Al Leiter and Pedro Astacio, one would think that if the Mets continue to hover around the .500 mark that we may see some of the farm come September. Here is a look at the Mets top pitching prospects.

AAA Norfolk

LHP Mike Basick - Coming over in the Roberto Alomar trade, the former Indians minor league pitcher recently made his first major league start in place of the injured Steve Traschel. Basick pitched 5 good innings to collect his first win, but did have several control issues which will most likely be fixed with more experience. Mike only throws in the mid-to-high 80s, but uses good location, superb movement and his outstanding arsenal of breaking pitches to baffle opponent batters.

'02 Stats- Mets: 1-0 WL, 3.60 ERA, 3 SO in 5.0 innings; AAA Norfolk: 5-4 WL, 3.39 ERA, 68 SO in 93.0 innings

MLB Comparison: John Burkett

Outlook: The Mets will lose 4 of their 5 starters this off-season due to free agency. Basick no doubt be given an opportunity to crack the starting rotation, and could possibly turn into a successful no. 4 or 5 starter. Basick also will be used in a few more starts in place of Traschel.
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RHP Pat Strange - Strange was a 2nd round draft pick in 1999, and at 21 he has a bright future ahead of him. Pat is enjoying a terrific season at Norfolk leading the pitching staff in wins (7) and strikeouts (74). His fastball reaches 94 mph, and has a solid change up, and a good sinker to mix things up.

'02 Stats- AAA Norfolk: 7-5 WL, 3.87 ERA, 74 SO in 100.0 innings

MLB Comparison: Aaron Sele

Outlook: Strange has a very good chance of making the Mets roster, but he still has to prove that he has the capabilities. Spring training will make a big difference for Pat.
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AA Binghamton

RHP Aaron Heilman - Drafted out of college, Heilman’s skills are polished and will make progress through the minors quickly. At Notre Dame, Aaron went 15-0 and posted a 1.75 ERA, while eating up plenty of innings for the Irish. Heilman main pitches include a 94-mph fastball with great movement, a dropping slider, a superb splitter, as well as a change-up. He’s close to making it to the majors, but the Mets are concerned with Heilman’s possible arm injuries from throwing too many innings with the Fighting Irish.

Stats- AA Binghamton: 4-4 WL, 3.82 ERA, 97 SO, in 96.2 innings

Comparison: Jason Schmidt

Outlook: With his extensive college experience, I would expect Aaron to work his way up the farm system in record time and show what he can do at spring training next year.
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RHP Starter Jae Seo - Seo’s stuff is not amazing, but gets the job done with great control. Using a descent change-up and an above-average splitter, Jae has worked his way up to AAA Norfolk this season. However, Jae has not exactly dominated at the AAA level, and will need to spend more time improving in the minors before he is promoted.

'02 Stats-AAA Norfolk: 4-5 WL, 4.06 ERA, 45 SO in 77.2 innings; AA Binghamton: 0-0 WL, 5.40 ERA, 6 SO in 5 innings

Comparison: Rick Reed

Outlook: Seo could use more time in the minors, but might be seen in the big leagues possibly as soon as next year.

Record: 43-44, 4th place, 12.5 GB behind the Atlanta Braves

With the Atlanta Braves putting their classic stranglehold on their NL East dominance with its continued play and the Montreal Expos trying to become a legitimate contender to wrestle away the opportunity to take a run at the Wild Card from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros, the Mets are going to be hard-pressed to make the run necessary to climb above the competition.

As of right now, the Mets are 8 games behind Arizona, who would win the WC and have continued to play sub-par ball because either a lack of consistent pitching or hitting. Since our last report, the Mets have failed to win 2 games in a row and their pen, which was considered to be a bright spot, has blown 3 games while going 5-8 since June 24.

This is despite seeing Mike Piazza (1.198 OPS), Roberto Alomar (1.082 OPS), Edgardo Alfonzo (.902 OPS), and Mo Vaughn hitting 5 home runs and improving his BA from .224 to .248 since June 24. In other words: bad timing for the pen to blow 3 games when they need to play over .600 ball to remain in the hunt for October.

Local Perspective

With the Yankees pulling off trades for Raul Mondesi and Jeff Weaver, the Mets are looking like the ugly step-child once again in the local battle for supremecy. Saying that, it is quite apparent that the Mets are setting themselves up for a long 3 months, while the Yankees continue to focus on returning to the World Series in order to re-capture its title.

Sorry to say this folks, but the Mets are in for a house cleaning and it is going to start with their GM who should be remembered as the man that did not listen to Bobby Valentine when he recommended that they take a look at some Japanese outfielder by the name of "Ichiro". They choose to utilize Shinjo, Perez and Payton.

Rumor Mill

Rumor has it that the Mets are going to deal Al Leiter. Don't believe what you hear unless they are going to beef up for the future and begin a rebuilding campaign that could last the next 2-3 years. There is a reason why Shawn Estes, Jeff D'Amico and Steve Trachsel are still in the rotation. Michael Bacsik, their top pitching prospect that can assist the big club, went 5 IP last week against Florida, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3 in a 5-3 win.

Quick View

Add:

Jay Payton, he is fighting for his starting job and drove in 5 RBI in a game last week.

Scott Strickland/Armando Benitez: If Armando Benitez is dealt to a contender, he value will increase. Strickland will become less valuable in hold leagues but become more valuable in save leagues.

Mo Vaughn: Here is to predicting that Mo will hit 15 home runs in the second half of the year.

Hold:

Alomar: Here is to hoping that Alomar snaps out of his funk.

Piazza: He will continue to hit the ball.

Timo Perez: I am not convinced that Payton is going to continue what he did last week. Perez is going to continue to see time.

Drop:

Alfonzo: His numbers are going to fall and will not hit for power the way he was expected to. Bad choice in dropping Ventura who is being considered as a top candidate as Comeback Player of the Year.

Estes, D'Amico, Trachsel: They will be lucky to win 15 games in the second half of the year.

Injuries

Good thing that the All-Star break came when it did. The Mets injuries include Piazza (sore back/day-to-day), Alfonzo (hit in the head/concussion/day-to-day), Trachsel (muscle strain/15-day DL) and Rey Ordonez (bruised foot/day-to-day).