Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Jacob deGrom was brilliant once again and the Mets still somehow found a new and excruciating way to lose. The Mets ace worked in and out of trouble all night, allowing seven hits, none of which were hard hit, and one earned run while striking out a career high-tying 13 Cubs. It was a masterful performance by deGrom, who loaded the bases in the first before striking out two to end the inning, but the offense that’s failed him time and time again was up to the same old tricks Saturday. The only Met run came on a Michael Conforto solo shot off Cubs starter Mike Montgomery in the sixth inning.

In an attempt to win what sure seemed like a must-win game for the Mets, Mickey Callaway burned through his entire bullpen minus Paul Sewald. He was rewarded with clean innings by all of them, minus Buddy Baumann and Gerson Bautista. Baumann was added to the roster as Jerry Blevins insurance, a valid move in theory considering Blevins’ struggles thus far, except for the fact that he’s much worse than Jerry Blevins. Bautista throws a 100 mph fastball and, well, that’s about it. His secondary offerings leave a lot to be desired and while the young flamethrower deserved a chance, it’s apparent he’ll require some more seasoning in the minors. The Mets need to work with the 23-year-old on his slider and changeup if they ever plan for him to be a bullpen mainstay.

Kevin Plawecki got his first career start at first base and it went just as well poorly as one might’ve imagined. In an attempt to hide Adrian Gonzalez against left-handed pitching, the Mets chose to call-up old friend Jose Lobaton in order for Plawecki to get starts at first. Yes, the same Plawecki who owns reverse splits (.228/.321/.311 vs RHP, .196/.277/.290 vs LHP) and whose only value to the organization comes from his work behind the plate is now part of a platoon at first base. Plawecki was 0-5 while the Mets still chose to pinch hit Gonzalez and Jay Bruce against left-handers. It’s not like the Mets have a right-handed hitting first baseman in the minors who destroys left-handed pitching, so the move at least makes some sense. What was that?  You mean to tell me they do have a righty first baseman prospect who tees off on lefties and is close to major league ready? Yet they still somehow believe this current roster configuration gives them the best chance to win? Welcome to the Mets, my friends.

OTHER METS NEWS

Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Braves, the Mets announced a flurry of moves, the most controversial of which was the stunning decision to designate P.J Conlon for assignment. Now, Conlon’s no world-beater, but he’s flashed potential as a bullpen piece in the Jerry Blevins mold and surely could have provided some value as some much-needed depth. With a fastball that barely touches 90 mph, Conlon relies on a good changeup and a funky delivery that has proven effective once through the order. Although he had minor league options, the Mets chose to designate him to free up a 40-man spot for Scott Copeland, a 30-year-old reliever who was on turn at Binghamton.

It was a puzzling move that lacked comprehension: teams don’t cut pitchers with minor league options who can provide value in the big leagues, especially when said team is in constant need of pitchers. Except that’s inexplicably exactly what the Mets did. I theorized in Week Five of the Prospect Watch that the Mets had no idea what they had in Conlon and apparently they didn’t have any interest in finding out.

The corresponding move for Conlon was Copeland, who threw all of 22 pitches Thursday before he himself was designated for assignment. He struck out two in one inning of relief and was a fresh arm for a bullpen in dire need of one. Mets brass somehow concluded that Jose Lobaton’s presence was again required on the active roster, so the only logical move was to designate Copeland. So they could carry three catchers. Who all can’t hit.

Did you think it couldn’t get any worse? Because it’s about to get worse. Mickey Callaway told reporters Friday night that the Mets had only three available relievers in the bullpen: Paul Sewald, Tim Peterson and Jeurys Familia. If the Mets didn’t need Lobaton to complete the Jose, Jose, Jose bench, they could’ve held on to Copeland, who’s been stretched out as a starter with Binghamton. It simply would’ve made too much sense though, so Copeland was sent packing while Callaway overworked Sewald, Friday night’s losing pitcher.

I’m assuming you thought that this was the end of the rant. Well guess what, I’m here to tell you this isn’t the end of the rant. What could possibly be worse than this you might ask? Well by designating Conlon, the Mets ensured he’d have to pass through waivers in order to remain with the organization. The Dodgers, an organization seemingly always in need of pitchers, claimed Conlon Saturday. Which means the Mets gave up on an intriguing 24-year-old left-handed pitcher for 22 pitches from Scott Copeland. Not 22 starts from Copeland, nor 22 innings. 22 measly pitches!

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

The Mets fell to 27-27 with a desultory display against the Cubs on a foggy night in Flushing where outfielders lost balls in the haze. It was a fitting backdrop behind the team falling to .500, as it’s not clear if the Amazins are coming or going; after all, the best news coming out of the organization today was that David Wright played a game of catch.

Coming in to last night’s game, Brandon Nimmo had the second-highest WAR on the Mets roster at 1.5 (trailing only Jacob deGrom’s 3.4). Nimmo was the first Met run (in the eighth inning, homering to center), while Kyle Schwarber — who trails Nimmo’s WAR (1.4) — was in the middle of all the Cubs’ scoring this night.

It was the tale of two bullpens, as the Mets took a page out of Tampa Bay’s book, with reliever Seth Lugo taking the mound to start with the Mets rotation reeling from injuries. Lugo turned in four stellar innings to start the game, surrendering only three hits and shutting out Chicago after 60 pitches.

Hansel Robles made a mess of things in the top of the fifth. After walking Kyle Schwarber to lead off the inning, he managed to retire the next two hitters before Ben Zobrist hit a two-run homer over the 380-foot sign in right center field, putting the Cubs ahead. Jerry Blevins came in in the top of the sixth and got two outs before surrendering a double to Baez and RBI hit to Schwarber. Buddy Baumann allowed another run in the seventh and loaded the bases before being replaced by Scott Copeland, who promptly struck out Javier Baez. Gerson Bautista surrendered a run in the top of the ninth.

For the Cubs, Jose Quintana was solid, sprinkling three hits over six innings, surrendering no runs. The only threat came in the third, when the Mets loaded the bases to no avail. Other than Nimmo’s home run in the eighth, the Cubs bullpen was flawless until the ninth, when Pedro Strop walked Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce with two outs. Brandon Morrow got Amed Rosario to ground out for the final out.

The Mets take on the Cubs tonight at 7.10 p.m. at Citi Field. Tyler Chatwood (3-4, 4.10) will take the mound for the Cubs, against Zach Wheeler (2-4, 5.40).

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

After Monday’s day of arguably-too-much-baseball, the Mets and Braves were back at it again on Tuesday night after yet another rain delay. Steven Matz took the mound for the Mets, giving New York what appeared to be a significant advantage over Braves starter Anibal Sanchez. In more nightmarish news, Jose Reyes was in the lineup again, and Jose Bautista was batting third. Your 2018 Mets in a nutshell, folks.

Game Recap

This game went much like every other game for the past week. Starting on a positive note, they took a first inning lead again, when Brandon Nimmo reached on an HBP and scored on a double from Bautista. The Mets would stretch that lead further in the third on a two-run home run from Asdrubal Cabrera. Matz was cruising on the other side of the ball, working around a handful of Braves’ baserunners over the first three inning, and the Mets got him another run in the top of the fourth on a home run from Adrian Gonzalez.

At that point, the hits (the other kind of hits) started coming. Matz left the game before throwing a pitch in the fourth with a finger injury suffered on a swing, a burden the strained Mets’ pitching staff is ill-equipped to handle at the moment. Paul Sewald entered and promptly started serving up hard contact, allowing two runs on three hits, a walk and a passed ball. The Met lead was cut to 4-2.

Unlike previous games, the Mets managed to add on after their bullpen stumbled. Cabrera homered again in the fifth to get one of those runs back, and an RBI double from Nimmo in the sixth reestablished a four-run lead. The bullpen, meanwhile, stabilized a bit, with Sewald and Jerry Blevins combining to keep the Braves off the board in the fifth and sixth respectively.

You can probably guess where things went from here. Blevins, forced into a two-inning appearance by the Mets’ decimated pitching staff, struggled, allowing two out hits to Freddie Freeman and NIck Markakis that pushed another Braves run across. Jacob Rhame finished out the seventh, but was shellacked in the eighth, blowing a three-run lead with, of course, the help of a bloop single for Dansby Swanson. The game was tied again.

Fittingly, the Mets threatened but squandered an opportunity in the top of the ninth, putting two men on with nobody out and then not scoring. Gerson Bautista entered for the bottom of the ninth and, after recording one out, served up a walkoff home run to light hitting Johan Camargo. It was something of a mercy, as the Mets simply did not have the arms for an extra-inning game, but blowing yet another big lead late in the game is more than a little disheartening.

Thoughts from the Game

Admittedly, I’m a bit too young to have 100% accurate memories of the 2007 stretch run, and I’m too lazy to go through the play logs and get the details. Regardless, this recent stretch has felt like hopping in a time machine, watching that 2007 team blow any and every lead they could get their hands on. This current Mets team could be leading by 20 and I wouldn’t feel confident, and I doubt many other fans would either at this point.

This was totally predictable though. This is what happens when, in lieu of signing real relievers, you put your starting pitching depth in the bullpen. This is what happens when, instead of upgrading on an injury-plagued group of starters, you sign Jason Vargas and call things good. This is what happens when you prioritize saving money over adding talent in deadline deals in the previous offseason. This organization simply does not have enough major league quality arms, and that problem is made more acute by their injury problems that, at this point, are persistent enough that they must be something more than bad luck.

Other Mets News

Noah Syndergaard hit the DL yesterday with a strained ligament in his right ring finger. It’s a minor injury and he should be back in the minimum amount of time, in theory. Of course, rather than encouraging a player who self-reported an injury and kept it from becoming more serious (one who has done just the opposite in the past), the team put out veiled comments suggesting that Thor could pitch anyway and he was simply being a wimp. There’s some heavy reading between the lines required there, but the fact that even a hint of such a sentiment is present is just the kind of dysfunction you expect from this team.

Elsewhere, Anthony Swarzak had a stellar rehab appearance for the Las Vegas 51s. He can’t rejoin the team soon enough.

Photo credit: Brett Davis – USA Today Sports

BP Mets writer Tyler Oringer joined me this week to offer his opinions on former Prospect Watch players Luis Guillorme, Justin Dunn and Jeremy Vasquez.

Las Vegas 51s (Triple-A)

Pitcher: Gerson Bautista

Bautista started the year in Binghamton but he’s already pitched at three levels this season, including a brief ride on the Mets bullpen shuttle. He was part of the return from Boston for Addison Reed and fits in the same mold as the other relievers that were acquired during the 2017 sell-off. Bautista has a live arm and is mainly fastball-slider, but he mixes in a below-average changeup as well. The fastball sits in the high 90s and regularly touches 100; it’s already a legitimate 70, a plus-plus pitch. The problem for Bautista is his fastball’s so good that he hasn’t had to develop his secondary offerings to get minor league hitters out. This season marks the first time Bautista’s pitched above A-ball and his lack of another quality offering has gotten him into some trouble. In his cup of tea in the majors earlier this season, Bautista threw his fastball an astounding 86% of the time. He’s more comfortable throwing his slider than his changeup (11% and 3%, respectively) but neither is even an average offering at this point. That’s a big problem for a potential high-leverage reliever, especially considering Bautista has poor command as well. I’m extremely doubtful that Bautista can be an effective high-leverage guy throwing his fastball almost 90% of the time. In order to pull that off, he’d need to add a couple more ticks to the fastball, which seems unlikely at this point. The Mets sent Bautista to Las Vegas to work on developing his secondaries further, but he’s struggled with his command and has been hit hard. Here’s my biggest gripe with Bautista: I’m concerned his 70 fastball is going to play down in the majors because of how often he throws it. Bautista has great velo but ultimately it’s nothing major league hitters haven’t already seen. It’s extremely hard to throw your fastball by major league hitters that know you throw a fastball nine out of every ten pitches. I’m lower on Bautista than most due to the lack of secondaries and poor command, but he’s still young and should get plenty of opportunities to keep developing his off-speed.

Hitter: Luis Guillorme (*Called up to New York Mets*)

I did a scouting report a few weeks back on Guillorme and Alex briefly discussed him in a prior Prospect Watch.

The most impressive defensive Mets prospect (and my favorite) has been called up to the big league club.  His surge in Triple-A over the last two weeks is just a small sample size of what he has done his entire minor league career.

I’ll get to his aforementioned future Gold Glove defense in a second, but his hitting and approach to the plate forced Sandy Alderson’s hand following the injury of Todd Frazier.

On April 28, Guillorme was slashing just .213/.333/.279. However, these numbers were bound to change as his quick yet through-the-zone swing and knack for recognizing pitches led to an absolute tear. By May 7, the day of his promotion, the middle infielder was raking .300/.390/.433 with seven doubles, a triple and a home run. He’s been clutch in that time, versatile in the order and even showing a bit more speed. For context, if I had to compare Guillorme’s initial bat and approach to someone in the Majors right now it would be Greg Garcia of the Cardinals with less power. The similarities are actually glaring. This is all in addition to his second-to-none glove.  Though he is just 5’10”, he gets to balls that he should not be able to get to and moves with a Major League smoothness.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but he projects as an 80 second baseman and 70-75 shortstop. High praise, but well deserved.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A)

Pitcher: Joshua Torres

Originally a member of the Milwaukee Brewer’s organization, Torres was released in March 2016 and signed a minor league free agent contract with the Mets in December of the same year. Like Bautista above, this is his first season above A-ball in his seven-year minor league career and he’s off to quite the start. In just 10.2 innings for Binghamton thus far, Torres has been really impressive with his 0.84 ERA and 16 strikeouts against four walks. He’s always had decent strikeout numbers, but he struck out 77 in 63 innings last year at High-A Port St. Lucie in what was his best professional season to date. Torres was old for the level, but he’s shown much of the same strikeout prowess in Binghamton so far. I’ve gotten a couple of live looks at Torres this season and to be honest, his stuff is pretty underwhelming for a relief prospect. He sits just 91-94 with his fastball and it’s just an average pitch, but the results have been good so far. Here’s the bad news: Torres is an extreme flyball pitcher in an era where you really don’t want to be one. He’s currently running a pathetic 17.4% groundball rate this season and his HR/FB of 0.0% makes him a prime regression candidate. I haven’t even mentioned that he’s stranded 93% of base runners this season, a mark that should level off near his career average of 73.1% sometime soon. This is a classic case where the results are not indicative of the stuff, and a reminder that there’s more to scouting than just the stat line. I don’t think Torres will be more than organizational depth at Triple-A, but he’s someone to keep an eye on this summer until his underlying numbers catch up to his results.

Hitter: Jeff McNeil

McNeil was a 12th round draft pick of the Mets in 2013 and has played at pretty much every level of the system throughout his six-year minor league career. Primarily a second baseman, McNeil projects as a super-utility type based on his ability to play all over the diamond. He’s the owner of a gorgeous left-handed swing and has an opposite field approach at the dish. While he does have six home runs already this season, McNeil has never had much pop and isn’t likely to add that to his game now that he’s 26. The Mets system is light up top but seemingly full of interesting relievers and utility players, and McNeil looks like a major leaguer bench piece for someone. He’s currently slashing .276/.364/.609 in just under 90 at-bats for Binghamton and could get a call to Las Vegas if Luis Guillorme is up for an extended amount of time. The age is obviously an issue here, but our own Jeffrey Paternostro saw McNeil this week and thinks he’s still a low-risk bench player for some organization. It’s hard to see a path to playing time for McNeil with the Mets anytime soon, but I prefer him to Phil Evans, who I wrote about in last week’s Prospect Watch and is already on the 40-man. My reasoning for preferring McNeil is quite simple: I think McNeil’s a better defender and more likely to hit for average than Evans. I’ll be getting my first live look at McNeil next week and will have a more in-depth look in my next scouting notes piece.

Port St. Lucie Mets (High-A)

Pitcher: Justin Dunn

Alex discussed Dunn in Week One of the Prospect Watch, but I am here to expand a bit on his evaluations.

The 2016 first round pick out of Boston College, Dunn was expected to be a massive part of Mets future.  He flashed an explosiveness when pitching for Boston College that caught many scouts’ eyes. He was initially a reliever and then closed for BC, eventually being moved into the starting rotation. The 6’2”185-pound lanky righty extends fairly far to the plate out of the windup, something that was very deceptive for hitters that faced him in 2016 in short season A-ball and throughout his time in college.  With the Brooklyn Cyclones, Dunn notched a 1.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP while striking out 35 in 30 innings pitches.

Alarming though, Dunn struggled mightily in 2017 at high-A.  The concerns about his lack of command and ability to find an outpitch other than his slider led to his beatings against lefties versus whom he got absolutely rocked. He walked 48 batters in 95.1 innings pitched and finished the season with a 5.00 ERA. After an abysmal and scary year for his career, Dunn needed to show Mets brass and scouts alike that his first round value was no fluke.

In 2018, so far, kind of good. But certainly better. The former BC Eagle’s fastball runs from 92-95 and can reach 96-97 on rare occasion.  Due to his deceptiveness strictly due to the extension of his motion, his slider has fooled opposing hitters. Now at High-A St. Lucie again, Dunn’s adjustments are noticeable: He has improved his pseudo-curve/slider and changeup a bit and is mixing his pitches better. In five starts thus far this year, the former first rounder has compiled a 2.13 ERA, and is clearly pitching to contact more often.  However, because of this, he has given up 29 hits in 25.1 innings pitches.  Impressively, he has still struck out 28 batters while walking nine – but his proneness to serving up hittable pitches is a bit frightening. Of course, though, now he is on the DL with a minor injury.

Dunn can be a solid number three starter if he expands on his third and fourth pitches, but at the moment is worthy of future backend rotation/long relief consideration with his current attributes. Initially, he struck me as someone who may be converted into a late-inning long reliever to closer type due to his college experience and two-pitch repertoire, but with his new tendencies and high WHIP, I think he’ll be relied on as just a starter as planned.

Columbia Fireflies (Low-A)

Hitter: Jeremy Vasquez

Alex discussed Vasquez in Week Two of the Prospect Watch, but I am here to expand a bit on his evaluations.

If you’re a Mets fan, the name Dominic Smith has been drilled into your head as the next “guy” at first base for the past few years.   However, it is appearing more and more likely that Smith is not what he was once touted to be. Now, Peter Alonso is shaping up to be the favorite in the organization. But there is another impressive first baseman looming. Jeremy Vasquez, the 2017 Round 28 pick, is tearing up Single-A pitching and making a case for a promotion if Alonso finds himself in Triple-A or even the majors.

The lefty Vasquez transferred to Nova Southeastern after two productive years at the University of Florida and has really impressed so far in 2018. Though he does not fit the profile of a typical first base prospect or even typical first baseman for that matter, the 6’1” 205-pound former Gator has the tools to make some sort of impact at the highest level. Last season, Vasquez slashed .266/.368/.430 – nothing too special. Yet, his swing and eye were noticeably advanced for the level he was playing at.

Now adjusted to A-league pitching, the newly notable prospect is slashing .315/.426/.514. At 21 years old, he is old for the level he’s at and while this isn’t necessarily a good thing, he has proven that he’s soon to be ready for the next step. Because of his lack of power, average defense, and presence of Alonso (and Smith), Vasquez may need to shift to right field, where he played during his sophomore year at UF, at some point to carve a role with the Mets. He still needs more reps at full season A-ball, but flashes a solid hit tool and advanced eye. The first baseman needs to put more torque in his swing to truly rise the ranks of the Mets system, but is looking like a great find for New York.

Photo credit: Jasen Vinlove – USA Today Sports

Just when the good feelings seem to be carrying Mets fans aloft, gravity pulls everyone back to Earth.

The improbably ascendant Mets confronted the ongoing enigma that is their fallen ace as Matt Harvey dug an early hole the team could not climb out of, and they lost the opening game of their weekend series against a middling Atlanta team.

Harvey continued to struggle, missing spots with a lackluster fastball that put the Mets down three runs in the bottom of the first, and surrendered another three runs in the third. He finished the night with six innings, six runs (all earned) and four strikeouts. In four starts on the year, Harvey is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA. Yeesh.

On the other side, Matt Wisler, called up from Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate for a spot start in place of the injured Anibal Sanchez, was perfect the first time through the Mets order, surrendering the first hit to Asdrubal Cabrera in the fourth inning, and a home run to Todd Frazier, his third, to dead center in the fifth. Adrian Gonzalez added another home run, his second, in the eighth.

Harvey did settle down after the third to provide length, but Jerry Blevins couldn’t get out of the seventh, and, between Blevins and Gerson Bautista, the Braves tacked on another six runs.

The Mets tried to make things interesting, as Lucas Sims relieved Wisler in the eighth and proceeded to melt down; Sims was ultimately on the hook for all three runs the Mets plated in the inning, but it was too little, too late. Sam Freeman and Peter Moylan mopped up in Sims’ wake in a game that was never in doubt. Prior to Wisler’s call-up, Sims had been tentatively scheduled for last night’s start, and the Mets will no doubt think about what might have been.

As it is, they will have to consider that might be wrong with the artist formerly known as the Dark Knight. There are no easy solutions in sight, and time is not on Matt Harvey’s side.

In brighter news, Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 2.95) faces Sean Newcomb (1-1, 4.02) tonight at 7:35 p.m.

Photo credit: Dale Zunino – USA Today Sports