Your Saturday morning dose of New York Mets and Major League Baseball news, notes, and links.

Meet the Mets

Choose Your Recap:MLB.com, ESPN NY, Daily News, New York Times, Star-Ledger, NY Post, Newsday

Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia have elevated the quality and velocity of the Mets bullpen. Mejia also is going to try to elevate the Mets soothsaying as he predicts the team will make the playoffs this year.

Sandy Alderson says that while he hasn't talked to other teams much yet, the Mets could be buyers at the trade deadline on July 31st. Alderson says he'll monitor the club and market over the next 10 days and even pulled out a Tug McGraw quote. The team has plenty of room to improve in the second half, says Mark Simon. Daniel Murphy may be on the trade block but he says he'd be amenable to a contract extension with the Mets.

Jon Niese tossed a bullpen session yesterday and is set to make his return on Monday against the Mariners.

Lefty pitching prospect Steve Matz is getting closer to the big leagues and may be ready very soon. Meanwhile, Noah Syndergaard is closer to the majors in terms of level but he's spent the year in Vegas learning how to pitch. Toby Hyde looked at who's hot and who's not in the Mets system.

First rounder Michael Conforto is set to make his debut today with the Cyclones as the DH. Speaking of the Cyclones, the Daily News has a piece on their vice president Steve Cohen.

A 105-year old woman will throw out the first pitch prior to Sunday's game. That is awesome!

Yesterday At AA

Matthew Callan's look back at the 1999 Mets gets to the Mercury Mets game. Hooray!

Aaron Yorke previewed the Mets series with the Padres.

Around the NL East

The Bravesdefeated the Phillies 6-4 last night, while the Nationalsfell to the Brewers 4-2, and the Marlins were fried by the Giants 9-1. Dan Uggla has gotten the boot from Atlanta despite being owed lots of money.

Around the Majors

The Angelsacquired reliever Huston Street from the Padres in exchange for four minor leaguers including 2B prospect Taylor Lindsey. Seems like the Padres got a pretty great return for their closer.

The Astrosfailed to sign #1 overall draft pick Brady Aiken after the team tried to save money due to an elbow issue discovered in a physical. They'll get the #2 pick in next year's draft but there's a lot more to this story than that, as they also failed to sign 5th rounder Jacob Nix.

CC Sabathia's season is over as he'll get his knee cleaned up.

What has happened to the MLB cleanup man this year?

Baseball America released their prospect hot sheet for the week and only one Mets prospect made it: Noah Syndergaard under the "not so hot" section.

Tom Emanski was a household name in youth baseball coaching thanks to the iconic tv commercials used to sell his tapes. Then, he disappeared. Where'd he go?

If you read an article or find a link that you think would be a great addition to a future edition of Mets Morning News, please forward it to our tips email address tips@grission.com and we'll try to add it in.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 18th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 4-8 vs. Charlotte Knights

RF Jose Pirela 1-5, K
2B Rob Refsnyder 1-5, K - hitting .250 over last 10 games
LF Zoilo Almonte 2-4, 2B, BB, K
3B Adonis Garcia 1-4, RBI
1B Kyle Roller 1-3, BB, 2 K
C John Ryan Murphy 1-4, RBI, PB
DH Corban Joseph 1-3, RBI, BB
SS Carmen Angelini 2-4, 2B, RBI - hitting .333 over last 10 games
CF Taylor Dugas 0-4, K - hitting .300 since call up to Triple-A

Chris Leroux 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 3 WP - 44 of 86 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/1 AO
Jeremy Bleich 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB - 16 of 24 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/2 AO
Tyler Webb 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, HR - 23 of 37 pitches for strikes
Edgmer Escalona 1.1 IP, H, K - 18 of 27 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/2 AO

Double-A Trenton Thunder:W 6-5 vs. Binghamton Mets

CF Jake Cave 1-3, 2 BB, CS
LF Ben Gamel 1-4, 2B, BB
3B Rob Segedin 3-5, 3 2B, 3 RBI - hitting .400 over last 10 games
C Peter O`Brien 0-4, BB, 2 K, PB
DH Tyler Austin 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, K - hitting .293 over last 10 games
RF Mason Williams 0-4
1B Dan Fiorito 0-4, K
2B Casey Stevenson 1-3
SS Ali Castillo 1-4, SB

Zach Nuding 6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K - 62 of 97 pitches for strikes, 6 GO/4 AO
Mark Montgomery 1.0 IP, H, 1 R/0 ER, BB, K - 11 of 20 pitches for strikes, 0 GO/2 AO
Diego Moreno 2.0 IP, BB, 2 K 18 of 25 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/3 AO

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 4-5 vs. Palm Beach Cardinals

CF Danny Oh 0-3, BB, K
SS Cito Culver 1-4, 2 K
1B Greg Bird 2-4, 2B, RBI, K
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, K - hitting .368 over last 10 games
3B Eric Jagielo 1-4, fielding error (10)
RF Aaron Judge 1-4, RBI, 2 K
2B Angelo Gumbs 1-4
LF Yeicok Calderon 0-3, RBI
C Trent Garrison 0-4

Brady Lail 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 K - 6 GO/4 AO
Kyle Haynes 2.0 IP, BB, K - 3 GO/2 AO
Ramon Benjamin 1.0 IP, H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 BB - 4 GO/0 AO

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 5-3 vs. Lexington Legends

CF Mark Payton 0-2, 2 BB - hitting .406 over last 10 games
SS Tyler Wade 2-4 - hitting .342 over last 10 games
RF Dustin Fowler 0-4, K
3B Miguel Andujar 1-4 - hitting .314 over last 10 games
DH Jackson Valera 0-2, 2 BB, K
LF Michael O'Neill 1-4, K - hitting .342 over last 10 games
C Eduardo de Oleo 0-4, K, threw out runner
2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, BB
1B Reymond Nunez 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K

Andy Beresford 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, K - 38 of 61 pitches for strikes, 7 GO/2 AO
Eric Ruth 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K - 29 of 39 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/2 AO
Philip Walby 1.0 IP, ER, 3 BB - 10 of 24 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/ 1 AO

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 6-3 vs. Williamsport Crosscutters

CF Devyn Bolasky 0-4, BB, 2 K
SS Vince Conde 2-4, BB, SB
DH Ty McFarland 2-5, 2B, RBI
LF Chris Breen 1-4, BB, K, outfield assist
RF Austin Aune 0-4, BB
1B Connor Spencer 1-4, BB, SB
2B Jose Javier 1-5
3B Brady Steiger 1-4, BB, 3 K, throwing error (3)
C Collin Slaybaugh 1-4, BB, 2 K, 2 SB

David Palladino 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K, HR - 4 GO/5 AO
Sam Agnew-Wieland 3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K - 3 GO/2 AO
Joe Harvey 1.0 IP, H - 1 GO/2 AO

Gulf Coast Yankees 1: vs. W 8-4 GCL Astros

SS Abiatal Avelino 2-5, RBI, 2 K
CF Leonardo Molina 1-4, BB, 2 K, SB
3B Drew Bridges 0-5, 3 K
2B Jose Rosario 1-4, 3B, BB, K, SB, error (2)
SS Bryan Cuevas 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
1B Dalton Smith 1-2, RBI, BB, K, HBP
LF Griffin Gordon 1-3, BB
C Roybell Herrera 2-3, RBI, K, PB
RF Dominic Jose 1-4, RBI, CS

Ty Hensley 3.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 K, 2 HBP - 1 GO/1 AO
Deshorn Lake 2.1 IP, ER, 2 BB, 3 HBP - 6 GO/0 AO
Reynaldo Polanco 1.2 IP, H, ER, BB, K - 2 GO/2 AO
Travis Hissong 1.0 IP, H, 2 K - 1 GO/0 AO
Christopher Cabrera 1.0 IP, 1 R/0 ER, BB, 2 K, balk - 1 GO/1 AO

Gulf Coast Yankees 2: vs. GCL Blue Jays

Game 1: W 5-1

2B Junior Valera 2-4, RBI
LF Jose Figueroa 1-4, RBI, K
DH Bo Thompson 1-1, RBI, 2 HBP
1B Jake Hernandez 0-2, BB, HBP
3B Allen Valerio 2-4, 2B, fielding error (7)
SS Tyler Palmer 0-1, RBI, BB
RF Wilmer Rosario 0-3, 2 K
C Rainiero Coa 0-2, BB
CF Jordan Barnes 2-3, 2B

Jonathan Padilla 4.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, K - 8 GO/1 AO
David Rodriguez 3.0 IP, K - 5 GO/3 AO

Game 2: L 1-3

2B Junior Valera 1-2, BB, CS
DH Ericson Leonora 2-3, 2B, K
SS Angel Aguillar 0-3, SB
1B Bo Thompson 1-3, 2 K
3B Allen Valerio 0-3, 2 K
C Jesus Aparicio 0-2, BB, K, PB
LF Frank Frias 2-3, fielding error, outfield assist
RF Wilmer Rosario 0-3
Cf Jordan Barnes 0-2, 2 K

Elvin Perez 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 6 K - 7 GO/2 AO
Abel Mora 1.0 IP, 3 H, ER, BB - 0 GO/1 AO
Jose Pena 1.1 IP, 3 K - 1 GO/0 AO

Catch up on all of yesterday’s minor league action from around the Mets farm system!

*All results from games played on Friday, July 18th, 2014

Triple-A - Las Vegas 51s (57-43)______________________________________

LAS VEGAS 7, SALT LAKE 6 (Box)

Cory Mazzoni tossed five-plus innings in his Triple-A debut and his new teammates backed him up with three home runs. Wilmer Flores didn't go yard, but he did pick up a pair of singles, including one of the bunt variety, to run his hitting streak to 19 games. He's currently batting .361/.388/.803 in July and exactly half of his hits this month have gone for more than one base.

• CF Matt den Dekker: 1-5, 2 K
• 3B Josh Satin: 3-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, CS
• SS Wilmer Flores: 2-5, R, K
• DH Allan Dykstra: 1-3, BB, 2 K
• RF Andrew Brown: 1-4, R, 2B
• 1B Brandon Allen: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, SB
• LF Anthony Seratelli: 1-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, K
• C Juan Centeno: 0-4, 2 K
• 2B Daniel Muno: 1-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K
• RHP Cory Mazzoni: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR
• RHP Gonzalez Germen: 1.1 IP, 2 H, K

Double-A - Binghamton Mets (59-39)______________________________________

TRENTON 6, BINGHAMTON 5 (Box)

Outside of Brandon Nimmo and Dilson Herrera, the B-Mets offense was nonexistent last night. The dynamic duo went a combined four-for-eight with five runs batted in while the rest of the team went 1-for-25. Herrera, the youngest hitter in the Eastern League, now has 100 Double-A at-bats under his belt and his line sits at .350/.410/.524.

• LF Brandon Nimmo: 1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
• 2B Dilson Herrera: 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, SB
• 3B Brian Burgamy: 0-4, K
• DH Dustin Lawley: 0-3, BB, 2 K, SB
• CF Darrell Ceciliani: 0-4, 2 K
• 1B Jayce Boyd: 0-4
• RF Travis Taijeron: 1-4, R, K, SB
• SS Rylan Sandoval: 0-3, R, BB, 2 K
• C Kai Gronauer: 0-3, R, BB, K
• RHP Tyler Pill: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K

High-A - St. Lucie Mets (16-9 / 56-38)______________________________________

BREVARD COUNTY 4, ST. LUCIE 3 (Box)

St. Lucie scored three times in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game, but ultimately fell when reliever T.J. Chism served up a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Gavin Cecchini was pulled in the third inning, a move perhaps related to his not running out a dropped third strike the frame before.

• CF Gilbert Gomez: 1-5, 2B, 2 K
• 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 0-5
• Rehab Alert DH Taylor Teagarden: 2-4, R, 2 K
• PH-DH Maikis De La Cruz: 0-1, K
• LF Jared King: 1-3, R, BB
• C Cam Maron: 1-3, R, RBI, K
• 3B-SS Phillip Evans: 1-3, RBI, BB
• 1B Aderlin Rodriguez: 1-3, RBI
• SS Gavin Cecchini: 0-1, K
• 3B Jeff McNeil: 0-1, RBI, BB, K
• RF Eudy Pina: 0-4, K
• RHP Kevin McGowan: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, K
• RHP Julian Hilario: 2 IP, H, BB, 3 K

Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (18-10 / 62-32)__________________________________

SAVANNAH 5, LEXINGTON 1 (Box)

Robert Gsellman turned 21 yesterday and his of-age teammates should buy him a beer or two for the birthday performance he turned in. The 13th rounder fanned ten in six-plus innings, his first double-digit strikeout game since August of last year. Dom Smith went hitless in four at-bats and got himself tossed by the home plate umpire in the seventh, presumably for arguing balls and strikes.

• SS Yeixon Ruiz: 2-4, RBI
• CF Champ Stuart: 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K
• DH Dominic Smith: 0-4, 2 K
• PH-DH Cole Frenzel: 0-0, BB
• 1B Matt Oberste: 1-4, BB, K
• 3B Neil Zapata: 2-3, 2 R
• 2B Jorge Rivero: 2-4, R, 2 K
• RF Victor Cruzado: 2-4, SB
• C Colton Plaia: 0-2, R, RBI, BB, K
• LF Patrick Biondi: 1-1, R, RBI, 2 BB, CS
• RHP Robert Gsellman: 6.2 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 10 K

Short Season-A - Brooklyn Cyclones (15-19)__________________________________

JAMESTOWN 12, BROOKLYN 7 (Box) / 15 innings

Brooklyn got jammed by Jamestown yesterday despite scoring seven runs, one off the team's seasonal high. Generating offense has been an issue for the Cyclones of late, but they'll get some help in that department starting today, as Michael Conforto is scheduled to make his professional debut.

• C Adrian Abreu: 3-7, 2 R, 2B, RBI
• SS Amed Rosario: 1-7, R, 2 RBI, K
• 3B Jhoan Urena: 1-7, R, 2B, 2 K
• 1B Michael Katz: 0-6, RBI, BB, 3 K
• DH Tomas Nido: 0-3, K
• PH-DH Tyler Moore: 0-4, K
• CF-LF Joe Tuschak: 1-6, BB, 2 K
• RF Michael Bernal: 0-2, 2 K
• CF Tucker Tharp: 0-3, BB, SB
• LF-RF Jeff Diehl: 2-6, R
• 2B William Fulmer: 2-6, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, K
• LHP Carlos Valdez: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
• RHP Gaither Bumgardner: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K
• RHP Josh Provost: 2.1 IP

Rookie - Kingsport Mets (11-15)______________________________________

NO GAME (Postponed due to rain)

Rookie - Gulf Coast Mets (13-11)______________________________________

GCL CARDINALS 1, GCL METS 0 (Box)

The GCL Mets put nine batters on base in this game and nearly half of them ran themselves into outs. Cardinals catcher Frankie Rodriguez snuffed out four attempted steals of second, including tries by left fielder Enmanuel Zabala.

• RF John Mora: 1-4
• LF Enmanuel Zabala: 1-4, CS (2)
• 2B Dale Burdick: 0-3, BB, CS
• 1B Dash Winningham: 1-3, K
• C Darryl Knight: 1-3, K
• 3B Alvin Maracaro: 0-3, K
• DH Hengelbert Rojas: 1-3
• SS Milton Ramos: 0-2, BB, K, CS
• CF Raphael Ramirez: 1-3, 2 K
• LHP Adrian Almeida: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

Dominican Summer League score are here: Mets1 and Mets2

Star of the Night
On another evening, GCL Mets designated hitter Hengelbert Rojas might earn the honors based on name alone, but Robert Gsellman edges out Dilson Herrera for the star on account of it being a belated birthday gift.

Goat of the Night
T.J. Chism

The Miami Marlins selected infielder Jordany Valdespin from Triple-A New Orleans before Saturday night's contest against the San Francisco Giants. Valdespin will receive an opportunity to start at second base for the Marlins.

Ed Lucas and Donovan Solano are no longer the answer at second base.

Before Saturday night's game against the visiting San Francisco Giants, the Miami Marlinsselected the contract of infielder Jordany Valdespin from Triple-A New Orleans. Valdespin is a left-handed hitter with major league experience.

MLB.com's Joe Frisaro was among the first to report the news.

#MarlinsJustin Bour optioned to NOLA; INF Jordany Valdespin (#1) selected from NOLA;

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) July 19, 2014

Valdespin posted a .270/.374/.437 batting line to complement 29 RBIs and 15 stolen bases while being caught ten times. He will bat second and play second base in his first game as a Marlin on Saturday night.

Miami has reportedly been seeking a consistent second base option since Rafael Furcal went down with an injury for the second time this season. Derek Dietrich has at times had difficulty defensively and was placed on the disabled list on July 4.

Ed Lucas and Donovan Solano have started the majority of the games at second base since Dietrich and Furcal went down, batting .239 and .229, respectively. The move comes a night after Lucas had a rough night defensively against the Giants.

Valdespin was signed to a minor league contract in December, but did not receive an invitation to spring training. He batted .188 and drove in 16 runs for the Mets last season.

In addition to serving a 50 game suspension for being involved in a Biogenesis investigation, a December Newsday article revealed he was not well-liked by his teammates.

A polarizing figure in Queens, Valdespin seemed to infuriate his teammates as much as the opposition, and ultimately the Mets figured he was more trouble than his raw ability was worth.

When Valdespin threw a clubhouse tantrum in front of general manager Sandy Alderson after being notified of his demotion in early July, the team's patience was near its end.

The last straw came a month later when Valdespin received a 50-game suspension for his alleged involvement with Biogenesis, the Miami-based clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs.

Valdespin also gained negative attention when he posted a picture of himself in a Miami Marlins hat while he was still a member of the Mets.

Signing Valdespin likely doesn't mean the Marlins won't continue to explore second baseman available via a trade, but Valdespin will have the opportunity to prove he can play second base consistently at the major league level.

In the corresponding move, Justin Bour was once again sent back to Triple-A New Orleans. Bour has had difficulty getting starting time with Garrett Jones serving as Miami's starting first baseman.

After losing last night against the Mets, despite the offense scoring four runs, our Padres need to step up tonight to even up the series. Our All Star, Tyson Ross, will take the mound opposite Dillon Gee of the Mets.

Though San Diego is having a rough season as a whole, Tyson Ross may be having one the best season of his career. In his fifth year in the majors, and second year in a Padres uni, Ross has put up some career numbers so far. He's already surpassed any previous season in innings pitched (129 2/3) and strikeouts (126). He's managed to stay healthy all season and pitched his first ever complete game in shutout fashion last month. And he was named to his first career All Star team (though he was inactive for the actual All Star Game due to his pitching schedule). Over his last eight starts, he's pitched to the tune of a 2.38 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 54 innings. His most recent outing saw him keep the NL-West-leading Dodgers to one run on six hits and a walk while striking out nine players through seven innings.

But Ross hasn't had much to show for his efforts this season thanks to an inept Padres offense. Over that last eight-game stretch, he's only 1-6 while receiving just five total runs of support. They've lost eight of their last ten game and are riding a three-game losing streak going into tonight's matchup, hitting a collective .168 with with 25 strikeouts. One bright spot in the lineup lately has been Alexi Amarista, who's hitting .357 over his last 13 games. Last night he led the offense with three hits and an RBI against the Mets. The team collected four runs last night, which felt a bit like winning the lottery considering they had previously gone 25 straight innings without scoring.

Hopefully that offensive effort can continue tonight against Dillon Gee as he tries to lead New York to a fifth consecutive win. The Mets have won nine of their last 11 games and if things keep going the way they have, the could find themselves back in the playoff race in the NL East.  Gee has two wins and a 1.35 ERA in three career outings against the Padres. In nine starts this season, he is 4-1 with a 2.56 ERA. After missing nearly two months with a strained lat he pitched a great game on July 9th, his most recent appearance, throwing seven innings of one-run ball against theBraves.

Game time is set for 5:40 PT.

The Padres offense picked up a whopping 6 runs tonight (maybe Huston Street was dragging them down?), but they only needed one. That was all thanks to Tyson Ross, who threw 7 shutout innings, giving up just 4 singles and 3 walks. Mets starter Dillon Gee fooled more hitters, striking out 8. He didn't fool them enough, though, as the hot-swinging friars chased him after 5 innings. He gave up 4 runs, including a pair of homers.

Yasmani Grandal got the party started in the second with a 440 foot bomb to the beach. Rene Rivera, Alexi Amarista, and Chase Headley added on a pair of runs the very next inning, thanks to their three singles and a throwing error by left fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The runs kept coming in the fourth, with Will Venable hitting a laser to the Jack Deck. Seth Smith did the same in the sixth. And just for good measure, our boys added one more in the eighth. Headley led off the inning with a double to left. Smith got him to third with a sacrifice fly, and a passed ball by Travis d'Arnaud got him the rest of the way home.

Odrisamer Despaigne will try to start the second half of the season with as series win as he takes the mound at 1:10 PM tomorrow.

Good game thread, everybody! Butt pats for everybody, with extras going to comment leader Friar Fever (51; just call him "The Closer") and rec leader Jodes (11).

The Mets were silenced by Tyson Ross and the Padres' bullpen on Saturday night.

The Mets were shut out in San Diego on Saturday, as Tyson Ross threw seven scoreless innings against them. Ross might not be a household name, but he has been very good over the last season-and-a-half. And given his dominance, the Mets just couldn't afford the four runs Dillon Gee allowed in five innings.

If there was a silver lining in Gee's start, it was that he struck out eight and walked none, but he gave up a couple of home runs—a tough thing to do against the 2014 Padres. Carlos Torres allowed a run in the sixth, too, and Josh Edgin was charged with an unearned run in the eighth to make it 6-0 in favor of the Padres. With that, the teams will play a rubber game at 4:10 PM EDT on Sunday afternoon.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

Your Sunday morning dose of Mets and Major League Baseball news, notes, and links.

Meet the Mets

The Mets lost to the Padres as they were blanked by Tyson Ross and some San Diego relief pitchers last night. Dillon Gee struggled in his start, though he would have needed to be perfect for the Mets to win. With that, Zack Wheeler starts the rubber game of the series this afternoon at 4:10 PM EDT.

Choose your recap: Amazin' Avenue, Newsday, New York Times, ESPN New York, New York Post, New York Daily News, Wall Street Journal, MLB.com, or Star-Ledger.

Michael Conforto made his professional debut last night and picked up his first hit in the process. The first-round draft pick went 1-for-4 for Brooklyn.

Travis d'Arnaud has hit his way into the middle of the lineup, a role that he's cementing with more production.

While d'Arnaud has been great with the bat lately, he's still struggling when it comes to blocking pitches—a problem that dates back to last year. Terry Collins downplayed the problem, though, and says he's not that concerned about it.

Terry Collins is thinking of cutting back on multiple-inning outings for Jeurys Familia, as he is concerned about the hard-throwing youngster's workload this season.

Jason Fry is going to try to be more even keeled about the Mets, but last night he gained a real appreciation for the team's announcers when he got stuck listening to the Padres' broadcast thanks to streaming problems with the WOR feed on MLB At-Bat.

Around the National League East

Jordany Valdespin made his triumphant return to Major League Baseball with the Marlins. Miami lost, however, to the Giants.

The Phillies beat the Braves thanks to a Jimmy Rollins home run last night. The Nationalsbeat up on Matt Garza and the Brewers.

Speaking of Philadelphia, the team might be working on an A.J. Burnett trade with the Orioles.

Around Major League Baseball

Fangraphs wrote up the concept of wOBA as a gateway statistic.

The Padres' offense might go down as one of the worst in major league history, says the Times.

Beyond the Box Score takes a look at Amazin' Avenue community favorite Joc Pederson and just how good he might or might not be as a big leaguer.

Dream-scenario Mets shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left yesterday's Rockies game with an injury.

Brandon McCarthy made another good start for the Yankees yesterday as they beat the Reds.

Ranking and tiering the two-start pitchers for Week 17, including Jake Odorizzi, Jacob deGrom and Danny Salazar.

Welcome back baseball, and welcome back to the two-start pitcher column. With the All-Star Game behind us, I'm excited to improve my numbers in the second half. I ended the first half in a slump, going 6-10 combined over the last three weeks; but, hey, who cares about wins, right? Hopefully you're still in the thick of the championship chase. And, if you're not, don't stop playing -- nothing is worse than a dormant owner. And away we go!

Results through Week 16

34-26
7.17 K/9
2.46 BB/9
3.51 ERA
1.15 WHIP

Start!

Chris Sale: Mon-KC (Guthrie), Sat-@MIN (Johnson)
Julio Teheran: Mon-MIA (Koehler), Sat-SD (Hahn)
Adam Wainwright: Tue-TB (Odorizzi), Sun-@CHC (TBA)
Cliff Lee: Mon-SF (Vogelsong), Sat-ARI (Collmenter)
Scott Kazmir: Tue-HOU (McHugh), Sun-@TEX (Baker)

Tier 1

Hyun-Jin Ryu: Mon-PIT (Volquez), Sun-@SF (Cain)
Mat Latos: Mon-@MIL (Peralta), Sun-WSH (Roark)
Jake Odorizzi: Tue-STL (Wainwright), Sun-BOS (Peavy)
John Lackey: Mon-@TOR (Hutchison), Sat-@TB (Archer)
Rick Porcello: Tue-@ARI (Anderson), Sun-@LAA (Santiago)

Tier 2

Mike Minor: Tue-MIA (TBD), Sun-SD (Stults)
Matt Cain: Tue-@PHI (Hernandez), Sun-LAD (Ryu)
Jacob deGrom: Tue-@SEA (Walker), Sun-@MIL (TBD)
Jonathon Niese: Mon-@SEA (Elias), Sat-@MIL (Peralta)
Danny Salazar: Tue-@MIN (Pino), Sun-@KC (Chen)
Tom Koehler: Mon-@ATL (Teheran), Sat-@HOU (Cosart)

Tier 3

Justin Verlander: Mon-@ARI (Nuno), Sat-@LAA (Shoemaker)
Drew Hutchison: Mon-BOS (Lackey), Sat-@NYY (Greene)
Matt Shoemaker: Mon-BAL (Norris), Sat-DET (Verlander)
Wily Peralta: Mon-CIN (Latos), Sat-NYM (Niese)
Roenis Elias: Mon-NYM (Niese), Sat-BAL (Norris)
Ryan Vogelsong: Mon-@PHI (Lee), Sat-LAD (Kershaw)
Jacob Turner: Tue-@ATL (Minor), Sun-@HOU (McHugh)
Jake Peavy: Tue-@TOR (Happ), Sun-@TB (Odorizzi)
Bud Norris: Mon-@LAA (Shoemaker), Sat-@SEA (Elias)
Jimmy Nelson: Tue-CIN (Bailey), Sun-NYM (deGrom)

Not this week

Scott Carroll: Tue-KC (Chen), Sun-@MIN (TBA)
Bruce Chen: Tue-@CHW (Carroll), Sun-CLE (House)
Miguel Gonzalez: Tue-@LAA (Santiago), Sun-@SEA (TBA)
Shane Greene: Mon-TEX (Mikolas), Sat-TOR (Hutchison)
Jeremy Guthrie: Mon-@CHW (Sale), Sat-CLE (Tomlin)
Roberto Hernandez Tue-SF (Cain), Sun-ARI (Nuno)
T.J. House: Mon-@MIN (Johnson), Sun-@KC (Chen)
Mike Mikolas: Mon-@NYY (Greene), Sat-OAK (Gray)
Franklin Morales: Mon-WAS (Fister), Sun-PIT (Volquez)
Vidal Nuno: Mon-DET (Verlander), Sun-@PHI (Hernandez)
Eric Stults: Tue-@CHC (Hendricks), Sun-@ATL (Minor)
Edinson Volquez: Mon-LAD (Ryu), Sun-@COL (Morales)
Chase Whitley: Tue-TEX (TBA), Sun-TOR (Happ)

My Week 17 Picks

Jake Odorizzi, Rays
2014: 5-8, 101 IP, 10.34 K/9, 3.48 BB/9, 33.9 GB%, 4.01 ERA, 1.34 WHIP

I'm not quite sure what's stopping so many of you from adding Odorizzi, but the 24-year-old right hander with a 26.5 percent strikeout is owned in just 12.3 percent of ESPN leagues as of Sunday morning (and in 26 percent of Yahoo games). Odorizzi hasn't allowed more than three earned runs since giving up a four spot against the Marlins on June 5, going 3-2 with a 2.28 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings over that span. Home starts against the Cardinals and Red Sox are on deck for Odorizzi, who owns a 2.73 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings at Tropicana Field (compared to a 6.10 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings on the road). Odorizzi's 32 percent chase rate is 27th best in baseball, and -- among starters -- only Yu Darvish (11.36 K/9) and Stephen Strasburg (10.77 K/9) have struck out more batters per nine innings.

Jacob deGrom, Mets
2014: 3-5, 73.2 IP, 8.80 K/9, 3.42 BB/9, 41.5 GB%, 3.18 ERA, 1.33 WHIP

Little "D" deGrom has made 12 starts for the Mets, allowing three runs or fewer in 10. In his last five starts, the 26-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings. While his Week 16 matchups aren't great on paper (at Mariners, at Brewers), deGrom is simply too hot to sit. Entering action on Sunday, Seattle has the ninth-highest strikeout rate as a team (21.2 percent), and deGrom has racked up 27 strikeouts in his last three games combined (with eight or more in each contest). Seattle also employs a left-handed heavy lineup, and deGrom has held lefties to a .234/.325/.260 slash. The breakout starter is owned in about 30 percent of ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Danny Salazar, Indians
2014: 1-4, 40.2 IP, 10.40 K/9, 3.76 BB/9, 33.3 GB%, 5.53 ERA, 1.62 WHIP

Salazar isn't guaranteed a two-start week, but he'll be activated on Tuesday to face the Twins in Minnesota. His recent minor-league performances haven't all been encouraging (he had five strikeouts and five walks in his last start), but the 24-year-old right-hander has big upside. In 2013, Salazar had a 65:15 K:BB ratio in 52 innings, but ran into trouble with the long ball (seven home runs in 10 starts). He should be given a second start as long as his first one isn't a complete disaster. If so, he'll get a second favorable matchup against the Royals (24th fewest runs since the start of July). Salazar could go one of two ways in Week 17. He's high risk/high reward; if you have room, take the risk.

Statistics from FanGraphs.com.

The Mets lost to the Padres again on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up a disappointing first weekend after the All-Star break.

The Mets nearly gave the San Diego Padres their first ever no-hitter this afternoon at Petco Park, but Daniel Murphy put an end to that possibility with a two-out double in the eighth inning. At the time, the Mets were only down 1-0, as Zack Wheeler had a good start, and David Wright knocked him in with a single to tie the game.

Unfortunately, that was the high point of the game for New York. Jeurys Familia worked around a leadoff triple in the bottom of the eighth to keep the game tied, but a combination of Vic Black—who walked the first man he faced and committed a through-the-wickets error on an ensuing sacrifice bunt attempt—and Josh Edgin allowed the Padres to plate the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

With that, the Mets dropped two of three in a series that required at least the inverse.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by amazins8669; his effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

Niese is set to start the series opener in Seattle on Monday.

Following their loss to the Padres this afternoon, the Mets designated right-handed relief pitcher Buddy Carlyle for assignment to make room on the active roster for Jon Niese, who will be activated from the disabled list on Monday in advance of his start against the Seattle Mariners.

Called up by the Mets on July 6 to take Niese's place on the roster, Carlyle appeared just three times for the Mets over the last couple of weeks. He totaled two-and-two-thirds innings pitched, allowed one run, struck out four, and walked one. With his demotion and Niese's return, Daisuke Matsuzaka is slated to move back to the bullpen.

The Mets' rotation now consists of Niese, Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee, Jacob deGrom, and Zack Wheeler. And the bullpen now includes Matsuzaka, Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Vic Black, Carlos Torres, Josh Edgin, and Dana Eveland.

When healthy this year, Niese has been very good, posting a 2.96 ERA and 3.64 FIP in seventeen starts despite a strikeout rate a bit lower than his career norm. That ERA puts him just behind Gee's 2.92 and a bit ahead of deGrom's 3.18 for the best mark in the rotation.

The Mets dropped another game to the Padres to complete a poor first weekend back from the break.

The Mets’ wins and losses count just the same in the team’s record no matter what team they are playing, but there’s something about back-to-back losses against the Padres that makes things seem worse. While the Mets were by no means favorites in the race for a playoff spot before the weekend began, dropping two of three to a team that rarely scores runs reduces their odds.

Perhaps the loss seems even worse since they Mets were no-hit for seven-and-two-thirds innings by Odrisamer Despagine, who was making his fifth major league start and threw the Mets completely off with a variety of offspeed pitches. The pitcher struggled with control at times, walking three and hitting two Mets batters with pitches, but the Mets were never able to take advantage of his wildness.

Zack Wheeler nearly kept pace with Despaigne, at least in terms of runs allowed, as he gave up just one—on a solo home run by Yasmani Grandal in the fourth—in six innings of work. He struck out seven, walked just one, and managed to give up eight hits without any further damage. As a result, Wheeler now has a 3.78 ERA and 3.42 FIP on the season, neither of which are elite but both of which and encouraging given his recent string of success.

After Dana Eveland threw a scoreless seventh inning, the Mets did finally break through for a hit in the eighth inning, as Daniel Murphy doubled with two outs. David Wright followed up with a single to score Murphy and tie the game at one, but the Mets would not score again in the inning or in the game.

Jeurys Familia took over for the eighth and gave up a leadoff triple to Will Venable, but he struck out Chris Denorfia on a 99 mile-per-hour fastball and induced a ground ball double play after intentionally walking Jake Goebbert.

But the Mets went down in order against Joaquin Benoit in the ninth inning without hitting a ball past the pitcher. And the Mets did what baseball teams always but probably shouldn’t in the ninth, leaving Jenrry Mejia in the bullpen because he’s a closer and using Vic Black to start the ninth instead.

Black walked Carlos Quentin, and when Alexi Amarista put down a bunt back to the mound to move Quentin’s pinch runner over to second, the ball went right through Black’s legs. Both runners were easily safe. He gave the Mets some hope by getting a ground ball double play from Chase Headley, and Terry Collins turned to Josh Edgin with a runner on third and Seth Smith coming up to the plate. The Padres opted not to pinch hit for Smith, a left-handed hitter with significant platoon splits.

The move worked. Smith hit a ball, not all that hard, to Edgin’s left, but Edgin stumbled off the mound. By the time he was able to pick up the ball and fling it to first base, it was too late. The Padres had walked off the Mets on the infieldiest of infield singles.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Gaslamp Ball GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: David Wright, +18.8% WPA, Zack Wheeler, +11.1% WPA
Big losers: Josh Edgin, -38.5% WPA, Travis d’Arnaud, -18.3% WPA, Ruben Tejada, -17.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: David Wright’s game-tying single in the eighth, +25.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Seth Smith’s walk-off single, -38.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -14.5% WPA
Total batter WPA: -35.5% WPA
GWRBI!: Seth Smith

Man, what a game today. Odrisamer Despaigne, who I should remind you is a 27-year old rookie, came within four outs of the Padres first ever no-hitter. Unfortunately, just after history slipped through his hands, so did the lead. Despite throwing a masterful game, Despaigne was stuck with a no decision. We didn't even get to find out what Joaquin Benoit's save music is, since the Padres decided if they weren't going to end baseball's second most frustrating drought, they might as well win in a walkoff.

Despaigne didn't even allow a baserunner until the third inning, when he beaned Ruben Tejada. Because you read that first paragraph, you know it didn't matter. In fact, nothing mattered until the top of the fourth, when Yasmani Grandal battled his way to a full count before taking Mets starter Zack Wheeler deep to put the Padres on top 1-0. That was the only scoring until the top of the eighth. With two outs, Daniel Murphy hit a double up the middle. With the shutout still intact, Bud Black wasn't quite ready to pull Despaigne. His attitude changed when David Wright hit Despaigne's 123rd pitch of the night for an RBI single. Alex Torres came in to wrap up the inning, and got pulled right after he allowed Lucas Duda to hit a single. Keven Quackenbush got the call to strikeout Travis d'Arnaud and keep the Mets from taking the lead.

Benoit's closing song will have to remain secret until the next homestand, but he did pitch a perfect inning to set the Padres up for a walkoff win. Carlos Quentin drew a walk to lead off the ninth. He and his rusty knees were replaced with Cameron Maybin. Alexi Amarista bunted him over to second, and an error by pitcher Vic Black put both men on safely. Chase Headley, who felt like injecting some drama and reminding everyone of the quality of the 2014 Padres offense, grounded into a double play, putting Maybin on third, but with two outs. Terry Collins thought this was a great time to change pitchers. Seth Smith was okay with that, hitting the game-winning single off of Josh Edgin.

After a happy flight to Chicago, Eric Stults will take the mound at Wrigley Field Tuesday evening. First pitch is at 5:05, so leave work early. Tell your boss I said it's okay.

Friar Fever had a whopping 70 comments, while TTG hit for power with 8 comments.

Ray discusses a few players highlighted in Keith Law's Midseason Top 50 Prospects rankings published on Thursday.

ESPN's Keith Law published his Midseason Top 50 Prospect Rankings on Thursday and I wrote about it in this piece on Thursday. Today, I am going to provide a few excerpts from his Top 50 rankings article with some thoughts for fantasy owners.

I will start with Dodgers shortstop prospect Corey Seager:

Seager had some trouble in the Cal League late last summer after a promotion from low-A, but the Dodgers got him to firm up his front side and stay balanced through contact so he wouldn't overrotate and become too pull-oriented. That change was fortuitous: Seager has destroyed high-A all year, at his hitter-friendly home park and away from it, with 54 extra-base hits through 80 games. He's not going to stay at shortstop, but he'll be the Dodgers' third baseman for six solid years once he gets to the majors at some point next year.

Seager has hit very well at High A this season, earning a promotion to AA after the MLB Futures game. I was a little surpirsed with the last sentence in this excerpt. Law opines that he expects to see Seager "in the majors at some point next". I like that the Dodgers haven't traded any of their top prospects yet......and it remains to be seen if they do by the trade deadline. They are built to win now and could deal for a starter before July 31st, especially with Josh Beckett nursing a hip injury (he is supposed to start on Tuesday in Pittsburgh), and Dan Haren struggling over the last month, but I don't see them dealing Seager, especially with Juan Uribe in the last year of his two year deal in 2015. At this point, it appears the Dodgers will allow Hanley Ramirez to become a free agent in the offseason, as he is really struggling at the plate lately, dealing with a right shoulder injury.

Here is an excerpt on the pick the Astros decided not to sign from his chat on Friday afternoon:

Jeff R (btown, in) [via mobile]

If Aiken signed before you submitted your updated ranking list, where would he have ranked?

Klaw  (2:09 PM)

Around 10.

So the Astros chose not to sign a Top 10 prospect because of an abnormal ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. I am curious how successful the Astros will be in the draft long term after this signing fiasco.

And here are Law's thoughts on the possibility the Cubs call up third base prospect Kris Bryant in September:

Drew (Tokyo)

If the thought process was to have Bryant start the season in MLB, wouldn't it make sense to bring him up this September?

Klaw  (2:21 PM)

And add him to the 40-man a year early, and run the risk of him getting hurt in March and going on the major-league DL rather than the minor-league one? It's not that simple a decision.

I think the Cubs will call up Bryant and Javier Baez in early September to give them a look at their top two prospects facing major league pitching.

Law is high on Mets first round pick, outfield prospect Michael Conforto, and thinks he could be in the big leagues in the next year or so:

Conforto was the most advanced college bat in the draft class this year, leading Division I in OBP despite playing in a major conference (Pac-12, for Oregon State), while showing above-average power and adequate defense in left field. He doesn't have huge upside, but he's very close to major league ready and should be at least an above-average regular with a higher ceiling if the power exceeds expectations. The Mets should fast-track him if his performance warrants it.

Law ranked Conforto as his #32 prospect, and 18th ranked hitting prospect, in the game. Conforto made his minor league debut on Saturday going 1-4 for short season-A Brooklyn. Fantasy owners have to hope his above average power translates to the big leagues.

Finally, here is a guy I talked about on The Fantasy Black Book show with Joe Pisapia on SiriusXMFantasy last Saturday night:

Bell earned a $5 million over-slot bonus in the 2011 draft but lost the 2012 season to a knee injury. With that said, he's now all the way back to where he was supposed to be, destroying high-A pitching from both sides of the plate with great bat speed and excellent hand-eye coordination. He hasn't shown much patience, but he's a very disciplined hitter who recognizes balls and strikes well. I think he ends up in left rather than right field thanks to a fringy arm, but this is a middle-of-the-order bat with the potential to hit for high averages and 25-30 homers a year.

Bell was hitting .335-.384-.502 with 9 home runs, 45 runs scored, 53 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 84 games at High A before his recent promotion to AA Altoona. He doesn't strike out much (11.8% in High A) or walk much (6.9% in High A), but I want to see how his plate discipline translates vs AA pitching.

Your Monday morning dose of New York Mets and Major League Baseball news, notes, and links.

Meet the Mets

The Mets were not no-hit by Cuban rookie Odrisamer Despaigne on Sunday afternoon. Despite going the first seven innings of the game without a base knock, New York came back to tie San Diego at 1-1 in the eighth. However, a Seth Smith infield single off of Josh Edgin in the bottom of the ninth put the Padres back on top for good.

Recap Parade: Amazin' Avenue short, long, MLB.com, ESPN NY, New York Times, Post, Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger

The Padres were able to score the winning run with the help of some less-than-stellar defense by Mets pitchers Edgin and Vic Black.

After the game, the Mets announced that relief pitcher Buddy Carlyle was being designated for assignment to make room for Jon Niese to return from the disabled list on Monday.

Before the game, Terry Collins confirmed that Daisuke Matsuzaka would be shifted to the bullpen now that Niese is back in the rotation.

Just like Travis d'Arnaud before him, Wilmer Flores started crushing the ball after being demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas. Collins, though, says that the youngster won't be called back up just to be a bat off the bench.

Mike Puma reports that the Mets have "not yet received even a nibble" on Bartolo Colon, and the right-hander's recent poor performance is a big part of the problem.

The first pitch of Sunday's game was thrown by 105-year-old woman Agnes McKee.

Around the NL East

Alex Wood led the Braves to an 8-2 win over the Phillies in the rubber game of the series.

Perhaps in search of last season's magic, the Pirates have been scouting Philly's A.J. Burnett.

Casey McGehee finally hit his second home run of the season, and that turned out to be a difference-maker in Miami's 3-2 win over the Giants.

An old friend is getting a shot at the Marlins' second base job.

Here's all the GIFs you need to recap Washington's rubber game win over Milwaukee.

Around the Majors

I've been waiting for someone to fire an "arrow" back at Mariners closer Fernando Rodney for a while now. After driving in Mike Trout with the game-tying run yesterday, Albert Pujols was all too happy to oblige.

Talk about no good deed going unpunished. After reminding Mets fans of Ike Davis with this amazing catch over the camera well railing, not only did Anthony Rizzo nearly injure himself, but a Diamondbacks run was allowed to score because the first baseman fell out of play.

More news from Phoenix: Diamondbacks broadcasters Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly took Star Wars Day to a new extreme. Arizona defeated the Cubs, 3-2.

It hasn't been easy for the Red Sox to replace Jacoby Ellsbury in the outfield. Jackie Bradley Jr. hasn't blown anyone away on offense, but his arm is pretty darn impressive.

The Mets don't have the greatest owners in sports, but at least the Wilpons aren't as outspoken as Rockies owner Dick Monfort.

Amercai's next great baseball family might just be the Seagers.

Yesterday at AA

On this date in 2004, our hero David Wright made his major league debut against the Montreal Expos.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 20th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 16-5 vs. Charlotte Knights

2B Jose Pirela 2-6, 3B, 3 RBI
RF Rob Refsnyder 1-6, K - hitting .244 over last 10 games :(
LF Zoilo Almonte 3-6, 2 2B, 2 K - hitting .302 over last 10 games
3B Adonis Garcia 3-6, HR, RBI, K
DH Kyle Roller 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K
1B Austin Romine 1-4, 2B, BB
C John Ryan Murphy 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K
CF Antoan Richardson 1-2, BB
SS Carmen Angelini 2-5, HR, HR, 4 RBI

Matt Tracy 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR - 53 of 89 pitches for strikes, 7 GO/3 AO
Jim Miller 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K - 21 of 30 pitches for strikes
Danny Burawa 1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, K, WP - 10 of 18 pitches for strikes
Matt Daley 1.0 IP, ER, K, HR - 10 of 13 pitches for strikes

Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 2-5 vs. Binghamton Mets

CF Jake Cave 1-4
LF Ben Gamel 1-4, RBI
3B Rob Segedin 0-3, K
C Gary Sanchez 1-4
DH Peter O`Brien 0-4, K
RF Tyler Austin 2-4, 2B, 2 K - hitting .359 over last 10 games
1B Francisco Arcia 1-4, RBI
2B Casey Stevenson 1-3, 2B
SS Ali Castillo 0-2, BB, K

Dan Camarena 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 3 HR - 56 of 94 pitches for strikes, 0 GO/2 AO
Phil Wetherell 2.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K - 21 of 37 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/1 AO
Nick Rumbelow 1.1 IP, 2 K - 11 of 16 pitches for strikes

High-A Tampa Yankees:W 4-1 vs. St. Lucie Mets

CF Danny Oh 1-4, RBI
SS Cito Culver 1-4, K
1B Greg Bird 1-3, BB, K
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K
3B Eric Jagielo 2-4, HR, RBI, K
RF Aaron Judge 2-4 - hitting .395 over last 10 games
2B Angelo Gumbs 0-4, 2 K
C Trent Garrison 1-3, K - hitting .342 over last 10 games
LF Anderson Feliz 1-2, SB

Miguel Sulbaran 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR - 8 GO/3 AO
Jacob Lindgren 1.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K - 2 GO/0 AO
Brett Gerritse 1.1 IP - 3 GO/1 AO
Cesar Vargas 1.0 IP - 2 GO/1 AO

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: L 14-3 vs. Augusta GreenJackets

LF Michael O`Neill 1-4, 2B, 3 K - hitting .308 over last 10 games
SS Tyler Wade 0-3, RBI, BB
CF Dustin Fowler 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, K, throwing error (3)
3B, Miguel Andujar 0-4, K, SB, fielding error (22)
C Eduardo de Oleo 0-3, BB, K
1B Reymond Nunez 0-4, K
DH Kale Sumner 0-4, 3 K
2B Gosuke Katoh 0-1, 2 BB
RF Brandon Thomas 0-3, 2 K, fielding error (5) - hitting .149 on the season

Omar Luis 2.0 IP, H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K - 26 of 55 pitches for strikes, 5 GO/0 AO
Evan Rutckyj 1.0 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, K, HR - 21 of 51 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/1 AO
Philip Walby 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K - 21 of 35 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/0 AO
Stefan Lopez 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 K, HR - 34 of 46 pitches for strikes, 5 GO/2 AO
Kale Sumner 2.0 IP - 11 of 16 pitches for strikes (!), 1 GO/4 AO

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 7-4 vs. Jamestown Jammers

CF Devyn Bolasky 2-5, SB - hitting .304 over last 10 games
C Luis Torrens 2-4, 3B, RBI, K, HBP, PO, threw out runner - hitting .425 over last 10 games
2B Ty McFarland 1-5, RBI, SB, throwing error (10)
DH Isaias Tejeda 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
1B Connor Spencer 1-4
SS Vince Conde 0-4, RBI, SB
RF Nathan Mikolas 2-3, BB, SB
3B Renzo Martini 2-3, RBI, BB - hitting .300 over last 10 games
LF Daniel Lopez 0-4, 3 K

Matt Borens 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 K - 6 GO/4 AO
Jordan Cote 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 K - 4 GO/4 AO

Gulf Coast Yankees 1: Off

Gulf Coast Yankees 2: Off

The Mets' best player marks his tenth anniversary in the big leagues today.

Ten years ago today, the Mets promoted 21-year-old David Wright, now one of the greatest players in franchise history, to the major league roster for the first time. Having grown up a Mets fan in Virginia, Wright was taken out of Hickory High School in the first round of the 2001 amateur draft with the 38th overall pick. From there, Wright steadily rose through the team’s minor league system.

Wright debuted with the Mets’ Appalachian League affiliate in Kingsport in 2001, where he hit .300/.391/.457 in 138 plate appearances. He was bumped up to Capital City, then the Mets’ affiliate in the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he spent the whole season, hitting .266/.367/.401. With that, the Mets sent Wright to High-A St. Lucie of the Florida State League for the 2003 season, and Wright nearly replicated his average and on-base percentage from the previous year but showed the power that he had shown in Kingsport with a .270/.369/.459 slash line.

It didn’t take long for Wright to get to the big leagues from there. He opened the 2004 season with the Double-A Binghamton Mets, and he hit so well there in 272 plate appearances—.363/.467/.619, to be exact—that he was promoted to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, the Mets’ minor league affiliate that made him a Mets fan as a kid. After 134 great plate appearances there, Wright earned his call up to the majors and never looked back.

Photo: NY Daily News via Getty Images

Like many young baseball players, Wright did not set the world on fire upon his promotion. In his first ten games with the Mets in 2004, he had just a .635 OPS and one home run. But once the calendar turned to August, the first signs of the great David Wright showed up. That month, Wright belted six home runs and hit .303/.333/.550. Those numbers weren’t quite as impressive at the time as they would be today, but they were undeniably good. And he got even better from there until the end of the season, hitting seven more home runs and batting .308/.354/.547 in September and the first three days of October.

Since then, Wright has simply been one of the best players in baseball. For his career, he’s hitting .300/.379/.500. Put in context, that slash line has been good for a 135 wRC+, a mark that ranks him among the best hitters in the game since 2004. There have been rough patches along the way, to be sure, particularly Wright’s 2011 season, but the highs have far outweighed the lows.

Given the time he has spent with the Mets and how good he has been in that time, it’s no surprise that Wright ranks at or near the top of the list in quite a few categories. He’s second all time in games played and figures to eclipse Ed Kranepool’s franchise record of 1,853 within the next two-and-a-half seasons. He ranks first in runs, hits, walks, and runs batted in. His 230 home runs rank second, just 22 behind franchise leader Darryl Strawberry. He ranks ninth in triples with 25, and his .879 OPS ranks third. It was no surprise when Wright was named the captain of the Mets before the 2013 season.

There’s a common refrain among Mets fans that goes something like this: The team might not be great, but at least the broadcasters are the best in the business. That’s certainly true, but one of the best players in the business has manned third base for a decade now, and as Mets fans, we’ve been fortunate to have David Wright on the field through the good times and the bad. It’s hard to imagine watching Mets baseball without him.

Are the Mariners the American League version of the Mets? If so, can the Mets beat themselves? Unfortunately, that's something we already know the answer to.

What's going on with the Mariners?

You can forgive any Mets fans for casually pulling for Seattle this season. Why? It's not just that the Mariners have a pleasant color scheme and rarely get in the way of our Amazins. The "real" reason to root for them is that they are having success in a tough division even though their offense is a bit of a mess. Yes, high profile acquisition Robinson Cano (.335/.394/.459) is performing just as well as advertised, and third baseman Kyle Seager (.277/.346/.493) continues to be one of the league's most underrated players, but it's still hard to imagine a club that regularly plays Endy Chavez and Miami castoff Logan Morrison scoring a lot of runs.

That's because it doesn't. Only two teams in the American League have scored fewer runs than the Mariners this season, and yet they have a run differential of plus-56 and are in position to grab the circuit's second Wild Card spot. It's amazing what a little pitching can do.

Felix Hernandez is having the best season of his stellar career, but he still doesn't have control quite as good as Hisashi Iwakuma, who is basically a second ace for the M's. All in all, Seattle is built a lot like how the Mets envision themselves in the near future. A rotation anchored by a pair of studs and a solid bullpen help cover for a lineup that is missing a solid bat at one or two (or three) positions. The only real difference is that the Mariners are getting surprisingly good production out of their Chris Young.

Let's not get too cuddly, though. The Mariners are fresh off of a series loss to the Angels in which they blew one ninth inning lead and lost another game in the 16th. I'm sure they'd like nothing better than to get back home and start beating up on a Mets team that has scored one run in its last two games.

Who are these guys?

Like many of his teammates, James Jones doesn't hit all that well, but the rookie center fielder can at least make up for it a little with his legs. He's slashing .284/.313/.346, but 18 stolen bases compared to just one caught stealing is impressive for a 25-year-old who maxed out at just 28 stolen bases during the 2013 minor league season. At 6'4" and 193 pounds, Jones is a seriously impressive athlete who flashed some power and walks at all levels of the minor leagues. If those skills are able to eventually translate as well as Jones' baserunning, he'll become one heck of a player.

Catcher Mike Zunino is another player who has All-Star potential if his offensive skills start to translate over to the big leagues. Since they picked him third overall in the 2012 draft, the Mariners have to be pretty confident that that will happen soon for Zunino, who is hitting .205/.257/.406 this season with 98 strikeouts. Those numbers aren't too bad a player who was playing Rookie ball two seasons ago. In his first year as a pro, Zunino rose all the way to Double-A after hitting .373/.474/.736 in the short-season Northwest League. Skipping two levels of Class A seems a little crazy, but with Zunino's defense already rated at nearly eight runs over replacement by FanGraphs, the rush job seems to be paying off.

Who's on the mound?

Monday: Jon Niese vs. Roenis Elias

The Mets really don't need to be seeing another Cuban pitcher right now after they were thoroughly dominated by Odrisamer Despaigne on Sunday, but Elias should prove to be slightly less of a challenge. The lefty is coming off of some serious struggles, as his last three starts before the All-Star break featured 14.1 innings pitched and 17 runs allowed. Those aren't promising totals, but the Mariners will continue to lean on the 25-year-old for at least a little while longer. For a rookie, Elias's 96 strikeouts and 40 walks in 113 innings aren't terrible; he should at least be able to pitch to an ERA a little below the 4.54 he has now.

Niese will be making his first start since Independence Day, when he left a game versus the Rangers in the first inning upon being struck by a batted ball. Since he only was charged with one run in that game, Niese's streak of allowing three runs or less in every start is still alive, and the Mariners aren't a bad team to face if he wants to keep it going. Still, the most important thing to watch is how the lefty's stuff looks after spending the past two weeks on the shelf with a shoulder strain.

Tuesday: Jacob deGrom vs. Erasmo Ramirez

Ramirez is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to make the start on Tuesday. He's been pitching pretty well for the Rainiers lately, with four straight quality starts since the first day of July. He was looking like replacement level fodder at the big league level until three straight scoreless outings in June lowered Ramirez's ERA to a semi-respectable level. As a right-hander who throws his fastball a little more than half the time, Ramirez relies on his changeup and and breaking pitches to get hitters to chase junk. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened too much in the majors, as he's averaging nearly five walks per nine innings to go with a 4.58  ERA.

With 27 strikeouts and four walks in his last three starts, deGrom has become the new "it" pitcher for Mets fans to get excited about. His 11-strikeout game against Atlanta on July 8 was also his first in the majors with zero walks allowed, and it's a sign that deGrom's command is improving. He's throwing his fastball with a lot more authority than he was when he was first called up, and that's let to more consistent strikeout totals. With the performance of Bartolo Colon fading and Niese taking a break on the DL, deGrom has temporarily taken over as New York's "ace," and it will be fun to see how much longer he can continue to dominate.

Wednesday: Bartolo Colon vs. Hisashi Iwakuma

Update: Iwakuma has been switched out in favor of rookie right-hander Taijuan Walker. Here's a quick preview, which I also posted in the comments:

Taijuan Walker is a talented prospect, but he's obviously nowhere near as polished as Iwakuma is. In his debut this season on the last day of June, he allowed three runs in six innings to the Astros in Houston. That's not too shabby, but in his next outing he walked five batters in four innings against the White Sox. Walker walks about three batters per nine in at Triple-A Tacoma this season, so he could continue to experience control issues in the majors. And we all know the Mets like to take pitches.

The change gives the Mets the pitching advantage in all three matchups. I'll go ahead and predict two out of three wins and hope for the best.

After making his stateside debut as as swingman for the 2012 Mariners, Iwakuma made himself more widely known with a stellar 2013 that saw him finish third in the AL Cy Young voting despite posting a lower ERA and more innings pitched than either Yu Darvish or 21-game winner Max Scherzer. Yes, it's easy to fly under the radar when you pitch in Seattle and strike out considerably less batters than King Felix does, but don't be tricked into thinking that Iwakuma isn't one of the game's best pitchers. He's walked just eight batters all season long, and an improved ground ball rate has led to less long balls against him. That leads to a 2.95 ERA and an even lower 2.85 xFIP that is fifth-best in the AL.

The four runs in five innings that Colon allowed against the Padres wasn't good for his trade value, but if you watched the game, you know the San Diego rally was more or less a bunch of well-placed singles. The Mets can deal with that considering that Colon's main weaknesses are the long ball and pitching to too much contact. It's a good sign, then, that the right-hander has 13 strikeouts, one walk and zero home runs allowed in his last two starts, even though they have been mediocre from a runs allowed perspective. So long as the BABIP fairy doesn't betray him like it did at Petco, Colons should have a quality start in store for when he faces the M's.

What about some highlights?

Mets hero Chavez used Jedi powers on this bunt to help the Mariners to an extra-innings win over the Angels on Saturday night.

On Sunday, the Angels skewered M's closer Fernando Rodney with pretend arrows in the ninth innings after Rodney started his signature celebration a little early in the eighth. Perhaps the Mets will get a chance to do their own Legolas impression this week.

Seager sure can pick it at third. Here he is teaming up with Morrison for a sweet defensive play.

Flexen joins the long list of professional pitchers to undergo the elbow surgery.

Chris Flexen, the Mets' fourteenth-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft, underwent Tommy John surgery and had bone chips removed from his elbow, according to Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog. After a very strong campaign in Kingsport last year in his age-18 season, the now-20-year-old Flexen struggled to the tune of a 4.83 ERA in 13 starts with the Single-A Savannah Sand Gants this season. Perhaps the surgery explains why he performed as poorly as he did.

Flexen didn't make the Amazin' Avenue top twenty-five before the season, but he did make the our top fifty before the 2013 season. Here's what Rob Castellano wrote about him at the time:

The Mets' 2012 14th rounder reportedly featured fifth-round talent, but slid due to second-round bonus demands. The Mets paid up, and in doing so may have quite a steal on their hands. Flexen was the second-youngest pitcher in the Appy League in 2012 and though he only turned 18 in July, the 6'3", 215-pound righty is already touching 94 mph on the gun. Despite so-so results in six starts for Kingsport, he also seemed to find his stride in August allowing just one earned over his last 11 innings pitched. An argument could easily be made for a higher ranking, but for now I'll simply flag Flexen as a definite early candidate to leap up these rankings in 2013.

Baseball America also included him in its top twenty prospects in the Appalachian League after last season.

Given a typical timetable for recovery, Flexen will obviously miss the rest of this season and could very well miss all of 2015 if the team chooses to play it safe before getting him back in game action. The good news is that he'll still be just 21 years old entering the 2016 season.

Can you name the Mets players who have put together at least one single season with a .400 OBP?

Inspired by a certain player who played for both the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners, here's a very quick challenge for you: Can you name all of the Mets' hitters who have posted at least one season—qualified for the batting title—with a .400 or better on-base percentage?

Of course, .400 is most famously associated with a seemingly unattainable batting average. But when it comes to on-base percentage, it's never been anything to sneeze at. Just seven hitters in Mets history have matched or beaten that mark while qualifying for the batting title. Given the relative ease of this challenge, you have just one minute to complete it.

Can you name the seven Mets who have had at least one .400 on-base percentage season?

As always, you need only type the player's last name to answer each slot in the Sporcle quiz. And you're encouraged to come back here and share your score and time in the comments! And if you're mentioning any of the players you missed, you can hide their names in your comments by highlighting them and clicking on the spoiler text tool.