Tanner Roark put together another strong start last night in beating the New York Mets for the fourth time this season and in the process made a difficult decision for Washington Nationals' manager Matt Williams and his staff even harder.

Another day, another solid start by Tanner Roark. Washington's 27-year-old right-hander earned his 15th win of the season, lowered his ERA on the year to 2.85 and improved to (3-1) in four September starts with 6 ⅓ innings of work on the mound in the Nationals' 4-2 win over the New York Mets last night in the nation's capital in which he gave up just five hits and two earned runs.

In his second full season in the majors, and 50+ innings over any previous total he's put up as a professional, Roark is still going strong with two walks (0.70 BB/9), 14 Ks (4.91 K/9), a 2.45 ERA, 3.28 FIP and a .237/.255/.354 line against in 25 ⅔ IP in September.

"Tanner was good," Nats' skipper Matt Williams said after Roark and the Nationals' the win over the Mets.

"He was good. Ran into some trouble in the seventh. And we had two guys on there and I didn't want to have things go haywire for him so we decided to go to the bullpen. But he pitched good."

Roark pitched around a leadoff double in a scoreless first, then retired twelve straight Mets' hitters to get him to the fifth when Wilmer Flores and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit leadoff and one out doubles, with Nieuwenhuis's hit driving in New York's first run.

After retiring the Mets in order in the sixth, the fourth and fifth hits Roark allowed came with one down in the seventh when Flores singled and Curtis Granderson doubled to put runners on second and third with one down.

Flores eventually scored for the second run Roark was charged with on the night, making it 4-2, but that was as close as the Mets would get.

Roark improved to (4-0) against the Nationals' NL East rivals from New York in four 2014 starts.

Williams was asked yet again after the outing what it is that allows Roark to continue to be successful?

"I think for him it's just the fact that he can throw multiple pitches for strikes," the Nats' skipper said.

"If he gets in an issue out there or has lost command of one of his pitches, he can go to another. And for him that's key. He doesn't blow the radar gun up, by any stretch. But he makes pitches and works both sides of the plate, and he's got four pitches to work with, so if his fastball is missing, he can use his changeup and his slider and his curveball, and he's been able to do that. That's the art of pitching, so [he's] been very consistent with that."

With the win, Roark improved to (15-10) after 31 starts with a 2.85 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 39 walks (1.77 BB/9) and 138 Ks (6.25 K/9) in 198 ⅔ IP... and yet, he might not even be a part of the Nationals' postseason rotation.

Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Roark and more-recently Gio Gonzalez have all made convincing arguments for their inclusion in the postseason rotation, but one of the four will likely end up in the bullpen by the end of next week. What does that say about the quality of the Nats' starting pitching?

"It says that they work hard and that they've been resilient all year, first and foremost," Williams said. "Because you get to this time of year, you've got guys pushing 200 innings, you've got Tanner going to places he's never been before. It's important for them to stay strong and do their work in-between starts. They all do that, and it's important for them to compete. When they go out there, they compete and it makes for tough decisions, but those are good tough decisions and you would not that decision made for you this time of year, you want to be able to say, 'Boy this is a hard one,' and that's a good thing for us, they're all pitching really well."

Williams said whatever decision he does make, he knows everyone involved will understand.

"Of course they will," he said. "Of course they'll understand. And at this point in the year, not everybody will like it, but everybody will understand. We are all on the same end of the rope and everybody must do their part for us to get to where we want to get to."

In an interview on the MLB Network Radio show "First Pitch" this morning, Wiliams maintained that the decision on the Nats' postseason rotation hasn't been made yet.

Williams on rotation: "Every one of our SP has made a case to be one our starters during the playoffs so it a difficult question to answer"

— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) September 24, 2014

"We're working on it," Williams told hosts Jim Memolo and Todd Hollandsworth. "We've got important games to play over this last week and we don't know exactly who we're playing yet, and we may not know until Sunday, but I'll tell you this, I was asked the question yesterday and the response was, 'Boy they all make the case don't they?'

"They really do. Every one of our starting pitchers has made a case to be one of our starters during the playoffs. So it's a difficult question to be answered, but who wouldn't want to make that difficult decision, because everybody has pitched so well.

"So we'll evaluate everything. We don't have anything in stone yet given all those factors, but it's right around the corner now, so we'll see how it all shakes out pretty soon."

Is Washington Nationals' first baseman Adam LaRoche making his last run with the nation's capital's Nats? We can worry about that after the season. For now, let's all just enjoy LaRoche crushing Mets' pitching.

Adam LaRoche's three-run home run and 2 for 3 game against the New York Mets last night in the nation's capital gave the 34-year-old Washington Nationals' first baseman seven home runs and a .254/.351/.588 line through 18 games and 74 plate appearances in September.

On the year, in his fourth campaign with the Nats, LaRoche now has a .258/.362/.459 line with 19 doubles and 26 HRs in 136 games and 572 plate appearances, over which he's been worth +1.5 fWAR.

Two of LaRoche's last three home runs have come off Mets' right-hander Bartolo Colon, who served up a 1-0 fastball in the the fifth inning last night that didn't quite make it inside to the left-handed hitting middle-of-the-order bat.

"The last two times he's seen Bartolo he's hit a homer," Nats' skipper Matt Williams said after the Nationals' 4-2 win.

"So he's been seeing him good. We got into a situation where we had a couple of guys on and he delivered."

Williams said LaRoche's success in those situations is a result of his approach at the plate and his unflappable demeanor.

"He doesn't panic," Williams said. "He understands the situation, doesn't get too big and too violent in those situations.

"He just put a nice swing on the baseball. It's not going to happen like that all the time where he hits a homer, but like we've talked about I don't know how many times this year, if he stays in the middle of the field, those things happen for him. So he hit a ball by the third baseman tonight, staying on it, and he got one up and kind of out, over, that he hit for the homer, so the measure for Adam is the ball back through the middle and the ball to left-center. If he's doing that then he's right on."

After a rough .159/.238/.227 month of July, LaRoche has hit six of his 19 doubles and 13 of his 26 HRs in 47 games between August 1st and last night, with a .242/.352/.515 line over the last two months.

While he's had some up and down stretches throughout the season, Williams said LaRoche's ability to hit the ball back up the middle and the other way has allowed him to produce even when he's not hitting them out.

"Streaky with regard to homers is probably everybody," the one-time major league slugger explained.

"With the exception of some great years by guys, those homers don't come very often, but when they do they come in bunches. And that's the same with Adam. [Ian Desmond] is the same way. All hitters really are the same way, so you hit 25 or 26 or 30 balls out of the ballpark, what do you do in-between? That's the key for him. So if he can continue to produce RBIs for us then he doesn't have those valleys. Which is good, so he's been like that all year."

Will the run LaRoche is on with the Nationals this year be his last in a Nationals uniform?

The 2-year/$24M deal the 11-year veteran signed with the Nats in January of 2013 includes a $15M option for 2015 or a $2M buyout and LaRoche told reporters, including NatsInsider.com's Mark Zuckerman, that he doesn't think he's going to be back in Washington next season.

"'If you had to ask me now,'" LaRoche said, while noting he tries not to think about it, "'I would assume that I would have to move on, unfortunately.'"

Matt Williams, in an MLB Network Radio interview this morning, was asked about the fact that LaRoche's future was a topic of discussion while the second postseason run in three years is just days away.

Nats' skipper Matt Williams talks Tanner Roark, Nationals' postseason rotation

Photo © Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports

"Well, somebody asks him a question, he's going to answer it," Williams said. "It's not for him to decide whether that's appropriate or not, he just answered the question. It doesn't bother us. Nothing bothers the clubhouse or any of that.

All of that will be looked at and certainly evaluated and dealt with after the season is over with completely, but hey, if somebody asks him a question, he's going to give them an answer, nobody has got a problem with that."

• LaRoche has crushed Mets' pitching this season, with a .327/.484/.796 line, five doubles and six home runs in 14 games and 64 PAs against New York. He gets another shot at the Nats' NL East rivals tonight.

Here's the Nats' lineup for the second game of three with the Mets in D.C.:

#Nats vs #Mets: Rendon 3B, Zimmerman LF, Werth RF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper CF, Ramos C, Cabrera 2B, Gonzalez P pic.twitter.com/ONwY0v7XMG

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

The Washington and New York Mets game which was scheduled for 7:05 PM EDT tonight has been postponed and it will be made up tomorrow at 1:05 PM EDT as part of a split doubleheader in the nation's capital. Not ideal for the NL East champs...

The Washington Nationals and New York Mets were set to play the second game of their three-game set in Nationals Park tonight, but inclement weather forced a postponement of the next-to-last game of the season between the NL East divisional rivals. Shortly after 6:00 PM this evening rain began to fall in the nation's capital and the tarp was rolled out.

Approximately twenty minutes before the scheduled start time for tonight's game, the Nats made the announcement of the postponement via Twitter:

Tonight's #Nats - #Mets game has been postponed. We will have further details shortly.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

The "further details" followed two minutes later when the Nationals announced that the game will be made up tomorrow afternoon as the first half of a split doubleheader:

Tonight's #Nats - #Mets game will be made up tomorrow (Thursday) as part of a split doubleheader at 1:05 pm.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

That, of course, means that the NL East Champs will have to play four games in two days since they already had a doubleheader with the Miami Marlins scheduled for Friday.

Not exactly an ideal situation going into the final weekend on the regular season schedule.

With the division title already clinched, the Nats will have to play back-to-back twin bills.

No word with the tweeted announcements on how the Nationals will handle the games as far as the pitching goes.

Gio Gonzalez was scheduled to start tonight's game. Manager Matt Williams talked last week about potentially having to use Blake Treinen again with the doubleheader on Friday.

There was also talk this afternoon about Jordan Zimmermann's bruised right shoulder/arm, potentially affecting his next outing:

Jordan Zimmermann's shoulder still bruised from line drive other night in Miami. Throwing today, then will decide if starting Fri or Sat.

— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) September 24, 2014

More info on all the details when it's available...

UPDATE: Blake Treinin at night, Gio Gonzalez tomorrow...

The #Nats will have RHP Blake Treinen in the first game tomorrow and Gio Gonzalez in the second game tomorrow.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

Per Matt Williams, Doug Fister & Taylor Hill will start for #Nats on Friday. Stephen Strasburg will start on Sat. & Jordan Zimmermann on Sun

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

The Washington Nationals' reshuffling of the rotation after last night's rainout has some thinking the starter for Game 1 of the NLDS is now clear, though nothing has been announced. What we do know... THERE'S A DOUBLEHEADER TODAY!!!

While the Washington Nationals were rained out last night, forcing them to play a doubleheader with the New York Mets in the nation's capital today, the St. Louis Cardinals' loss to the Cubs in Chicago's Wrigley Field guaranteed that the Nats will have home field advantage in the NLDS:

The Cardinals fall at Wrigley, allowing the @Nationals to clinch home-field advantage in the #NLDS. http://t.co/m21xBtQcUB

— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2014

On Friday October 3rd, the Nationals and an opponent to be named later will start the 2014 postseason.

Who will be on the mound for the Nats in Game 1?

As you'll see below, plenty of Nationals beat writers did the math with the restructuring of the rotation going into the weekend of the regular season and came to the conclusion that a certain 26-year-old right-hander will get the ball. You can read that speculation below.

In an interview with Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier on 106.7 the FAN in D.C. on Wednesday, Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo was asked about the Nats' postseason rotation, and while he wasn't about to announce which pitcher will be the no.1 or the no.4 starter, he did offer some insight into how the decision will be made.

"We're going to make this decision on the roster and playoff particulars like we do every decision," Rizzo explained.

"We're going to get together as a staff, as a group, and discuss it and debate it and see using our analytical equations, using our staff and their eyeballs and how we evaluate guys and put together the best team, best roster that we feel can compete against the team that we're playing in the next round.

"We do these decisions like we do every other decision that we make in baseball operations, as a unit and as a staff and once we leave the room we're all on board with how the decision came to be."

So... yeah, that didn't help much at all. We'll figure out who the Game 4 starter (if necessary) will be at some point, I'm sure. Until then, links and lots of them... starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!:

• "'We did it! We did it!' After 11 years in the major leagues and playing for teams that fell one game short of the playoffs three times, [Scott] Hairston finally could utter those words." - "For some Washington Nationals, first time in playoffs feels like a charm" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

For most Nats, '12 was first taste of the playoffs. Some still haven't reached the postseason. On those first-timers: http://t.co/Cd8OBLF3bZ

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) September 24, 2014

• NATS BEAT:

• "The Nationals play the first game of the NLDS on Oct. 3 at Nationals Park. Game 2 is Oct. 4. If necessary, Game 5 would be in D.C. on Oct. 9." -"Nats assured of home-field advantage in NLDS" - nationals.com

Cardinals' loss tonight means #Nats clinch at least No. 2 seed in NL. Which means Games 1-2 guaranteed to be in D.C. next Fri-Sat.

— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) September 25, 2014

• "In terms of the order for the postseason, it has not been officially announced, but this news makes it look like Strasburg will start Game 1 of the divisional round Friday..." - "Williams sets pitching rotation for remainder of season" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "In Wednesday's inside Pitch, Holden Kushner sits down with Nats General Manager Mike Rizzo to talk about two men making the magic happen: the skipper, and the closer." - "Inside Pitch: Nats' Mike Rizzo talks about men instrumental in team's success" - Holden Kushner, WUSA9

• "The more-pertinent, long-term effect of all that: Strasburg now is lined up to pitch Game 1 of the NLDS on five days’ rest, with Zimmermann lined up to follow him in Game 2 the next day on the same rest." -"Rainout helps set Nationals’ postseason rotation order" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "Mike Rizzo offered an update on the 'scraped' knee Denard Span sustained in the Nationals 4-2 victory over the Mets on Tuesday..." -"Mike Rizzo Doesn’t ‘See Any Problems’ with Denard Span’s Knee Going Forward" - Chris Lingebach, CBS DC

• "Ryan Zimmerman was expected to play nine innings and start in left field Wednesday, but a rainout threw a small wrench into plans to maximize his at-bats over the remainder of the regular season." - "Ryan Zimmerman still working back to full strength for Nats" - Tom Schad, Washington Times

• "How many five-win-above-replacement-level/sub-3.00-ERA starters end up in the playoff bullpen?" -"The Nationals face a tough decision with the postseason rotation" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

The Nats' reworking of their rotation puts Stephen Strasburg right on track to start Game 1 of the NLDS, FWIW.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) September 24, 2014

• "Williams did not know if Span would play Thursday, but under more urgent conditions he would have been available." - "Denard Span is ‘fine’ despite knee soreness" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "Hill was in the instructional league getting ready for Friday's start, which will be his first in the big leagues." -"Nats rained out, set for split doubleheader Thursday" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• "And Roark, at least outwardly, is perfectly fine with all of this, recognizing one deserving member of this rotation is going to have to be the odd man out next week." -"Roark makes his case for postseason rotation spot, but is it enough?" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "Back on July 29, the Nationals held a half-game lead over the Braves atop the National League East. As of this morning, that division lead ..." -"Nationals Pastime: Some of this, some of that" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "The Nationals announced their annual minor league players of the year Wednesday afternoon, giving player of the year to outfielder Steven Souza Jr., pitcher of the year to  Lucas Giolito..." -"Nationals honor Lucas Giolito, Steven Souza, Wilmer Difo with minor league awards" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "Giolito, 20 and the Nats' No. 1 prospect, went 10-2 with an organization-best 2.20 ERA in 20 starts for Class A Hagerstown..." - "Souza, Giolito take home Nats' organization awards" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

#Nats name Steven Souza Jr. (@StevenSouzaJR) Minor League Player of the Year and Lucas Giolito (@LGio27) Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

• "'It's been a tremendous year, to cap it off with this reward,' Souza said. 'I'm just truly honored.'" - "Nationals honor Giolito, Souza and Difo (updated with Souza quotes, also Giolito interview note)" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Williams said he will limit the pitch counts of his starters in the season’s final week, but he does not expect to make any adjustments to line his rotation up in a particular order before October." -"Nats not ready to name Game 1 starter for NLDS" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "Nationals slugger Ryan Zimmerman was scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Mets in left field, but the game was called because of rain." - "Zimmerman's night in left field washed out" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• "'It’s not ideal, for sure' Manager Matt Williams said. 'We can’t do much about the weather. It doesn’t look good tonight, and it doesn’t look like it’s getting out of here before tomorrow morning...'" -"Nationals-Mets postponed, will play doubleheader Thursday with reworked rotation" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "If this is indeed LaRoche’s final season with the Nationals, he’s definitely making a lasting impact as the team heads into the postseason." - "Nationals Stock Watch: LaRoche heating up as October approaches" - Daniel Shiferaw, Nats Insider

Per Matt Williams, Doug Fister&Taylor Hill will start for #Nats on Friday. Stephen Strasburg will start on Sat. &Jordan Zimmermann on Sun

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 24, 2014

• "Zimmerman was going to try to get into some games at third base before the playoffs begin, but with soreness from Saturday they do not want to push it." -"Zimmerman back in lineup, latest on Span and Zimmermann" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Wednesday's rainout at Nationals Park means the Nats must play two straight doubleheaders as they look to lock down home-field advantage throughout the playoffs' first two rounds." -"New York Mets at Washington Nationals - September 25, 2014" - Anthony DiComo, MLB.com Preview

• "Though he was back in the Nationals’ lineup for Wednesday night’s game against the Mets, Ryan Zimmerman was penciled in to play left field again..." -"Zimmerman returns to left field but not ready yet for third base" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

Sure would appear to line up #Nats NLDS rotation to go Strasburg in Game 1, Zimmermann in Game 2 and Fister in Game 3

— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) September 24, 2014

• "The other questions – and there are many – surrounding Zimmerman’s status as he returns from a torn hamstring remain unresolved." - "Plenty of uncertainty surrounds Ryan Zimmerman’s return" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "The back-to-back doubleheaders will force the Nationals to make changes to their rotation to finish out the regular season." -"Nationals-Mets game rained out, leading to back-to-back doubleheaders" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "With a couple others who cracked major league rosters tossed in, a remarkable 14 members of last year’s Class AA Harrisburg team appeared in the majors this season." - "The 2013 Harrisburg Senators sent 14 players to the majors this season" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama on Twitter (@DalaiLama):

It would help if there were greater understanding that anger never helps to solve a problem.

— Dalai Lama (@DalaiLama) January 28, 2014

• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

• "If it's upside you seek, you won't find it in Doug Fister. He sports a 5.2 K/9 and has struck out three or fewer in each of his past six starts." - "Fantasy Baseball daily notes for September 25 -- pitcher rankings, batter ratings, news, injuries, next level" - Mike Sheets, Fantasy Baseball - ESPN

• "David Wright spent the majority of the season trying to hit with ligaments that were so damaged that they could barely hold his left shoulder joint in place." - "David Wright opting for rehab rather than shoulder surgery" - Marc Carig, Newsday

• "Bryce Harper has one of the best heads of hair in the majors, and no, he doesn't just roll out of bed like that." -"Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper might switch hair gels so his helmet doesn't fly off" - Dan Gartland, Extra Mustard - SI.com

Bryce Harper talks batting helmets and pomade, calls out Kevin Millar. Got heeeem http://t.co/LbroKpHHYCpic.twitter.com/JLPHhtltCR

— Scott Allen (@ScottSAllen) September 24, 2014

• "The Nats are on cruise control and will turn to Treinen as they align things for the playoffs and give their rotation a break." - "Relative Waiver Wire: Streaming Some Crude Kids" - Nicholas Minnix, FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

• "Travis d'Arnaud suffered an undisclosed injury Tuesday night in the Mets' loss to the Nationals." - "Travis d'Arnaud out of lineup but thinks he'll play again this season" - Mike Vorkunov, NJ.com

• "Before calling it a season, the Marlins are giving their top prospect, Andrew Heaney, one final start." - "Marlins tab prospect Heaney for start vs. Nats" - Joe Frisaro, marlins.com

• "Owner of a 4.95 ERA since July 19, Gee has been better of late, posting a 3.98 mark over his last five starts." - "New York Mets at Washington Nationals - September 25, 2014" - Anthony DiComo, MLB.com Preview

• NATSTOWN/MINORS:

• "The way in which the titles were celebrated were different in terms of location and timing, but for a ballclub nine years into its current incarnation, this is certainly a celebration worthy of Washington's time." - "Younger Nats fans lucky to experience winning baseball in D.C." - Nationals Buzz: Rachel Levitin, MASNSports.com

• "Harper, who was 2 when Jeter made his major league debut, paid tribute to the Captain during Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Mets at Nationals Park by wearing a Jeter wristband." -"Bryce Harper honors Derek Jeter by wearing the captain of all of baseball’s wristband" - Scott Allen, The Washington Post

• "On Tuesday, the Palm Beach County Commission voted down a proposition to build a $140.1 million spring training stadium for major league ball clubs Houston Astros and Washington Nationals." - "Palm Beach County Commission Strikes Down New Baseball Stadium" - Chris Joseph, New Times Broward-Palm Beach

• "A divided Palm Beach County Commission rejected a request by the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros to sweeten the county's proposal to build a spring training stadium for the two teams in West Palm Beach." - "Palm Beach balks at sweetening deal for Nationals" - David Berman, Florida Today

• "The Nationals are apparently beating fictional teams now." - "Nationals stay hot with win over ‘Atlanta Mets’" - Scott Allen, The Washington Post

The Nationals are beating fictional teams now http://t.co/t5i2fZ6rq5 (via @Metstradamus) pic.twitter.com/iMN4bCqoZr

— Scott Allen (@ScottSAllen) September 24, 2014

• "Wednesday AL" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "On the verge of clinching home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs and with post-season tickets already sold out, the Washington Nationals are warning fans to be aware of ticket scams." - "Nats playoff tickets are the hottest tickets in town, but beware of scammers" - Jay Korff, WJLA.com

• "Steven Souza Jr. has to be running out of room on his trophy shelf." - "Another honor for Syracuse Chiefs' Steven Souza Jr.: Nationals' minor league Player of the Year" - Lindsay Kramer, syracuse.com

• "'I mean, that’s scary stuff. He hasn’t washed his hair in probably the last month and a half, I’d say.'" - Bryce Harper on Jayson Werth's hair/beard - "Bryce Harper on hair pomade, and why his helmets fly off on the basepaths" - Dan Steinberg, The Washington Post

• "This year, Steven Souza Jr. takes the prize for Player of the Year while Lucas Giolito will be honored with Pitcher of the Year. Wilmer Difo becomes just the second player to be given the Bob Boone Award." -"Washington Nationals: Souza Jr., Giolito and Difo Honored" - Brian Skinnell, District Sports Page

• "Lincoln wore the tutu along with a paint-stained t-shirt to promote the upcoming Color Run this weekend at Nationals Park." - "GIF: Abe Lincoln wins presidents race in a tutu" - Presidents Race Fan, Let Teddy Win!

GIF: Abe Lincoln wins presidents race in a tutu: Abraham Lincoln wore a Tutu during Tuesday night’s presidents... http://t.co/HReKIz7dJB

— Let Teddy Win! (@LetTeddyWin) September 24, 2014

• "Federal Reserve: 2014′s Top Performing Minor Leaguers" - Zack Spedden, The Nats Blog

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Braves: "They won for just the fifth time in 21 September games, while the surging Pirates lost for only the fourth time in their past 19 games, after clinching a playoff berth with a 3-2 win Tuesday." - "Braves beat Pirates to snap skid, keep .500 hopes alive" - David O'Brien, www.ajc.com

• Mets: "Lucas Duda has played for the Mets long enough that it might be difficult to remember he never has faced this kind of grind before." -"Despite September swoon, Duda’s locked down 1B job in 2015" - Mike Puma, New York Post

The team takes BP. #NYMvsWAS#Metspic.twitter.com/TEaS6EHXcs

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 24, 2014

• Marlins: "The Marlins are giving top prospect Andrew Heaney one last start this season, in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader in Washington." - "Miami Marlins’ Andrew Heaney will get one last start this year" - Ava Wallace, The Miami Herald

• Phillies: "In the end, prudence will prevail. The Phillies have no incentive to play Rollins." -"Phillies Notes: Rollins likely to miss rest of season" - Matt Gelb, Philadelphia Inquirer

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

Meet the Mets

The Mets and Nationals were rained out last night. They'll play two today, with the first game at 1:05 and the second at 7:05. Travis d'Arnaud won't play after suffering a yet-to-be-disclosed injury on Tuesday.

d'Arnaud's injury situation is far from the most public in the Mets organization, but David Wright may be sharing the rights to that title with Matt Harvey. The captain met the media yesterday and gave a status report on his shoulder—he'll undergo rehab instead of surgery, which should last around six weeks—while basically confirming that the injury was a little more severe than he portrayed to the media and everyone else.

Did you hear? Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins are coming back, which proves that the team is just settling for less. On the other hand, maybe it makes perfect sense to bring Alderson back. You decide.

It looks like Lucas Duda has the first base spot nailed down for next season.

Let's check in with Kevin Burkhardt, who traveled down memory lane with ESPN New York.

Around the NL East

The Braves beat the postseason-bound Pirates6-2. The Phillies topped the Marlins2-1 in Miami.

Could Philly be setting their sights on Japanese star pitcher Kenta Maeda?

Around the Majors

Remember that one guy who played third base for the Yankees before getting suspended for the entire 2014 season? Yeah, him. Well, Bud Selig says that he'll have a "clean slate" once he returns in 2015.

Who will be better over the next five years, the Yankees or the Braves?

Phil Hughes is now the single-season all-time record holder in K/BB ratio, ahead of a few Hall of Famers.

The Tigers have clinched their fourth straight postseason bid, while the Dodgerspunched their ticket with an NL West-clinching win over the Giants. In a related story, Clayton Kershaw is ridiculous.

The Angels have shut Josh Hamilton down for the remainder of the regular season; he should be ready to go for the postseason, though.

Former major league Dave Stewart could be reunited with one of his former managers in Arizona; the Diamondbacks appear on the verge of naming him their new GM. Stewart played for current D-Backs head of baseball operations Tony La Russa in Oakland from 1986-92.

The Rangers are looking for a new manager. It won't be former Ranger Michael Young. Or will it?

Yesterday at AA

Podcast time! Jeffrey and Greg talk Jacob deGrom, among other things, and answer a few emails.

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.

The rumors surrounding Rockies general manager taking a position with the Braves are heating up as a former colleague has reportedly been offered the GM job in Atlanta.

Could Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd leave for Atlanta Braves? - The Denver Post
Patrick Saunders has the latest on the rumors of Dan O'Dowd joining his former boss John Hart as part of the new Braves front office, with several sources, including one with the Rockies indicating that it is a possibility. Perhaps not coincidentally, these O'Dowd rumblings seem to be going similarly to how things go when the Rockies trade a player away, so at this point I wouldn't be shocked at all to see his tenure with the Rockies end this winter.

The 2014 MVP of every MLB club - Sports on Earth
Sports on Earth's Will Leitch picked the MVP for every team this season, for the Rockies he went with a choice that seems fairly obvious now but that no one would have picked at the start of the season, Corey Dickerson.

Rockies' Brandon Barnes made saving catch right after predicting it - The Denver Post
Now we know what Rockies outfielder Brandon Barnes was saying to the fans in left field at Petco Park after robbing a home run from the Padres' Rene Rivera in the eighth inning Tuesday night, and it was a big "I told you so." after he claimed to the fans he was going to rob a home run before the inning started.

Around MLB

Derek Jeter Isn't The Greatest Player Ever - Keith Olbermann
In this clip from his show on ESPN, Keith Olbermann does an excellent job of laying out the case that Derek Jeter is an overrated singles hitter who was somewhere between below-average and atrocious defensively whose counting stats are only as high as they are because he's retiring several years too late. I happen to agree with pretty much everything Olbermann says here.

Ranking the biggest potential X-factors for each MLB playoff team - SI.com
Tom Verducci ranks the X-factors for each of the 10 playoff teams, from J.D. Martinez in Detroit to Joe Panik in San Francisco.

The Tight NL Rookie Of The Year Race That Isn't - Fangraphs
At Fangraphs, Mike Petriello makes the case that Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom has significantly pulled away from the Reds' Billy Hamilton in the second half of the season and should be the overwhelming favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year award.

The Mets will need to start taking risks in order to maximize their limited budget, but that risk shouldn’t be Yasmany Tomás.

The Mets look to have one of the best rotations in baseball heading into 2015, yet they are clearly at least one major offensive weapon away from being a serious playoff contender. They missed out on Cuban sluggers Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Abreu, and Jorge Soler, whose contracts now look like bargains given their respective talent levels.

Yasmany Tomás, 24, is the latest Cuban star to become available following Rusney Castillo this summer. He held a showcase last weekend, where he surely impressed with his raw tools, and with the Mets in need of an impact player, many believe the team should target him in the offseason. Despite the apparent fit, the Mets should remain wary and not aggressively pursue him.

If the Mets were to go after Tomás, they would be entering the market for Cuban players at a time when their contract demands are skyrocketing. Cuban players used to be good values because of the uncertainty that accompanied them. As a result, many of the best talents from Cuba signed for contracts much lower in value than what the players were actually worth.

Now that those players have proven themselves in the major leagues, more teams have faith in players coming from Cuba, resulting in more competition over their services and larger contracts. Rusney Castillo, who just signed with the Red Sox, was a very good but unexceptional player in Cuba, while Jose Abreu was one of the two best players on the island (along with Alfredo Despaigne) at the time of his signing. Despite the fact that Abreu was much more accomplished at the time he signed, Castillo received more money because of front offices’ increasing faith in the Cuban market.

Cuban players have turned into great investments for the organizations that targeted them early; but now teams like the Mets that were cautious with respect to Cuban free agents will have to pay a hefty price to obtain a Cuban star. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe recently reported that Tomás could command a contract as large as $100 million.

Theoretically, the Mets could be able to offer such a contract, even with their harsh financial restrictions. By dumping Bartolo Colon’s and Daniel Murphy’s salaries, the Mets would—in an optimistic world—have the flexibility to add approximately $20-to-$30 million next season. It would be a defensible move because of the Mets' need for a high-ceiling bat and corner outfielder. However, because the Mets are run like a small-market team due to their farcical owners, the Mets should not invest that type of money in a player with almost no track record, despite the upside.

For fans, it is easy to see guys like Cespedes and Abreu dominate and think that Tomás could do the same because of his growing hype and the fact that he’s from Cuba. However, Tomás is not just risky because of the nation he hails from, but also because of his skill set and lack of production.

Last season in Cuba, Tomás hit .290/.346/.450 with six home runs, 21 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 257 plate appearances. While those numbers are solid, Jose Abreu in the same league hit .453/.597/.986 with 33 home runs in 212 at-bats. Yes, Tomás at 23 was younger, but one would still like to see much more production in an inferior league, especially if he commands a $100 million deal. Another concern is that, in 2005, Clay Davenport determined at Baseball Prospectus that the Cuban level of competition was equivalent to that in the New York Penn League. While the competition in Cuba has likely increased since then, Abreu’s numbers make much more sense in this context, while Tomás’ numbers should give MLB teams pause.

Much of a team's willingness to invest in Tomás would rest in its faith in his tools. As any fan of a team in need of an outfielder knows from his YouTube highlights, Tomás has huge raw power. But this power might not necessarily translate at the big league level. Seeing his six home runs compared to Abreu’s 33 in the same league is alarming, as well as the fact that some have questioned Tomás's pitch recognition skills. Last summer against Team USA, a squad composed of college players, American pitchers baffled Tomás with their offerings. Tomás went 3-for-18 with seven strikeouts, causing Baseball America’s Ben Badler to write:

"Tomas has plenty of power but he has an uppercut swing, is vulnerable against good velocity (especially high and tight) and was susceptible to swinging through offspeed pitches, both in the zone and chasing off the plate."

For hitting prospects, raw power is one of the easiest things to observe, but the question remains whether the player can hit major league pitching. The fact that Tomás struggled that mightily against college pitchers is a huge red flag regarding his future, and a sign that he might not be a quality major league hitter. Taking on the risk of a player who might not be able to hit high-level pitching could end in disaster.

Look at Cesar Puello, for example. If he were Cuban and had been playing there his whole life, his tools alone would make him a wildly valuable free agent despite his poor pitch recognition. Considering how he performed last season in Double-A, Puello would also likely have put up huge numbers playing in Cuban. Puello’s pitch recognition is a disaster—as Tomás's could potentially be—and while he still has his supporters, Puello has yet to prove he is a major leaguer.

While Tomás is almost definitely a better player than Puello, it is important to be wary of falling in love with tools without seeing production against quality opponents. In a different universe, Puello would own the Cuban free agent market, but because he has been exposed, his value is minimal. Not every Cuban will translate his tools into major league success, and giving Tomás a $100 million contract given his questionable pitch recognition is an incredible risk.

Despite all the negatives I’ve laid out, there’s a reason Tomás could garner a huge contract: He has the talent to become a star. However, the huge risk associated with Tomás makes much it more sensible for a team with a larger budget to sign him. As long as the Mets are run like a small-market team, they can’t afford the risk of Tomás becoming a bust. If Tomás doesn’t pan out, the Mets won’t have the financial flexibility to swallow the loss, meaning that they would be handicapped for years in terms of adding talent to their roster.

The Mets really should have been on the Cuban market earlier. They needed to find ways to add talent while not overspending in free agency; while hindsight is 20/20, it clearly would have made sense for them to target someone like Abreu. Now that many of the best Cuban players in the world are already in the majors—and because of their strong performance and the lack of information on Cuban baseball—MLB teams will begin to sign lesser players for greater sums of money. If a team signs Tomás to a $100 million contract or more, it is quite possible he lives up to it. However, his performance is unlikely to exceed his contract's value, and considering the downside, that isn’t an investment worth making for the Mets.

Yes, it is possible that Tomás is the final piece to the Mets' puzzle. It is frustrating as a fan to watch Cuban stars light up the league while the Mets miss out; but that doesn’t mean it’s smart to aggressively pursue the latest Cuban sensation. Tomás is intriguing but flawed, and the window for making a positive gain on a Cuban investment has likely closed.

The Washington Nationals are throwing Blake Treinen in the afternoon half of the split doubleheader with the New York Mets at 1:05 PM EDT. Treinen threw five scoreless against the Atlanta Braves last time out. Can he shut down the Mets?

Blake Treinen is scheduled to take the mound at 1:05 PM EDT, weather permitting, to start the first game of the split doubleheader with the New York Mets.

Treinen, 26, threw two innings in relief against the Mets on August 5th, giving up a run on three hits in a 6-1 loss.

In three September outings, two in relief and one as a starter, he's thrown eight scoreless innings with five of them last time out on the mound when he held the Braves off the board through five innings of work on the mound in Atlanta's Turner Field.

Over that stretch, the rookie right-hander has held opposing hitters to a combined .214/.241/.214 line.

As a starter this season, Treinen has put up a 2.27 ERA, a 3.63 FIP and a .237/.302/.305 line against in six outings and 31 ⅔ IP.

Treinen gets another start this afternoon. Here's the sort-of makeshift lineup that will be taking the field behind the sinker-balling right-hander in the first of two games to be played in the nation's capital today:

#Nats Game 1 lineup vs. #Mets: Taylor CF, Harper RF, Zimmerman LF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Frandsen 3B, Lobaton C, Espinosa 2B, Treinen P

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 25, 2014

Ryan Zimmerman's in left as he was scheduled to be last night... patrolling a wet left field?

No Denard Span, though the Nationals continue to say they're not too concerned about the right knee he injured making a tumbling catch at the wall on Tuesday night.

Nats' rookie Michael Taylor gets the start in center tonight and he's leading off.

Jose Lobaton's behind the plate catching Treinen this afternoon.

Kevin Frandsen is at third instead of Anthony Rendon.

Danny Espinosa's starting at second.

Don't bother looking at the radar, it'll all work out just fine...Game time 1:05 PM EDT.

Already shut down for the remainder of 2014, David Wright spoke about his injured shoulder, his rehab, and how he hopes to avoid surgery.

Playing through the worst season of his 10-year career, the Mets and David Wrightdecided to end his season back on September 9 due to continued pain and inflammation in his left shoulder. Though he originally suffered the injury back in June, Wright labored through the summer, finishing his 2014 season batting .269/.324/.374 with a career-low .698 OPS and eight home runs to go along with 63 RBI in 134 games. Now the club's captain has opened up about what exactly is going on inside his troublesome shoulder.

Initially diagnosed as a bruised left rotator cuff, Wright's comments yesterday showed the injury was far more severe than he or the Mets let on.

"When I got hurt, the ligaments and the cuff and everything else that holds my shoulder in place were damaged and stretched out. And therefore my shoulder—the ligaments are not grabbing on the way they’re supposed to be. They’re stretched out and slightly damaged so my shoulder is kind of rolling around and not stable."

Never one to make excuses, Wright played through the pain, compensating and more-than-likely worsening the condition of his shoulder.

"I always say I’m going to learn my lesson. I, probably, moving forward, need to be a little more truthful to myself and the medical staff as to exactly what I’m feeling. But, again, this is on me. When I don’t go in there and don’t say anything and push through things, that’s kind of the way I’ve always been. I’m kind of hard-headed. It was either take the rest and miss the games then, or take the rest and miss the games now. To me that’s a pretty easy choice. If I feel I can play, I’m going to go out there and play."

Wright hopes to avoid surgery on the shoulder as he continues a six-week rehabilitation program scheduled to end around November 1, at which point he will be re-evaluated. Back on September 14, Bill Rom—a certified performance enhancement specialist—talked at length about Wright's injuryin an exclusive editorial for Amazin' Avenue, saying:

The source of the injury seems to be Wright's rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is a network of four muscles that help keep the upper arm in the socket; it is attached to the shoulder blade and helps to stabilize the arm through motion.

If rest and rehab don't work, surgery could cost Wright three-and-a-half months of recovery time, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNY.com.

Minnesota Twins rookie Danny Santana has had an outstanding 2014 season. Here's how he was viewed as a prospect.

In reference to the recent Baseball Prospect Retrospective Project, a reader recently asked me how I rated four players who had surprisingly good 2014 seasons: Danny Santana of the Minnesota Twins, Jacob DeGrom of the New York Mets, Matt Shoemaker of the Los Angeles Angels, and Collin McHugh of the Houston Astros. That's a good question, so I'll address those four in the next few days, starting today with Santana.

Santana has played 97 games for the Minnesota Twins this year, hitting .319/.355/.477 with 19 steals in 386 at-bats, excellent for any rookie but especially one who was relatively unheralded pre-season. I wrote reports for Santana in the 2012, 2013, and 2014 additions of the Baseball Prospect Book, with grade breakdowns of C, C, and C+. Here are the reports for your perusal.

2012: The Twins signed Santana from the Dominican Republic in 2007. He is one of the better athletes in the system, with above-average running speed, arm strength, and athleticism. He’s strong for his size, too, and can occasionally surprise you with his power. The biggest issue here is simple rawness. Although he made some progress with the strike zone last year, he still swings at bad pitches too often and remains more hacker than hitter. He has the arm strength and range to be a fine defensive shortstop, but gets sloppy on routine plays. He spent time at second base and center field last year, and his long-term position is still in question. He may be groomed as a utility player. Santana’s work ethic and makeup have also been questioned, although he is young enough to outgrow those issues. Grade C, with potential to improve.

2013: Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2007, Daniel Santana has five years of minor league experience on his resume, but is still just 22. He made some progress last season, cutting down his strikeout rate at the plate while adding some defensive refinement. He will show unexpected pop at times, but is impatient and it will be interesting to see what he does against better pitching. Santana is being groomed as a utility guy, spending time at shortstop, second base, and center field. I think second is his best fit but versatility is always helpful. Grade C.

2014: The Twins signed Santana out of the Dominican Republic in 2007. Although he hasn’t received much attention outside of Minnesota circles, he has some skills and is a good bet to see major league action some time in 2014. A switch-hitter, he is a line drive guy with some occasional pop to the gaps. He runs quite well and is increasingly adept at using his speed on the bases. His biggest weakness is impatience: he seldom draws walks, hampering his value as a tablesetter. He does bunt well. Santana’s range and arm play well at shortstop, though he needs to cut down on routine errors. He can also play second base if needed, and fits the profile of a utility infielder. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something about Santana that makes me think he could exceed expectations at some point. I’m gonna stick a "+" on his rating to reflect that. Grade C+

ANALYSIS: Santana blossomed this year, completing the process of turning his tools into skills. Although I couldn't exactly articulate why, I picked up on this possibility last year, even though it wasn't particularly apparent in his statistical profile, which was almost the same in 2013 as it was in 2012. It was a hunch that panned out, I suppose. There were a few makeup complaints about Santana early in his career but he outgrew those concerns.

Santana is rather impatient and he's never really hit this well before. His BABIP this year is unsustainably high at .400, yet he's remained effective the entire season and the pitchers haven't figured him out yet; he is as hot now as he was back in June.

Bottom line: Although I think he's a little over his head right now and some backsliding will occur, I think Santana is mainly for real and will continue to play well, if perhaps not quite this well. I wish he drew more walks, but his combination of increasing power, speed, and defensive versatility should make him a valuable property going forward.

The Washington Nationals entered this afternoon's game with a 14-3 record against the New York Mets in 2014, but the Nats' NL East rivals from NY put together an eighth-inning rally that resulted in two runs and lifted the visiting team to a 7-4 win.

Split Doubleheader Game 1 Top 5:

5. Quick Recap: In a gray, drizzly and mostly empty Nationals Park, the New York Mets took a 1-0 lead early in this afternoon's day half of the split doubleheader. Wilmer Flores, Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson all singled off Washington Nationals' starter Blake Treinen in the opening frame with Granderson's two-out RBI single to right putting the visiting team ahead.

RBI single for @cgrand3! 1-0 #Mets! #NYMvsWAS

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 25, 2014

Ryan Zimmerman went the other way for a single to right in the first at bat of the fourth, then went first-to-third™ on a single to right-center by Adam LaRoche before scoring on a sac fly to center by Ian Desmond to tie things up at 1-1 after four.

Three straight one-out hits in the fifth put the Mets back on top with Daniel Murphy's line drive double to right bringing Matt den Dekker in after the outfielder singled to center to start the rally. 2-1 New York in the fifth. Curtis Granderson came up with runners on second and third and two out and lined a two-run single to right field to make it 4-1 Mets with his second and third RBIs of the game.

Watch @cgrand3 extend the #Mets’ lead with a 2-run single in the 5th: http://t.co/yfgGM4xdWR#NYMvsWAS

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 25, 2014

Jose Lobaton, Danny Espinosa and Nate Schierholtz all hit back-to-back-to-back singles off Dillon Gee to start the bottom of the fifth with Lobaton scoring on Schierholtz's grounder to right. Both runners moved into scoring position on a balk by Gee and Michael Taylor's line drive to left brought them both in to tie it up at 4-4 after five.

WATCH: The #Nats posted 3 in the fifth to tie this ballgame up, & it started with this RBI-1B from Nate Schierholtz: http://t.co/Sp1itztdSY

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 25, 2014

WATCH: And as the #RallyPigeons gathered, @Taylor_Michael3 smacked this game-tying single to left: http://t.co/d3bADvUfZG

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 25, 2014

The Mets took a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning. Eric Young, Jr. took over at first base with two down, running for catcher Juan Centeno and stole second with Matt den Dekker at bat, collecting his 30th stolen base of the season before scoring on an RBI single to left by den Dekker. Wilmer Flores hit a sharp grounder to third in the next at bat, and den Dekker scored when Kevin Frandsen made a diving play and late throw to first. 6-4 New York.

Heads up running by @UpperDekker! He scores on Wilmer's in-field single! 6-4 #Mets! #NYMvsWAS

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 25, 2014

Ryan Mattheus walked Curtis Granderson, gave up a double to right on a 3-0 fastball to Kirk Nieuwenhuis and surrendered an RBI by Ruben Tejada that made it 7-4 Mets.

That's how the day half of the Nats and Mets' split doubleheader ended. 7-4 final.

4. Treinen Gets Start: In six outings and 31 ⅔ innings pitched as a starter in the majors, 26-year-old right-hander Blake Treinen has put up a 2.27 ERA, a 3.63 FIP and a .237/.302/.305 line against.

In his last start, on September 17th, the one-time Oakland A's 2011 7th Round pick acquired by the Nationals in the January 16, 2013 three-team trade with the Athletics and Seattle Mariners that brought him, A.J. Cole and Ian Krol back in return for Michael Morse, shut the Atlanta Braves out over five innings on the mound in Turner Field in which he gave up a walk and three hits but no earned runs.

"Pitched really well," Nationals' manager Matt Williams said after the spot start.

"It's been a while since he's been five innings, so we decided to limit it at that in anticipation of his next one. So, we didn't want to push him too far, but he pitched really well."

In discussing what allowed the 6'5'' sinker-balling righty to enjoy the success he has since joining the organization, Williams said it was all about command and the natural movement on Treinen's pitches.

"When he throws the ball over the plate the ball moves a lot," Williams explained. "Threw some good sliders tonight. Pitched really well, got a lot of grounders which is indicative of the ball sinking for him, which is good."

With the Nationals playing four games in two days starting with the doubleheader with the Mets today, Treinen was called upon to make another start, this time against New York.

Treinen made one relief appearances against the Nats' NL East rivals in early August, giving up three hits and one earned run in two innings.

This afternoon he made his first start against the Mets. It began with a fly to center...

1st: Matt den Dekker sent a fly ball through the light rain to Michael Taylor in center. Wilmer Flores sent a one-out single through the right side for the Mets' first hit. Daniel Murphy lined out to center for out no.2. Lucas Duda's two-out single to right sent Flores around to third. Curtis Granderson stepped in with runners on the corners and lined an RBI single to right. 1-0 Mets. Kirk Nieuwenhuis's grounder back to the mound ended a 16-pitch frame for Treinen.

2nd: Ruben Tejada singled to left to start the second, but Mets' catcher Juan Centeno sent a grounder to second base in the next at bat, starting a 4-6-3 DP. Dilon Gee's groundout to short ended a quick, seven-pitch frame that left Treinen at 23 pitches.

3rd: Matt den Dekker walked to start the third. Wilmer Flores whiffed on a fastball inside with den Dekker running and Jose Lobaton caught the runner stealing. Flores reached safely when Ian Desmond bobbled a bad-hop grounder and threw late to first. E:6. No.24 for Desmond. Daniel Murphy stepped in with a runner on and sent a fly to center for out no.2. Lucas Duda lined a two-out single by a lunging Danny Espinosa and out into center. Curtis Granderson tried to check his swinging on a 1-2 slider but couldn't. 22-pitch frame for Treinen, 45 total after three.

4th: Kirk Nieuwenhuis grounded out to first. Ruben Tejada grounded out to short. Juan Centeno's chopper up the middle ended a quick, seven-pitch, 1-2-3 frame. 52 total.

5th: Dillon Gee grounded out to short. Matt den Dekker sent a single to center field back over the mound. Wilmer Flores moved den Dekker into scoring position with a hard-hit grounder through the left side of the infield. Daniel Murphy stepped in with two on and one out and lined to right to bring den Dekker in and make it 2-1 Mets. RBI double... That was it for Treinen.

• Blake Treinen's Line: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 64 P, 42 S, 8/2 GO/FO.

3. Gee Whiz: In 12 second-half starts before today's, 28-year-old New York Mets' starter Dillon Gee went (3-7) with a 4.95 ERA, a 5.00 FIP and a .256/.334/.449 line against in 72 ⅔ IP. Two of those twelve starts have been against the Nationals.

Game 1 pitching matchup: @DillonGee35 (7-8, 3.88 ERA) vs. Blake Treinen (2-3, 1.94 ERA) http://t.co/gNZjq9VFjW' pic.twitter.com/06AGOa2bYL

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 25, 2014

In an August 14th outing in Citi Field, the right-hander gave up four hits, four walks and four runs, all earned, in six innings of work in a 4-1 loss.

On September 12th in New York, Gee earned his seventh win of the season with 5 ⅓ IP in which he gave up nine hits, two walks and three earned runs in a 4-3 win.

Those were the second and third outings for Gee against the Nationals in 2014, after he gave up four hits, two walks and four earned runs in 6 ⅔ IP in his first start of the season on March 31st in what ended up a 9-7 loss in which he received no decision.

Those outings left him (8-4) in 15 starts against the Mets' NL East rivals in his career, with a 3.51 ERA, 30 walks (2.84 BB/9) and 68 Ks (6.44 K/9) in 95 IP over which he held Nats' hitters to a combined .244/.311/.433 line.

Gee's 16th career start against the Nationals began with a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 first inning. Ian Desmond singled with one down in the second, but he was stranded at the end of a 16-pitch second that left Gee at 28 pitches total after two.

Danny Espinosa lined a single to right to start the Nationals' third, but he appeared to be doubled up when Blake Treinen's bunt back to the mound started a 1-6-4 DP. The call was reversed, however, with Treinen ruled safe at first. Two outs later, however, Gee was through three scoreless on 44 pitches after a 16-pitch frame.

Ryan Zimmerman went the other way with a fastball outside and singled to right, then went first-to-third on a line drive single to the right-center gap by Adam LaRoche. Ian Desmond sent a sac fly to center in the next at bat, bringing Zimmerman in, but LaRoche was thrown out on the play trying to take second on a throw home that sailed by the plate. 1-1 game. 10-pitch frame by Gee, 54 pitches overall.

Jose Lobaton and Danny Espinosa singled in back-to-back at bats to start the Nationals' fifth. Nats' pinch hitter Nate Schierholtz stepped in with two on and no one out and singled to right by a diving Lucas Duda, 4-2. A balk moved both runners into scoring position and Michael Taylor drove them both in with a two-run single to left. 4-4. Taylor was thrown out trying to steal second. Bryce Harper singled to center in the next at bat, but two outs later Harper was stranded. 4-4 game after five. 72 pitches total for Gee after an 18-pitch frame.

Did @Mets beat reporter @AnthonyDiComo jinx the team’s historic balkless streak? http://t.co/dHXwrqjwST

— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 25, 2014

• Dillon Gee's Line: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 Ks, 72 P, 49 S, 4/5 GO/FO.

Game 1 in on @SNYtv, @MLBTV, @WOR710 and @DeportesNY1050. Pregame starts at 12:30p. #NYMvsWASpic.twitter.com/VfsGr0msJo

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 25, 2014

2. Turning Point(s): The Mets knocked Blake Treinen out in the top of the fifth inning and scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead, but the Nationals battled back with five hits off Mets' right-hander Dillon Gee in the bottom of the inning.

Nate Schierholtz drove in a run with a grounder to right that got by a diving Lucas Duda at first and Michael Taylor brought two home with a line drive to left field that tied things up at 4-4. The Nats five-hit, three-run frame knocked Gee out of the game.

It was still tied at 4-4 with two out in the Mets' eighth when pinch runner Eric Young, Jr. took over at first for Mets' catcher Juan Centeno. Young, Jr. stole second with Matt den Dekker up and scored when the Mets' left fielder singled through the left side of the infield. Wilmer Flores hit a sharp grounder to third in the next at bat, and Kevin Frandsen made a diving play, but his throw to first was late and den Dekker never stopped running so Flores was safe and den Dekker scored to make it 6-4.

Should Frandsen have pocketed it and kept the runner at third?

1. The Wrap-Up: Xavier Cedeno took over on the mound with runners on second and third and one out in the Mets' fifth and popped Lucas Duda up to short for the second out of the frame. Curtis Granderson got a two-out RBI opportunity and cashed it in with a two-run single to right, however, making it 4-1 Mets after five.

Jerry Blevins threw a quick, 15-pitch, 1-2-3 6th after the Nationals rallied against Gee to keep it tied up at 4-4.

Mets' right-hander Buddy Carlyle gave up a leadoff walk to Ian Desmond in the home-half of the sixth and Desmond stole second (no.24) one out later, but the NY reliever completed a scoreless 17-pitch frame.

Blevins came back in the seventh and issued a leadoff walk to Wilmer Flores before striking out left-handers Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda, both with curves. Curtis Granderson stepped in with a runner on and singled to right, leaving him 3 for 4 through four at bats. Kirk Nieuwenhuis K'd swinging through an 0-2 sinker for Blevins' 5th K.

Carlos Torres issued a two-out walk to Bryce Harper in the bottom of the seventh, bringing Ryan Zimmerman up, but a groundout to second ended a scoreless frame.

Tyler Clippard came on in the eighth with the score still tied at 4-4 and hit Ruben Tejada with a full-count change in the first at bat. Juan Centeno bunted into an out when Kevin Frandsen opted to throw to second. Mets' skipper Terry Collins challenged the call at second. Pinch hitter Bobby Abreu hit a broken-bat liner to center that Michael Taylor was all over, making a sliding catch with his glove at his side. Eric Young, Jr. took over for Juan Centeno at first, stole second and scored when Matt den Dekker hit a two-out single through the left side of the infield. Wilmer Flores hit a sharp grounder to third in the next at bat, but in spite of a diving play and strong throw to first by Kevin Frandsen, Flores beat it down the line and den Dekker kept running and scored to make it 6-4 after seven and a half.

.@UpperDekker's RBI was set up by @EYJr's speed, EY stole his 30th bag of the season getting into scoring position. http://t.co/vLrgfnkKMr

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 25, 2014

Jeurys Familia struck out the side in an 18-pitch, 1-2-3 eighth.

Nationals' right-hander Ryan Mattheus gave up a one-out walk to Curtis Granderson and a double to right on a 3-0 fastball to Kirk Nieuwenhuis that put runners on second and third in front of Ruben Tejada, whose RBI single to center made it 7-4 Mets.

Jenrry Mejia gave up a leadoff single by Jose Lobaton and a one-out walk to Steven Souza to bring Michael Taylor up with a chance to tie it. Taylor K'd swinging Bryce Harper sent a fly to center to end the game. 7-4 Mets.

Nationals now 92-65

Travis d'Arnaud and the Mets are being tight-lipped about an injury the rookie apparently suffered during Tuesday night's loss to the Nationals.

Taking a page out of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick's playbook, Mets skipper Terry Collins is being tight-lipped about an injury catcher Travis d'Arnaud apparently suffered during Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Nationals. The 24-year-old rookie backstop was not expected to play in today's doubleheader. Collins was evasive when asked about what's ailing his catcher.

"He’s got a little pain and is going to be seen by the doctors. He’ll be looked at tonight, and when we get home, he’ll be seen by our guys."

A horrific start to the 2014 season culminated in a two-and-a-half-week stint in Triple A for d'Arnaud, who has rebounded to hit .272/.319/.486 with an .805 OPS and ten home runs in 69 games since his recall. Overall, d'Arnaud is batting .242/.302/.416. His 13 home runs lead all National League rookies and is tied for fourth among catchers in the National League. For what it's worth, d'Arnaud expects to play again this season.

The Mets lineup was shut down by Gio Gonzalez and Zack Wheeler struggled as the Nationals took game two of the doubleheader.

The Mets scored seven runs today. Unfortunately, they all came in game one of their doubleheader with the Nationals. Our heroes were shut out in game two, tallying loss #82 to ensure a sub-.500 record.

Gio Gonzalez pitched his best game of the season tonight, striking out 12 in seven scoreless innings. The Mets managed just one hit against him, a single by Daniel Murphy. Just once did the Mets put at least two runners on base in an inning, when Curtis Granderson singled and Ruben Tejada reached on an error in the eighth. Nothing came of it when Bobby Abreu and Eric Young Jr. flew out and grounded out, respectively, to end the frame.

Zack Wheeler slogged through five innings in his final start of the season. He gave up three runs on four hits, walking three while striking out seven. His first three innings went smoothly, but he hit a rough patch in the fourth inning. The Nats scored all three of their runs in the frame, during which Wheeler threw 37 pitches. He finishes the season with 185.1 innings pitched, a 3.50 ERA, and a 3.55 FIP. Not a bad season for 24-year-old Zack.

GameThread Roll Call

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

The Mets lost 3-0 tonight, dropping their season record against the Nationals to 4-15. Good riddance, Nats.

In the grand scheme, tonight's Mets game didn't mean much. The Mets are eliminated from postseason contention, the lineup is injury depleted, and a game taking place in the Bronx captured most of baseball's attention. Still, a win tonight would have kept alive hopes of finishing .500 and also given our heroes their first series victory against the Nationals this season. A doubleheader sweep feels pretty good, too. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the Mets were shut out in a boring 3-0 loss.

This game was a burgeoning pitcher's duel, as Zack Wheeler and Gio Gonzalez traded zeroes through the first three innings. Wheeler notched five strikeouts; Gio, seven. Things changed in the fourth inning, when Wheeler started to labor. Three singles, two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a passed ball led to three Nationals runs in the frame, the only runs of the game. It took Wheeler 37 pitches to make it through the inning, emblematic of his biggest foe this season: high pitch counts.

As Wheeler struggled, Gonzalez dominated. He breezed through his seven innings of work, finishing with 12 strikeouts while allowing no runs and just three baserunners (two on walks). The Mets did put two runners on with one out against reliever Matt Thornton in the eighth inning, but the fearsome tandem of Bobby Abreu and Eric Young Jr. was unable to drive in any runs. Drew Storen sent the Mets down one-two-three in the ninth inning to end it.

Wheeler's season is over and there's reason to be pleased with his performance. Compared to 2013, he improved his strikeout, walk, and ground-ball rates, while chopping over half a run off of his FIP. He was about average, overall, and was probably the Mets' second-or-third best starting pitcher. Control is certainly an area for improvement, and it would be nice to see him go deeper into games. He averaged less than six innings pitched per start this season. However, his stuff looks great, and he's still just 24 years old. It will be fun to watch Wheeler's continued development in 2015.

Best wishes to Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who took a foul ball to a precious part of his anatomy in the fourth inning.

The Mets start their final series of the season Friday night against the Astros. The pitching matchup for game one is Jon Niese vs Brad Peacock. First pitch is at 7:10 pm ET at Citi Field. See you then!

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Federal Baseball GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners:Ruben Tejada +6.5%, Daisuke Matsuzaka +2.5%
Big losers:Zack Wheeler -13.1% (as pitcher), Eric Young Jr. -11.1%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Gio Gonzalez strikeout with bases loaded in fourth inning, +4.7%
Teh sux0rest play:Nate Schierholtz walk to load bases in fourth inning, -8.6%
Total pitcher WPA: -10.1%
Total batter WPA: -39.9%
GWRBI!: Tyler Moore RBI fielder's choice in the fourth inning

Washington Nationals' lefty Gio Gonzalez set a new career-high in Ks with 12 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against the New York Mets in the Nats' 3-0 win on Thursday night. "Tonight was his best outing for sure," Matt WIlliams said.

With a cruel 1-2 curve to the next-to-last batter he faced on Thursday night, Washington Nationals' lefty Gio Gonzalez set a new career-high in Ks. Lucas Duda, who struck out in all four of his plate appearances in the New York Mets' 3-0 loss in the final game of the year against the 2014 NL East Champs, was Gonzalez's 12th victim on a night that the 28-year-old Nats' lefty had it all working.

"From the first batter he threw good curveballs, good changeups, fastball ticked up when he needed it to 94 tonight," Nationals' manager Matt Williams said after Gonzalez improved to (10-10) on the year and lowered his ERA from 3.74 to 3.57 and his FIP from 3.13 to 3.02 while bumping his K/9 up from 8.90 K/9 (150 in 151 ⅔) to 9.19 K/9 (162 in 158 ⅔).

"I think the cooler weather certainly helps pitchers," Williams told reporters in trying to explain Gonzalez's performace in the series finale and over the last month, "but tonight he felt really good and he was in command the whole game, so he pitched really well."

WIlliams said he thought Gonzalez's start against the Miami Marlins last time out was his strongest outing since he returned from a month on the DL in May-June, but asked if this one was better, the first-year skipper said it was one of a few impressive starts by Gonzalez this season.

"It's one of the best," Williams said. "He threw a game in Philly that was really good. He threw a game -- came out of the game without giving up a run another time that was really good, but tonight, I think command-wise, tonight was his best outing for sure."

After dropping four decisions and going winless in eight starts out of the All-Star Break over which he put up a 4.48 ERA in 42 ⅔ IP, Gonzalez has put up a 2.48 ERA over 32 ⅔ innings in September, making a strong case for his inclusion in the postseason rotation.

What's been working?

"It's just been -- the ability to throw [his] breaking ball for a strike," Williams said. "The ability to throw changeup in a fastball count when he wants to. He gets chase pitches on his fastball too, so when he combines all those then he's as tough as anybody. So over his last four, five, six outings he's been able to command his offspeed pitches which is key for him."

Is he finally over the shoulder issue? Did he finally find the right arm slot? Figure out a mechanical flaw? What's different?

"I don't know," Williams said. "Again, we go back to it, we didn't find anything with the shoulder other than some fatigue, and I think that's part of it, but I think it's confidence too. I think he's confident in his offspeed pitches, he's confident throwing a changeup when he wants to. His mechanics are good and yeah, I think he feels good too, so I mean all of those things combined help to make him effective when he goes out there.

Gio [expletive deleted] Gonzalez - 12 Ks in 3-0 W over Mets

Photo © H.Darr Beiser/USA TODAY Sports

"His fastball is good. It's 90-94 with some movement and again his breaking pitches are really good. So he can go out there and compete, but he feels good about all of them."

Gonzalez's seven scoreless innings helped the Nationals to their 92nd win of the season and left them one win away from clinching the home field advantage through the NLCS.

• Editor's Note:SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting daily $18,000 Fantasy Baseball leagues. It costs $2 to join and the first-place prize is $2,000. Click here for details.

It seems clear that Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann will be starting in the postseason. It appears to be a near certainty that Doug Fister will also be in the rotation. After Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark pitched this past week against the Mets, both pitchers have made their closing arguments. Who wins? Why?

My intention was to include this with my other Friday morning article.  In order to lighten the load on your eyes, I've split them into two separate articles.

The Nats drew one win closer to locking up the best record in the National League by splitting Thursday's doubleheader with the Mets. Perhaps more importantly, several of the candidates for the final few spots had eventful days.

By splitting Thursday's doubleheader with the New York Mets, the Nationals lowered their magic number to clinch the best record in the National League to one.  With seven (combined) games remaining between the Nationals and the Dodgers, the Nats need just one of those games to fall their way.  While it was important to trim the magic number to one, the opportunity to evaluate some of the candidates on the fringes of making the playoff roster may have been more important.

Let's not foolishly say that one game is going to make this determination.  All of the players have put themselves in this position based on their play all season long.  When there's a close competition for those spots, these games leading up to the end of the regular season could play a large part in swinging decisions one way or the other.  We're going to take a look at some of the players fighting for those spots and how they may have separated themselves (good or bad) from their competition.

First, let's take a look at who seems to be locked in on the rosters:

Though dc Roach made a compelling argument the other day that maybe Doug Fister should be the starter who gets pushed to the bullpen, I don't really see that as a possibility that the organization is looking at.  I've decided to list both Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark as "Pitchers" (rather than SP or RP) for the time being, though I have put my thoughts up elsewhere.  I've left a few extra spots in the "up for grabs" department.  I believe that it's a pretty safe bet that these two guys will be on the roster as well, (though they're not the locks that I've included on the list above):

As I've brought up in recent articles on both the Nats possible bullpen optionsand the Nats possible bench options, there's some flexibility with that final spot.  Given that a starter is moving to the bullpen, the Nationals could either carry a seven man bullpen (including the starter, for 11 total pitchers) with a six man bench or an eight man bullpen (12 total pitchers).  When we include Frandsen and Barrett, we have the following breakdown of players that are expected to be on the roster:

• 12 hitters (backup catcher, backup middle infielder, backup corner infielder, and a backup 1b/corner outfielder)
• 10 pitchers (5 starters [4 of whom will start], 5 relievers

Only Rafael Soriano, who warmed up during the seventh inning of Game 1, Ross Detwiler, and Jeff Kobernus didn't get into at least one of the two games.  Let's take a look at what the guys who did play may have done to help or hurt their cases.

Jerry Blevins

• Situation: 4-4 tie in the sixth inning
• Mets had Juan Centeno (L), their pitcher's spot (ended up being Josh Satin [R]), and Matt den Dekker (L) due up, so this was a perfect spot.  Blevins pitched a second inning, facing Wilmer Flores (R), Daniel Murphy (L), Lucas Duda (L), Curtis Granderson (L), and Kirk Nieuwenhuis (L)
• Result: Blevins threw a 1-2-3 sixth inning with two strikeouts.  He returned for the seventh and walked Flores to lead off the inning.  He struck out Murphy and Duda before allowing a single to Granderson.  He completed his outing by striking out Nieuwenhuis and throwing two shutdown innings in a tie ballgame.

He's able to pinpoint away from the righties and his curveball has been really good against left-handers. A couple of times in recent history he's gone in and struck out the side. But it's set up good for him. He threw a lot of pitches today, but it set up good for him with four consecutive lefties in there that he could go multiple innings for us. So, he pitched really well.

Early on the ball wasn't sinking as much so they got one in the first, but he pitched well enough to keep us in it. We ended up tying it later, but he pitched fine. We could have pushed him further, but with what we've got it's not important that we do that right now. But I think he gave us a chance.

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

Meet the Mets

The Mets played two games in Washington on Thursday. In the first, New York racked up 15 hits, including a go-ahead single from Matt den Dekker to defeat the Nats 7-4. In Game 2, Gio Gonzalez dominated to lead Washington to a 3-0 win and end the Mets' dream of a .500 season in the process.

Recap Parade Game 1:MLB.com, ESPN NY, Star-Ledger

Recap Parade Game 2: Amazin' Avenue short, long, MLB.com, ESPN NY, New York Times, Post, Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger

Sandy Alderson revealed last night that the mysterious Travis d'Arnaud injury is an elbow issue. The catcher reportedly thinks he can play through it this weekend, but that seems reckless.

Dillon Gee is frustrated with the way he's pitched since suffering a lat injury earlier this season.

Beat writer Anthony DiComo turned in the jinx of the century during Game 1 on Thursday.

The Mets are fortunate that their win yesterday even counted, because not many people were on hand to see it.

Around the NL East

The Good Phight tries to determine Kyle Kendrick's place in Phillies franchise history.

The versatility of Miami's Enrique Hernandez may lead to a starting role in 2015.

According to Talking Chop, it wouldn't be a bad idea for the Braves to give their open general manager job to interim GM John Hart.

Around the Majors

Playing the final home game of his illustrious career, Derek Jeter hit a walk-off single, and the Yankees beat the Orioles 6-5.

Controversy magnet Matt Harvey wasn't going to let the fact that the Mets were playing a doubleheader in Washington get in the way of witnessing the historic game live at Yankee Stadium.

Rodger Sherman writes that rooting for Jeter nowadays isn't just about rooting for Jeter.

After booting Kevin Towers from the role earlier this year, the Diamondbacks named Dave Stewart as their new general manager.

The Giants clinched a Wild Card berth when Milwaukee lost to Cincinnati on Thursday. The Brewers are now eliminated after leading their division for most of the campaign.

Yesterday at AA

Sean Cunningham told us why the Mets should avoid signing Cuban free agent Yasmany Tomas.

On this date in 1987, the Mets became the first New York baseball team to break a notable attendance barrier.

The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system remains one of the best in the game.

This morning we move forward with our organization reviews with a look at the Pittsburgh Pirates. Remember, this is the PRE-SEASON list. This is not a new list. These are pre-season rankings and grades. This is a general review of 2014, not a detailed preview for 2015.

This list was originally published March 25, 2014.

1) Gregory Polanco, OF, Grade A:Age 23, hit .328/.390/.504 with seven homers, 16 steals in 274 at-bats for Triple-A Indianapolis, then .236/.309/.345 with seven homers, 13 steals, 30 walks, 58 strikeouts in 275 at-bats for the Pirates. He’ll figure it out. Baseball is hard.

2) Jameson Taillon, RHP, Grade B+: Tommy John surgery at age 22.

3) Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Grade B+: Age 21, posted 1.74 ERA with 157/57 K/BB in 124 innings for High-A Bradenton in the Florida State League, 74 hits. Exceptionally good K/IP and hit ratios reflect excellent stuff and his command is steadily improving. Elite prospect.

4) Austin Meadows, OF, Grade B+: Age 19, warmed up quickly after missing time with injuries, hit .322/.388/.486 with three homers, 14 walks, 30 strikeouts in 146 at-bats for Low-A West Virginia. Looks great so far.

5) Nick Kingham, RHP, Grade B. Borderline B+. Age 22, fine season in Double-A and Triple-A, combined for 3.34 ERA, 119/52 K/BB in 159 innings, 141 hits, performance very similar and steady at both levels. Ready for a trial.

6) Josh Bell, OF, Grade B: Borderline B+.Age 22, hit .335/.385/.502 in 331 at-bats for Bradenton, .287/.343/.309 in 94 at-bats for Altoona. Season ended early with a knee injury. Power disappeared in Double-A but I think it will come back.

7) Alen Hanson, SS, Grade B: Borderline B+. Age 21, hit .280/.326/.442 with 21 doubles, 12 triples, 11 homers, 31 walks, 85 strikeouts, 25 steals in 482 at-bats for Altoona. Fine season, broad base of skills and young.

8) Luis Heredia, RHP, Grade B: Age 20, 4.15 ERA with 43/33 K/BB in 89 innings for West Virginia, 87 hits. He was more effective at the same level last year and seems to be stagnating.

9) Reese McGuire, C, Grade B: Age 19, hit .262/.307/.334 with three homers, 24 walks, 44 strikeouts in 389 at-bats for West Virginia. Threw out 39%, strong defensive reports but lack of power is evident.

10) Harold Ramirez, OF, Grade B-: Borderline B. Age 20, hit .309/.364/.402 with 11 walks, 35 strikeouts, 12 steals in 204 at-bats for West Virginia. Missed much of season with hamstring and shin injuries but effective when healthy.

11) Barrett Barnes, OF, Grade B-: Age 23, played just 17 games at three levels due to injuries, continually bothered by hamstring and oblique problems.

12) Tony Sanchez, C, Grade C+: Borderline B-.Age 26, hit .235/.337/.422 with 11 homers in 268 at-bats for Indianapolis, .270/.304/.365 in 74 at-bats for the Pirates. Should be in backup catcher mix for a long while.

13) Jin-De Jhang, C, Grade C+: Borderline B-: Age 21, hit .218/.263/.301 with 15 walks, 36 strikeouts in 269 at-bats for Bradenton. Jumping from NY-P in ’13 to FSL in ’14 was too much for his bat.

14) JaCoby Jones, OF-INF, Grade C+: Age 22, hit .288/.347/.503 with 23 homers, 17 steals, 33 walks, 132 strikeouts in 445 at-bats for West Virginia. The questions are still the same with this one: the power/speed tools are excellent, but will his aggressive approach hold up against better pitching?

15) Andrew Lambo, OF-1B, Grade C+: Age 26, hit .328/.389/.563 with 11 homers, 22 walks, 47 strikeouts in 238 at-bats for Indianapolis, .278/.278/.389 in 36 at-bats for the Pirates. Nothing left to prove in the minors but still looking for a role.

16) Stolmy Pimentel, RHP, Grade C+: Age 24, posted 5.23 ERA with 38/16 K/BB in 33 major league innings, 34 hits. Should be in bullpen mix going forward, will need sharper control to take larger role but it is possible.

17) Brandon Cumpton, RHP, Grade C+: Age 25, sleeper prospect posted 3.03 ERA with 37/20 K/BB in 71 innings in Triple-A, 4.89 ERA with 46/18 K/BB in 70 innings in the majors, 82 hits. Doesn’t blow you away but throws strikes, could be useful back-end starter or bullpen arm.

18) Cody Dickson, LHP, Grade C+: Age 22, posted 3.90 ERA with 105/58 K/BB in 129 innings for West Virginia, 138 hits. Not a great year but has potential, more effective in second half.

19) Blake Taylor, LHP, Grade C+: Age 19, traded to New York Mets in Ike Davis deal, posted 3.95 ERA with 30/30 K/BB in 41 innings between GCL and Appy League. Good arm but command needs a lot of work.

20) Wyatt Mathisen, 3B, Grade C+: Age 20, hit .280/.344/.360 in 375 at-bats for West Virginia, 33/54 BB/K. No power yet but he makes contact effectively.

The Pirates ranked fourth on the pre-season organization ranking list and are still one of the elite farm systems in the game.

Glasnow has developed into an exceptional prospect and Kingham is quite solid. If Taillon returns properly from Tommy John, so much the better. The 2014 draft brought in extremely promising Iowa prep right-hander Mitch Keller, who could follow in their footsteps. Adrian Sampson took a step forward, and Trey Supak is another ’14 draftee to watch closely. The Pirates have also shown the ability to mine the college ranks for sleeper pitching prospects like Cumpton. Right-hander Buddy Borden could fit in that category.

Brandon Cumpton, photo by Brian D. Kersey, Getty Images

Injuries were an annoyance for many of the hitting prospects but the upside depth is obvious. Another bat, Jose Osuna, hit .296/.347/.458 in the difficult Florida State League. He was repeating the level and has defensive limitations but is still just 21. Shortstop Cole Tucker from the 2014 draft adds some middle infield depth. Outfielder Wily Garcia hit 18 homers in Double-A at age 22 but needs to tighten up the strike zone (24 walks, 145 strikeouts). Catcher Connor Joe from the ’14 draft adds more catching depth.

Overall, the system has a good balance between hitting and pitching, tools and skills.

Seemingly overloaded with quality young pitching, just how many innings will the Mets need to get out of their rotation in 2015?

The Mets officially shut rookie sensation Jacob deGrom down for the season on Tuesday, a move that forces the righty to miss his final start of the year. As disappointing as it may be to realize we won't see deGrom pitch again in 2014, the Mets' front office did so with the knowledge that the 26-year old has tossed a career high 178.2 innings between Triple-A Las Vegas and the major leagues this season. Whether we agree with them or not, pitch and innings counts are a part of the game and organizations abide by them in an effort to keep their pitchers healthy or at the least, cover their own backs.

With deGrom settled in at 178.2 innings and the 2014 season nearly complete, let's take a look at approximately where each Mets starting pitcher's innings limit is likely to be set in 2015 and then approximately how many innings the team will need from their starting rotation as a whole next year.

First, we'll look at each pitcher's projected innings limit for 2015 along with their previous career high. The Mets organization typically only lets their pitchers throw around 30 innings more than their previous high at most. For established big leaguers, that makes it easy to land around 200 innings but for the minor leaguers, especially those who have moved quickly through the farm system, it can become an issue that results in an eventual shutdown like deGrom's. Here's the list of the most likely candidates to start games for the 2015 Mets as of now:

To be clear, these are just rough estimates. It's unrealistic to expect 220 innings from Jon Niese or 230 from Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon likely isn't approaching 240 innings at the age of 42, let alone surpassing it, which is why he's listed at around 200. But assuming health and performance, this is around where we'd reasonably expect each pitcher to last until a shutdown of some sort. The biggest question mark is Harvey, who fresh off of Tommy John surgery likely won't be pushed too hard. If the Mets find themselves in a race come September, however, they'll almost certainly have a hard time shutting him down.

Looking at a 162 game season of 9 inning games, we realize that there are 1,458 regulation innings altogether. Of course, we also realize that starting pitchers certainly aren't expected to throw 9 innings per game. In this day in age, starting pitchers typically average somewhere around 5-6 innings per start. Using the 6 inning number as a higher end estimate, that comes out to 972 innings, so let's round up to 1,000 innings needed from starting pitchers. All told, when we combine the 9 pitchers estimates above, we end up with 1,810 innings, well over that 1,000 mark. Here's where we'll note, however, that not all of the 1,810 innings will come at the big league level and furthermore, 1,810 innings doesn't account for missed starts due to injuries.

At this point, it's nearly impossible to determine how many starts the Mets will need from their depth starters, a group likely comprised of Montero, Syndergaard, and eventually Matz, who all should begin 2015 at Triple-A Las Vegas. At least one pitcher will likely be moved in a trade this winter and we don't know who will get hurt. It is nice to know, however, that the Mets have some quality options in the pipeline to serve as backup. And yet, those aren't even the only guys who could serve as depth. Righthanders Logan Verrett, Cory Mazzoni, and Matt Bowman should also see plenty of Triple-A time in 2015 and could be called on for spot starts if necessary. Further down, righties Tyler Pill and Gabriel Ynoa had success at Double-A Binghamton and could see Triple-A time at some point. And this doesn't factor in any veteran minor league depth signings that the organization may make to try to bolster the Las Vegas rotation.

What this demonstrates is that, barring unforeseen disaster, the Mets likely have the flexibility to trade away one or two of their starting pitchers in order to help acquire offense this offseason. Even if they did that, they still would appear to have enough upper level arms to reach the 1,000 inning level needed to make it all the way through the season and cover up for whatever injuries or innings limits shutdowns may occur throughout the year. Who the Mets trade away is certainly an open question but it appears inevitable that they'll end up dealing somebody from their stash of arms. The potential for quality depth behind the initial starting five is there and should serve to help out a great deal in 2015.