Minors Report 6/5 (Holt)

[MetfanBren]

Buffalo was rained out, missing a chance to take 3 of 4 from the traitorous Norfolk Tides. Dillon Gee was placed on the 7 day DL with an undisclosed (Ollie?) injury...


Binghamton lost to Connecticut, 7-4. A shaky bullpen and some bad defense blew Brad Holt's AA debut. The 22 year old righty allowed just two earned runs on two hits over 6.1 IP. Jenrry Mejia is scheduled to start the first of two tomorrow...


Emmanuel Garcia - 1 for 4, BB, R
Nick Evans - 2 for 5, 2B (3), R
Josh Thole - 0 for 2, R, RBI (20), .350
Lucas Duda - 1 for 5, 2B (11), R, RBI (30)
Shawn Bowman - 3 for 5, 2B (11), RBI (26)


Brad Holt - 6.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2.84
Edgar Alfonzo - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, L (3-2)


Box


St. Lucie beat Lakeland, 5-3. Brant Rustich made his first start of 2009, stepping into Brad Holt's spot. Brooklyn's own Carlos Guzman and Kirk Nieuwenhuis went deep to pace the Met offense...


Greg Veloz - 3 for 5, 2B (9), RBI (11)
Kirk Nieuwenhuis - 1 for 4, HR (8), R, 2 RBI (20)
Zach Lutz - 1 for 4, 3B (2), RBI (19)
Carlos Guzman - 2 for 4, HR (7), 2 R, RBI (20)
Hector Pellot - 2 for 3, BB


Brant Rustich - 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2.57
Jose De La Torre - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-3)
Emary Frederick - 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, SV (4), 2.49


Box


Savannah lost to Charleston, 5-3. Soon to be 18 year old Jefry Marte seems to be adjusting to full season pitching better of late, going 3 for 5 with a double and an RBI for the Gnats, but is still showing his youth with the glove, committing his 22nd error of the season. Josh Satin went 0 for 2 with a couple of walks at 1B. It's anyone's guess as to why the 24 year old hasn't been promoted to High-A with Havens going down and Greg Veloz struggling to find consistency...


Rafael Fernandez - 3 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI (12)
Jefry Marte - 3 for 5, 2B (6), 2 R, RBI (21)
Sean Ratliff - 1 for 4, BB, RBI (30), .313
Josh Satin - 0 for 2, 2 BB, .312
Ralph Henriquez - 3 for 4


Elvin Ramirez - 3.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 3 K, L (3-4)


Box


The DSL Mets lost to the DSL Red Sox, 3-0. Useless information: The roster says Francisco Cabrera is managing, so at least there's one guy in the organization who can get a big hit against the Pirates....


Randoll Santana - 2 for 4
Daniel De Leon - 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB (1)
Thomas De Wolf - 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB (3)
Yucarybert De La Cruz - 2 for 4

Germen Gonzalez - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Jose Acosta - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, L (1-1)


Box


VZL Mets 9 VZL Phillies 0


Breiner Soto - 1 for 5, SB (8), 2 R, .350
smael Tijerina - 2 for 4, BB, R, RBI (3)
Quintin De Cuba - 1 for 3, HR (3), 2 R, 2 RBI (6)
Andres Perez - 2 for 4, R, RBI (6), .318


Andres E. Perez - 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, W (2-0), 0.50
Gustavo Velasquez - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, SV (1)


Box


Project Prospect is the latest to take a look at the emergence of Josh Thole, corny headline and all. Though they really didn't need to bring Jesus Flores into the discussion. That's just bad manners...


Minors Only: Florimon and Thole | Project Prospect

The Thole Package?


A couple winters ago, New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya made the mistake of leaving catcher Jesus Flores unprotected for the Rule V draft.

The Washington Nationals scooped Flores up and now he's seen as the long-term answer behind the plate for the Nationals. Minaya said leaving Flores unprotected is “the one” regret he has as general manager of the Mets.

Despite that, Minaya left another young catcher, 22-year-old Josh Thole, unprotected in last winter's Rule V draft.

Luckily for Minaya, nobody drafted Thole, who is making a case to be organization's future catcher while honing his craft with Double-A Binghamton.

Thole, a former first baseman, moved behind the dish on a full-time basis last season when he was with High-A St. Lucie, and it was a big adjustment.

“Getting back into the catching, it’s a lot different here than what I had to go through in high school. It’s kind of like starting from scratch. I kind of redid everything, from the stance to throwing to second base to blocking. Everything has just been a whole big change for me,” Thole told The New York Daily News last fall.

It's a big change that's gone smoothly – his defense has made strides in his first year as a full-time backstop.

“He’s developing into very good defensive catcher. He’s a good leadership type, who is calling good games,” Mets vice president of player development Tony Bernazard recently told Baseball America.

Offensively, Thole makes a lot of contact – his 11.3 K% is sixth-lowest in the Eastern League. He draws his share of walks (10.7%) and his .417 wOBA is sixth-best in the circuit, though his sky-high .417 BABIP is due to regress.

Thole isn't going to hit many home runs – he only has eight in 1,282 plate appearances in the minors – but he's more than a singles hitter. His 16 doubles are tied for second in the Eastern League and his 25 two-baggers ranked within the top 15 in the Florida State League last year.

Opportunity could knock in the near future as the Mets long-term catching situation is unclear.

Veteran Brian Schneider and minor league journeyman Omir Santos currently share the duties. Schneider is a free agent after the season and has little chance of being retained, and while Santos has been a nice story, he's not someone an organization looks at as a long-term option. Thole figures to be ready sometime in 2010 and could end up as a table-setter thanks to his strong on-base skills.