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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Great article on Mejia and the Batters he's faced in Spring Training

Toby Hyde of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com, with an outstanding article looking at the batters Mejia has faced this spring training, and how he has faced SIX batters who had over 300 plate appearance in the major leagues in 2009.

But at this point, when he was facing one of his final tests of his bullpen mettle, he had faced exactly SIX batters who had 300 or more MLB AB in ‘09. Six. Anything can happen over six AB.  As decision-making processes go, isn’t this the equivalent of going to the beach in Far Rockaway, wading knee deep into the ocean, and deciding that since you not only didn’t die, but feel good, you’re going to swim to Spain?

He also quotes Keith Law and Jim Callis on their opinions of the Mets poor decision making.


At ESPN.com Keith Law is blunt in his discussion about the Mets plan to move Mejia to the ‘pen:
I hate it. He’s a raw, high-upside arm with the weapons to be a  starter in the long term, if he’s given time to improve his command and consistency on his change and curve. Instead they’re cutting off that upside for a quick fix in the pen. By the way, promoting prospects who aren’t ready is a hallmark of GMs in fear for their jobs.
Baseball America’s Jim Callis made the same point in his ESPN Chat:
Peter (NY)
Jim, What is your opinion on how the Mets are handling Meija’s development? If he has a chance to be a legitimate top of the rotation pitcher, arent they hurting his development by rushing him to the majors and developing him as a late inning 1 or 2 pitch reliever?
Jim Callis

(2:10 PM)
The Mets’ front office is in win-now/save-our-jobs mode. I would have sent him to Double-A as a starter to begin the season.


Read the rest of Toby's article here: http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/2010/03/25/an-absurdly-detailed-look-at-the-batters-mejia-has-faced-this-spring/

I know I'm kicking a dead horse with this issue, but it needs to be discussed.

And to read my previous posts about Mejia, here they are:
March 12th
March 6th

1 comment:

  1. I agree with the points that the kid has great upside and an electric arm, but he should be in the minors, developing as a starter. Not sure if anybody noticed, but the Mets starting pitching isn't great and there is a chance to have home grown star if it is done right. The bullpen in the show (on a team that MUST win and leaves no margin for error) isn't the place for him. I hope I am wrong for obvious reasons

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