Getting Reacquainted

We all like to get our panties in bundle when certain prospects are dealt. Sometimes us fans have a legitimate gripe, but most times we cry for no reason. Here is a quick look at how some of the recent trade bait is faring in the minors so far this season.

Yusmiero Petit
Same story different year for Yusmeiro. He is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in two games. He has given up ten hits, walked two, and struck out seven.

Grant Psomas
Grant is off to a slow start in Jupiter and is batting .231/.310/.308 with only two doubles, one RBI, and two walks in eight games.

Gaby Hernandez
After posted a 5.74 ERA in high A-ball last season, Gaby is off to a better start and has a 3.38 ERA after two starts and has given up eight hits, four runs, four walks, and struck out eight in 10.2 innings. Gaby may ultimately have the highest ceiling out of any player the Marlins received in the off-season from the Mets (sorry all you Mike Jacobs fans).

Dante Brinkley
Brinkley has only played in two games this year for Jupiter, but has done well in the games he has played. He owns a .375/.375/.500 line with three RBIs.

Matt Peterson
The 24 year old Matt Peterson is running out of time as a prospect if it has not run out already. He first debuted in AA in 2003 for Binghamton and pitched in six games. Fast forward to 2006, he is still there. Peterson has big league stuff, but finding the plate has always been an issue for him. This season, he is off to a great start and is 1-0 in two starts. He has given up five hits, no runs, one walk, and struck out six in eleven innings of work.

Justin Huber
Justin does not turn 24 until this July and is still a solid prospect. Huber owns a career line of .293/.396/.493 in the minors and is probably ready for big league actioin right now. He is off to a great start in AAA for the Omaha Royals with a .316/.500/.684 line through eight games and has two homers to go along with four RBIs. Impressively, he has six walks to only two strikeouts.

Joselo Diaz
Diaz just turned 26 yesterday and is in AA for the third year in a row after not pitching at all in 2005. He is a member of the Texas AA affiliate, the Frisco Rough Riders. So far, not so good. Another ex-Met farmhand with serious control issues. He has managed to walk four people in 2.1 innings of work. On the bright side, he has yet to give up a hit or a walk.

Ian Bladergroen
The 23 year old Bladergroen had a bad year in 2005 at high A Wilmington after coming off an injury and has started off this year there again. He is not off to a great start and owns a .217/.296/.391 line with one homer and four RBIs.

So now that Kris Benson has been dealt, it was essentially Justin Huber, Ty Wigginton, and Matt Peterson for John Maine, Jorge Julio, and Jeff Keppinger. Basically one major league regular for a burnt out reliever, an ex-prosect, and a utility player.

Remember Me? My version of where are they now brings two guys from the Mets past. One that couldn't hit to save his life and one that many felt was too big for his britches.

Jeff Duncan
Jeff is now 27 years old and is playing for the Las Vegas 51s. The 51s are the AAA affiliate of the Dodgers and Duncan may want to think about becoming a dealer at one of the casinos. He is off to a .111/.273/.111 start with no extra base hits in six games.

Danny Garcia
The 26 year old Garcia has landed with the Columbus Clippers. He is part of the Evil Empire's AAA team and Danny is currently batting .250/.375/.250 and has yet to record an extra base hit in seven games but has managed to walk four times to his two strikeouts.

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Check out this headline:

Zambrano loses focus, game

That certainly looks like it should have been Victor and no carlos and it would have been convenient if I could have made some lame joke about the good Zambrano and the bad Zambrano trading places for their games yesterday, but both were bad. Victor got the win, but was frustrating in the fourth and fifth innings with his inability to throw strikes with a 6-0 lead. It would be easy to blame his lack of work for throwing bad, but he got as many innings this spring as the other Mets starters. He did have some significant time off between his last appearance in spring and this one, but this was vintage Zambrano.


"It was his first time out, so you can't expect him to be at the top of his game," Randolph said of Zambrano's three-run, six-hit performance.

Why would we expect anything different? If the game was close, he may not have even finished the fifth and I fully see this happening all year. Zambrano frustrating people through five innings and teetering on the brink of giving up ten runs in at least one inning per start. Yes, that is Willie's 'third starter'. I know Randolph was just trying to stick it to Mike and Mad Dog to be difficult and it ultimately does not matter who gets labeled what, but he sounds dumb. But then again, if the shoe fits....

David Lennon and the entire Mets team is very high on Anderson Hernandez.

If you want to waste a few more minutes of your life than you have already wasted here, read Jack Curry's curiously pointless article. Not to be outdone in the pointless article department, Jim Baumback jumps into the fray.

Check out the minor league update here if you have not already.