At the Lohud Mets Blog, Josh Thomson noticed that Eddie Kunz (of the 9.72 ERA in 8.1 IP) is having a rough time in the AFL, especially against lefties.

The Mets clearly felt Kunz was more than just a situational righty, but he hasn’t looked capable of reaching Jerry Manuel’s “crossover guy” status. Lefties have batted .500 against Kunz in the AFL (6 for 12 with two walks), after batting .500 against him (4 for 8 ) in the bigs.

Granted, this is a small sample size,…

Yes, Josh, you’re right, that’s an absurdly small sample size on which to form judgments about a player’s future role.  On the other hand, a larger sample size supports Mr. Thomson’s point.  So lets make it a bigger sample size and go back to the regular season where Kunz showed a significant platoon split.

Eddie Kunz 2008 AA L-R Splits

I’ve written about Kunz’s issues versus lefties repeatedly.  In July, I quoted a scout saying of Kunz, “With that arm slot, lefties are always going to give him trouble.”

More recently, in my AFL preview with a fall assignment for all of the Mets farmhands, I wrote, “Kunz – … must also develop a weapon to lefties beyond his sinker.”

Any questions?

In a game in which Honolulu Sharks pitchers walked 13 batters, the two Mets entrants combined for two in two innings.

RHP Josh Stinson: .1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K – 3.18 ERA

LHP Roy Merritt: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – 3.60 ERA

DH Jordan Abruzzo was 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

C Josh Thole moved up to second in the Saguaros batting order.  He was 1-for-4 with a strikeout. In nine games he has hit .355/.450/.387.

Thole was charged with his first error of the AFL season, but also threw out a runner, which is nice.

RHP Eddie Kunz: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – 9.72 ERA

No Murphy yet.

Daniel Murphy was cut on the forearm in Friday’s AFL Rising Stars Showcase Bart Hubbach reports at his New York Post Blog.

Despite being taken to the hospital, Murphy is expected not only to recover fully on the way to a healthy productive life, but will return to the lineup later this week.

Pitcher of the Week
Jason Vargas, Peoria Saguaros
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

Vargas, who missed the entire 2008 season following hip surgery, has returned to form in the Fall League. Last week he won his only start, yielding just one hit over five innings with one strikeout. Overall in four apearances (one start), he has not allowed a run in 12 2/3 innings while striking out seven against just one walk. He has allowed only five hits.

The 25-year-old Apple Valley, California native owns 31 Major League appearances for the Marlins (6-7) and Mets (0-1). In 65 Minor League games, he has registered a 24-19 record and a 4.22 earned-run average in 362.1 innings with 335 strikeouts.

Drafted by the Marlins in the second round (68th overall) of the 2004 Draft out of Long Beach State, the 6-foot, 215-pound Vargas spent three years in the Marlins’ system before being traded to the Mets in November, 2006.

In their ranking of the best from the June 2008 draft, Baseball America named Brad Holt as having the second-best fastball behind Tigers RHP Ryan Perry.

In the DWL, Fernando Martinez has now hit in five straight games and is 7-for-21 with three doubles for a .333/.375/.476 line through 21 AB. He had a three RBI game Friday night and a three hit game on Saturday.  One of the things that standso out to me from Martinez’s first six games this year is that he’s not flailing as he did early in 2008 in Binghamton.  He’s struck out just three times while walking twice.  This is a very positive development.