Marty Noble of MLB.com takes a close look at a new drill Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel is utilizing in camp this spring. It uses a rapid fire pitching machine that forces hitters to overcome fatigue and rely on their hands.

One of the participants was 22-year-old catching prospect Josh Thole. Noble writes:

With Manuel standing directly behind the cage, the machine relentlessly fed breaking pitches to Thole, the 22-year-old left-handed-hitting catcher the Mets have learned to appreciate in the past year. And Thole put good swings on the first 20-25 pitches. In one way, at least, he is a clone of Daniel Murphy. Thole’s natural swing drives the ball to left-center, occasionally left field. And the drill called for opposite-field hitting exclusively.

To read more about Thole, who Toby ranked as the 16th best prospect in the Mets’ system earlier this month, click here. The young catcher most likely will begin the season in Binghamton…