Thursday, Ruben Tejada drove home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of his Surprise Rafters 3-2 win over Peoria in the Arizona Fall League.  After his 1-3 evening, Tejada is up to .320/.393/.440 with three doubles, a walk, five strikeouts and two stolen bases through six games.
DH Ike Davis (.414/.438/.724) was 1-3 with a double, his sixth, a walk, his second, and a strikeout, his seventh.   Seven of Davis’s 12 hits have gone for extra bases.  He’s currently hitting a cool .500 (10-for-20) vs. RHP with a .750 SLG.

At present, through nine games, the AFL is hitting .302/.380/.486.

I’m on my way to a friend’s wedding, so I’m spending much of Thursday in the air.  We’ll run a mailbag Friday around here.

Jenrry Mejia made his second AFL start on Tuesday, and the results made it look an awful lot like his first one.  Tuesday, he was touched for three runs on five hits and three walks in two innings.  The five hits he yielded included a double and triple.  There was no pitch-fx in Scottsdale for the game in which Mejia’s Surprise Rafters lost 7-3.

Mets fans looking for good vibes in the box score can pan all the way down to 1B Ike Davis’ day: 2-4 with a pair of doubles.  Davis is hitting .348/.364/.682 in 22 AB with four doubles and his grand slam on Opening Day.  On the other hand, Davis has whiffed six times while still looking for his first walk.  His 1.030 OPS is 20th in the AFL which, in its first week, is more than living up to reputation as a hitter-friendly environment.

SS Ruben Tejada is hitting .412/.474/.588 with three doubles and a couple of SB in 17 AB.

Getting back to a rough Tuesday on the ‘hill for Mets farmhands, LHP Eric Niesen was touched for three runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 IP.

1. That was an incredible day of baseball yesterday.

2. As Matt Cerrone is all over the Mets meeting with young Japanese LHP Yusei Kikuchi today.  The Mets are one of eight MLB teams Kikuchi will chat with, which represents over 25% of the league.  Meanwhile, he’s also met with all 12 NPB (Japanese) teams as the amateur decides 1. which league to play in, and 2. which team he prefers.  At this point, he and the Mets are just doing due diligence.  If Kikuchi choses MLB, the story will become a lot more pressing.

When I was 18, I had to choose a college.  I knew what country I was going to live in. Obviously, the choices facing Kikuchi are slightly more difficult.

3. In an item that might only interest me, the Savannah Sand Gnats have hired a new President, the successful and well-traveled John Katz.  Katz, who has improved team finances and overseen stadium improvements across A-ball in Modesto, Stockton and Salem, was also my first boss in baseball, in Stockton, CA in 2004.  The more time goes by, the more I realize I learned from Katz who has an unyielding focus on the bottom line and team profitability.  The Gnats franchise is in good hands.

At ESPN Insider, Keith Law has written up his first batch of prospects from the AFL including SEA’s Dustin Ackley, the Phillies Domonic Brown, but saved some of his highest praise for Mets RHP Jenrry Mejia:

The most impressive arm so far has been Jenrry Mejia of the New York Mets, who was on a short pitch count but showed two above-average pitches and a chance for a third. Mejia’s fastball sat from 93-96 mph and touched 98, he also threw a plus changeup that looked more like a two-seamer at 85-87. It should be noted, though: the latter pitch was a little inconsistent. His curveball was even less consistent, but he threw one very sharp one for a called third strike at 78 mph, with good depth and clear two-plane break. He comes from a slot just below 3/4 and needs to focus on staying on top of the ball. He missed a chunk of the second half with a strained finger, which could impact how he grips the ball even now. He has a strong, thick build. The velocity comes easily, and if his command is better than what he showed on Wednesday and he can snap off that good curveball more frequently, he’s a potential No. 1 or No. 2 starter.

Hilarious Keith Law image from Drunkjaysfans.com.

Courtesy of reader Nick M.

First, Jenrry Mejia’s pitches from his AFL debut.

And Josh Stinson:

Wednesday, Baseball America ranked OF Fernando Martinez the #12 prospect in the International League and LHP Jonathan Niese #16.  Jesus Feliciano was unranked.

Josh Levanthal wrote of Martinez:

Staying healthy continues to be Martinez’s biggest obstacle. …

Martinez flashed his five-tool potential while in Buffalo, particularly the ability to hit with power to all fields. …He can get overly aggressive at the plate, a weakness major league pitchers exploited during his time in New York.

A solid-average runner, Martinez shows good range and average arm strength in the outfield. He split time between left and right field in Buffalo, but he has held his own previously in center field.

The two classic tools that matter most for Martinez are the hit tool and the hit for power tool.  Now add a third tool, the ability to get his body in shape to withstand the rigors of a full professional season.

Levanthal said of Niese:
iese’s season of highs and lows came to a painful end in the big leagues. He tweaked a tendon in his right hamstring while stretching to cover first base in early August, then completely tore it off the bone on a warmup pitch, requiring season-ending surgery. His season got off to an inauspicious start as well, as he went 0-4, 7.96 in the first two months at Buffalo, but he recovered to dominate the IL for two months and pitch well for the Mets.
…

Niese’s best pitch is a big-breaking curveball. He mixes it with a low-90s fastball that he can cut or sink, and a solid changeup that makes his fastball even more effective. Once he gained consistent command, he had little trouble with Triple-A or big league hitters.

Emphasis added.  It wasn’t just about command.  As was discussed here during the season, Niese’s improvements also had to do with refining his cutter, four-seam and two seam fastballs into unique weapons, and a better pitch assortment with more off-speed offerings.