A+:
Tuesday
@ St. Lucie Mets 4, Bradenton Marauders 3 (9 innings)
@ St. Lucie Mets 4, Bradenton Marauders 3 (8 innings – completed Wednesday)

Wednesday
@ St. Lucie Mets 5, Bradenton Marauders 4

Brad Holt in game one Tuesday: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 8 K.  That’s now 52 BB, 58 K in 61.2 IP for him in advanced-a this year.

For a team playing out the string, that’s a lot of baseball in two days.

A
Savannah Sand Gnats 11, @ Greensboro Grasshoppers 0
The Gnats have scored 32 runs in the first three games in this series helped in large part by the CF Matt den Dekker, SS Robbie Shields and 3B Aderlin Rodriguez trio at the top of the order.
Den Dekker was 0-6 on Wednesday, but had multiple hits in each of the first two games of the series and is hitting .384/.448/.512 as a Gnat.
Shields who was 3-4 with two walks on Wednesday homered Monday and Tuesday nights, becoming the first Gnat to homer in back-to-back games all year.  He’s hitting .285/.322/.465 in 35 games with Savannah.  He drew three walks in his first 25 games as a Gnat, but five in his last ten while hitting .333/.409/.641.  So that’s pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez has hit safely in each of his first three games with Savannah (4 H/13 AB) and driven home seven thanks in part to den Dekker and Shields who have been on base for him in seemingly every at bat.

Jimmy Fuller was named the SAL Most Outstanding Pitcher.  He currently leads the SAL in ERA at 1.93, but since he was promoted to St. Lucie on August 5, with 107.1 innings pitched, he’ll fall one start of qualifying for the SAL’s year end leaderboard.

We’re continuing our tour around the Mets system today and not focusing on a single night’s game but rather a theme or an issue for each team.  For the Savannah Sand Gnats it’s all about roster movement.  At AAA, the story was Jenrry Mejia, while in AA, I wrote about LHP Robert Carson and Mark Cohoon.

Monday, 3B Aderlin Rodriguez made his SAL on the road in Greensboro by going 2-5 with a double and three RBI from the #3 spot in the order.  The 18-year old Rodriguez was recently named the Kingsport Mets Hitter of the Year.  He hit .312/.352/.556 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 22 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 61 games for Kingsport in the Appalachian League.  He was fifth in the Appy League in batting, fourth in slugging, second in doubles, third in home runs, second in RBI and third in total bases (139).

He was clearly the best prospect on the field in the games I saw in the Appalachian League.  Here’s my chat with K-Mets manager Mike Difelice about young A-Rod, as he’s known around Mets parts.  Mike and I discussed the youngster’s swing, defensive progress and whether he’ll outgrow third as he ages.

Here are a few quotes from the conversation:

On Rodriguez’s swing:

The kid has power to all fields, he has a quick bat.  He can hit the fastball.  He’s disciplined enough to hit breaking balls.  Offensively, he’s way ahead.

And an area where he can improve at the plate:

He gets overly aggressive.  There’s not a guy in this league who can throw the ball by him… For him to grow as a hitter is to let the ball travel, where he’s not getting caught swinging at a curveball or a ball in the dirt.

At Baseball Prospectus this morning, Kevin Goldstein wrote:

He’s an impressive hitter with plus-plus raw power and a surprising amount of contact ability for a teenage slugger, but he’s also a downright bad third baseman who many think project as a one-dimensional slugging first baseman down the road. The good news, of course, is that the one dimension looks like it could be special.

Other recent Gnats transactions of note:
RHP Gonzalez German came up from Kingsport and fired a seven-inning complete-game three hitter in his SAL debut.  His fastball was 90-92 early and he was able to throw his slider for strikes.  It was a very impressive debut for the 22-year old.  I’m looking forward to his next start on Friday.

Before Rodriguez was promoted, the Mets moved 3B Brian Harrison up from Brooklyn. The Mets 13th rounder out of Furman, Harrison missed a bunch of time this spring with a torn PCL and was off to a nice start for Brooklyn (.286/.352/.548) before he was promoted to Savannah.  He played in just five games as a Gnat before hitting the DL with a right shoulder strain.

Cesar Puello hasn’t played since August 14 with a back problem, but is hoping to return to the field soon.  Because he has not been placed on the DL, the Gnats have been playing with a 24-man roster for a few weeks.  Also, the Gnats are carrying 26-year old Jordan Abruzzo, who’s limited to DH duty while working his way way back to health from shoulder problems including damage to his rotator cuff and labrum that have kept him out for most of this season and last.

Nick Santomauro had to leave game one of Friday’s doubleheader early after making an awkward diving attempt in shallow right-center, so RF Cody Holliday was promoted from Brooklyn so the Gnats could field a full outfield of, left-to-right, R.J. Harris, Matt den Dekker and Holliday.

2B Alonzo Harris (.224/.270/.342) who missed time earlier in August with a groin problem, left Saturday’s game early after getting hit by a pitch, and did not play on Monday night.

This time of year, there just aren’t a lot of extra bodies around and the Mets aren’t going to do anything that could significantly damage the juggernaut that is Wally Backman’s the Brooklyn Cyclones.

SS-A: Brooklyn Cyclones 6, @ Connecticut Tigers 1

The Brooklyn (45-22) offense racked up 14 singles in the 6-1 victory over Connecticut.  J.B. Brown (2-5, RBI), Cory Vaughn (2-5), Joe Bonfe (2-4), William Cherry (2-5, RBI), Blake Forsythe (2-4, RBI), and Wilfredo Tovar (3-4, RBI) all had multi-hit games for the Cyclones.  Jonathan Kountis picked up his first win of the season: (5 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 er, 3 bb, 5 K).

SS-R: Bristol White Sox 2, @ Kingsport Mets 1

The struggling Kingsport offense sudddenly got weaker when their top hitter, Aderlin Rodriguez, was summoned to finish the season with Class-A Savannah.  The K-Mets could only produce 1 run on 3 hits, in the 2-1 loss to Bristol. 

Carlos Vazquez- 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 er, 3 bb, 4 k.

SS-R: @ GCL Phillies 8, GCL Mets 4

The GCL Mets qualified for the GCL playoffs as the wild card  representitive.  In a one game series to reach the championship round, the GCL Mets were eliminated 8-4 by the GCL Phillies.  SS Yucarybert De La Cruz (2-4, HR, RBI, SB) and OF Gilberto Gomez (2-4, 2 RBI) were the lone standouts offensively.  Domingo Tapia (1 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 7 er, 2 bb, 1 K) got shelled in the loss.

SS-A: (Sat)- Brooklyn Cyclones 10, @ Connecticut Tigers 0

          (Sun)- @ Connecticut Tigers 6, Brooklyn Cyclones 3

The Brooklyn Cyclones (44-22) clinched their 5th division title in 10 seasons, in style with a dominating 10-0 victory over Connecticut on Saturday night.  With the victory combined with a Hudson Valley loss, the Cyclones are division champions for the first time since 2007.  The dominating performance was led by starting pitcher, Yohan Almonte.  Almonte (8-4) went the distance for the complete game shutout, as he gave up 6 hits, while walking none and striking out 5.  The complete game was the first for Almonte in 14 starts this season.   Over his last 10 starts, Almonte has been dominant: 6-2, 1.42 ERA, 63 1/3 IP, 46 hits, 10 er, 9 bb, 43 K.

The Cyclones offense produced 10 runs and 15 hits, including homeruns by Blake Forsythe (2-4, HR, RBI) and Jeff Flagg (2-4, HR, RBI).  Other offensive stars include: Darrell Ceciliani (2-5, 3B, 3RBI, SB), Cory Vaughn (2-4, 2B, RBI), James Schroeder (2-4, 2 2B, RBI), and Justin Schafer (3-5, 3 runs, 2B, RBI).

On Sunday, the Cyclones offense could only muster up a  three-run homerun by Cory Vaughn (1-4, HR, 3RBI), his team leading 13th on the season.  Vaughn also leads the team with 49 RBI.  Angel Cuan (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season, pitching 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, walking 1, and striking out 3.

SS-R: (Sat)- Kingsport Mets 6, @Greenville Astros 4

          (Sun)- Bristol White Sox 4, @ Kingsport Mets 3- Game 1

          (Sun)- Bristol White Sox 3, @ Kingsport Mets 1- Game 2 

Aderlin Rodriguez continues to swing the bat well, as the Kingsport Mets (28-37) are just playing out the string.  Over the weekend Rodriguez was 5-10, with 2 doubles, a homerun, and 4 RBI.  Rodriguez has gotten stronger at the plate as the summer moves forward, as he is hitting (.343/.369/.556), his highest batting average over any month this season.  For the season Rodriguez is hitting (.312/.352/.556) with 13 HR and 48 RBI.

SS-R: GCL Mets 6, @ GCL Astros 1

A six-run 2nd inning led the GCL Mets (31-25) to a 6-1 victory over the GCL Astros. 

Ernesto Yanez (1-2): 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 er, 1 bb, 4 K.

SS-A: @ Brooklyn Cyclones 2, Aberdeen Ironbirds 0     

Chris Hilliard was the star of the show, pitching 8 shutout innings in the 2-0 victory over Aberdeen.  The Brooklyn Cyclones (43-21) left-hander gave up only 2 hits, while walking only 1 and striking out 4.  Hilliard (pictured)  improved to 9-1, 3.77 ERA on the season.  Ryan Fraser pitched a scoreless 9th, for his team leading 12th save. 

The win cuts the Cyclones magic number to two, to clinch the McNamara Divison title.

SS-R: Burlington Royals 4, @ Kingsport Mets 3

Aderlin Rodriguez (2-3, 2 RBI, BB) continues to hit, and is now at .304/.344/.538 for the season.  The 18-year old is 15-40 (.375) with 9 rbi over his last 10 games.  ZeErika McQueen (2-4) and Ismael Tijerina (2-3, 2 runs, 2 SB) also had multi-hit games for Kingsport (27-35).

Michael Weldon pitched 4 perfect innings, while striking out four, in relief of starter Jhonathan Torres (5 IP, 8 hits, 4 er, 4 k, 2 HR).

SS-R: @ GCL Mets 2, GCL Cardinals 1

Nestor Moreno (1-4, 2 RBI) drove in 2 with a single in the 3rd inning. 

Zack Cox, the Cardinals 1st round pick, started at 3B and was 1-3, with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

SS-A: @ Brooklyn Cyclones 4, Aberdeen Ironbirds 3- 10 innings

Darrell Ceciliani (2-5, 2B, HR, RBI) took the Cyclones home in style as he homered in the bottom of the 10th, to cap off a wild comeback to defeat the Aberdeen Ironbirds 4-3.  Brooklyn (42-21) trailed 3-1 in the eighth inning, when an Aberdeen throwing error on an Jeff Flagg (2-3, RBI, 2 SB) steal attempt sailed wayward, allowing Cory Vaughn (1-2, 2B, 2BB, SB) to score.  Then leading off the bottom of the ninth, William Cherry  (1-4, HR, RBI) delivered a clutch game tying homerun, to tied the score at 3.  This set up Ceciliani’s walk-off blast to lead off the tenth.  Ceciliani (pictured) now bring his season totals to: .350/.405/.524.  Ceciliani leads the NYPL in batting average, runs, hits, triples, and total bases, and is in the top 10 in 4 other categories. 

A.J. Pinera with another solid start (6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 er, 1 bb, 6 K).  Pinera is now 2-1, 1.99 ERA in 9 starts for the Cyclones.  Johan Figuereo  (2 IP, 3K) pitched two perfect innings to pick up the victory.

Notes: C Blake Forsythe had a rough game all around, going 0-4, 2 K at the plate and allowing 2 passed balls, giving him 8 total in 25 games for the Cyclones.  With the victory, Brooklyn’s magic number to clinch the division title is down to 3.

Photo courtesy of brooklyncyclones.com 

SS-R: Burlington Royals 6, @ Kingsport Mets 4

Kingsport (27-34) could not overcome a Burlington five run first inning, as their comeback fell short in the 6-4 defeat.  Michael Hebert (6IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 1 er, 3 bb, 7 K) was let down by two Brandon Brown errors in the first, as all five runs in the inning were unearned. 

Chase Greene (2-5, 2B), Aderlin Rodriguez (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Albert Cordero (2-4, HR, RBI), and Nelfi Zapata (2-4) all had mutli-hit games for Kingsport.

 SS-R: @ GCL Nationals 5, GCL Mets 4

Two things we know about Akeel Morris so far, is that he has been tough to hit and he can miss bats.  Morris gave up only 2 hits and struck out 6, in his five innings of work, although he walked three and gave up three earned runs as well.  Morris has allowed only 13 hits in his  24 2/3 innings so far, holding opponents to a .148 BA.  Morris has also shown he can miss bats as well, striking out 28 in those 24 2/3 innings (10.2K/9).  The 17-year old Morris has been a pleasant surprise so far this summer.

SS-A: @ Hudson Valley Renegades 8, Brooklyn Cyclones 2

After a six-run first inning, off of Cyclones starter Yohan Almonte (4 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 5 er, 1 bb, 2K), the Hudson Valley Renegades cruised to a 8-2 victory over Brooklyn (40-21).  This was a rare tough start for Almonte (7-4, 2.23 ERA), who had been dominant over his previous 4 starts: 29 IP, 15 hits, 1 er, 4 bb, 21K. 

The Cyclones offense was stymied by Renegades pitching to the tune of 2 runs, 3 hits, and 15 strikeouts.  All 3 hits came in the fourth inning, where the Cyclones were able to score their only 2 runs.  Also in the inning was the ejection of Brooklyn manager Wally Backman.  Funny that Backman was ejected in the only positive inning for his team.  Cory Vaughn had the toughest time at the plate, going 0-4 with 4 ks. 

SS-R: Kingsport Mets 7, @ Danville Braves 1

Eduardo Aldama dominated the Danville Braves over 8 innings, to lead Kingsport (26-32) to the 7-1 victory.  The 20-year old Aldama pitched 8 innings, giving up only 3 hits (all singles), 1 earned run, while walking none and striking out 6.  Aldama took a shut-out into the 8th, but Danville was able to push across their lone run in the inning.

Leading the Kingsport offense were: C Albert Cordero (1-3, HR, 2RBI, BB, SB), SS Brandon Brown (2-5, RBI, SB), and Aderlin Rodriguez (2-4, RBI, BB).  Rodriguez continues to hit to the tune of .304/.343/.549.