With the season coming down to a close, it appears as if only the St. Lucie Mets will be taking part in the playoffs this season.
Buffalo Bisons (67-75; 16 GB)
-Buffalo is 16 games back entering the final two games of the regular season today and tomorrow at Lehigh Valley. So it’s just a matter of going through the motions as the best they can finish is in a tie for last place if Syracuse loses their last two games, and Buffalo wins their final two.
-Since it is September the reinforcements from Buffalo could be on their way after the season is over on Monday and we may see the likes of pitchers Elvin Ramirez, Collin McHugh, Jenrry Mejia, (potentially) Jeurys Familia, and the most definite of the group in Jordany Valdespin.
Binghamton Mets (67-73; 11 GB)
-The biggest news of Binghamton came out on Thursday when the Mets and the Binghamton Mets agreed to their player development contract through the 2016 season, again teams can only sign either two- or four-year contracts with any given minor league team at a time. Whether the team lasts in Binghamton past the 2013 season has yet to be seen, but as of now the Mets plan to have their Double-A team play in NYSEG Stadium this upcoming season.
-On the field the team will finish in either fourth or fifth place out of six teams in division, but do have a chance to hurt the division-winning Trenton Thunder over the next two games as they play head-to-head before packing it in for 2012. The pitching has been solid in Binghamton with the likes of such pitching prospects including Darin Gorski, Mark Cohoon, Gonzalez Germen, Gregory Peavey, Brad Holt and Cory Mazzoni. A better number of those players will likely start the year in Binghamton next season, with a couple bumping up to Buffalo (or Las Vegas if you read the rumors).
St. Lucie Mets (33-33; Clinched First Half Playoff Berth)
-Manager Ryan Ellis was named Florida State League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after winning the first-half division title with ease, before sitting 4 1/2 games back to Jupiter in the second half of the regular season which concludes today. St. Lucie and Jupiter will meet in the first round of the playoffs beginning on Tuesday in Jupiter before shifting to St. Lucie for Wednesday and the ‘if necessary’ Thursday game.
-The Mets have the bats to get the team to a title round with the likes of Blake Forsythe and Kai Gronauer behind the plate, Aderlin Rodrguez, Robbie Shields and TJ Rivera in the infield, then an abundance of outfielders with Darrell Cecilliani, Cory Vaughn, Travis Taijeron and Cesar Puello in the outfield.
Savannah Sand Gnats (27-40; 16 GB)
-Another Mets’ minor league team, another last place finish. The Gnats had a rough stretch down the second half of the season as it will be Rome and Asheville meeting in the semifinal round representing the South Division.
-Supplemental round draft pick from the 2011 First Year Player Draft Michael Fulmer will finish the season on the disabled list but had a solid season in which he finished 7-6 with a 2.74 ERA in just over 108 innings this seaosn. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him start the year with St. Lucie in 2013, with a potential call up to Binghamton midway through the year if he succeeds. Yohan Almonte, TJ Chism, and Domingo Tapia are all pitching names to watch in the coming years as well.
Brooklyn Cyclones (44-28; 5 GB)
-The Cyclones still have a chance to win the McNamara Division as they are currently sitting five games behind Hudson Valley with four games to play on the season which ends on Wednesday. Brooklyn does hold the wild card lead by one game entering action on Sunday over Batavia of the Pickney Division. The defending champion Tri-City Valley Cats are the only team to clinch their division but is still duking it out with Hudson Valley for best record in the league for home field throughout the playoffs.
-The team has been held together by its stellar pitching throughout the year including Luis Mateo, Hansel Robles, Gabriel Ynoa, and Luis Cessa who all over 63 or more innings pitched and ERA’s below three. The hitting leader is who it ‘should’ be as Brandon Nimmo leads the team with six home runs and 40 RBI, the batting average is only .256 but he walks a lot and has an OPS of .802.
Kingsport Mets (23-43; 20 1/2 GB)
-Kingsport’s season is over and surprisingly they didn’t finish in last place despite their dreadful start. Only one player hit above .300 in the short season of the Appalachian League and that was shortstop Jorge Rivero who hit .313. As for the pitching former first round draft pick Steven Matz was the only starter to have an ERA below 3.56 as Matz finished up the season with a 1.55 ERA in 26 innings after coming back from Tommy John Surgery.
