5 Up 5 Down: June 7th – June 13th

By
Nicholas Pugliese
Published: June 15, 2009Posted in: 5 up 5 down, Featured, Jonathan Niese, Nicholas PuglieseTags:

5 Up

No. 1 IKE DAVIS, 1B
 ST. LUCIE
Team: St. Lucie Mets (HiA)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .375/.474/.938 (6-for-16), 3 HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
The Scoop: Davis was only able to play in 4 games this week because of injury, but he went deep in 3 of the 4 games, got hits in all 4 games, and walked 3 times while not striking out.  It was just a monster power week for Davis who has really began to hit up lately even while battling an ankle injury.  Right now he is looking more like the power hitter in the Arizona lineup than the weak hitter in the Cyclones lineup last year.
2009 Stats
No. 2 JON NIESE, SP BUFFALO
Team: Buffalo Bisons (AAA) Age: 22
Why He’s Here: 1-1, 1.37, 13.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO
The Scoop: Niese has struggled all season whether it be for the NY Mets or for the Buffalo Bisons, but his last 2 starts have been amazing.  He had a tough luck loss his first time out, but the last game was EASILY his best game of the year pitching into the 8th inning an only giving up 2 hits.  Niese can build off these two starts and rebuild his top prospect status.
2009 Stats
No. 3 JOSH THOLE, C
 BINGHAMTON
Team: Binghamton Mets (AA)
Age: 22
Why He’s Here: .409/.409/.455 (9-for-22), 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K
The Scoop: Thole did what Thole does best.  He hit for a high average (.409), didn’t strike out (only once in 22 at bats), and hit for little power (just one XBH).  Still despite the little power this is great production coming from the catchers spot.  With the news that he continues to improve defensively he is looking like quite the catching prospect.
2009 Stats
No. 4 TOBI STONER, RHP BINGHAMTON
Team: Binghamton Mets (AA)
Age: 24
Why He’s Here: 1-0, 2.40, 15 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO
The Scoop: Stoner has absolutely dominated AA to a 2.68 ERA, averaging 6.2 innings per start, and holding the league to a .180 BAA. He was not striking out many until these last two games where he maintained a K:BB of 11:0 which is off the charts. He has earned his recent promotion to AAA and it will be nice to see how he fairs.
2009 Stats
No. 5 JEURYS FAMILIA, SP SAVANNAH
Team: Savannah Sand Gants (LoA)
Age: 19
Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
The Scoop: The reason he is here is because of the report from Mike Newman of Scouting the Sally, “Familia was a top 100 prospect tonight. 91-93 consistently; Hitting 94 a number of times. Threw an 80 MPH slurve as an out pitch with good bite. It was the best I’ve seen him throw this year and this is my 4th time seeing him throw. He raises the level of his game when up against tough opponents. First time he dominated against Casey Kelly (2008 1st rounder), tonight he out shined the Braves Bret DeVall (2008 S1)” – NYFS Forum
2009 Stats

5 Down

No. 1 KIRK NIEUWENHUIS, CF
 		ST. LUCIE
Team: St. Lucie Mets (HiA)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: .179/.233/.214 (5-for-28), 1 2B, 5 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 SB
The Scoop: Some of Kirk’s numbers are solid (steals, runs, and RBI’s), but the low power numbers, walk rate, and average were too alarming.  For the most part I still like his season as a whole he just had a dreadful week for the most part.  I am expecting a monster rebound week from the speedy centerfielder.
2009 Stats
No. 2 JOSH SATIN, 2B
 SAVANNAH
Team: Savannah Sand Gnats (LoA)
Age: 24
Why He’s Here: .190/.380/.286 (4-for-21), 2 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI, 8 BB, 5 K
The Scoop: That is a ridiculous amount of walks for only 29 plate appearances, but 5 Ks is kind of a lot too.  Satin is going to have to hit more than this being 24 in low A ball and while he has a great OBP is AVG and SLG have really taken a hit lately.  He is a solid defender, but is going to need to show some more pop if he wants to be considered a prospect.
2009 Stats
No. 3 JEFRY MARTE, 3B
 SAVANNAH
Team: Savannah Sand Gnats (LoA)
Age: 17
Why He’s Here: .200/.259/.200 (5-for-28), 1 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 CS
The Scoop: The worst part of these terrible stats is that the most alarming of all of them isn’t even listed. Jefry Marte’s defense has been terrible and his bat isn’t making up for it this year. Something like 25 errors this year is completely unacceptable. The 2:4 BB:K ratio isn’t too bad for someone of his age, but the lack of power and hits like Kirk is not good. I expect this trend to continue.
2009 Stats
No. 4 ERIC NIESEN, SP
 BINGHAMTON
Team: Binghamton Mets (AA)
Age: 23
Why He’s Here: 0-1, 9.00, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 HR, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
The Scoop: Eric Niesen’s AA debut did not go as smoothly as Holt’s or Mejia’s. He only gave up 3 hits, but 2 of those went over the fence. He walked more players (4) than he struck out (3), which is never a good thing. I expect the next couple starts to go smoother than this start it could have just been the jitters, who knows.
2009 Stats
No. 5 LANCE BROADWAY, SP BUFFALO
Team: Buffalo Bisons (AAA)
Age: 25
Why He’s Here: 0-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 2 SO
The Scoop: The hits are managable through 4.1 innings, but the 6 waks OUCH! They hurt almost as bad as that photo –>.  If Broadway wants to even ever be considered some kind of prospect anymore he is seriously going to have to step up his game BIG TIME.  On the bright side his ERA as a reliever in Bufallo is 0.00!!! In an outstanding whole 0.2 innings!
2009 Stats

Awards

Pitcher of the Week: Jonathan Niese

Player of the Week: Ike Davis

About the Author

Nicholas Pugliese is a student currently pursuing his MBA in sports management and hopefully eventually get a job as a baseball executive.