Archive for Savannah Sand Gnats
The Next Mark Cohoon?
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The Mets selected Mark Cohoon in the 12th round (374th overall) in the 2008 MLB June draft. Cohoon was an unheralded, small college two-way player. Cohoon served as an outfielder and left-handed pitcher and the Mets decided to draft him as a pitcher, which looks like a smart choice so far.
Cohoon was mediocre at best during his debut in 2008, but really turned it on in 2009 in Brooklyn, completely dominating the New York-Penn League. It wasn’t until 2010 as a 23-year-old pitching for Savannah that Cohoon caught everyone’s eye. He dominated LoA hitters by going 7-1, 1.30 ERA (2.49 FIP) in 13 starts. Cohoon had a .213 batting average against (.270 BABIP) and had excellent peripherals with a 1.69 BB/9 and 7.47 K/9. After throwing three consecutive shutouts in June the Mets promoted Cohoon all the way to Double-A Binghamton having him skip HiA all together.
Cohoon has excelled in Double-A and has finally received recognition from people outside of the Mets world as a potential big league starter.
Fast forward to 2010 and there is a new 23-year-old pitcher in Savannah making some waves.
Another small college pitcher, Taylor Whitenton, is doing his best to make a name for himself as a legitimate prospect. Whitenton was taken much later than Cohoon in the 39th round (1,184th overall) out of Darton Junior College and although he was used almost solely as a pitcher in college, much like Cohoon, Whitenton was a good two-way player as he was drafted out of high school in 2007 in the 40th round as a shortstop by the Atlanta Braves.
Because he signed late Whitenton didn’t get in much time during his debut in 2009 and like Cohoon was very mediocre. Whitenton’s numbers in 2010 weren’t spectacular, but he pitched better than the numbers show on the surface. He was 8-9 with a 4.57 ERA in 26 games (18 starts). His FIP was 3.88, way under his ERA. The Gnats had a terrible defense last year, which would explain his .348 BABIP. The only thing Whitenton did wrong last year was walk too many hitters, but that has changed this year.
In 2010 Whitenton has lowered his BB/9 from 5.65 to 3.54. Still a little high, but not awful and he has also managed to raise his K/9 from 9.39 to 10.61. The improved command is the reason he is absolutely dominating the SAL this year. Whitenton has gone 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in 7 games (3 starts). His FIP is much higher, but at 2.59 it still shows he is pitching excellent.
While Whitenton has come out of the pen the majority of the time this year they were all in extended appearances with just one of them being under three innings and after his last two great starts one would think the Mets will keep him there.
He has very clean mechanics, as seen by the video below, and according to Mike Newman‘s report on him Whitenton sits at a respectable 89-91 mph, which is a little better than Cohoon. Newman also projects him to add a little but more velocity on his fastball and by ooking at his smooth mechanics, quick arm action and hips, and lanky frame with room for more muscle I tend to agree with Mike about that. Mike’s biggest beef with Whitenton in 2009 was his breaking ball and early reports have that as an improved offering.
With the title “The Next Mark Cohoon” it should be clear I used that term very loosely because their are major differences between the pitchers in terms of repertoire, handedness, and command. What I was going for is in Whitenton the Mets have an older, yet young in terms of being a pitcher, pitcher dominating the lower levels of the minors who could move quickly. With Jeurys Familia already moving up to Double-A and Matt Harvey likely to follow soon a spot in the St. Lucie rotation should open up for Whitenton by late-June and if he pitches well a possible promotion to Double-A before the end of the year.
Final: Savannah 1 – Greenville 5
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BoxscoreThe same old same old out of Savannah. Absolutely no offense and not so good pitching. Greg Peavey was not awful, but this is back-to-back games of less than stellar performances. I am not worrying about him I would just like a little better performance than seven hits in a game. This Ronny Moria fellow deserves some watching. He appears to have some decent potential out of the pen. I’m intrigued.
Good for Aderlin Rodriguez who came back from his day off to get to hits and get his average back into the .100′s. Sam Honeck picked up to hits to maintain his .500 average and was the only batter in the lineup to not strikeout at least once. Robbie Shields(pictured) went hitless again, but picked up two more walks. Unsure if I should be impressed with the patience he’s showed this season or disappointed in the inability to pick up hits.
Stars of the Game: 1. Aderlin Rodriguez (3pts) 2. Robbie Shields (4pts) 3. Sam Honeck (2pts)
Final: Savannah 6 – Greenville 2
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BoxscoreI am still searching to find some information about starting pitcher Chase Huchingson(pictured), but the info is very very scarce. The results on the other hand have been stupendous. He was working on a limited 75 pitch count and was still able to strike out seven over four scoreless innings. The tall lefty is looking like a strong dark horse prospect in the system to keep an eye one. Gonzalez German piggybacked him and gave up seven hits, but also struck out seven in just three innings. Josh Edgin was perfect for two innings to get the save.
Sam Honeck may be old for the league and a non-prospect, but hitting .500 through 10 games and slugging .763 is still pretty damn impressive. After stealing just eight bases last year in 64 games Robbie Shields is already up to five in nine games. He is only hitting .194, but has a .316 OBP thanks to a 6:5 BB:K ratio. Aderlin Rodriguez was given the day off after struggling so bad he wishes he was even close to hitting near the Mendoza Line.
Stars of the Game: 1. Sam Honeck (7pts) 2. Chase Huchingson (5pts) 3. Robbie Shields (2pts)
Final: Savannah 6 – Greenvill 5
Posted by: | CommentsDon’t have much time to talk about this game so I will just sum up the 14 inning affair as quickly as possible.
- Erik Goeddel struggled with his command again and failed to go deep into the game. Stuff still looks great patience will be needed with him.
- Guillaume Leduc actually did something that wasn’t bad today.
- Sam Honeck, Cory Vaughn, and Albert Cordero continued to swing hot bats.
- Aderlin Rodriguez looks absolutely over matched right now. Can not buy a hit. It will be interesting to see how he tries to figure things out.
- Wilfredo Tovar made his one hit count.
Stars of the Game: 1. Sam Honeck (4pts) 2. Albert Cordero (5pts) 3. Wilfredo Tovar (3pts)
Final: Savannah 6 – Hickory 1
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BoxscoreGive it up folks the Sand Gnats finally put some runs on the board. The Gnats managed 13 hits tonight, which may be more than they’ve had all season and only two batters went hitless. In a close 2-1 game in the 7th inning Albert Cordero(pictured) gave the Gnats some breathing room and started a big inning by leading off with solo homerun, his first of the year. Cordero has a huge day all around finishing with 3 hits, 2 RBIs, and throwing out 2-of-3 attempted base stealers. Robbie Shields displayed some impressive speed by not only 2nd base, but also swiping 3rd. He is not a burner, but has great baseball instincts and knows how to pick his spots.
The Gnats went with a weird pitching combination today using Taylor Whitenton to pitch 5 very effective innings giving up 1 run with 5 strikeouts and then using Ryan Fraser in an extended relief appearance throwing 4 scoreless innings actually earning the save. Fraser did have to leave his first start with a minor injury which explains the relief appearance, but they pretty much gave him a start. I am curious to see what they do with him for his next appearance.
Stars of the Game: 1. Albert Cordero (3pts) 2. Cory Vaughn (8pts) 3. Robbie Shields (1pt)
Minor Leaguers Pounded With Injuries
Posted by: | CommentsThere have been three injuries over the last couple of days to New York Mets minor leaguers that are note worthy.
After spraining his ankle on Sunday first baseman Allan Dykstra has not been able to go since and was placed on the Double-A 7-
day disabled list. Dykstra who was acquired in the off season for Eddie Kunz, was hitless in 7 at-bats this season, but true to form drew 2 walks.
It has become known that two pitchers will miss the entire season.
Hi-A left-hander James Fuller will need to undergo shoulder surgery and will not throw a pitch this season. Fuller went 11-5 with 2.19 ERA between Savannah and St. Lucie. I ranked Fuller as the 45th best prospect in the Mets system.
The other player affects the big league club more than anything by getting rid of some of the depth. Veteran Boof Bonser will need to have Tommy John surgery next week. Bonser, who pitched pretty well in his first start before needing to leave with the injury, was probably one of the first in line to get the call up alongside Dillon Gee had the team needed a starter.
It was already known that Darrell Ceciliani was placed on the 7-day DL for Lo-A Savannah and that is day-to-day with a hamstring injury.
Final: Sand Gnats 7 – Crawdads 5
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If you wanna talk about bullpen troubles here is a game to check out.
The Sand Gnats have had a terrible time trying to score runs early on in the year and finally gave their pitcher some support today. The second inning was setup by a lead off double and single by Sam Honeck and Cory Vaughn(pictured). Honeck would score on a fielders choice and Blake Forsythe added to the damage by hitting a 2-run home run, his first of the year. The Sand Gnats would later benefit from the mental lapse of Crawdads third baseman Jonathan Roof who had back-to-back throwing errors enabling a run to score.
Greg Peavey did not have quiet the follow up performance one would want after his first start. He gave up 4 runs in 5 innings managing just 1 strikeout. He did not pitch well, but left with the game with the lead intact until Gabriel Zavala came in to blow it. Zavala had an easy 1-2-3 8th inning, but it was the 9th inning that would seal his fate. After getting the first out Zavala proceeded to let the next two batters on via hit by pitch and a walk. He then got the ground ball for the double play, but the batter hustled down the line to beat it out to keep the game going. Then with two outs the batter would hit the game winning three run homer to put the nail in the coffin.
Stars of the Game: 1. Cory Vaughn (6pts) 2. Blake Forsythe (5pts) 3. Sam Honeck (1pt)
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