8/30/10

STOCK: - Mark Cohoon, Zach Lutz, GCL Mets Management

I had the pleasure this year of watching Mark Cohoon completely dominate the Sally League. He was sent to Binghamton around the all-star break, which, I believe, is the first time the Mets have promoted someone directly from A to AA since Savannah became an affiliate. That being said, I expected a bump in the road due to this two level jump, which, as predicted, did happen; however, Cohoon now seems to have settled down and is beginning to dominate in Binghamton. Yesterday, he went: 8.0-IP, 0-ER, 5-H, 5-K, 2-BB, 4.36. His combined Savannah/Binghamton stats this year are: 11-4, 2.73, 122-K, 30-BB, 148.1-IP. You simply can’t do any better than this and it will be interesting to see what the Mets will do with him this winter.


Other 2010 stuff on Mark:


1-1-2010 Forecast: - Early on, the mets had a problem deciding whether Cohoon would be a starter or come out of the pen. Things became much easier when his ERA was well over double as a reliever. Last year, they slowed him down and he became the ace of the Brooklyn staff


4-19-10: - Mark Cohoon - SP - A-Savannah - Cohoon is off to a great start, going 2-0, 0.77, 1.03 in 11.2-IP. He was one of the Cyclones' aces last season posting 9-2, 2.15, in 14 starts. Mark was the 12th round pick in 2008, out of North Central Texas College.


5-22-10: - Mark Cohoon: I’ve learned over the years not to get to excited about A-level pitching. That being said, this year’s version of the Sand Gnat rotation might be the most talented I have ever seen. One of them, Mark Cohoon, pitched Saturday night and threw up 6.0-IP, 2-ER, 5-K, 0-BB, 2.05-ERA.


5-30-10 from http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?cat=4  - A 12th round selection in 2008, Mark had an all star season for Brooklyn, finishing 9-2, 2.15. The opposition hit him at a .210 clip, but lefthanders had particular trouble with a .154 average. He is continuing that success with Savannah, going 4-1, 1.85 with the opposition tagging him a little better .247 average.


6-14-10 from Sand Gnats press release: - For the second consecutive week, Savannah LHP Mark Cohoon has been named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week. He was honored for the week of May 31-June 6, and now for the week of June 7-June 13. Cohoon’s only outing in the week was Thursday night, when he shutout the Greensboro Grasshoppers on three hits, in Savannah’s 7-0 win. In his last 18 innings pitched, Cohoon has struck out fifteen batters, walked two, hit a batter and given up just six hits. His are the only two nine-inning complete game shutouts in the South Atlantic League in 2010. Cohoon has not allowed a run in his last three starts and now has a 24.1 innings scoreless streak dating back to May 22nd. The 22-year-old Cohoon leads the SAL in ERA (1.44) and in innings pitched (81.1). He is fourth in strikeouts (68) and fourth in fewest base-runners allowed (9.07/9 IP). Cohoon is fourth in all of Minor League Baseball in ERA and is ninth in innings pitched. The last player to earn consecutive Pitcher of the Week awards in the South Atlantic League was Madison Bumgarner of the Augusta GreenJackets in 2008. The San Francisco Giants’ prospect earned his awards June 9-15 and June 16-22. Coming into this season, Baseball America ranked Bumgarner as the Giants’ #2 prospect behind C Buster Posey. Bumgarner is currently 6-1 with a 3.13 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 20 walks in 12 starts for AAA Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. The Gnats' pitching staff not only boasts the best ERA (2.54) in the SAL, but holds the best ERA of any team in minor league baseball. Cohoon was 9-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 14 starts for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League last year. The Mets drafted Cohoon in the 12th round of the 2008 draft out of North Central Texas College.


6-16-10: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100614&content_id=11177918&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp  - South Atlantic League - Mark Cohoon, Savannah - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K - Mets prospect Mark Cohoon receives his second consecutive Sally League Pitcher of the Week award. The last guy to do that? Madison Bumgarner. Cohoon sealed the deal by tossing yet another nine-inning, complete-game shutout, his second in as many starts. The 2008 first-rounder perplexed the Grasshoppers in Greensboro, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and allowing just three hits over the course of his day's work. He struck out five and walked one, and he improved to 6-1 with a league-best 1.44 ERA. His only loss came in mid-May, and the last time he allowed an earned run was on May 22.


6-17-10: - And, just when you thought A-SP Mark Cohoon has showed us all his bag of tricks... all he did last night was go out and throw his third complete game shutout... in a row! Start getting used to this name because it looks like you're going to read a lot about Mark from now on. Trust me, he's be in St. Lucie next week.


6-19-10: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/2610207.html  - Savannah (Mets) LHP Mark Cohoon is more experienced than the average pitcher in the South Atlantic League, but as long as the Mets keep him in Savannah, all he can do is to keep dominating, and it's hard to do much more to excel than what Cohoon, 23, is doing. The lefty threw his third consecutive complete-game shutout this week, lowering his ERA for the season to 1.30


6-27-10: - Cohoon pitched his first game at the AA level on Saturday… and got the win, but it wasn’t the cake walk he has been used to at the A and rookie level. The stats were quite different: 5.2-IP, 11-H, 5-ER, 1-K, 7.94… welcome to the almost big time, Mark.


8-4-10: - stock down – the B-Mets came out with their projected rotational pitchers in the next five games and Cohoon’s name has been removed from his slot, replaced with TBA (to be announced). Speculation is this position might be filled with Jenrry Mejia, but it is definitely a set-back for Cohoon, who has had a rough time at the AA level this season (8-starts, 1-3, 6.63). We’ll keep an eye on this and see if he he is sent to St. Lucie, which he jumped earlier this year.





Stock Up: The Mets top third base prospect, Zach Lutz, went 2-4 on Sunday, which included a two-run home run, his 18th of the season. His combined minor league stats this year are now: .283/.380/.561/.941. We’ve talked about Lutz many times this season, especially the fact that he only plays one position, which happens to be the most blocked in Mets history. Lutz is a hell of a minor league hitter, but he’s never going to move David Wright off of third base in Queens. Conservatively, his ETA would be September 2011, so it will be interesting to see what the Mets do with him in the off-season. No, please, not another person trying to play second base…


Other 2010 stuff on Lutz:


1-1-10: - I have never met anyone in the Mets organization that isn’t high on this kid. Lutz’s pro career spans three years at three levels and he has a combined .438 slugging percentage and an .823 OPS. The strange part is the lack of press he has been getting. If we assume he hits at the same pace in Binghamton this upcoming season, and he plays the season at 24 years old, and he plays 3B, where the hell does he go? I expect to start seeing him play second base soon.


2-10-10 - Zach Lutz – nothing wrong here, either… Lutz is showing the minor league brass that they just might have three major league third basemen in their organization… hit .284/.381/.441/822 for Lucy this year and will join most of his 2009 teammates with the B-Mets this season. Remember this name.


4-22-10: - Stock Up: We talked yesterday about the fact that the Mets have solved their first base problems for the next 5+ years. It’s also true that they don’t need a new third baseman during that same period, but the fact remains that there is a new one developing down on the farm and we might see him branching out to a new position someday to hopefully make this team both as the backup to David Wright, and a quality power utility bat.


5-10-10: - Stock Up: Lutz is one of those minor leaguers that doesn’t seem to get any press, but just goes out and does his job every night. And, don’t be fooled by that baby face… the kid’s got some real power! Lutz was a 5th round pick in 2007 and has produced well in Brooklyn (2008: .333/.442/.514/.956) and St. Lucie (2009: 11-HR, 62-RBI, .822-OPS). The soon-to-be 24-year old (June 3) continues to develop power and currently leads the Eastern League in both home runs (8) but also the best HR-AB ratio (13.13). ETA: 2011


5-24-10: - Stock Up: Lutz is one of those minor leaguers that doesn’t seem to get any press, but just goes out and does his job every night. And, don’t be fooled by that baby face… the kid’s got some real power! Lutz was a 5th round pick in 2007 and has produced well in Brooklyn (2008: .333/.442/.514/.956) and St. Lucie (2009: 11-HR, 62-RBI, .822-OPS). The soon-to-be 24-year old (June 3) continues to develop power and currently leads the Eastern League in both home runs (8) but also the best HR-AB ratio (13.13).


5-26-10: - 3B Zach Lutz placed on 7-day Disabled List retroactive to May 21 with a left foot fracture.


7-13 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/13/1565273/mid-term-farm-system-review-part  - What does Zack Lutz have in common with Fernando Martinez & Reese Havens? That's right, he can't stay on the field either; Lutz has been out since May 20 with a fractured left foot. In 2007 it was a broken foot on opening night, in '08 it was a whole mixed bag including a back strain, a quad injury and an ankle injury, in 2009 he had a month-long case of food poisoning. And to make matters worse, he's probably been passed on the Mets 3B prospect totem pole by the 2010 dynamo that is Eric Campbell. Many people consider health/durability a skill and clearly Lutz doesn't possess it which is a shame because when he's on the field the kid can clearly hit. He's always had excellent contact skills and good power but in the first month+ of 2010 he seemed to take a step forward, blasting eight homers in just over 30 games, on pace to crush his career high of 11 bombs in '09. At the Double-A level, this definitely portends well for his ability to cut it in the bigs. He's also always had very strong plate discipline leading to high on-base averages, it's his defense that needs work and has probably suffered most from his various DL stints. Lutz definitely resembles a solid, if unspectacular, major league piece but to seal the deal he'll have to stay on the field and a big second half like he had in '09 certainly wouldn't hurt.



7-17-10: - it’s not that Zach Lutz did anything special on Saturday. What he did was simply play. Lutz was on his way to a great season with Binghamton (8-HR, 17-RBI, .896-OPS in 126-AB), when he broke his ankle. No one expected him back this quick, but, you know Zach. Anyway, he did go 1-3 for the GCL Mets on his first rehab day and we expect him back in the B-Mets lineup this time next week.


7-23-10 – The Mets top third base prospect is now rehabbing with the GCL Mets and got back into gear on Friday. He belted a 2-run homer, knocked in a total of four runs, and went 3-5 in their win. I’m sure he will be returning Binghamton sometime next week, if not sooner. The most important thing about his return is it comes just when the Mets need another trading pawn to hopefully pull off a pitching deal before the deadline.


8-1-10: - Lutz was having a great year before he wound up on the disabled list. Well, he’s been back for five games and now has five home runs in that span, which included two on Sunday. Lutz is one of those secondary prospects we always talk about when we discuss the Mets minor league system. He has a lifetime .285 professional BA going into this year, and showed the first sign of power last season for St. Lucie (11-HR, 62-RBI). This season, he had 14-HR in 170-Abs and currently has a .612 slugging percentage and 1.028OPS at the AA level. What all this means is the Mets may wind up with a hell of a third base prospect in 2012, esecpailly if he aces AAA next season.


8-6-10: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/2610479.html  - Why He's Here: .333/.417/1.095 (7-for-21), 5 HR, 1 2B, 10 RBIs, 6 R, 3 BB, 5 SO - The Scoop: Lutz offers a tutorial on how to make one's hits count. Though he collected just seven base knocks for the week, six of them went for extra bases, and five of those cleared the wall. Lutz knocked in 10 runs, and he's been on an absolute tear since returning to Binghamton on July 27, going 13-for-29 (.448) with seven homers, three doubles and 15 RBIs in seven games. Already 24, Lutz is not exactly the second coming of David Wright for the Mets, but he has bat speed, he makes hard contact and he can play an average third base. That's a great return on a fifth-round pick from Division III Alvernia (Pa.) University. Now if Lutz could only stay healthy. He played in a career-high 109 games last season, but injuries cut short his 2007-08 campaigns and forced him to the sidelines for six weeks this year.


8-10-10 - The Mets have some decisions to make about a prospect that plays only one position which simply is not available on Roosevelt Avenue. 3B Zach Lutz has the talent to play MLB ball and his ETA is 2012 at the latest. He’s going to quickly learn what Shawn Bowman came to realize a year ago… his baseball future is probably not as a Mets. David Wright is going nowhere, and now that Ike Davis is at first base, he’s not even going to that position. Wright is projected as the Mets third sacker through the 2019 season, so whoever is going to dethrone King David someday is probably in middle school as we write. Lutz is a hitter, and his recent injury simply was a broken bone, not a series of nagging injuries. He wasted little time upon his return and let everybody know right away that he was back by hitting seven home runs in his first six games back. For the season, with three teams, he’s hitting: .280/.393/.593/.985 in 189-AB, with 16-HR and 37-RBI. Lutz turned 24 this past June and, if it wasn’t for his recent hiccup, he would have been once of the major names bantered around before the trade deadline. There doesn’t seem to be any plans to move him a round on the field, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he got an invite to Queens in September, simply to start showing him off. Regardless, watch for more press on a definite trade bait.


Stock Down: - Just when you thought you had heard every ridiculous story imaginable about the Mets organization, now we find out that GCL Manager Sandy Alomar Sr. and Pitching Coach Hector Berrios have both been suspended by the New York Mets for fighting on the field… with each other. Yeah, details are sketchy right now, but I understand this happened with two games to go in the season, last night’s and tonight's, both on the road. Adam Wogan, Director of the Mets minor league operation, issued a statement, saying: “Gulf Coast League manager Sandy Alomar Sr. and pitching coach Hector Berrios were suspended indefinitely after an on the field argument between the two men at the conclusion of a game this week.” I don’t think it really matters what the argument was about. These are two grown men given the task of training young men to both play the game well and be gentlemen that represent the team in a proper manner. I can’t remember, but wasn’t it the GCL team where Tony B. went nuts last year? Someone needs to check the water fountain.

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