6/27/11

Jack Leathersich, Matt Harvey, Chris Schwinden, Brandon Nimmo, Wily Mo Pena


Jack Leathersich:


The Mets signed their 5th round pick on Sunday, 5-11 LHP Jack Leathersich.


He burst on to the national radar in 2009 with a masterful freshman year as a member of the University of Massachusetts Lowell Riverhawks, going 7-4 with a 2.18 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched. His stellar season earned him Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year honors for 2009. In 2010, Leathersich had a bit of a sophomore slump, compiling a 4.26 ERA to go along with a 3-2 record, but still struck out 62 batters in 57.0 innings pitched. He finished up 2010 by pitching in the Cape Cod League for the Orleans Firebirds. As a member of the bullpen, he put together a 1.71 ERA, striking out 31 in just 21.0 innings. Prior to the 2011 season, Leathersich was named the third-best Division II draft prospect, as well as a pre-season All American. I sat down with Leathersich recently and got the chance to ask him how he has made himself into the pitcher he is today and what the future may hold for him. - http://www.goriverhawks.com/sports/m-ba  ... 11aac.html  


http://www.baseballamerica.com/ : - UMass-Lowell's Jack Leathersich has been in the Riverhawks rotation since his freshman year, but he's best suited to pitch out of the bullpen, which is where he had success in the Cape Cod League last summer. An arm-strength lefty, Leathersich struck out 31 batters in 21 innings of relief for Orleans, running his fastball up to 95 mph, while he works at 88-92 as a starter. He shows two fringe-average breaking balls, a slurve and a curveball, but he slows everything down in his delivery on secondary offerings. Scouts have concerns about Leathersich's mechanics, as he throws across his body with recoil and often loses his arm slot. Some talked him up as a potential top-five-rounds selection, but he'll probably be taken in the eighth- to 12th-round range.


From - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/6/14/2222649/2011-mlb-draft-new-york-mets-review#storyjump  - 5) Jack Leathersich, LHP, UMass-Lowell: Terrific numbers, hits 95 in short stints, but rough mechanics and problems with breaking ball likely limit him to bullpen work, though he could be overpowering in that role. 1.62 ERA, 126/27 K/BB in 89 IP.





Matt Harvey:


6-26-11: - I can’t begin to remember how many times we have written about the difficulty of going from A+ to AA. There are very few bad baseball players at this level and, in order for a pitcher to excel here, he must pitch, not throw. Matt Harvey got his first lesson yesterday: 4.2-IP, 9-H, 4-ER, 4-K, 2-BB, 7.71. Hey, it’s only one game and, frankly, every future start needs a couple of these to keep them honest.


Chris Schwinden:


6-26-11: - It’s going to be very interesting to see what the Mets do with this guy if he keeps this up. He pitched his 14th start for Buffalo yesterday, going 7.0-IP, 7-K, 2-BB, 3-ER, 3.12. Seasonally, he has only struck out 67 in 80.2-IP and has walked 30 batters. We assume Johan Santana comes back next season and we’re still trying to figure out if Dillon Gee survives a needed rotational cut, so what about Schwinden? Long relief?



Brandon Nimmo:


6-26-11: - The barn is bigger than the modest gray ranch house that sits in front of it on the six-acre plot of land. This is not just any barn, though. It doesn’t house horses, tractors or farm equipment. What’s stored in this structure is something different. Here lives a dream. No player from the state of Wyoming ever had been a first-round pick in the major league draft until the Mets selected outfielder Brandon Nimmo with the 13th selection earlier this month. The state boasts a population of just half a million. There are nearly as many antelopes in Wyoming as people. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/inside_barn_wyoming_prospects_mets_TtBDYqPiKHhLPvZoeGOPCK#ixzz1QNrqmyt3  


Wily Mo Pena:


Left fielder Wily Mo Pena's success this season makes the point convincingly that one's choice in teams can often be an important factor in getting another shot at the big leagues. The 29-year-old hadn't played in the big leagues since 2008, but the wonderful hitting environments of the Pacific Coast League's western circuit (especially Reno, his home park) has helped kick-start Pena's career. He hit his 21st home run of the minor league season on June 19 before receiving the news that he was headed back to the big leagues to serve as the Diamondbacks' DH for this week's interleague games. It's hard to say how much of Pena's Triple-A success this season (.363/.439/.726) can be credited to the hitting environment and how much is legitimate improvement, but we can look at what happened to Pena's Reno teammate Sean Burroughs. Burroughs is batting .400/.440/.588 for Reno, but he was recently demoted from Arizona after hitting only .250/.250/.292 as a pinch-hitter for the Diamondbacks.- http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/2611992.html  

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