Thus Far In The Winter Leagues

Even though its Hot Stove season and we are in the midst of the Winter Meetings, most baseball fans are still missing the game itself. Luckily, there are the Winter Leagues to bridge the gap between the World Series and Spring Training. Considering that there are so many different leagues and so many different players, it may get overwhelming trying to find your favorite Mets in their Winter League games, but we at the NYHC have your back. Leave it up to us to do all your research on the players you love and keep you up to date on their stats and injuries.

First off we’ll get OF Fernando Martinez out of the way. He played in one game in the Winter Leagues and had 1 hit, then left with an injury. It’d be nice to see him have the off-season he had last year when he led his team to a Championship, but if the injuries continue to hamper him the Mets may never see what his talent can bring to the table.

RHP Francisco Rodriguez

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
LAG	VWL	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1	1.2	1	0	0	0	0	2	0.50	.167

Frankie made his Winter League debut this past Thursday after what most people would call and eventful couple months. It’s good to see that he was able to put all the distractions aside and get the 5-out save while not allowing any earned runs. There’s a lot of debate around the blogosphere about whether or not the Mets should bring in another closer to stop K-Rod’s option from vesting, but if he continues to pitch at this level, the Mets may not have a choice but to use him in close games.

LHP Oliver Perez

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
CUL	LMP	2	1	4.41	8	3	0	0	0	16.1	16	8	8	1	12	14	0.70	.258

There’s not much to say about Ollie. He’s either great or awful. All Mets fans know him and know what he’s capable of, but then they know that it’s more likely that he won’t live up to what he can do. One glimmer of hope though in his winter league stats are that of the 16.1 IP, he hasn’t allowed a run in 10 of those. Maybe Ollie can harness that potential, or maybe not.

UTIL Daniel Murphy

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
AGU	DWL	.320	28	103	9	33	6	1	4	22	53	13	11	5	1	.395	.515	.910

Murphy has been playing extremely well in the Winter Leagues. At one point Murphy had an 11 game hit streak, but it’s not his bat the Mets are concerned with. From what scouts are saying, Daniel Murphy will be able to hold his own at 2B this year and most Mets fans know he is an extremely hard worker, whether or not it shows on the field.

RHP Jenrry Mejia

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
LIC	DWL	0	1	7.71	1	1	0	0	0	2.1	3	2	2	0	3	2	5.00	.300

Mejia’s first start in the Winter Leagues was less perfect, in fact, it was awful. Mejia couldn’t get out of the 3rd inning, while allowing 3 ER and giving up 3 hits and walking 3. People will point to this and say he’s not ready to start yet, and they’re probably right, but we all know Mejia is better than this and he will almost certainly turn it around before Spring Training.

 CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MSS	AFL	.256	26	90	14	23	6	1	1	12	34	12	25	2	3	.356	.378	.734

 Captain Kirk has put up pretty decent numbers in the AFL this winter. About a third of his hits have been for extra bases, but his strike outs have been high. He’s got 25 Ks in 90 ABs and only 12 BB. If he wants to succeed at the Major League level, he is going to have to get his plate discipline under control, but he’s got time to worry about that in AAA this year.

SS Wilmer Flores

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MAR	VWL	.404	16	47	3	19	5	0	2	14	30	2	7	0	0	.404	.638	1.042

Most Mets fans know who Wilmer Flores. I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you about him. He could be with the club as early as next year,  he could be traded, or he could just continue to develop in the minors. My money is on the minors, but looking at his numbers, he could be the main reason Sandy Alderson is inclined to trade Jose Reyes.

IF Justin Turner

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
ESC	DWL	.306	12	49	9	15	4	0	1	6	22	3	6	0	0	.358	.449	.807

Justing Turner was picked up off waivers last year from the Orioles and has garnered a lot of hype since then. He tore up AAA last season and lots of fans are calling for him to play 2B in 2011. If Turner get an invite to Spring Training, and he probably will, he could end up at least getting a job on the bench as a back up infielder.

2B Jordany Valdespin

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MSS	AFL	.355	19	76	19	27	3	1	1	11	35	4	12	7	0	.388	.461	.848

Jordany is another player that has gotten a lot of hype over the past year since he played extremely well in Spring Training last year. He’s only 22 years old and had a sub-par season in the minors last year so it’s pretty safe to say he’s not in the running for the Major League team, but he is putting up great numbers in the Winter Leagues so who knows what will happen with him.

RHP Jeurys Familia is a pitcher that the Mets have high hopes for. He’s made one start for his Dominican Winter League team and gave up 2 ER in 1 IP while striking out 2. He’s still young, so he has a long way to go, but the Mets plan on having him as a part of their rotation in the future.

RHP Brad Holt

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
MSS	AFL	2	1	2.92	5	4	0	0	0	12.1	10	7	4	0	9	13	0.64	.222

Brad Holt is a player that most Mets fans know of and hope that he will be helpful in the near future, but he has struggled to put up good numbers in the minors. He finished last year in AA with an ERA over 10, but this winter is different for him. He has been pitching very well in his time there and hopefully those good numbers will continue throughout 2011.

LHP Eric Niesen is a lefty in the Mets minor leagues who has shown a lot of promise. He’s got an electric fastball and a great slider, but he has been struggling to control those in the winter leagues this year having a 5.04 ERA in 11.2 IP. He was a candidate for the bullpen last year, so perhaps if he turns his winter around, we could get a look at him in Spring Training.