Mets call up wunderkind
From Detroit's 100-mph hurlers, Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya, to Minnesota's Francisco Liriano, Boston's Jonathan Papelbon, the Angels' Jered Weaver and Florida's Josh Johnson, among others, Major League Baseball is being inundated with scores of new pitching stars.
And during Saturday's Mets-Marlins double-header, the latest, and certainly one of the most talented, editions makes his ML debut in New York's Mike Pelfrey.
The 6-foot-7, 22-year-old righty from Wichita State hits the bigs slightly more than a year after being drafted ninth in the first round of the 2005 draft - the third fastest ascension over the past five years behind Chicago's Mark Prior and the aforementioned Verlander.
Sporting a mid-90s fastball that tops out at 98 mph, a devastating slider that some say is more like a slurve and a changeup that still needs some development, Pelfrey comes along at just the right time for the Mets with staff ace Pedro Martinez placed on the 15-day DL Thursday (retroactive to June 29).
GM Omar Minaya plans on this call-up going a la Lastings Milledge - more of an audition than a permanent solution for now.
"He's a young player, [so we] get him up here and give him an opportunity to get him exposed to the Major Leagues, to Major League hitters, to Major League life. It's the same thing we did with [Lastings] Milledge," said Minaya.
Looking at this from a fantasy perspective, I would say to watch Pelfrey closely. If you can grab him tonight in time for tomorrow's start, definitely go for it. If not, snag him as soon as you can. Quickly rising through the Mets' minor league system, Pelfrey has gone 6-3 with 103 strikeouts and 2.45 ERA in 88.1 IP between St. Lucie (A) and Binghamton (AA).
This situation can go one of two ways: Either Pelfrey will shine and impress the Mets' brass enough to hold onto the fifth spot in the rotation behind Orlando Hernandez, or he'll be so-so and stick around until Pedro comes off the DL. His emergence has the potential to mirror that of David Wright in the second half of 2004. The Mets may have no choice but to keep him in the rotation for their inevitable run through the playoffs, and he could be a major factor in their quest for their first title since 1986.
Whatever winds up happening, Pelfrey should be a mainstay in the Mets' rotation come 2007. So for those of you in keeper leagues, if you have an open spot or you're holding on to a mediocre player, give Pelfrey a look. A player of his caliber is as close to a "sure thing" as you can get. Unless of course he goes the route of Chicago's Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and is married to the DL.
And during Saturday's Mets-Marlins double-header, the latest, and certainly one of the most talented, editions makes his ML debut in New York's Mike Pelfrey.
The 6-foot-7, 22-year-old righty from Wichita State hits the bigs slightly more than a year after being drafted ninth in the first round of the 2005 draft - the third fastest ascension over the past five years behind Chicago's Mark Prior and the aforementioned Verlander.
Sporting a mid-90s fastball that tops out at 98 mph, a devastating slider that some say is more like a slurve and a changeup that still needs some development, Pelfrey comes along at just the right time for the Mets with staff ace Pedro Martinez placed on the 15-day DL Thursday (retroactive to June 29).
GM Omar Minaya plans on this call-up going a la Lastings Milledge - more of an audition than a permanent solution for now.
"He's a young player, [so we] get him up here and give him an opportunity to get him exposed to the Major Leagues, to Major League hitters, to Major League life. It's the same thing we did with [Lastings] Milledge," said Minaya.
Looking at this from a fantasy perspective, I would say to watch Pelfrey closely. If you can grab him tonight in time for tomorrow's start, definitely go for it. If not, snag him as soon as you can. Quickly rising through the Mets' minor league system, Pelfrey has gone 6-3 with 103 strikeouts and 2.45 ERA in 88.1 IP between St. Lucie (A) and Binghamton (AA).
This situation can go one of two ways: Either Pelfrey will shine and impress the Mets' brass enough to hold onto the fifth spot in the rotation behind Orlando Hernandez, or he'll be so-so and stick around until Pedro comes off the DL. His emergence has the potential to mirror that of David Wright in the second half of 2004. The Mets may have no choice but to keep him in the rotation for their inevitable run through the playoffs, and he could be a major factor in their quest for their first title since 1986.
Whatever winds up happening, Pelfrey should be a mainstay in the Mets' rotation come 2007. So for those of you in keeper leagues, if you have an open spot or you're holding on to a mediocre player, give Pelfrey a look. A player of his caliber is as close to a "sure thing" as you can get. Unless of course he goes the route of Chicago's Kerry Wood and Mark Prior and is married to the DL.
posted by The Knuckler @ 7/07/2006 05:01:00 PM
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