It's been over a week since I last posted, as May is the peak of amateur baseball postseason which overshadows following Minor League Baseball a bit. So with three series played since my last recap, here's a look at the all-time Firefly player standings, calculated by a point system based on traditional statistics. This does not include yesterday's 5-1 win at Rome that put the Fireflies back one game over .500.
1. P.J. Conlon: 820
Conlon finally lost a game this weekend, but is still 7-1 with a 1.42 ERA. He's by far the most reliable pitcher, and with David Thompson hurt certainly now the greatest Firefly of them all. He doesn't throw as hard as some of the other rotation guys, but gets the job done. Conlon is the pitcher who deserves to get called up but doesn't always,
2. David Thompson: 544
Thompson is unfortunately on the DL, leaving a big hole in the Fireflies' lineup. His 40 RBIs are still incredible less than two months into the season. His other main stat numbers aren't particularly impressive, batting .294 with 3 home runs. But most importantly he is looking like the All-American he was at Miami last year and not like the weak season he had last summer at Brooklyn. Again like Conlon he may not always dominate but gets the job done, and the Fireflies really need him back.
3. Vinny Siena: 494
While he has come down, Siena is still posting a very impressive OBP of .456 and leads the team with a .866 OPS (30 points better than Thompson). Siena though isn't a particularly good second baseman defensively and is strictly a contact hitter with virtually no power. As I said in the season preview, Siena seems to fit the role of a very good minor league player who might not translate well into a solid MLB prospect.
4. Alex Palsha: 478
Palsha would probably be above both hitters above him if not for a bad start to the season. Those walks in Charleston on Opening Day still loom large. But his overall ERA is down to 3.22 and has a 2-1 record with 6 saves, respectable numbers for a closer.
5. Joe Shaw: 472
Shaw hasn't been as unblemished as Conlon but has still been pretty reliable as the starter on the back end of the rotation. He's 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA, and leads the team in strikeouts as well. He always gives the Fireflies a chance to win, though sometimes they don't if the hitting falters.
6. Kevin Canelon: 470
Canelon is still the only Firefly regular I haven't seen play this year, and really need to as he has gotten better after a shaky start. Canelon's stats are very similar to that of Shaw, 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA and 9.2 K's per inning. Canelon isn't quite as consistent as Shaw, but is capable of really good starts when he is on.
7. J.C. Rodriguez: 401
It seems that Rodriguez has emerged as the best bat after Thompson and Siena. That's still not that great, but respectable as Rodriguez is batting .264 with 3 HRs and 25 RBIs. Like the guys above him, Rodriguez is a bit old for this level at 23, and he has also been professional longer than most of the other top guys who played college baseball. His prospects should go up if he remains hot and can transition from a utility player to an everyday player at a set position.
8. Chase Ingram: 331
Ingram's had some good outings but also some bad ones especially of late which has caused his ERA to go up to 4.40. Right now his stats are the worst of any of the five pitchers who have been in the rotation all season, and really needs to get his control back. Ingram is still fairly young at 20, and the Mets will probably be willing to work with him more.
9. Tyler Badamo: 324
Like Conlon, Badamo is a pitcher who relies on his control. Unlike Conlon, Badamo gets hit a lot which will not impress scouts. But a 3.47 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP is quite solid. He probably would rank higher on this list except for having only two wins, largely because of bad luck. Badamo has allowed nearly twice as many hits as batters he has struck out, which could be a big problem for his prospects at moving up in the Mets system.
10. Tyler Bashlor: 324
Statistically the best Firefly reliever with a 1.19 ERA and 10.7 K's per 9 innings. He hasn't had as good luck at getting decisions though, at 0-1 with 2 saves which is why he so far behind Palsha on this list. Part of that comes from not getting put into too many big situations coming off major arm injuries. We'll see if he can eventually breakout later this year if he can produce these numbers in key situations.
11. Seth Davis: 277
Davis has had an up and down year, but mostly pretty good since he was not a highly touted player as an amateur. Davis has 1 of each decision category with a 2.63 ERA. He's not very big but is left-handed, so he might have a future as a left-handed specialist.
12. Dash Winningham: 250
I said a few weeks ago that he might be batting too carefully by hitting for good contact but not with the power he needs to have with his size. Well, now he's had two home runs in recent weeks but he's now starting to strikeout more while his average has plummeted to .224. Somehow he needs to get the home runs as well as make good contact. If he can do that, he should be able to move up.
13. Ivan Wilson: 235
Wilson has been batting like Winningham the last few weeks all season: poor contact, but great contact when he connects. Wilson leads the Fireflies in home runs with five but is only batting .215 and has struck out nearly a third of the time he has come to bat. Aside from making contact, Wilson needs to use his speed better. He's done a good job in the field but has been thrown out five times in nine stolen base attempts so far this season.
14. Kevin Kaczmarski: 228
Spent some time on the DL this year and seems to have gotten better after it. Kaczmarski is batting .242 after being around the Mendoza Line before he went on the DL. He's a good outfielder and if he can keep getting his stats to go up he should be able to move on.
15. Craig Missigman: 223
Early in the year Missigman was erratic and very unreliable coming out of the bullpen. Now Missigman has gotten his control back and has lowered his ERA to a solid 3.28. He's still pitching mostly mop-up duty but hopefully that will boost his confidence in being able to throw strikes and get guys out.
16. Chirstian Montgomery: 190
Another pitcher who has recovered from an erratic start and is not doing alright. Montgomery has lowered his ERA to 3.86, but also unfortunately has a loss now (he also has a save though). He still has 6.4 walks per 9 innings, which is unacceptable for a professional pitcher. Like Missigman, Montgomery is an older high school player who needs to keep building on recent success to keep going in pro baseball.
17. Jeff Diehl: 181
Diehl is second on the team with 4 home runs, but is even worse than Wilson at making contact. Diehl is also not a particularly good fielder. He's going to need to get better to move on to St. Lucie and possibly even stay in the Fireflies lineup.
18. Johnny Magliozzi: 166
Magliozzi has sort of been the opposite of Badamo: poor stats, but great luck with getting positive decisions (five game saved or won). Magliozzi's ERA is 6.38 and has allowed over 13 hits per 9 innings, which is not good. Magliozzi is a 24-year old college graduate so he needs to get his numbers down or he'll be out. Perhaps given his solid win-loss record and SEC background he just doesn't do well in mop-up duty, which I have noticed when I've seen him this year.
19. Milton Ramos: 160
Ramos in recent weeks has done a good job boosting his average to .234, but his OPS is still a subpar .623. Ramos' Twitter handle is "Mr. Hands", and he does a great job with his hands in the field though his arm could stand some improvement at shortstop. Since he plays a defensive position, is young (age 20), and his trajectory has been positive, his prospects are still better than most above him on this list.
20. Joe Tuschak: 148
Tuschak has been the opposite of Ramos, as his average has dropped to .209 with an OPS of .581. Early in the season Tuschak looked to be finally breaking out after years in the minors out of high school, but has slumped since. Tuschak is a solid outfielder with decent speed, but needs to improve his batting in case the Mets bring in some outfield prospects over the summer.
21. Andrew Church: 122
Since this doesn't cover his start last night Church's stats are all based on one game. And yet based on that one game he is better than 11 Fireflies already including the starter whose spot in the rotation he took in Thomas McIlraith. Church in his debut pitched five innings with only an unearned run and 9 strikeouts. Church was the Mets' second round pick out of high school three years ago, but had struggled to get to this level. Now that he has reached Class A and with last night has two quality starts, perhaps he should stay in Columbia even when McIlraith recovers.
22. Tucker Tharp: 110
Tharp was ranked last in my season preview and looked to be having a surprisingly solid season as a 24-year old two years out of college, batting .310 with a home run in 11 games. Unfortuately he also took a pitch to the face. Never try to be Scott Sterling in baseball. And that is why he has been out a while.
23. Patrick Mazeika: 95
Mazeika looked to be the Fireflies' big prospect at catcher to start the season, but missed the first month and a half with an injury. But since then, he has looked like the best catcher on the team like he was expected to be at the start of the year. Mazeika is batting .333 with an OPS of .810. He'll probably have to keep putting those numbers up consistently before he gets sent to St. Lucie though.
24. Thomas McIlraith: 86
McIlraith pitched the majority of a combined no-hitter in his first start, which happened to be the first ever Firefly win. At his next start, I heard some fans say without perhaps knowing he was the pitcher that whoever threw the no-hitter would not stay in Columbia very long. Well, since then his lack of control and tendency to give up the big inning have cost him and he is out of the rotation and on the DL. Hopefully once he has recovered from whatever his ailment is he will be like he was to start the season and lower his ERA of 6.23. He just needs to avoid being susceptible to the big inning which he can't seem to work out of. Even when he gets off the DL, should he really be starting ahead of Church at this point? That is the question the Fireflies will have to address and could impact the futures of both pitchers.
25. Tyler Moore: 85
Moore has been the starting catcher most of the season until Mazeika showed up. After Mazeika came, Moore briefly was sent down to Brooklyn before roster shifts kept him on the Fireflies again. Moore is batting .221 with little power. That might be okay if can play well defensively as a catcher. But now the problem for his prospects is competition from Mazeika.
26. Vicente Lupo: 53
Lupo has down better in recent weeks, but is still batting .181 with an OPS of .562. Lupo also has little speed in the outfield and has struck out over 40 percent of the time! The Mets don't seem that impressed and kept him out of the starting lineup frequently and have now sent the 22-year old Venezuelan down to Brooklyn. Can Lupo make it back to Columbia? I suspect that prior to the start of the New York-Penn League season he will, just as an injury replacement.
27. Emmanuel Zabala: 38
Another player sent down to Brooklyn, but perhaps a bit unfairly as Zabala was batting .273 in 4 games as an injury replacement when both Kaczmarski and Tharp were on the DL. He'll be back.
28. Luis Ortega: 32
Ortega is the injury replacement for Thompson. It's hard to judge yet how he will ultimately do, starting at .217 but with a home run already. It's hard to see him getting more playing time however when Thompson comes back.
29. Jose Garcia: 21
Garcia has mostly been Moore's backup at catcher this season. Garcia isn't quite as good defensively as Moore but a slightly better hitter and called McIlraith's no-hitter earlier. A case could be made for Garcia starting more over Moore, but both of their cases may be going down as Mazeika becomes the regular catcher.
30. Natanael Ramos: 13
Has come off the DL when needed for both Garcia and Moore. It's hard to say what his future will be now that the Fireflies have three healthy catchers.
31. Nicco Blank: -14
Had been pitching decently in mop-up duty but has gone downhill recently, with his ERA climbing to 11.12 and is averaging nearly a walk per inning and has also been home run prone. Blank initially came in as an injury replacement for Witt Haggard (see below), and the Fireflies haven't gotten confidence in him yet. He needs some longer solid outings to lower his ERA and give the Fireflies confidence to see what he is capable of more.
32. Witt Haggard: -58
Pitched poorly in two relief appearances on opening weekend and hasn't returned since as he has been shelved away on the DL. Will be interesting to see what timeline the Mets have in working him back into the Fireflies' staff. A rehab stint might be what they do when the GCL season opens in late June to see if he can come back to Columbia.
So that's the rundown of all players who have ever worn a Fireflies jersey. 25 are still active, five are on the DL (Thompson, N. Ramos, McIlraith, Haggard, and Tharp) and two have been sent down to Short Season in Brooklyn (Lupo and Zabala). No player has been promoted, which has surprised me that no Firefly has gone up even if only as an injury replacement for the PSL Mets. No player has been released either. We'll see how the player development goes by Labor Day.
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