New York Mets

The Mets plan to temporarily demote Zack Wheeler to the minors after tonight’s start, then officially re-promote him Tuesday for his next scheduled start at the Chicago White Sox, according to ESPN New York. Because Wheeler is technically the Mets’ 26th player for today’s doubleheader, they can demote him after today’s game without the requirement he spend 10 days in the minors before returning applying. No option will be burned by Wheeler’s procedural, temporary minor league assignment. That also means Wheeler will not collect MLB service time between starts, further ensuring he will not qualify for an extra year of arbitration as a Super 2. Lets take one last look at this young gun before he takes the hill for his debut… Zack (Harrison) Wheeler was born on May 30th, 1990 in Smyrna, Georgia. As a high school player, he attended East Paulding where he compiled a 95-36 record as a varsity athlete over four seasons. His junior year he had eights wins against three losses and had 127 strikeouts over 64 1/3 innings and pitched to a 1.31 ERA. The following season (2009), Wheeler finished undefeated  9-0, with 151 Ks over 77 2/3 IP and a 0.54 ERA. A scouting report by Perfect Game at the time read Big projection, 90-93 fastball at Perfect Game National, very effortless, three quality pitches, good command, 94 at WWBA, 92 at ECP, up to 95 at Aflac. Scouting reports of Wheeler, along with his overall body of work as an amateur player were enough to convince the San Francisco Giants to draft him sixth overall in the 2009 MLB Draft. He started his professional career in 2010 at the Single-A level for the Augusta GreenJackets. Relative to his high school numbers, he disappointed as he went 3-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 58 2.3 IP. However he did have 70 Ks, which proved that his stuff was there, but his command needed some work. The following season, he began at Advanced A San Jose, an affiliate of the Giants, but then moved onto the St. Lucie Mets after he was traded for Carlos Beltran. As a Met, he pitched 27 innings with 31 Ks and a 2.00 ERA, but as a Giant he had near a 3.99 ERA in 88 IP with 98 Ks. He began 2012 with Double-A Binghamton and was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo toward the end of the season where he logged 33 innings and pitched to a respectable 3.27 ERA as a 22-year-old. In 2013, as the number one prospect for the Mets, he started in Las Vegas (the new AAA affiliate of the Mets). His walk rate dropped from 2012 to 2013 and his K/9 rose from 8.5 to 9.6 despite a rough beginning and a month long acclimation period to the Pacific Coast League. After a string of solid starts, the Mets front office called made the decision to promote him to make his MLB debut in the night-cap of today’s doubleheader against the Braves. Profile: At 6’4, 185 lbs, Wheeler has a power pitcher’s body and possesses an “easy” throwing motion that allows him to maintain a high velocity throughout the game. His long arms creates deception and his quick arm action compounds this. On top of that, he comes out of his pitching motion in good fielding position. One of his best attributes is his work ethic and demeanour on the mound. His has a competitive nature drives him to work very hard in between starts and is known to be a student of the game. He is also aggressive, as he is not afraid to pitch inside. Pitches: Fastball: High: 97-98 mph, Averages: 94-95, Has life and appears to explode past hitters when he throws it up the ladder. Throws a four-seamer and a two seamer he uses against righthanded hitters. Both are plus-pitches. Curveball: 12-6 break and another plus-pitch. Does not command it in or out of the zone yet, but that will come in time. Change-up: Throws it in the mid-80s.  As of now it is a slightly below average pitch, and he often telegraphs the pitch because it “slows” his arm down. Cutter: Relatively new pitch. Throws it in the upper 80s.  It has good movement, but it

Zack Wheeler’s soon going to be able to say something no Met, from Richie Ashburn to Carlos Torres — not even magnificent Matt Harvey — can say: “I was born in the 1990s.” Yes, gentle reader, you’re getting old, but this isn’t about you. This is about the New York Mets promoting and pitching, as precipitation and procedures permit this evening in Atlanta, their first player ever to come from the tenth decade of the twentieth century (May 30, 1990, to be precise). The Mets started life with a roster full of men who first drew breath in the 1920s and 1930s and have been moving incrementally through the decades since. They haven’t been quick in delivering a ’90s baby. The first player anywhere born two decades before the current one was Starlin Castro, brought up by the Cubs on May 7, 2010. The Mets were chronologically close to turning the odometer that season, introducing 20-year-olds Jennry Mejia and Ruben Tejada to The Show, but those kids made the mistake of being born in October 1989. Since they came along, Robert Carson, Jeurys Familia, Juan Lagares and Mr. Harvey have joined the ranks of the Mets’ ’89ers, but nobody any younger than Tejada (born 10/27/1989) has debuted until now. Soon enough, the born-in-a-decade distinction won’t be noteworthy. It’s only when it’s brand new or teetering into extinction that it gets your attention (mine, anyway). Nowadays, a player born between 1980 and 1989 is somewhere between 23 and 33 years old, prime baseball-playing years. But it caught my eye when the Mets first deployed an all-1980s born infield at the tail end of the 2005 season: Mike Jacobs, Anderson Hernandez, Jose Reyes and David Wright. It jumped off the scoreboard at me on a night in August five years later when the entire starting lineup was comprised of fellas who first came to be in that decade. For the record, they were Reyes SS; Fernando Martinez RF; Angel Pagan CF; Wright 3B; Ike Davis 1B; Chris Carter LF; Josh Thole C; Tejada 2B; and Mike Pelfrey P. You can see that longevity, success, and what have you didn’t become a common denominator among these particular 2010 Mets. But they were all born in the 1980s and that had never happened before. None of them, though, was the first to answer to that trivial point. That honor, if that’s what it is, went to Pat Strange, who was born August 23, 1980, and entered an eventual 11-8 loss at Montreal on September 13, 2002. You might say Strange was our Zack Wheeler ten-plus years ago, except Pat pitched in eleven games for the 2002 and 2003 Mets, was on the losing side in all but one of them, was never seen again on the big league level and…no, he wasn’t Zack Wheeler. In the name of all that is merciful, he was not Zack Wheeler. Nor was the first Met born in the 1970s, Joe Vitko, who was added to the active roster of life on February 1, 1970, and made it as a Met on September 18, 1992. That distinction might have belonged to the more familiar personage of Bobby J. Jones, except an expansion draft was around the corner and keeping Bobby from the majors that September was the prudent thing. As for Vitko and his three Mets/MLB appearances, neither the Rockies nor Marlins jumped at the chance to grab him. The first Met born the same decade as the Mets wasn’t me, no matter what I imagined. Instead, on September 12, 1981, second base prospect Brian Giles came up. The infielder for whom relatively big things were expected was born April 27, 1960. He never quite lived up to his notices, though for a couple of minutes in 1983, he and Jose Oquendo — the first Met born after the birth of the Mets (and me) — formed a flashy double play combination of the future. Their Met future turned out to be brief, but it’s worth noting each of them was still playing in the majors, albeit sporadically in Giles’s case, by the time baby Zack was demonstrating remarkable control of his pacifier. The Mets didn’t wait nearly as long to get a player born in the 1950s into a game as they have since with de

The New York Mets activated pitcher Scott Atchison from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday and subsequently sent infielder Justin Turner to the DL. Read more Justin Turner news

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves have placed catcher Evan Gattis on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique.The Braves announced the move before Tuesday's doubleheader against the New York Mets. Infielder Tyler Pastornicky was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.Gattis injured himself on his final at-bat of a 2-1 victory over the Mets on Monday night. Brian McCann was on deck to pinch hit when Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer to win the game in the ninth inning. Read more Brian McCann news

@michaelgbaron with the hook-up. It’s a good thing the Braves kept this as a separate admission.And Brian is at the game. First pitch.The post Tuesday Game 1 Mets-Braves crowd shots appeared first on The Mets Police.Related posts:Tuesday night Mets-Cardinals road game crowd shotsTuesday Night Mets-Cardinals crowd shotsTuesday night long first inning Mets crowd shots

Super Tuesday has arrived and with that comes the long anticipated debut of Zack Wheeler who will take the hill (barring rain) for the 2nd game of today’s double-header as the “Real Deal” Matt Harvey will take the mound for the 1st game. While much of the talk will be concentrated on Wheeler I wanted to take a moment to recognize the pitching of Dillon Gee. Gee was the hard luck complete game loser last night going 8.1/IP only to lose 2-1 on a walk-off HR. Yet Gee you could argue has been the Mets best pitcher over his last 4 appearances. When looking at the Mets starters over each of their last 4 appearances Gee has posted the best ERA (1.53), BAA (.214) and surprisingly has posted the most strikeouts (32). Plus the Mets have posted the best winning % (3-1) over his last 4 starts. If one was to argue for who should go to the pen and based it on their performance of late you would say there is no way Gee should even be a consideration. The Mets starter who has been most inconsistent and probably should go to the pen if we are going to go by performance of late should probably be Shaun Marcum who has been bad, good, bad, good, bad over his last 5 appearances. Click here to view in separate Web Page.

In many ways the next chapter of Mets history starts today, with emerging ace Matt Harvey and phenom Zack Wheeler scheduled to start each game of today's doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. But first, the team had to officially add Wheeler to the roster, which it has done according to Mark Carig. Along with Wheeler, the Mets activated that reliever who looks just like your favorite uncle, Scott Atchison, and placed utility man/pie chef Justin Turner on the disabled list. It's not yet clear who else will be taken off the active roster. Fittingly, the 23-year-old Wheeler will follow Harvey by pitching tonight's nightcap, as he attempts to follow him in the larger sense as well. Headed into this season, Wheeler was rated the seventh best prospect in baseball by MLB.com, and features four plus-pitches to go along with a lanky 6-foot-4-inch frame. For fans of a team that has won only three of its last 14 games, today will be a much-needed moment of optimism, and maybe the start of better days. If you're wondering about the extra player on the Mets' roster — Wheeler and Atchison were added with only Turner departing — beginning in 2012, teams were allowed to carry 26 players on the active roster for day-night doubleheaders.

It’s the moment San Francisco Giants fans have dreaded since that fateful day in 2011: Right-handed pitching prospect Zack Wheeler has been promoted to the big leagues and will make his first start of his MLB career on Tuesday evening. On July 28, 2011, the hurler became the property of the New York Mets when the Giants traded the sixth overall pick of the 2009 amateur draft during a deadline deal for veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran. San Francisco was desperately trying to win a second consecutive World Series title and felt the risk was worth the potential reward when the front office parted ways with its top pitching prospect. Unfortunately for Giants fans, the club failed to reach the World Series and Wheeler continues to show the potential for developing into a front-line starter. Now in his fourth pro season, the Georgia native cruised through the minors and has a total of 19 Triple-A starts (six in 2012, 13 in 2013) under his belt. Despite pitching in the hostile environments of the Pacific Coast League and his home ball park in Las Vegas, Wheeler leaves Triple-A with an ERA of 3.93 intact. He features a 5.12 ERA at home, even though he’s been less hittable in Vegas than on the road. The big difference for Wheeler, 23, is that he’s given up seven home runs in 31.2 innings at home, as opposed to two in 37 innings while riding the buses. The pitching prospect possesses a four-pitch repertoire and his two best pitches are his mid-to-upper-90s fastball and plus curveball. The slider and changeup round out his collection of weapons. When I spoke with the Mets organization late in the offseason and asked about his biggest opportunities for 2013, I was told that he needed to improve his changeup, become more efficient with his pitches while also learning how and when to use his pitches to maximize their effectiveness. With that in mind, I watched one of his recent starts to see how well he’s addressed those needs. I saw Wheeler take on the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in Fresno in early June. He displayed a compact, low-effort delivery. He flashed his mid-90s velocity and two breaking balls but his changeup was seldom used, which disappointed me given that it was identified as something he needed to work on in 2013. The first curveball he threw during the game was quite possibly his best and he struggled to command both his curve and fastball throughout the contest. He telegraphed the curveball early in the game and slowed his arm down but it was less noticeable as the game progressed. His slider was average but I’d like to see a tighter break to it. As mentioned, Wheeler’s fastball showed good velocity but his command of the pitch was average-at-best. He struck out six batters in six innings during this appearance but his stuff didn’t exactly look like dominant “swing and miss” stuff. The heater did show very good arm-side run and, at times, gave right-handed batters fits when it exploded din on their hands. When he was able to command the ball down in the zone at the hitters’ knees, the combination of placement and movement allowed Wheeler to blow the ball past the batters. As witnessed in the game, the pitching prospect can succeed without his best stuff and so-so command. His solid control helps him throw enough strikes to avoid getting into too much trouble with runners on base and ensures, when he struggles with the long ball, there are not a lot of runners on base. I’m not convinced that he’s ready to dominate a big league lineup but he should be able to pitch at the level of a No. 4 or 5 starter. I expect him to be susceptible to the home runs at the big league level because of his lack of consistent fastball command in the upper half of the strike zone. I can definitely envision Wheeler eventually becoming a solid No. 2 man behind Matt Harvey (and there was a time not long ago that I preferred Wheeler to Harvey) but Mets fans should be prepa

One year ago today R.A. Dickey threw his second consecutive one-hitter as the Mets beat the Orioles at Citi Field 5-0.The only hit came in the fifth inning: a clean, line-drive single to right-center field by Wilson Betemit, after which the Mets' ace knuckleballer received a standing ovation from the fans. Dickey's game-ending strikeout of Chris Davis was his 13th of the game, breaking his own personal best of 12 that he set in his previous start. The shutout improved Dickey's record to 11-1, lowered his ERA to an even 2.00, and made it 42.2 innings since Dickey had last surrendered an earned run. Dickey himself scored what would prove to be the winning run, leading off the sixth inning with a single and scoring the game's first run courtesy of Ike Davis's grand slam. BirthdaysOutfielder Ben Johnson turns 33 today. Acquired from the Padres in a deal that sent Heath Bell to San Diego, he showed little offensive potential in his brief stint with the 2007 Mets. Filling in for the injured Shawn Green, his most notable accomplishment was striking out 11 times in only 30 plate appearances. Left reliever Felix Heredia, who turns 39 today, pitched only 2.2 innings for the Mets in 2005 before an aneurysm in his pitching shoulder required him to undergo season-ending surgery. He was released after the season and, plagued by charges of steroid use and continuing arm woes, never pitched in the majors again. Happy 47th birthday to catcher Sandy Alomar, who finished his playing career with a handful of games as a Met in 2007. The six-time All-Star served as the team's catching instructor in 2008-09. He was the third Alomar to play for the Mets, following his brother Roberto (2002-03) and father, Sandy Alomar Sr. (1967). It looked as if lefty-swinging Dave Schneck, turning 64 today, was finally coming into his own at the start of the 1974 season. In his first 52 plate appearance, Schneck, who platooned in center field with Don Hahn, hit four home runs and drove in 12 while compiling a .948 OPS. He hit one one round-tripper the rest of the way and barely doubled his RBI total while posting a .474 OPS over his last 220 plate appearances. Amazin'-ly Tenuous ConnectionLeading up to the Mets broadcast on June 18, 1963, WOR-TV's "Million Dollar Movie" screened the 1955 western "Wichita." The Mets were playing in St. Louis, the National League city nearest to that storied Kansas town, which made it as close to a homecoming as Wichita native Rod Kanehl could get during the season. Kanehl had a rare night off when manager Casey Stengel didn't call on his favorite utility man to pinch hit, pinch run, or take over for defense late in the game. It was also a night for watching Canadians named MacKenzie, with reliever Ken pitching the eighth inning for New York and singer Gisele guest-starring on a rerun of "The Jack Benny Program."

New York Mets at Atlanta Braves Turner Field, Atlanta • Game 1 1:10 PM • Game 2 7:10 PM RHP Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.04) vs LHP Alex Wood (0-0. 3.52) RHP Zack Wheeler (0-0, 0.00) vs LHP Paul Maholm (7-5, 3.65) Game 1 Staring Lineup Here is the lineup for the 1:10 p.m. matinee of a split doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. Collin Cowgill, lf Daniel Murphy, 2b David Wright, 3b Marlon Byrd, rf Lucas Duda, 1b John Buck, c Juan Lagares, cf Omar Quintanilla, ss Matt Harvey, rhp Game Notes With last night’s rain-delayed game officially having ended at 1:22 a.m., the Mets and Braves are poised to become the first teams to have three games completed on the same calendar date since the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 23, 1996. That day, the Reds finished a game in Atlanta at 1:47 a.m., then played a doubleheader in Miami. Dillon Gee drove in a run and took a scoreless effort into the ninth before surrendering a walk-off two-run homer to Freddie Freeman as the Braves beat the Mets, 2-1, at 1:22 a.m. at Turner Field. The game started after a three-hour, 43-minute rain delay. Lucas Duda, in his first game at first base, went 4-for-4. Terry Collins did not second-guess the decision to send out Dillon Gee for the ninth inning. Nor did he second-guess the decision to keep Gee in the game after Justin Upton delivered a one-out single — even though ensuing batter Freddie Freeman had two of the Braves’ three hits entering the ninth inning against Gee. Justin Turner has been placed on the disabled list with an intercostal strain. Scott Atchison has joined the Mets in Atlanta and is expected to be activated before the first or second game today. Conversely, the Braves placed rookie catcher/outfielder Evan Gattis on the DL before today’s game with a right oblique strain. In the nightcap, by the way, Zack Wheeler (DOB: May 30, 1990) will become the first player born in the 1990s to appear in the majors with the Mets. Matt den Dekker, who suffered a fractured right wrist during a March 24 Grapefruit League game, has returned to game action. Den Dekker is making his first appearance with Class A St. Lucie, led off and played center field, finishing 0-for-4 with an RB. Doubleheader Preview THE BIG DAY.. Today is more than just Harvey day. It is more than Wheeler day. It is more than Wheeler debut day. It is Harvey and Wheeler Day! I would say chances of this happening again are rather slim but the Mets run into bad weather like I miss the subway (ie. a lot). Anyway, last night’s game got delayed until after 10 and the Mets ended up losing the game 2-1 after a 2 run homer in the ninth. Gee was very close to a complete game shutout and he ended up driving in the only run of the game (#Typical). Anyway, since I’ll be working all day, here are both game previews: Game 1: Matt Harvey is 5-1 on the season with a 2.04 ERA over 97.0 innings with 102 K’s vs 20 BB’s. In his last start, he allowed 1 ER over 7 innings and criticized himself for not putting up 0′s. In reality, he didn’t get any run support. Last year he allowed 2 ER over 6.0 innings of work while walking 5 and striking out 3 (one of the few games where he walked more than struck out). The Braves have the following numbers against Harvey: Freeman 0-3 Heyward 1-3, HR Uggla 0-1 J. Upton 0-2 Alex Wood takes the mound for the Braves in the first game, making his first start in his major league career. So far this year he has pitched in 6 games, finishing 4 allowing 3 ER over 7.2 innings of work. In the minors this year he made 10 starts totaling 57.0 innings with a sparkling 1.26 ERA at the AA level. In his previous season, at A level, he had a 2.22 ERA over 52.2 innings. As to be expected, he has never faced the Mets and no current Mets have any stats against him. Game 2: Zack Wheeler makes his major league debut in the night cap, very close to where he grew up (how many times will we hear that tonight?). At the beginning of the season, the story line wa