Mets Rookie Crop Shines Through

The Mets have a ton of rookies, and though some of them have experience elsewhere, in MLB terms they are rookies.

The current crop is as good as any the club has had in recent memory.

• Hisanori Takahashi--4-1, 2.13 ERA, now in the starting rotation
• Ike Davis--.866 OPS, anchor at 1B, batting cleanup
• Jennry Mejia--3.43 ERA, key setup man
• Jonathan Niese--4.79 ERA, lefthanded starter
  
• Raul Valdes--2.86 ERA, long man +
• Ryota Igarashi--1.38 WHIP, setup man with "8th inning guy" potential and 95 mph fastball
• Chris Carter--.313 Batting Average, primary lefthanded pinch hitter

Of the traditional rookies, Ike Davis has shined brightest, stabilizing both the defense and anchoring the offense with a heady professionalism seen in players a decade his senior.

The pitchers have made the biggest contributions and now comprise 40% of the starting rotation.

Takahashi has been nothing short of spectacular, and Jonathan Niese comes back from injury looking to re-fire what was an excellent start to his season.

The rookies have made the biggest contribution in the bullpen.

Jennry Mejia, the youngest player in the game, is learning on the fly, and he has met the challenge both in pressure and non-pressure situations.

The "older rookies", Ryota Igarashi and Raul Valdes, are big contributors, and both have the experience and the stuff to get hitters out late in the game.

Chris Carter brings fire, passion, and a strong lefthanded bat.  He has come through in key RBI situations and is limited only by his weak defense and the fact that there just aren't that many at-bats for him--yet--in this lineup.

All in all a terrific rookie class that contributes on a nightly basis.

While the Mets didn't make many big splashes in the off-season,  the little splashes are doing just fine.

Mejia to Minors--Mets Fans Rejoice

Adam Rubin is reporting that 20-year old Jennry Mejia is headed back to the minors to stretch his arm out in hopes of giving the Mets another starting pitching option.

Though Mejia has pitched well, there is something clasically wrong about taking a top starting prospect and using him in meaningless relief games in April and May.

Mejia is currently 12th in all of MLB in appearances.

From Rubin:

The Mets should have a new starting pitching option within a month.

Top prospect Jenrry Mejia, whose dazzling Grapefruit League performance prompted the Mets to place him on the Opening Day roster as a reliever, is expected to head to the minors to resume being used as a starting pitcher. That could be timed with R.A. Dickey’s activation before Wednesday’s start, a team source told ESPNNewYork.com.

The decision is believed to have been affirmed during Monday’s meeting at Turner Field that included chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, GM Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco and manager Jerry Manuel.

The Mets could be facing major rotation issues behind Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey, so stretching out Mejia for starting work makes sense. Oliver Perez has been dispatched to the bullpen, John Maine -- while largely producing of late -- doesn’t have the zip he had in 2007 and Jon Niese has a mild right hamstring strain. The Mets will have Dickey face the Washington Nationals on Wednesday and use Hisanori Takahashi in place of Niese on Friday.

It will take Mejia some time to be ready to return to the majors in a starting capacity. It should, in fact, be comparable to a spring-training build-up, when a pitcher throws two innings, then three innings and so on until he’s up to a 90-100 pitch count.

Mejia is 0-2 with a 2.60 ERA, with 14 strikeouts and eight walks, in 17 1/3 innings spanning 18 major league appearances.