2. Joel Sherman discussed Mets prospects in his 3UP this morning. There's some play-by-play of the conversations with the Rangers and Giants that ultimately landed Zack Wheeler, but his comments, clearly pulled from conversations with key decision-makers are interesting.

One of my focuses on my three day stay in Binghamton was to get a glimpse of Mets former 1^st round pick Brad Holt.? On day two of my visit, Holt entered the game and tossed two perfect innings of relief.

The 24-year old Holt began the 2011 season in the starting rotation, but was moved to the bullpen in late June.? Since moving to the bullpen, Holt has improved across the board:

The Binghamton Mets had their 7-game winning streak snapped by the Altoona Curve by the score of 5-4.? Altoona center-fielder Starling Marte launched an opposite field homerun to lead off the top of the ninth off of B-Mets reliever Josh Stinson, to break the 4-4 tie.

Jeurys Familia pitched five erratic innings, but showed flashes of dominance at times.? He gave up four runs on seven hits.? Familia also walked two, tossed two wild pitches, hit a batter, and struck out four.? I spoke with Familia following the game, and he told me he is completely healthy after missing nearly a month in July.

Zach Lutz (2-3, HR(10), 3RBI) homered for the fifth time in his last 12 games, leading the Bisons to a 10-2 rout over Columbus. ?Lutz pushes his season totals to .312/.398/.534, with 10 HR and 27 RBI (53 games).

When healthy and in the lineup, Lutz has hit at every level, but like a couple of other unnamed Mets prospects he just has to find a way to stay on the field.

It's time for part three of my review of my pre-season Top 41 prospect rankings.

Part 1 on players originally ranked 36-41 is?here. ?Part 2 on players originally ranked 31-36 is here. Each player's name links back to his original scouting report from before the 2011 season.

Matt Den Dekker makes an immediate contribution,?singling?in four at-bats, scoring the game tying run in the sixth, and also adding a stolen base.

Brad Holt (2 IP, 1 hit, 2 bb, 3 k) picked up the victory in relief of a struggling Robert Carson (4 IP, 4 hits, 2 er, 6 bb, 4 k).

This is probably going to be my last Brad Holt post for a while, because, unless something dramatic happens, I'm out of things to say on him.

1. Losing It

AA: @ New Britian Rock Cats 4, Binghamton Mets 3- 8 innings ?GAME 1

Tomlin summarizes the new pitching philosophy as emphasizing:

Lets take a look at the numbers before we continue:

AAA

Player

Josh Satin

Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 0-4 with a strikeout. That ends the outfielder's 16-game hit streak as well as his 20-game on-base streak to start the season.

Lucas Duda was the hitting star, going 2-4 with his first home run of the season, an opposite field laser in the fourth inning.

Here are the excerpts from Baseball America:

Holt: 2 GS, 0-0, 1.29 ERA, 13 IP, 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 er, 3 bb, 11 k, 19:4 (GB:AO).

Quick Overview: The B-Mets are hitting an anemic .189/.261/.302.? They're last in the 12-team league in runs scored, batting average, 11th in OBP and 8th in slugging.? The team hit three home runs Sunday, and is now tied for second in the league in the category.? By the way, the Eastern League as a whole is hitting .238/.306/.350.

The pitching staff, led by Brad Holt and Mark Cohoon is third in the League in ERA (2.91) but 10th in strikeouts (60 in 77.1 IP), which isn't totally fair because the B-Mets have thrown the fewest innings of any team in the league.? The B-Mets have issued the fourth-fewest walks (25).

Manny Acosta gave up a two-run triple and allowed another run to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth, that gave Scranton the 5-3 victory.? Casey Fossum started: 4 2/3 IP, 6 hits, 2 er, 3bb, 6k.? The Bisons offense could only muster five hits, the big blow coming from a two-run double by Russ Adams (1-4, 2B, 2rbi).

Jason Pridie pretty much was the Bisons' offense Saturday, going 2-4 with a pair of home runs, a solo shot in the second inning and a two-blast in the eighth. Pridie, now 27, was limited to 40 games last year with hamstring issues.? He established a pretty consistent level in his last two full-ish seasons at AAA hitting .270/.305/.435 in 2008 for Rochester and .265/.295/.382 for Buffalo in 2009.

Pat Misch (7 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) gave up a pair of home runs, including a second-inning grand slam.

Height/Weight: 6?4?/200

Acquired: Supplemental 1^st rd ?08 (33^rd overall) (UNC Wilmington)

- Matt Harvey showed why the Mets selected him in the first round. His fastball sat comfortably at 93-95mph with life in the zone. His front side flew open when he tried to overthrow the baseball, but he showed clean and easy mechanics. He threw a power slider (82-84 mph) with good tilt and late bite, and commanded it well. His curveball (80-81) was his best offspeed offering. It had hard two-plane break to it with very tight spin and hard downward break. He also showed a potential plus change-up (83-84), with good arm speed, fade, and sink. His demeanor on the mound was outstanding as well.

- Steven Matz, who did not pitch today, told me he has had a couple of minor setbacks in his rehab stint, but he is on schedule to pitch later this summer for a short-season team.? He will be staying in PSL for extended spring training.

Eric Beaulac had off-season hip surgery to shave down some extra bone that led to a torn hip labrum.  Great story.  In Savannah in 2009, he had 133 strikeouts against just 41 walks in 116 IP for a 3.23 K/BB ratio. Last year, working mostly for St. Lucie with two appearances for Binghamton, he fanned 79 and walked 62 in 108.2 IP for a K/BB of 1.27.  Here's to his health. 

Collin McHugh writes entertainingly about early Spring Training soreness. 

Adam Rubin has a fascinating interview with Brad Holt, who's down in Port St. Lucie early to get ready for the 2011 season on his way to putting a bad 2010 behind him.

There are a few absolute gems.

Holt claims he doesn't know what went wrong:

?I could never pinpoint what started the downfall at the beginning of the season because the spring training went great ... We kind of agreed on it being a ?mental year.?

Tags: Brad Holt, Toby Hyde

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Brad Holt

Brad Holt has been a very frustrating pitcher.? In Brooklyn, and even part of last year his fastball was said to hit 94-95 and be a pitch that at worst made scouts think he might be a good reliever.? This year however, his results fell off a cliff and his velocity dropped.

viewNode("c375e03cf06e8", {"width": 480, "height": 274, "player_profile": "link"});

....Holt threw almost

exclusively fastballs, touching 93 but working mostly at 90-91, and the

2B Jordany Valdespin was 1-5 with an RBI and two 2K? and a stolen base from the leadoff spot.

CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis was 2-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two R from the #8 spot in the Mesa order.

Holt, the former 2008 1st round pick (33rd overall), finished his season 3-14 with a 8.34 ERA between AA Binghamton and A+ St. Lucie.? The most puzzling stat was he walked (79) nearly as many batters as he struck out (87).? His?BB/9 was a whopping 7.48!!!? After bursting on the scene in 2008, Holt's stock has fallen faster than an Aroldis Chapman fastball.? With all that being said, with a solid AFL campaign in front of numerous scouts and baseball front office personel, Holt has a chance to redeem himself and springboard into 2011.

Wishful thinking? Lets hope not.

Holt, who will turn 24 on the second day of the AFL season on October 13, was the single biggest disappointment in the system in 2010.? The 33rd overall pick in the 2008 draft bombed out of AA with a 10.20 ERA in 30 innings only to struggle in the advanced-A Florida State League with a 7.48 ERA with 56 walks and 62 strikeouts in 65 innings.? Scouts reported varying velocities on Holt in AA, but the Mets claimed that his velocity was consistently better in the FSL than it was in AA.? Maybe the Mets saw something better from Holt in Instructional League, going on in Florida, that made the team think Holt was ready for the advanced hitters and tough pitching conditions in Arizona.

Coming off a strong finish to 2009 at AA, Niesen too had a disappointing 2010.? He began the year as a starter going 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 13 starts.? His peripherals were ugly:? he walked 41 batters and fanned 38 in 52 innings.? He missed a month, from April 23 to May 26 with a concussion after getting hit by a throw down to second by Luke Montz.? You can watch the video of the play here.? The Mets moved Niesen to the bullpen in the second half and he was strangely hittable, yielding 40 hits in 25 IP with 19 walks against 21 strikeouts.?? Check out this discrepancy: as a starter, Niesen allowed a .219 opponents' batting average on a .260 BABIP while as a reliever, opponents hit .360 against him with a .412 BABIP.? Wow.? Overall, Niesen prevented lefties from hitting for any power at all, hold them to a .296 slugging percentage as part of a .241/.396/.296 line while righties hit a much more robust .287/.408/.473 against him suggesting that he might end up as a left-handed specialist.

AAA: @ Syracuse Chiefs 5, Buffalo Bisons 4 (14 innings)LF Lucas Duda, 1B Nick Evans and CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis were a combined 1-19.? Seven of Nieuwenhuis's 14 hits in AAA have gone for extra-bases, but overall he's at .197/.278/.338 with 21 strikeouts in 80 plate appearances, a K% of 26.25%.? The 0-6 takes Duda down to .311/.385/.623 in AAA.

Russ Adams, who will turn 30 next Monday was 3-4 with a solo home run? and three walks to lift his season line to .276/.340/.488.

Brad Holt (2-5, 5.85) didn't work a clean inning in the first four, but the wheels fell off in a seven-run fifth.? His final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K.? The 23-year old remains the biggest mystery in the Mets system this year.? The St. Lucie staff combined to issue nine walks Tuesday as the team lost for the 13th time in 14 games.

Not a mystery: SS Wilmer Flores (.310/.319/.411), apparently rejuvenated after an off-day Monday, who was 2-4 with a homerun, his fourth in the FSL.? Combining his time in Savannah and St. Lucie, he has 25 doubles and 10 homers.? The kid can really hit.? Last year, Flores hit a huge wall in August in Savannah.? At the end of July, he was hitting .281/.317/.364, but he cratered to .188/.245/.198 in the month of his 18th birthday.? Now, at age 19, is he strong enough to handle a full, hot southern summer?

Is it crazy, or funny, or sad that I thought this line (5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K) might be progress for Brad Holt (2-4, 5.60) until I read the walk column?? That's now 30 strikeouts against 24 walks in 35.1 innings (6.2 BB/9) in Advanced-A.? Holt walked 13 in 43.1 (2.7 BB/9) at the same level last year.? Why is his walk rate over 2x what it was last year?? Figure that out, and the Mets would like to talk to you.

And lookee here, in his first FSL game of the year, Brant Rustich gave up two hits and struck out a batter in a scoreless inning.? The big guy is now 25, but has been effective when he's been on the hill.? His 2010 was delayed by a broken arm suffered at the end of '09. Rustich, like Lutz, is a nice AFL candidate to make up for lost playing time during the regular season.

Unbelievable.? Brad Holt: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 WP.? Sure, he retired eight in a row, but gave up six runs in the fourth.? To put this in perspective, last year, Holt yielded nine runs in 3.2 innings on Opening Night in the FSL and then didn't allow more than two runs in any of his subsequent eight starts while running a 49/9 K/BB ratio in 39.2 innings.? This year, in six starts, and 30 innings, the 23-year old is at 25 K/19 BB.? He's just not the same pitcher.? No, I don't know why.? People have asked me about trade scenarios involving Holt, but would you want to acquire him right now?? C'mon, folks.

Other pitching notes: In his third relief outing, Nick Carr's control problems returned, as he walked three in just an inning while giving up a run on one hit.

#1 1B Ike Davis

What Happened: The 23-year old beat up on AAA pitching for a week and a half while Mike Jacobs sucked it up at first base. Davis was installed as the Mets? everyday first baseman from the day of his call up on April 19.? He's been a few runs above average both at the plate and in the field, and by WAR is the fifth-most valuable Met.

Stock: I feel good about ranking Davis #1 coming into the season.? This might have been my best call.

So far this season Holt has struggled.

5 starts: 12 1/3 IP, 22 hits, 15 er, 7 bb, 12 k, 10.95 era, and opponents are hitting .400 against him.

Height/Weight: 6?4?/200lbs

Acquired: Supplemental 1^st Rd ?08 , 33^rd Overall (UNC Wilmington)

#3 RHP Brad Holt

If there's one thing to take as a positive from last night from Holt, its that he was very aggressive, and threw strikes.?? ...? Most of the hits he gave up last night were on fastballs that were grooved.? He threw the fastball from 90 to 94 for most of the night, touching 96 on one pitch (the home run to Alderson).

I had him at 100 pitches last night, of which 67 were fastballs, 14 were curves, and 19 were changeups.?? Of the 14 curves, 9 were strikes, although that includes foul balls and balls put in play and not all of them would be strikes if they had been taken.?? He threw three that I thought were dynamite, and the remainder were decent.

The 6-foot-4 righthander from UNC Wilmington closed out the first half with a nifty 80-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio... According to Mets vice president of player development Tony Bernazard, the ankle no longer is an issue for Holt, the 33rd overall pick last year. His primary developmental goal for the second half: finding consistency with his changeup and curveball.

Saturday, Holt won his second straight start with 6.2 innings of two-run ball.? He fanned seven and walked two and has now punched out 24 batters in his last 18.2 innings in the EL.

Both righties blew through Advanced-A this year on their way to AA.? Holt missed a couple of starts with an ankle injury, and has taken three starts to shake off the rust, but is conclusively back after a 10 strikeout/1 walk effort over five innings Wednesday night.

Mejia hasn't pitched since June 23rd.? In his first four AA starts, he's fanned 24, walked nine and posted a gb/fb ratio of two while hitting 97 and regularly throwing 94-95 mph.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats 10, Binghamton Mets 1

It drizzled at first pitch, and other than Brad Holt and Shawn Bowman, the B-Mets largely fizzled on Thursday night.

richard (brooklyn): do you think jerry mejia,brad holt, and josh thole will be in the top 100 and if so where?

Brad Holt pitched to six batters in his return from a sprained ankle.? His night: single (by rehabbing Asdrubal Cabrera), walk, flyout, walk, 2 RBI single, 3 run HR, showers.? The good news from the B-Mets 8-3 loss to the Aeros: 1B Ike Davis continues to hit.? He was 2-4 with two doubles and is now 7-for-16 (.438) with five walks (.571 OBP) and three doubles (.625) in his first five AA games.? No, I don't think he's the cure for the Mets offensive woes.

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