J.D. Davis

MetsJunkies Recap: Bucs upset Mets late

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Tylor Megill keeps on impressing as he took the mound on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Listen, the Pirates aren’t going to compete for their division this season however, they’ve definitely proven to be quite the scrappy little club.

Megill on the other hand, tossed six shut-out innings while allowing six hits and no walks in the contest. The rookie right-hander has now lowered his ERA 2.63 after making 5th appearance of the season.

The Pirates did make Megill work quite hard right out of the gate as it took 22 pitches to finally end the first inning, stranding Adam Frazier on second. While Megill definitely pitched well enough to earn the win, that wasn’t the case as the rookie didn’t get a decision.

Luis Guillorme is proving that not only is he the best option with the glove when it comes to temporarily replacing Lindor at shortstop, but he’s doing it with the stick, too.

The slick fielding infielder would go 1-3 with a run scored as well as a double in the fourth inning.

The Mets used J.D. Davis as their clean-up batter and it was a great move. Davis ended up hitting two two-run bombs in his 3-4 effort, alongside four RBI’s which at one point (Fourth Inning) were the Mets’ only runs on the board.

Travis Blankenhorn came into the game in the top of the seventh to pinch-hit for Megill and absolutely laced a double off of the right-center field wall. The extra-base hit would plate across Luis Guillorme, giving the Mets the 5-0 lead.

Coming into the game, Blankenhorn was just 1-11 with a .348 OPS while with the Mets.

Brandon Nimmo continues to get on base at an elite level. The Mets centerfielder drew three walks against Pirates pitching and crossed the plate once on his 1-2 game.

It all started to go down hill for the Mets in the 8th inning when Seth Lugo surrendered five runs on three hits and two walks in just 0.2 innings. Lugo now has an inflated ERA of 5.09 after Saturday’s disaster of an outing.

Edwin Diaz failed just as bad as the closer gave up four runs in the ninth, blowing the save as well as picking up the loss. Diaz would give up a grand slam to Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings for the walk off as the Mets suffer from a 9-7 loss.

Taijuan Walker will take the hill for the Mets on Sunday afternoon as the Mets look to at least take one game from these Pirates.

Mets plan to use Davis at First Base

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Mike Puma is reporting that the Mets plan to use J.D. Davis at first base with the Syracuse Mets before he rejoins the club. This news comes out on a day where the team has James McCann making his professional debut at the cold corner.

https://twitter.com/nypost_mets/status/1396923176467173376?s=21

The Mets currently have an astonishing 16 players on the injured list.

Photo by: Richard Nelson

Mets Win the Game, Lose Two Hitters

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The Mets beat the Phillies 5-4 in a nailbitter on Saturday. After the Mets scored 4 runs against Wheeler, the Phillies came all the way back against Taijuan Walker.

The Mets bullpen, who have been great, kept it tied until Michael Conforto big solo homerun in the top of the Ninth. Diaz got the save for a huge Mets win.

However, the Mets did got some bad news. A day after the Mets lost Guillorme, they lost Davis and Nimmo to injuries during the game.

Davis had a left hand sprain and Nimmo a bruised left index finger. Luckily Nimmo X-Rays were negative. Nimmo had a lot of pain after the swing so I expected way worse.

Both will probably be out of the lineup Sunday in hope for a quick return. However, with 2 injured players on your bench it really diminished your bench. Interesting decision for the Mets.

But let’s take the positive over the negative. A huge win for the Mets with a clutch hit by a big hitter the Mets need to get going. It’s time for all the good Mets hitters to step up with two of the hitters maybe out.

Photo by: New York Post Sports on Twitter

J.D. Davis activated from I.L.

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Mets third baseman J.D. Davis has been activated from the 10-Day Injured List. The Mets will in return option Jose Peraza back to the alternate site.

During his 10-day stint on the I.L., Davis only missed six games due to games being postponed.

Stephen Tarpley will also join the Mets during today’s doubleheader as the 27th man on the roster.

Preview & Lineup – Mets vs Phillies (4/6/21)

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After a tough blow late in the game last night against the Phillies, the Mets and Marcus Stroman look to get in the win column. However, they must first get past Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, in order to do so.

Nimmo CF
Lindor SS
Conforto RF
Alonso 1B
D. Smith LF
J.D. Davis 3B
McNeil 2B
McCann C
Stroman RHP

The Phillies plan to send Chase Anderson to the hill and he’ll likely have a tough time doing so. Anderson owns a career ERA of 4.06 in 890.2 innings pitched, however last season he pitched to a 7.22 ERA.

While Marcus Stroman is a better quality pitcher, he also doesn’t have to deal with stacked lineup like Anderson.

MLB.com

Throughout his career, Stroman has a 3.76 ERA in 849.1 innings pitched. While many seem to dismiss the righty, he’s clearly a talented pitcher that knows how to utilize the amount of spin he uses.

Tonight’s contest will be scheduled for 7:05 PM EST and will be televised locally on SNY as well as nationally on ESPN.

Mets Spring Training Leaders: Position Players

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Batting Average:

  1. Francisco Lindor .370
  2. Pete Alonso .340
  3. Kevin Pillar .317
  4. Brandon Nimmo .294
  5. Michael Conforto .255

Home runs:

  1. Pete Alonso 4
  2. Francisco Lindor 4
  3. Dom Smith 4
  4. Albert Almora Jr. 2
  5. Brandon Nimmo 2

Runs Batted In:

  1. Pete Alonso 16
  2. Francisco Lindor 14
  3. Dom Smith 9
  4. Albert Almora Jr. 7
  5. Jake Hager 5

Runs Scored:

  1. Brandon Nimmo 10
  2. J.D. Davis 9
  3. Francisco Lindor 8
  4. Michael Conforto 7
  5. Kevin Pillar 7

On-Base Percentage:

  1. Francisco Lindor .433
  2. Pete Alonso .421
  3. J.D. Davis .420
  4. Brandon Nimmo .379
  5. Kevin Pillar .378

OPS:

  1. Pete Alonso 1.121
  2. Francisco Lindor 1.063
  3. Brandon Nimmo .870
  4. Kevin Pillar .866
  5. J.D. Davis .717

Hits:

  1. Francisco Lindor 20
  2. Pete Alonso 17
  3. Brandon Nimmo 15
  4. Kevin Pillar 13
  5. Michael Conforto 12

Doubles:

  1. Pete Alonso 6
  2. Jeff McNeil 3
  3. Kevin Pillar 3
  4. Albert Almora Jr. 2
  5. Luis Guillorme 2

Player Profile: The Invited PT I

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I don’t think that there’s any doubts at this point with who the Mets plan on going with at third-base, J.D. Davis. However, Davis may only have a temporary clutch on the position, especially with the prospects behind him in the pipeline.

One of those prospects is Mark Vientos, a player going into his fourth professional season and has an invite to this upcoming Spring Training.

Vientos went into the year 2019 cracking into Keith Law’s “Top 100 Prospects” by ranking in at number 60, the third baseman surprised a lot of fans as not many people had him on their radar. Vientos was drafted in the 2017 June Amateur Draft in the second round as a shortstop and third baseman out of American Heritage high school in Plantation, Florida.

In 2017, Vientos spent his age 17 season playing for both the Gulfport Mets as well as the Kingsport Mets. Vientos accumulated 211 at bats in 51 games, batting .262/ .318/ .398/ .715 while hitting 4 home runs and driving 26 in.

Vientos had a better season in 2018 as he hit 11 home runs, driving in 52 runners in 60 games toting 223 at bats. He also had an impressive slash line, batting .268/ .389/ .489/ .878 during his second stint in Kingsport.

His last season in 2019 , Vientos played in 111 games while slashing at .255/.300/.411/.711 with 27 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, and 62 RBI’s. The third baseman did have a high strikeout total with 110 in 454 plate appearances while playing for the Colombia Fireflies, the Mets Single-A affiliate.

The Pembroke Pines, Florida native is currently ranked eighth on MLB.com’s Top 30 Prospects list within the Mets organization. Vientos produces a tremendously high exit velocity and is even compared to Pete Alonso’s as being amongst best in the organization, now that’s impressive.

I’d personally like to see Vientos start 2021 with Binghamton, however I’d imagine that the third baseman will end up in the Florida State League, the Mets highest Single-A affiliate. Scouts eventually see Vientos as a middle of the order bat that will be good enough to man down the hot corner at third base.

He should move up the ladder quickly, especially with a lost 2020 season and someone by the name of Brett Baty climbing up the steps right behind him. While me probably won’t see him this campaign, MLB.com believes he’ll see some Major League service time in 2022.

Photo from MLB.com

What the Pillar signing may mean

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The Mets just recently signed CF’er Kevin Pillar to a Major League deal. The Mets also recently signed CF’er Albert Almora jr and that’s after signing CF’er Mallex Smith with Heredia still on the Mets 40-man roster.

The Mets will need to clear a spot from the 40 to make room for the newly acquired Kevin Pillar. The first option would have to be Jacob Barnes, with no options remaining left, he’s always been one of these players with his back to the wall.

Guillermo Heredia might be one of those odd men out. While he has options remaining, Heredia might be a victim of circumstance and catch a pink slip. It’s unfortunate because he’s a great defender that’s fun to watch at the dish, as well.

Of course with the news with Lugo not being able to toss a ball for six weeks, the Mets could very well place the reliever on the 60-day IL to clear a spot.

But what does this all mean with the 26-man roster? Well, players like Albert Almora jr and Jose Martinez each have options remaining, so we’ll likely see the pair in Syracuse. However, once the Mets need a RH stick to fill in, the Mets have viable options with the two.

That’s not all! That’s right! There’s more!

I think we can all finally put the nail in the coffin with JBJ potentially landing in Queens. Bradley is not only asking for quite a bit of money, but he seems to be shooting for a four-year contract at 31 years old.

While I haven’t seen any rumblings from any reporters, it seems that fans are thinking this may be a precursor to something bigger. Could the Mets be looking to trading Nimmo, Davis, or Smith?

Photo from MLB.com