Luis Guillorme

New York Mets Series Preview: Miami Marlins (8/17-8/20)

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New York Mets, David Peterson

A matchup between the last-place New York Mets and first place Miami Marlins takes place in Miami for the first time during the 2020 season. The Marlins are the only team the Mets are over .500 against during 2020, taking two out of three so far.

Probable Pitching Matchups:

Monday, (8/17) @ 7:10 p.m. ET: Robert Gsellman (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. Jordan Yamamoto (0-1, 9.82 ERA)

Tuesday, (8/18) @ 7:10 p.m. ET: David Peterson (3-1, 2.91 ERA) vs. TBD

Wednesday, (8/19) @ 7:10 p.m. ET: TBD vs. TBD

Thursday, (8/20) @ 6:10 p.m. ET: TBD vs. TBD

Both teams come into the series with their starting rotations in shambles. The Mets have multiple pitchers dealing with injuries, while COVID-19 has kept the Marlins starters from taking the field. Despite their problems, the Marlins have the sixth-best ERA in baseball, while the Mets sit in the bottom third of baseball.

Will the Bats Wake Up?

The struggles of Pete Alonso and Wilson Ramos are hampering the Mets’ ability to drive in runs through the first half of the season. Both are barely hitting over .200 and are not supplying any power when they do put the ball in play. They also have to deal with other players who are outplaying them.

Tomas Nido is already better defender than Ramos and, at the moment, a better hitter as well. Manager Luis Rojas should look to ride the hot hand until he cools off or Ramos heats up. Dominic Smith has emerged as the Mets’ best power threat, and with the multiple options, the Mets have, Alonso is the odd man out for now. Luis Guillorme is white-hot at the plate, Jeff McNeil likely returns to left field during the series and a hot Robinson Cano at DH makes it tough to continue to play Alonso while the offense is cold.

Who Pitches the Last Two Games?

With the future of Steven Matz in the starting rotation as a significant question, Franklyn Kilome may make a start at the end of the series. In his only big-league outing, he allowed two runs over four innings while striking out five. Kilome is still an unproven option, but it is hard to think he will pitch worse than the 9.00 ERA Matz currently owns.

Jacob deGrom is also recovering a neck injury, but the Mets have been silent on his status. The injury was severe enough to scratch him from his start but no severe enough for an IL stint or rule him out for the last two games of the series. Each series has become a must-win for the Mets, and they will need their ace on their mound as often as possible.

Interesting Stats

Dominic Smith Batting Fourth in 2020: 6-for-15 (.400), 2 Doubles, 2 Home Runs, 6 RBIs, Walk, 3 Strikeouts

Luis Guillorme vs. RHP in 2020: 11-for-21 (.524), 2 Doubles, 5 RBI, 3 Walks, 3 Strikeouts

New York Mets OBP: .346 (2nd in MLB)

New York Mets OBP w/RISP: .296 (27th in MLB)

New York Mets: Completely Outmatched in 6-2 Loss to the Phillies

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New York Mets, Rick Porcello

The New York Mets faced an old friend in Zack Wheeler when he made his first start against his former team. Like Aaron Nola the night before, the Mets could not solve him for seven innings. Wheeler held the Mets to two runs, and that was all they needed in a 14 hit, 6-2 victory.

Rick Porcello had a similar fate to Saturday night’s starting pitcher, Steven Matz. It took an unlucky bounce to undo a strong outing. Porcello allowed seven hits through the first five innings but kept the Phillies to one run. J.T. Realmuto doubled off the third-base bag to lead off the sixth, and it got the Phillies going.

Alec Bohm drove him in with a double to tie the game at two. Andrew McCutchen, who replaced Jay Bruce in the fifth, deposited a hanging slider into the left-field bleachers. It was McCutchen’s first home run in over a year and put a damper what built up to be another strong outing for Porcello.

It was another disappointing game for a team that consistently plays with low energy night in and night out. Two errors from J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith contributed to the two Phillies insurance runs in the sixth. Despite how bad the Phillies bullpen is, four runs seemed like 40 to the Mets. There’s no sense of urgency from anyone on the team outside of Jeff McNeil, who only had the chance to show it in the final at-bat of the game.

Guillorme Leads the Offense Again

In a disappointing year, Luis Guillorme has been a bright spot for the Mets. His two-RBI single drove in the only two Mets runs and moved his average to .458 on the season. The Mets did not have many chances to score past the fourth and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, leaving five on base. Table setters Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto combined to go 0-for-8 with five strikeouts.

Despite falling to 9-14, they head to Miami still four games behind the first-place Marlins. Robert Gsellman takes the mound to open up the series against a starter to be announced, most likely Jordan Yamamoto. Game one of the four-game series opens up from Marlins Park at 7:10 p.m. ET.

 

New York Mets: Nido’s Two Home Runs Lead to a 8-2 Victory

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The day game after a night game is always an opportunity for the backup catcher to get himself some at-bats. For the New York Mets, Tomas Nido took full advantage of the opportunity with two home runs, including a grand slam, along with six of the eight RBIs in the Mets 8-2 win over the Washington Nationals.

Nido was 4-for-13 heading into Thursday’s matchup but hit under .200 in the previous two seasons. The breakout game gave him more home runs, and RBIs than Wilson Ramos has all season. Nido became the fifth Mets catcher ever to record six RBIs in a game. He joined the selective group of Gary Carter, Todd Hundley, Mike Piazza, and Paul Lo Duca.

Dominic Smith remained hot, adding another home run to his team lead and solidifying his spot as the everyday designated hitter. Pete Alonso also recorded an RBI single for the eighth Mets run. Luis Guillorme also recorded two more hits to push his average to .375. His defense up the middle with Andres Gimenez has proved Guillorme to be a valuable backup.

Injury Woes

The game started with an injury scare as Jeff McNeil fearlessly rammed into the left-field wall, making a tremendous catch to end the first inning. Though he attempted to walk off the field on his own, he had to get carted off. X-Rays for McNeil came back negative, and he will undergo an MRI to get a clearer idea of the severity of his injury. It forced the Mets to insert Billy Hamilton into the third spot in their order in the bottom of the first.

David Peterson once again put together another impressive start. He only allowed one hit through five innings and striking out three Nationals. After allowing two walks and an unearned run in the first inning, Peterson retired seven in a row and only allowed two base runners for the rest of his start. Peterson has proved his worth as the second-best starter behind Jacob deGrom.

At 9-11, the Mets are somehow three games out of first place and begin a three-game weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Jacob deGrom takes the mound against a starter to be announced, most likely Vince Velazquez. The first pitch from Citizens Bank Park is at 7:05 p.m. ET.

 

New York Mets Can’t Get Out of Their Own Way in 2-1 Loss

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New York Mets, Billy Hamilton

The New York Mets season has two scripts to it. Either their pitching forces them to lose by a touchdown or they leave a small village on the bases. In the 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals, it was the pathetic offensive effort that prevented them from getting a victory.

It looked like the Mets were going to chase Max Scherzer early in the game. Through two innings, he was well over 60 pitches and looked like the same Scherzer they faced a week ago. Per usual with the Mets, they tacked on to their league-leading LOB tally to let him off the hook.

The Mets left seven men on base, and when they did get into scoring position, they failed to record a hit all four times. Luis Guillorme drove in the only Mets run with a sacrifice fly. He also played a strong up the middle defense with Andres Gimenez at shortstop.

The Mets’ best chance to tie the game came in the seventh inning when Guillorme led off the inning with a double. Instead of leaving Billy Hamilton in the game to bunt him to third base, manager Luis Rojas opted to pinch-hit with Pete Alonso. At almost any other point, this is a brilliant move to make, but in the current situation, it becomes very questionable.

Alonso is the epitome of how bad the Mets are with runners in scoring position. Bunting the runner to third base, gives the Mets a chance to score a run with anything outside of a pop-up or strikeout. The clutch hitting is dreadful, and the Mets need any help they can get to make getting the runner in easier. With Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil due up, it would serve them perfectly to hit with a runner on third base.

Instead, Alonso could not get Guillorme to third base, let alone drive him in with no one out. Nimmo walked, then McNeil hit into a tough luck double play, which summed up how dreadful the 2020 season has been for the Mets. Ironically, Guillorme ended up striking out to end the game when Alonso could have pinched hit in the ninth.

Porcello’s Tough Luck

Rick Porcello had a very similar start to his last one against the Nats. He surrendered a run in each of the first two innings but shut the door for the following four innings. Porcello struck out five and worked around eight hits to lower his ERA to 5.68. The high ERA is nothing special, but comparing it to the 13.50 from two starts is a good step forward for him.

Jared Hughes and Edwin Diaz both combined for three scoreless innings in relief of Porcello. Both are pitching well as of late and would be terrific parts of a late-inning bullpen if the offense could ever get them a lead.

The defense for the Mets excelled, but they had to sacrifice offense for it. Despite not having their A+ offensive lineup, there still should be enough power in their defensive lineup for them to score more than one run. If Rojas is looking for more consistency from his lineups, he should stick with the defensive centric lineup. At 7-11, there is not much to lose in a season that seems already lost.

As of 10:25 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the Mets have not announced their starter for Wednesday’s game. It will either be Franklyn Kilome or a bullpen game. Whoever the start is, they will face off against veteran Anibal Sanchez at 7:10 p.m. ET from Citi Field.

New York Mets: Porcello, Lugo Shut Down the Nationals in 3-1 Victory

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New York Mets, Rick Porcello

The first two starts of Rick Porcello‘s New York Mets career could only be summed up by one word: atrocious. Porcello rebounded in his third start and pitched like the 2016 Cy Young winner he once was. He only needed 81 pitches to get through seven innings, holding the Washington Nationals to one run.

He kept the ball out of the middle of the plate, working in. Porcello also pitched inside more than he did in his first two starts combined. After allowing two hits and a run in the first inning, he only allowed three hits in the following six innings.

Porcello left the game prematurely with 81 pitches, but Seth Lugo picked up where he left off. Lugo shut the door, striking out two batters and retiring all six he faced to record the two-inning save. Porcello and Lugo combined to retire the last 16 Nats to finish the game.

Defense All-Around

The biggest play of the game came in the fourth inning, where Michael Conforto threw out Juan Soto at third base. Soto tried to test the arm on an Asdrubal Cabrera single, and it was the last scoring chance the Nats had as Porcello cruised from there.

J.D. Davis received his first start at third base since June 16, 2019. He showed no rust, making plenty of great defensive plays and showing why he originally was a third baseman. Luis Guillorme and Andres Gimenez also stabilized the defense up the middle. With the success of a defensive driven lineup tonight, it will be interesting to see if Luis Rojas opts for more defensive centric lineups.

The major story for the Nationals was Max Scherzer‘s exit after one inning due to a hamstring injury. It was clear his velocity dipped, but it was also noticeable that his arm was trailing behind him. Scherzer usually has a rapid arm motion, but it was slow from the start.

Erick Fedde warmed up with Scherzer before the game then replaced him in the second. Scherzer calls the injury “minor,” but any injury to him is a significant concern with Stephen Strasburg already injured.

Yoenis Who?

Dominic Smith showed why he deserves to be the everyday designated hitter. Smith drove in two of the three runs on the night. His sac fly opened up the scoring in the first and then provided an insurance run with his RBI double in the seventh. Guillorme’s RBI single was sandwiched between Smith’s RBI hits.

Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto also set the table at the top of the order once again. Despite only hitting .227, Nimmo’s three walks moved his on-base percentage to .424. Conforto record a single which continued his on-base streak and kept his average above .300.

The Mets receive a day off on Thursday before playing 17 straight games without a day off, starting on Friday with the Miami Marlins.

 

Predicting the New York Mets Bench Players

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For the first time in quite a few years, the New York Mets have the depth they can count on throughout their bench. It features some high profile contracts and critical acquisitions to bolster the team’s defensive depth late in games.

Rene Rivera

The backup catcher battle is going to be heated one throughout Spring Training quietly. Tomas Nido is out of minor league options and has not shown any hitting prowess during his career. There are plenty of choices similar to Nido in the minors, and Rene Rivera is a veteran the Mets have trusted with their pitching staff before. Rivera is still a great defensive catcher, and Noah Syndergaard will be happy to throw it to him throughout Spring Training.

Dominic Smith

Dominic Smith has survived the offseason trade rumors, but the ones in Spring Training may be a different story. Despite the Mets signing Matt Adams, Smith should make it out of camp with the team. He proved to be a valuable pinch hitter after Pete Alonso ran away with the first base job. The only way the Mets trade him is if he breaks out during Spring Training and the Mets deal him when his stock is high.

Luis Guillorme

This spot would belong to Jed Lowrie but his reality as a Met is dim. Either he will not be ready for Opening Day or the Mets will find a way to move him before the Spring ends. Luis Guillorme was a very useful player off the bench during the second half of 2019. He can play three out of the four infield spots well and can is useful in a bench role.

Jake Marisnick

The Mets traded for Jake Marisnick as a small upgrade to Juan Lagares. He will be a massive part of the Mets during the late innings due to his gold glove caliber defense in center field. Marisnick is not much of a hitter, but with all the outfield options the Mets have, hitting is not the reason why he is a Met. It would be no surprise to see him play in 120 games but only tally around 300 plate appearances as he did in 2019.

Yoenis Cespedes

The left-field competition between Yoenis Cespedes and J.D. Davis is a heavyweight prizefight that is going overlooked. By all accounts, Cespedes is healthy and ready to participate fully during Spring Training. Just three years ago, their roles differed. Cespedes was the stud hitter coming off a strong 2016, and Davis was trying to show he belonged on a major league roster. He has a huge chip on his shoulder and has set his expectations higher than ever.

The injuries and off-field stories make us forget how special an athlete Cespedes is. Despite turning 34, he still garners Ruth like power and a cannon for an arm. When healthy, the Mets win games, and if he is healthy, the production will follow, and he will see himself in the lineup often as the season progresses.

 

New York Mets: Luis Guillorme Year in Review

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The slick-fielding Luis Guillorme received the same amount of playing time he earned in 2018 for the New York Mets. He improved his pinch-hitting and made the most of his minimal opportunities in the big leagues. For the third straight season, he will head into Spring Training as a fringe roster guy.

Guillorme started the season on the opening day roster but was optioned twice before the month ended. He was only 3-for-18 (.167) in April, and all of those hits were singles. Guillorme received a doubleheader call up on June 11 but was not formally back on the roster until July 3.

On the Roster, But Barely Used

At that point, he was on the roster for about three weeks but only received four at-bats. All of them were pinch-hitting opportunities and only recorded one hit. Guillorme ended up being sent back down on July 18. When August came around, Guillorme finally returned to the big leagues because of Robinson Cano’s hamstring injury.

Guillorme seemed to figure things out with the bat in his third opportunity of the season. From August 3 to the rest of the season, he was 11-for-39 (.282) and had a .462 slugging percentage, which is almost double of what it was for his career. He even hit his first career home run, which was a big pinch-hit home run against the Washington Nationals.

In limited opportunities, Guillorme was solid on defense and turned nine double plays in 33 innings at second base. He turned two in 48.2 innings at shortstop. His late-season showing on offense, along with his stability on defense, should put him in an excellent spot to make the roster next season.

Grades:

Hitting for Average: C-, His bat seemed to get quicker towards the end of the season

Hitting for Power: D+, .361 slugging percentage is over 100 points better than last season

Defense: B-, Versatile defender, only one error in just under 100 innings

Speed/Baserunning: C? Did not attempt to steal any bases and did not have enough opportunities to distinguish himself

Intangibles: A, No reason to give him anything less. A good teammate who others embraced

Overall: C, Nothing amazing from him, but played the way we expected him to. Hopefully, he adds more power for 2020