Humber OK With Santana Link

Phil Miller at Twin Cities.com writes about Philip Humber and him being alright with his name being linked to the Johan Santana trade:

What he did was establish himself as a big-league prospect, a power pitcher with the nerves of a winner. It set him off on a course that provided a handful of other baseball thrills, one frightening

Twins pitcher Phil Humber throws a pitch from the mound duirng the first day of spring training workouts for pitchers and catchers Monday, Feb. 18, 2008 in Fort Myers, Fla. (Luis M. Alvarez) (St. Paul Pioneer Press)setback, and a permanent new identity: the guy the Twins got for Johan Santana.

No, Humber isn't the only one, but as the most polished of the four prospects swapped by the New York Mets for Santana, the lanky Texan is a decent bet to arrive first in Minneapolis, giving skeptical Twins fans a close-up look at what a two-time Cy Young Award winner gets you these days. He's not nervous, though. His collegiate breakthrough — that complete-game 14-2 national title clincher against Ryan Garko and Stanford — gives him a good understanding of how to operate under pressure.

"I don't feel any. I mean, how can you get equal value for Santana? I don't know about that, but I feel like the four of us are going to make a differencehere," said Humber, who is even occupying Santana's old locker in the Twins' spring clubhouse. "I really think the Twins got a great group of guys to come over. I know I've worked hard and I'm ready to contribute."

Scouts Don't Like Humber

David Lennon at On The Mets Beat writes about an American League Scout who isn't too fond of Philip Humber:

Just talked to an American League scout who watched Philip Humber extensively last season and was not impressed. In fact, when his team suggested making a deal for Humber, as part of a package for one of their regular starters, this scout helped shoot it down. While Humber's curve ball is definitely a plus, he's not viewed as a top quality prospect by other clubs, and that's hurting the Mets' efforts to include him in a deal for an elite starter like the Orioles' Erik Bedard or the A's Dan Haren.

Humber Gets The Call For Wednesday

Charlie Nobels at Mets.com writes about Philip Humber and his start this week:

Mets manager Willie Randolph has chosen to start rookie Philip Humber against the Nationals on Wednesday in what could be a crucial game for the Mets and their playoff hopes. It will be Humber's first career start. Randolph made the hunch decision on Saturday and announced it before Sunday's game against the Marlins.

"He'll get the ball and help us win a ballgame," Randolph said, noting that the decision came down to Humber or left-hander Dave Williams.

Why Humber Should Get The Start Saturday

During his college years with the Rice Owls, Philip Humber, was a dominant pitcher for his three seasons. He was awarded the National Freshman Player of the Year award from Collegiate Baseball in 2002, as a freshman starter, when he posted an 11-1 record and a 2.78 ERA, while also leading the Owls, as well as the Western Athletic Conference with 130 strikeouts. In his final two seasons as the Owls’ staff Ace he posted a record of 11-3 with a 3.30 ERA (2003) and a 13-4 record with a 2.27 ERA (2004) and was honored with a “Philip Humber Day” in his home town Carthage, Texas. On top of all this he also holds the Rice single game record of 17 strike outs against Hawaii on March 20th, 2004.

All of these accolades earned Humber a spot in the first round of the First Year Player Draft in 2005 (third overall). The Yankees were actually the first team to select him back in 2001 in the twenty ninth round, but Humber chose not to sign and went on to pitch for Rice. After a lengthily hold out the Mets signed him with a 3.7 million dollar signing bonus.

The major blow to Humber and the Mets came in 2005, just 15 starts into his professional career with the A St. Lucie Mets (14 starts) and AA Binghamton Mets (1 start), when he left his last start in Binghamton after four innings, giving up three runs, and was diagnosed as needing Tommy John Surgery.

After more than a year on the sideline (377 days) recovering from the surgery, in 2006, Humber returned to pitch for the Gulf Coast Mets (1 start), St. Lucie Mets ( 7 starts) and Binghamton Mets (14 starts) to post a combined ERA of 2.83. Showing that Minor Leaguers who have to go through Tommy John surgery sometimes have an edge over their competition, in that they have to work on their off speed and secondary pitches while they can’t throw their fastball and even made his Major League debut with the Mets, after the September call ups, coming out of the bullpen to pitch a scoreless inning twice (0 hits, 2 strikeouts and 1 walk).

In 2007 Philip Humber received an invite to the Mets Spring Training to compete for the fifth starter’s slot in the rotation, but lost out to a dominating display by Mike Pelfrey. So instead, Philip was placed with the Mets AAA Affiliate New Orleans Zephyrs. In 25 starts for the Zephyrs, he is sporting an 11-9 record, a 4.27 ERA and 120 strike outs.

So, now that Brian Lawrence was designated for assignment by the Mets, there is a chance that we could be watching the first Major League start of Humber and not a moment too soon for him. The only downside to this story is that he would be fed to the lions as the Mets are scheduled to face Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves.

Pelfrey Or Humber?

D.B. Burke at North Jersey weighs the chances of both Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber making the start against the Braves:

It'll be either Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber on the mound Saturday night at Turner Field, a prospect that can't have the Braves all that worried.

The Mets will make up their minds on which minor leaguer -- the one with an 0-7 record and a 5.92 ERA in the majors this season or the one who will be making just his third major-league appearance -- will make that start.

Where's Philip Humber?

From Dave at Mets Lifer (Network Member):

September call ups are coming and it is expected that the Mets will bring up a few young arms to fill out the rotation.

Joe Smith, Mike Pelfrey and Dave Williams are expected to be among them, but there is suspiciously no word about Phillip Humber joining the club.

Why? Humber has pitched well in the minors and has spent the last two seasons down there. So why haven't we seen him? Is it because the Mets saw the error of their ways in rushing Pelfrey? Does the organization really think Dave Williams or Brian Lawrence are better for the ball club?

I agree that young arms should not be rushed, but I don't think we'd be rushing Humber at this point. It's September call ups and what better time to test out the kid than now? I'm tired of Brian Lawrence and have zero confidence in Dave Williams. Pelfrey? Hmm, verdict is still out.

The fact that there is absolutely no word about Humber joining the Mets in September makes me wonder what is going on. I'm hopefuly it's for good reason, but I'm ready to see the kid in action.

Humber flirts with a no hitter

Philip Humber went from being rumored trade bait to a no hitter candidate. Just three weeks ago the Mets were rumored to be considering a trade of Philip Humber for Chad Cordero, whether the rumors were true or not the trade never materialized. Sometimes the best trades are the ones that aren't made and while Cordero would have been an incredible help in the pen for this team, if tonight's outing is any inclinations as to the type of contributions Humber will make, then they will far out weigh those of a reliever. Humber entered the the ninth inning for the New Orleans Zephrys game with a no hitter intact, in fact he was one walk short of a perfect game. After getting the first out of the inning, he gave up the first hit of the night.

With no hitter bid over the team turned Amby Burgos who was returning from a long stint on the DL. Burgos gave up three hits and three runs (one credited to Humber) which tied the score. The Zephyrs would score in the tenth to win the game.

Here are the box scores from the game, wrap up not ready yet...MiLB

Minor League Update: Phil Humber

Anthony Di Como at Mets.com writes about Met prospect Phil Humber:

Top prospect Phil Humber struggled for Triple-A New Orleans in a 6-4 loss to Fresno on Monday, walking four and allowing five runs in four innings. He's now walked eight in two starts since the non-waiver trade deadline, posting a 6.75 ERA.

Humber Scratched From Start

I am feeling something here.

Metsblog.com just announced that:
Triple-A RHP Philip Humber has been pulled from his start for the New Orleans Zephyrs this afternoon.

I would not mind the Mets trading him especially that they have to part with one of their pitching prospects.

Provided by Bleed Orange And Blue

Cordero For Humber? Looks Like A Go

I am not sure about the idea of trading a potential front-of-the-rotation starter for a reliever who is not only not a power-pitcher but is also not being relied upon as our closer (that would STILL be one fire-balling Billy Wagner, thank you very much!), but the Mets are apparently very close to trading Humber for Cordero in what may end up being a larger deal when all is said and done. Could it also include Jon Rauch? Possible...we'll keep you posted.

----------UPDATE----------

Apparently it will also cost one of Mike Carp or Kevin Mulvey. I think the Nats will choose Mulvey and get another pitching prospect.

John Young

Contemplating Trading Milledge

A lot of the media and fans have been hard on Milledge through his stints with the Mets over the past two years (myself included), but he has really come through in the clutch for them this season. I almost admire him for his perseverance through situations that were his fault and some that weren’t. He is a fantastic player and another catalyst for this team.

With all that said, if a trade possibility for a player of Carl Crawford’s caliber were to arise (going around the blogging community) for Milledge and another prospect (Pitcher), I wouldn’t mind one bit if the Mets were to jump all over this like it were a wounded animal in the wild.

Crawford has drawn comparison to Reyes on many occasions and had almost identical numbers to him last season (.305 BA, 58 SB; 18 HR). Having a player of Crawford’s ability hitting second behind Reyes would be enough to unnerve any pitcher on the mound.

So if I were Omar and this rumor were true, I would hand Milledge and a Pelfrey or Humber over to Tampa on a silver platter. Endo of story.

Call Someone Else Up Already!

I am getting a little bored with the call ups of pitchers that Omar is making. I guess Dave Williams isn't as good as we thought he was going to be.

I have my eyes on two particular pitchers to call up:

1. Kevin Mulvey- The 2nd round pick last year of the New York Mets, you can not give the excuse that he is "too inexperienced and needs more time in the minors" because this is exactly what the Mets did to Pelfrey last year.
Check out Mulvey's stats....

6-8 (doesn't get run support) with a 3.40 era (not that bad). He seems like he is the kind of pitcher that when he does well, he dominates, and when he struggles, he is awful. I think we should give him a shot this year,

2. Phillip Humber- Everybody knows the name by now. Humber is one of the Mets top prospects and is returning from 2 arm surgeries (he can still bring the heat). He strikes out a lot of batters and reminds me a bit of John Maine. His Minor League Stats are not too impresive, but again, like Mulvey, has the ability to throw 7 innings of shut out ball (see his last 10 games. some good, some bad).

Note: It can't get much worse than what Pelfrey, Williams, and Vargas have done.

-Tommy from Bleed Orange And Blue

Is Zambrano On The Horizon?

Yesterday at Mets Trades (Shea Nation Network), Ed Ryan supplied us with a nice piece on Carlos Zambrano and what the Cubs are looking for in return for him. Cubs want one of either Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber, Aaron Heilman and Lastings Milledge.

To give up Pelfrey might take a heavy gulp and bring back memories of Kazmir, but this is the good Zambrano. Heilman would be a product of a pen that is about to be flooded with good pitchers in Sanchez, Padilla and Williams. Milledge is of course the odd man out in the outfield. Carlos Gomez, Fernando Martinez and now even Ben Johnson has over shadowed him in all respects, so Milledge would be the most likely player Mets fans can drop and not look back on.

This trade would just about guarantee the Mets for the Playoffs. Imagine if you will, a rotation of (after the All-Star break) Pedro Martinez, Carlos Zambrano, Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez, John Maine and Oliver Perez (a six man rotation because I don’t know who they can drop from it). I feel faint just thinking about it. The Playoff rotation would consist of Martinez, Zambrano and Glavine, with Hernandez, Maine and Perez coming out of the bullpen. Any team that faced the Mets in the Playoffs would be committing mass suicide.

With the addition of Zambrano, the Mets would and should overmatch any team in the National League and the American League. A phenomenal pitching staff, backed by a slugging and stealing lineup is just what the doctor ordered to maybe bring a title back to Flushing.

I’m giddy with anticipation and news on this scenario.

Top Eight Replacements

At Mets Today, they write about the top eight pitcher, who could take Mike Pelfrey's spot in the rotation:

1. Jason Vargas

Vargas was pulled from his Sunday start for the Zephyrs, and Willie Randolph mentioned the little lefty as an option, so it’s assumed he’s Thursday’s starter. It makes sense, considering his previous MLB experience and impressive spring training (2.57 ERA). Though small in stature, Vargas is big in heart, a bulldog of a competitor who may be considered an overachiever. His 5.30 ERA is a bit bloated by the hitter-friendly PCL, but not by much.

2. Philip Humber

Humber may have the biggest upside of the Mets’ pitching prospects, but his spring training jitters were telling in regard to his maturity and confidence. He’s not exactly overwhelming in AAA, but he is pitching in the PCL — notorious as a “hitter’s league”. With the Zephyrs, Humber is 3-4 with a 4.30 ERA, but has pitched only 44 innings in 8 games — barely more than five innings per start. Though he was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week in late April, his performance overall has been less than extraordinary. As he’s still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and trying to build confidence, it’s unlikely the Mets will push him. If he continues to progress, we MIGHT see him in August or September.

3. Aaron Sele

We keep forgetting that Sele was strictly a starter for most of his 15-year career, and made 15 starts for the Dodgers last year. Without Jose Lima and Jeremi Gonzalez on the roster, his appearances have been few and far between — and the Ollie Perez meltdowns may be a thing of the past. He’s pitched admirably in his 9 appearances, showing a sharp 12-6 curve and well-placed fastball. While we’ll likely see Jason Vargas promoted, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be Thursday’s starter. Vargas could be sliding into Sele’s long relief role, affording Aaron the opportunity to start.

TO VIEW THE REST OF THE LIST, CLICK HERE

Humber Takes Advise

Marty Noble at Mets.com, writes about Philip Humber and theadvise he recieved from Tom Glavine:

Glavine -- and everyone else -- had seen Humber "really pressing and trying to impress the coaches." Those were Humber's words as he paraphrased Glavine. "You're trying to make the team out of Spring Training. And honestly, what are your chances of making the team out of the spring?"

"I said, 'Well, I don't know,'" Humber said.

"Well, they're pretty long odds," Glavine said. "But you're a young guy, and I'll bet a paycheck you're going to help us win this year."

And with that piece of reality coming from "a guy who pays attention," Humber changed his outlook.

"It cleared my mind," he said.

Humber Breaks 2 Bats

Steve Popper at North Jersey, writes about Phillip Humber and how he's doing in Spring Training:

Wednesday it was Ambiorix Burgos who opened eyes. Thursday, it was Philip Humber, who broke two of Carlos Beltran's bats.

"Probably my first spring I would have been excited about it," Humber said. He later added, "It's not like I'm going to go hang a picture of that on my wall or take it back for a souvenir."

Humber looks good

John Delcos of Lo Hud reported today that Philip Humber looked good pitching batting practice:

Phil Humber threw well in batting practice. `He was real sharp,’’ Willie Randolph said. Humber wouldn’t handicap his chances of making the roster as the fifth starter.

In the comments section John responds to a comment about who he feels is ahead for a rotation spot between Pelfrey and Humber:

I really don’t know who will be the better. I know I’m hedging. If I had to guess, and that’s all it would be from the limited time I’ve seen them, I’d go with Pelfrey because of Humber’s injury history. I think Pelfrey is ahead at this time because of that reason.

...... As I've stated before, all reports indicate Humber's repertoire is better then Pelfrey's. This is usually the case with pitcher's that return from TJ Surgery, they're forced to work on their off speed stuff and stay away from throwing hard. Pelfrey appears to be catching up with his slider and change up. The biggest concern is that Humber should be limited to 150 innings, while Pelfrey can venture toward 175-200 innings which may give Pelfrey the leg up he needs to start the year in the fifth spot.

Lo Duca on 6 Pitchers

Matthew Cerrone at Mets Blog, writes about Paul Lo Duca and his opinion on 6 of the Mets pitchers in Spring Training:

Talking with SNY's Kevin Burkhardt from Tradition Field yesterday, Mets C Paul Lo Duca had the following to say regarding.....

Oliver Perez:

"He's an electric pitcher that plays off emotions, I think New York is t he best thing for him. He likes to dance a little on the mound, and do his thing, and a lot of players might think he is showing people up, but he's probably the nicest kid you'll ever meet.
"He's the kind of guy that you got to let him go. He's gonna be wild, but effectivly wild, you got to let him do his thing...you can't make him a Tom Glavine, a guyt that can move the ball around and do different things with. Oliver is a different kind of pitcher, with strikeout kind of stuff and you just gotta let him throw it."

John Maine:

"John Maine grew upa lot last year. He's awesome, he's an awesome kid. I think he's another guy, too, that's startingf to realize that he can be good, and really good and in this league for a long time – I don't think he realized that, and I think the doubts were in his mind. Last year in the playoffs made him realize he has that type of stuff to succeed."

Chan Ho Park:

"Chan Ho, obviously, is a guy who has unbelievable stuff. He had some injuries the past couple of years, I know he had the internal bleeding last year. He could be a huge bonus if he can come back healthy...he's the kind of guy who wants the ball, he can go deep in games."

Jason Vargas:

"Vargas, I love very much. I mean, he was great for us when I was in Florida. He went through that period last year, a little doubt in his mind. I talked to him a little bit since I've been here, and hopefully we can get back that swagger, because he has that swagger and I think he can succeed in this market."

Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey:

"Well, both got tremendous upside. Humbe'’s got a tremedouns breaking ball. I caught Pelf a lot more, he's got electric stuff. It's just about him getting more innnigs and getting more confidence and he's gonna be a good pitcher in this game for a long time."

Pelfrey and Humber ready for the test

John Delcos at the Journal new writes about Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber and how they're ready for spring training:

Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber, the organization's top two pitching prospects, have no doubt the team did the right thing.

With Zito in San Francisco, the fifth spot in the Mets' rotation is open, and despite their limited experience, both prospects will get a chance to compete for it in spring training.

"I definitely paid a lot of attention to what we were doing in the offseason," said the 23-year-old Pelfrey, the club's first-round selection in the 2005 draft.

"It's not like I did cartwheels when I heard he signed (with the Giants), but there now is definitely an opportunity available. There is a chance I can make this team."

Humber, a first-round pick in 2004, underwent Tommy John surgery the following year. But he said he will be ready when pitchers and catchers report next week.

"It was hard not to pay attention to the Zito thing because it affects your chances of making the team," said Humber, 24. "I think the Mets did the right thing. They want to believe in their young guys."

"I don't think they are too young to compete," Minaya said. "They both have talent, and it will be a matter of time before they pitch in the major leagues. When? I can't say. But why not now?

"They'll both get a chance."

On Pelfrey and Humber

Matthew Cerrone at Mets Blog, writes about Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber:

In his recent chat for ESPN.com, Keith Law answers several questions about the Mets.
Asked about Mike Pelfrey, Law writes...

"I still think Pelfrey needs to junk the curve and switch to a slider before he'll succeed in the majors. He has a plus fastball with plus sink, but that alone won't cut it."

Law lists Phil Humber among five young pitchers who will get mid-season call-ups and have a big impact on a pennant race.

Speaking of pennant races, Law predicts the Mets will win the NL East, with the Phillies finishing second, followed by the Braves, with all three teams separated by eight games in the standings.