EL1 Binghamton Rumble Ponies

2008 B-Mets Filled With Top Prospects And Familiar Faces

Published on March 31, 2008 under Eastern League (EL1)
Binghamton Rumble Ponies News Release


Five of the New York Mets' 11 top prospects are part of the 2008 Binghamton Mets Opening Day roster released today by the Mets.

At the head of the class is outfielder Fernando Martinez. The top prospect in the Mets' organization according to Baseball America, the 19-year-old Martinez returns to Binghamton after batting .271 during an injury-shortened 2007. Joining him will be #2 prospect Eddie Kunz, the Mets' first pick in the 2007 draft. A righthanded reliever, Kunz helped lead Oregon State University to the last two College World Series championships.

Lefthanded pitcher Jonathon Niese arrives in Binghamton as the Mets' fourth-best prospect after winning 11 games in each of the last two seasons. He'll be joined in the starting rotation by righthander Bobby Parnell (#6) who struck out 74 batters in 88 2/3 innings with Binghamton in '07 after being called up from High-A St. Lucie in June. Third baseman Daniel Murphy (#11) rounds out the crop of top prospects. The lefthanded-hitting slugger finished second in the Florida State League in hits and fourth in RBIs with St. Lucie last season.

Martinez and Parnell are among the 11 players returning to Binghamton. Also on that list is Joe Hietpas, who will be wearing a B-Mets uniform for a club-record sixth season. However, the former catcher is now a pitcher and 2008 will be Hietpas's second season on the mound. Also returning is Mike Carp, the Mets' 15th-best prospect. The first baseman hit 11 homers and 16 doubles for Binghamton last season despite missing a month and a half with a broken finger.

The B-Mets will hold preseason workouts at NYSEG Stadium on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Wednesday at 2 p.m. Binghamton begins the 2008 season Thursday, when they host the Trenton Thunder at 6:35 p.m.

Notes: Baseball America released its top prospect lists before the NY Mets traded for Johan Santana and prospects originally rated #2 (Deolis Guerra), 3 (Carlos Gomez), 4 (Kevin Mulvey) and 7 (Philip Humber) in the system were all shipped to Minnesota in the deal, resulting in the list being reconfigured...Binghamton has 25 players on its roster, meaning a move will have to be made prior to Opening Day to get the roster down to the Eastern League-maximum 24.

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Eastern League Stories from March 31, 2008


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