New York Mets: No Point in Rushing Jennry Mejia Too Soon

Teams use spring training to promote their young players in their farm system.

They know it piques a fan's interest. A fan can only take so much of these meaningless exhibition games.

If a prized prospect fares well in March, it gets everyone talking about that player.

The Mets realized it. They knew what they were doing, playing Ike Davis, Jennry Mejia, Fernando Martinez, and several others last month. They wanted to sell the critics that their much-maligned farm system is better than it was portrayed.

Those players did well. Everyone talked about them to the point they wanted those guys to be with the club in April.

Mejia received attention for his strong performance in March. Everyone debated whether Mejia should start or relieve.

From this seat, the 20-year-old kid should be in the minors, starting every fifth day for the Buffalo Bisons.

He will likely be a starter later this season. There's no way the Mets are trotting out an ineffective starter all season long.

With the way John Maine pitched tonight, the case for starting Mejia grows stronger.

Maine did okay in his first start of the season, but he did not give his team a chance to win the game. He gave up couple of home runs along with giving up four runs on eight hits in five innings. He labored for most of the night.

This is not what the Mets hoped to see from their beleaguered starter.

Look for more of the same by Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez when they start.

At some point, it would make sense to move their prized prospect in the rotation. How is he going to make the transition right away by being in the bullpen? He is better off getting his work over at Buffalo.

For all the success Mejia had in the exhibition games, let's put this in perspective.

Hitters tend to struggle in these games. They don't get many at-bats to get a feel of things. It's hard for them to get up against minor-league pitchers.

Guys like Mejia will have an edge. It doesn't mean he would be successful when it matters.

He pitched in tonight's game. He did okay. That's what people should have expected out of him.

It's hard to believe he would be lights out in his regular season debut. Hitters get in the swing of things once the real season heats up.

It looked like Mejia was begging to be beat. His pitches had no movement out there.

Sure, he got Ricky Nolasco out, and he was able to get the second out thanks to another bad at-bat by Cameron Maybin, who was on base via fielder's choice. With that said, those two hitters don't strike fear into anyone.

He should be getting them out. Getting good hitters out, though, is a challenge. At least he was able to get Hanley Ramirez out,  that's something to be positive about.

Odds are he could have more days like this. Why put him in a position to fail?

There's a reason why the Reds sent Aroldis Chapman and the Nationals sent Stephen Strasburg to the minors. It has nothing to do with service time. It came down to them not being ready to pitch in the majors just yet.

The Mets need to win right now. Their bullpen is not a strength. The team's brass hope Mejia stabilizes the setup role. He gives them a better chance to do so than the other relievers.

With the way Fernando Nieve pitched on opening day, he would be a better option in the eighth inning. For the seventh inning, Manuel can mix and match with the other guys or he can use Pedro Feliciano.

If Manuel and Minaya had job security, it's hard to believe Mejia would be pitching right now. Minaya usually takes his time in calling up the young guys. Plus, Manuel loathes to use rookies in any situation.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. That's why there's a change of paradigm.

The last thing the Mets need is to ruin a prospect. The Yankees put Joba Chamberlain in many roles, and it has had an effect on his performance. He has turned out to be a head case.

What Mejia needs is a set role.

A pitcher is more valuable when he has the stuff of a starter. The Mets don't have any quality starters right now.

This is why one has to question the wisdom of giving Mejia a bullpen role too soon.