Niese has started for the Mets three times at the end of last season and has produced a 6.75 ERA in the Grapefruit League. During Spring Training Niese has walked seven and given up two home runs- eh. Honestly, it was a long shot chance for him to become the 5th starter, especially going up against Hernandez's pitching consistency.
We knew that Garcia had no shot as he gave away thirteen runs and built up an outrageously bad 16.71 ERA. Redding was out due to his injury in his shoulder. Martinez wasn't going to get it because of his greedy demands for a high paying contract. And now with Niese out of the competition, the spot is handed to Hernandez who has developed a great 3.07 ERA. The general manager, Omar Minaya says that if it wasn't for Livan's success, John would still be in the Majors.
Minaya said;
"If you tell me that Jonathon Niese is going to pitch in the Major Leagues tonight, I'd feel very comfortable. We could have easily kept him here longer."
Playing in the Minor league, Niese will be able to work on his pitching and be able to pitch more AAA game innings. Niese just has to develop better control and a better fastball. Once he does that, he'll be able to come back to play with the big boys. I think there's a very high chance that we will even see him by Fall season. John understands the reasons for his cut and said:
"It's an honor any time you go to big league camp. I learned a lot. I've still got a lot to learn, a lot to work on. I'm disappointed -- not at anyone else, but myself. It's just one of those deals."It's sad because I think Jon deserves the starter position. He was rated the Mets #3 organizational prospect by Baseball America. I hope his stay in the AAA is a short one!
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