Mets Begin Arizona Fall League Play Tonight

Today, seven Mets will begin play in this year’s Arizona Fall League.  The most notable member of the Mets’ contingent is Jeurys Familia, whose season was interrupted after undergoing minor elbow surgery.

Apr 23, 2013; Flushing, NY,USA; New York Mets relief pitcher

(27) pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. Dodgers won 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Joining Familia, are minor league pitchers Chasen Bradford, Hansel Robles, and Cody Satterwhite, catcher Cam Maron, infielder Aderlin Rodriguez, and outfielder Cory Vaughn.  The Mets representatives will play with the Scottsdale Scorpions.  They’ll be joined by representatives from the Braves, Giants, Pirates, and Yankees.

The Scorpions, whose slate runs from now through November 16th, play their opening game tonight at 9:35 Eastern against the Salt River Rafters.  Games are scheduled to be played every day except Sunday’s and November 15th (which is an off day before the Championship game).

Familia, who turns 24 on Thursday, tossed just 10.2 innings in relief for the Mets this year due to the bone spur in his pitching elbow that has since been cleaned out.  He is expected to compete for a spot in the bullpen next season, and his electric stuff should give him a leg up.

Robles, 23, had a 3.72 ERA in 84.2 innings pitched (15 starts) for High-A St. Lucie.  Like Familia, his season was interrupted by injuries.

Vaughn, 24, had a triple slash of .267/.346/.424 in 295 plate appearances this season for Double-A Binghamton.  He hit 10 home runs, drove in 50, and scored 40.  However, he struck out 26.4 percent of the time.  If Vaughn has any illusion of helping the Mets at the big league level in the near future, he’ll have to cut down on his strikeouts.

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