17 Days Until Spring Training!
We continue down a list of non-roster invitee Pitchers to Spring Training with Mike O'Connor. Mike is a 30 year old pitcher who made his debut with the Washington Nationals is 2006. Since the 2006 season, where he had 105 innings logged, he hasn't really pitched at all except for 9 innings with Nationals in 2008. He has also bounced all over the place in the last few years as he was traded from the Nationals to the Padres in 2009 midseason. Later that same season he was released and then picked up by the Royals to finish the season. The Mets signed before the start of the 2010 season.
Looking at his 2010 numbers with Bisons, it is easy to see why the Mets want to at least look at him this Spring before setting rosters. This past season he pitched in 51 games totaling 70.2 innings with a 2.67 ERA where he also recorded 6 saves. The most striking statistics for Mike last season was his K/BB ratio which was at 4.12. He struck out 70 batters while only walking 17. So he strikes out one batter per inning, on average and his ratio is fantastic.
It is players like O'Connor that get me very frustrated with Perez. Can you image if O'Connor was given a chance last season? His numbers in the minors were fantastic and he is also a left handed tosser.
If he has a strong start to Spring Training, one that reflects his numbers from last season, expect him to stay in camp longer than people originally expected (if they expected anything).
