Who is Steve Schmoll?

"Steve Schmoll, the right-handed reliever the Mets acquired from the Dodgers on Wednesday, had pitched in 15 games for the Zulia Agullas team in Venezuela, striking out 20, walking four and surrendering 18 hits in 19 innings. His ERA was 2.84."

I knew the PCL was a very offensive league, but I had no idea how much. Of all the players with 25+ IP on the PCL team that Schmoll was on, only ONE had a better ERA then he did, and that was Osoria, who’s a good prospect too.

For reference, the four leaders in IP on that team had ERA’s of: 6.48, 5.35, 7.17, 7.12. No wonder Edwin Jackson’s head is all messed up.

Schmoll is a little old, but it looks like hge got a late start… he got crushed in college and went undrafted, but every year has done significantly better. Maybe he’s just learning to control that submariner delivery. Maybe he has a shot.

About Schmoll again… he seriously got shelled in college. Pretty bad for three years, until as a senior he put up a 3.49 ERA and 12.73 k/9. He then continued that success in Rookie Ball (23), A and then AA at the age of 24, and then last season at AAA and the Majors. His last season in the minors OUTSIDE of the PCL, he put up a 1.83 ERA and 8.24 K/9 in AA.

Then, even while in the PCL, he struck out 10.59 per nine innings and allowed only 0.34 homers per nine. Those are pretty nice numbers for that league. For the moment, I can be a little less upset about the Seo trade.


Edit -- October 5, 2009

Steve Schmoll posted a 4.69 ERA in AAA for the Mets in 2006. He followed that up with an excellent 3.76 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 2007 for the same squad, New Orleans. Not star-caliber stats, but certainly useful. He posted a 47-18 K-BB ratio, and the high WHIP isn't as much of a problem for a guy who induces ground balls.

The Mets subsequently released/traded/non-tendered him, as he pitched this year for Washington's AA team. He posted a 3.07 ERA, again, only decent for someone his age (28) but way down in Double-A. I think he deserves a shot, but it doesn't look like he'll get one.