Mets prospect Zack Wheeler enjoying the tweet life
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Mets' top four pitching prospects are all present and accounted for after Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia arrived Monday at the team's spring training complex. Wheeler, the top-rated pitching prospect in the organization, already is becoming one of the most popular Mets on Twitter even though he hasn't advanced above Class A St. Lucie.
"I just like what people have to say about stuff," said Wheeler, who as @wheelerpro45 currently has 9,429 followers. "I just like the reactions, so I just try to get people riled up. It's funny."
Despite an active Twitter life, Wheeler did have time to squeeze in some work this offseason on his changeup, which he called his best pitch, to go along with a fastball, slider and curve. As for the pressure of being part of what is billed as the Mets' next generation of young pitching stars, Wheeler shrugged.
"It might be pressure to some other people, but not me," he said. "I haven't always been good. So I think not always being good has sort of made me humble and fortunate for what I have right now. I'm just trying to pursue that and do the best I can."
As for Mejia, he's still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery but will try to throw off a mound in the near future. Mejia was on the list of pitchers scheduled to throw a bullpen session Tuesday but could be pushed back until later in camp. When he might return to game action is almost impossible to predict at this point.
"I have to take it slow,'' Mejia said, "and that's hard."
Dickey stands alone
With Tim Wakefield having retired over the weekend and Charlie Haeger sidelined by surgery, that leaves R.A. Dickey as the only active knuckleballer in the majors.
"I'm sad because I want him around," Dickey said of Wakefield. "I feel a little bit of loneliness."
As for the Mets' chances, Dickey has an optimistic outlook, even with Johan Santana on uncertain footing.
"I don't know if it's any more challenging than any year simply because in baseball, you see the best lineups on paper fall," Dickey said. "So it's about so many more things than what's on paper, but it's going to be difficult. If a bunch of guys take that next step all of a sudden, I think we're right in the mix."
Johan to throw today
The Mets expect Santana to throw his bullpen session Tuesday as scheduled after he experienced no problems from Friday's outing. Santana threw 25 pitches from a mound that morning for the first time since September and then had three days off to recover.
