It’s the bottom of the ninth, and James Loney takes his lead from second. He represents the tying run.  With his speed, or lack thereof, the ball is most likely going to need to be hit deep in the outfield to score him. With that in mind, Terry Collins knows he can’t let Rene Rivera bat in this situation, and he turns to his bench. He then summons Ty Kelly because he seriously had no better choice to make.

With that said, Kelly was the wrong choice. It should’ve been Travis Taijeron there.

On a bench with a dearth of power, Taijeron would be a welcome addition. This year Taijeron is hitting .314/.394/.587 in AAA. As we saw in Spring Training, his slugging isn’t a Vegas desert mirage. It’s legitimate power. He’s hit for power at each and every level he’s played. On top of that, Taijeron is a good corner outfielder. With that’s said, with the amount of strikeouts heaccumulates, there is a legitimate issue as to how his skills will translate to the majors.

What we do know is that Kelly’s skills don’t translate well. Despite his one home run, he hasn’t hit the ball with much authority from either side of the plate. It’s why he’s hitting .160/.222/.280 in his 27 plate appearances.  He’s shown why four organizations passed on him, and why he didn’t get a call to the majors until he was 27. And yet, the Mets won’t move on from him allowing Taijeron to get his chance.

We don’t know if Taijeron would’ve come through in the ninth inning last night. What we do know is that Kelly didn’t, and no one reasonably expected him to get that big hit. Last night was yet another reason why the Mets should send down Kelly and give Taijeron his shot.

Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net