The Mack Attack 1-2-9

The Future of the Mets – On First Base

First of all, there’s not much positive history here. Draft picks like Craig Brazell, Terrence Long, Byron Gainey, David Hunter, Tyler Parker, and Joe Faulkner don’t exactly roll off the tongue. Add to that recent picks that haven’t lived up to their draft position, like Lucas Duda, Jose Jimenez, Jim Burt, and Mike Carp, and well, you get the picture.Right now, the Mets have one first base prospect, Ike Davis (Mack’s Mets Prospect #15), who had a miserable 2008 season after being drafted in the first round of last year’s draft.All this boils down to one thing, and that’s the chance that Michel Abreu might be playing first in Buffalo until he’s 60.For now, Abreu will be back holding down the AAA spot; however, he will share time with Nick Evans when Nick isn’t in the outfield. Lucas Duda, who disappointed last year after a hot start at Lucy, will get a chance to re-prove himself and show what he showed when he played two years ago in Brooklyn. Many of his ex-Clones teammates told me then that he had the sweetest swing they had seen in years. Let’s hope it returns.Harris will hold down the first at Lucy, while two future organizational players, Jeffries Talford and Jose Jimenez will split time in Savannah. Beyond that, it’s all guesswork, and mine is that Douglas McNulty (or a 2009 draft pick) will play in Brooklyn, Jeffrey Flagg and Aussie Patrick Maat will go to K-Port, and Dan Hernandez will repeat at GCL.The wild card here is Giovanni Ortiz, who played well, but not often, with the GCL team last year, and should start either back there, or at Kingsport, depending where they send himNeedless to say, 2009 is definitely the last year for Carlos Delgado and there sure doesn’t look like there’s anyone close to ready in the system to replace him. Look for the Mets to draft another forst baseman high in this year’s draft, but don’t be surprised when they sign a new veteran in the next off season, either through a trade, or free agency.


MLB – NY Mets:


From MLB.com: - Grading on a curve: The swiftness with which the Mets revamped their bullpen was rather impressive, especially considering the necessity of it. Over the span of two days, the Mets traded away three of their late-inning relievers, replacing them with two of the best closers in baseball. Yet to grade the team on those transactions alone would be premature. The Mets still need a starting pitcher, perhaps even two. They still need a backup infielder. They still want a corner outfielder and a left-handed reliever. Certainly, the Mets could not have scripted their bullpen acquisitions better, and for those, they deserve a 10 out of 10. But until the rest of their winter is complete, they'll have to settle for an 8. Arrivals: RHP Green, RHP Putz, RHP Connor Robertson, RHP Rodriguez, OF Reed. Departures: OF Endy Chavez, RHP Heilman, LHP Schoeneweis, RHP Joe Smith. The Road Ahead: Look for the Mets to continue their search for a starter into the new year. That's their first priority, and their only significant remaining hole. They would like to add an outfield bat -- though that's more of a luxury -- and the acquisition of a backup infielder, though necessary, shouldn't consume much energy. Already, Minaya has classified this as a "great" offseason, speaking only about his bullpen acquisitions. The addition of a middle-of-the-rotation starter would make it even more impressive. Fact: SP Pedro Martinez won 15 games the first year he was a Met, and 17 total the next three years.From Fangraphs: - For the Phillies, we are looking at +26 wins from the lineup, +11.8 from the rotation, +3.4 from the bullpen, and +1.5 from the bench. This adds up to +42.7 wins. Given that a team chock-full of replacement players would win 47-48 games, the Phillies are projected to win 89-90 games in 2009.The Mets will get +26.1 wins from the lineup, +14.3 from the rotation featuring Lowe and the aforementioned Niese projection, +3.6 out of the ‘pen, and +0.9 from the bench. This adds up to +44.9 wins, which we will round up to +45 wins. Added to the replacement wins total, the Mets are projected to win 91-92 games next season. Once again, the teams are extremely close, and 2009 should treat fans to another stellar battle between the Mets and Phillies.

The Venzuelan Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

RP – Francisco Rodriquez: 0-0, 3.00, in 3 appearances, 1 save, 4 Ks, 3.0 IP

OF/3B Fernando Tatis has showed no sign of slowing down this year in the Dominican Republic Winter League. His final regular season stats were: .338/.399/.493/.892, in 148 at bats.


AAA – Buffalo:

The Venzuelan Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

SS – Jose Coronado: .308/.373/.429/.801, in 91 Abs

OF – Fernando Martinez (Mack’s Mets prospect #3):.314/.376/.542/.919, in 153 Abs, 6 HRs, 41 G, 32 Ks

RP – Edgar Alfonzo: 1-1, 5.09, in 24 appearances, 11 Ks, 17.2 IP, .360 OBA

SP – Jose Sanchez: 1-0, 5.00, 10 games, only 2 starts, 12Ks, 18.0 IP, .347 OBA

RP – Eric Brown: 0-0, 3.97, in 6 relief appearances, 11 Ks, 11.1 IP, .190 OBA

The Puerto Rican Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

1B/OF – Nick Evans (#5 Mack’s Mets prospect): .094/.237/.156/.393 in 32 at bats

OF – Jesus Feliciano: .357/.446/.500/.946, in 140 at bats

The Dominican Winter League has also completed their regular season and the following Mets minor leaguers turned in the following stats this year:

SP – Nelson Figueroa: 3-2, 3.13, in 5 starts, 24 Ks, 31.2 IP, .254 OBA

1B – Michel Abreu: .314/.375/.457/.832 in 35 at bats (also 37 at bats in the VWL)

OF – Victor Mendez: .257/.366/.403/.769 in 144 at batsAA –


B-Mets:

Brooklyn Bums continue their New Year’s Resolutions for Mets minor leaguers: - Luis Rivera- Hit for more contact. Aside from hitting .318 with the B-Mets in 2007 in just 17 games, Rivera hasn’t hit over .260 since he hit .272 with the Cyclones in 2007. Already a great defensive player, all Rivera has to do is get himself over .260 and he’ll be able to get himself to stick in double- A. After that, he just has to continue to work hard at the plate and who knows what could happen. Once looked at as a more than solid contact hitter after hitting over .300 in every season he spent in college and both seasons he spent in the Cubs organization, Rivera hasn’t been the same offensive player in nearly two seasons.

The Puerto Rican Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

OF – Brahiam Maldonado: .235/.278/.235/.513 in 17 at bats

RP – Emary Frederick: 1-1, 7.71, in 9 appearances, 3 Ks, 4.2 IP, .381 OBA

SP – Tobi Stoner (Mack’s Mets prospect #7): 0-1, 2.25, in 3 games, 2 starts

SP – Dillon Gee (Mack’s Mets prospect #10):4-0, 2.22, in 10 starts, 1.15 WHIP

SP - Michael Antonini (Mack’s Mets prospect #17):2-0, 3.45, in 9 games, 8 starts, 1.17 WHIPA+ -


Lucy:

The Venzuelan Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

RP – Junior Guerra: 0-0, 15.75, in 4 appearances (after 9.18 ERA in HWL)

The Puerto Rican Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

RP – Roy Merritt (Mack’s Mets prospect #22): 0-0, 0.90, in 10 appearances, 12 Ks, 10.0 IP, .250 OBA

The Dominican Winter League has also completed their regular season and the following Mets minor leaguers turned in the following stats this year:

RP – Julio Polanco: 0-0, 1.50, in 11 appearances, 11 Ks, 12.0 IP, .233 OBA


A – Gnats:

Word is that C Francisco Pena will return for a third year to the Sand Gnats, and has really worked hard in the off-season to turn baby-fat into muscle.

The Venzuelan Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play here in 2009, turned in the following stats:

P – Manuel Oliveros: 0-0, 5.40, in 4 games, 1 start, 6 Ks, 6.1 IP, .269 OBA


2010 Free Agents:

Left Fielders: - Marlon Anderson (36) - Jason Bay (31) - Carl Crawford (28) - $10MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout - Johnny Damon (36) - David Dellucci (36) - Matt Holliday (30 - Omar Infante (28) - Greg Norton (37) - Wily Mo Pena (28) - Dave Roberts (38) - Fernando Tatis (35)


Alumni:

The Venzuelan Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following ex-Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play elsewhere in 2009, turned in the following stats:

OF – Richard Hildago: .327/.398/.523/.921, in 199 at bats, 7 HRs

2B – Edgardo Alfonzo: .322/.383/.483/.867, in 242 at bats, 8 HRs

SP – Victor Zembrano: 1-4, 3.86, in 13 games, 12 starts, 1.46 WHIP

The Puerto Rican Winter League’s regular season has ended and the following ex-Mets’ minor leaguers, that are on the board to play elsewhere in 2009, turned in the following stats:

2B – Ruben Gotay: .292/.375/.377, in 130 at bats

SP – Orlando Roman: 1-3, 2.82, in 10 starts, 1.25 WHIP

SP – Alay Soler: 1-3, 3.77, in 12 games, 9 starts

SP – Bill Pulsipher: 3-1, 4.34, in 7 starts


MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes that OF Lastings Milledge "could be trade bait before the season starts." He sure wears out his welcome, doesn’t he?


General Baseball News:


OF Barry Bonds had hip surgery on Tuesday.

Mack
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