The Mack Attack - 3-1-9

New Mets:

RHP Luis Carlin - signed after playing for Mexico City in the Mexican League
RHP David Reyes - also played for Mexico City in the ML.

Prospect :

Toby Hyde on: #2 - SS Wilmer Flores - Why Ranked Here: Flores is ranked here because he can hit, and really hit. His bat, says scouts, could well be an All-Star level piece of lumber. In an Appalachian Leauge season which he began at the tender age of 16, Flores had an extra base hit once every 6.9 at bats. Flores rolled through the Appalachian League while playing against players two, three, four even five years his senior. Flores, who committed 21 errors in 68 games in 2008, is not a good defender at shortstop, nor is he likely to stay at the position as he grows and fills out. Observers who saw him play regularly in Kingsport used words like “awkward” when describing his work at shortstop. At 6’3”, and still growing, Flores is unusually tall for a shortstop. There were only three SS in the top twenty VORP for their position, Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter and Ben Zobrist, listed at 6’3” in 2008. Generally speaking advanced fielding metrics consider the first two below average, if not well below average and Zobrist a strong defender. No MLB starting SS is listed as tall as 6’4”, a height Flores might well reach if he continues to grow. Should Flores reach the Majors at 6’4”, he would be the tallest SS in baseball. It’s not impossible for Flores to stay at short, but succeeding there would be unusual for a player his height. At age 17 in 2009, the Mets will certainly give Flores the opportunity to improve at short even if his MLB position lies in at an infield or outfield corner, where his bat might be good enough to make him a star. 2008: Flores finished fourth in the Appalachian League in total bases. All three players above him had at least three years on him. After crushing to a .331/.363/.554 mark through the season’s first two months, Flores slowed down in August, hitting a more pedestrian .278/.336/.392 in 24 games with Kingsport. The Mets promoted him to Savannah for one day on August 27th, before moving him to Brooklyn, where he had just one extra base hit in his eight games in the NYP. Projected 2009 Start: Savannah

Toby Hyde on: #1 - OF Fernando Martinez - Why Ranked Here: Martinez maintains the top spot on this list by combining just about the best upside in the system with a close proximity to the Major Leagues. I became a believer watching Martinez take BP in the summer of 2008. The ball just exploded off his bat thanks to plus batspeed which generated above average power from left-center on over to rightfield. It was easy for him. Martinez has held his own in centerfield for the last two years in Binghamton, but with Carlos Beltran patrolling center for the Mets, if Martinez is going to make an impact at Citi Field in 2009, it will be on the corners. At this point, Martinez will grow up into a big leaguer, although scouts differ on whether he will be a solid regular or something much better. 2008: Martinez doubled his homerun production from 2007 in Binghamton, moving from four to eight, but he once again battled injuries, missing over a month in May and June. It all seemed to click for Martinez playing winter ball for Escogido in the Dominican Republic. Tellingly, he had the highest walk rate of his career and the best power numbers, homerun rates of his career. It would appear that he took the crucial step of becoming more selective, learning which pitches he can drive. Projected 2009 Start: AAA Buffalo Bisons

On February 27, 2009, Joe DeMayo.Mets Minors wrote:

Mets Prospect #15: RHP Eddie Kunz - Last year Eddie Kunz was in my top 10 prospects, now he barely cracks the top 15 getting #15. Kunz is a big right hander that the Mets drafted in the supplemental first round of the 2007 draft(their first pick of the draft) out of Oregon State University. He pitched poorly for Brooklyn in his rookie campaign, but that didn’t stop the Mets from fast-tracking Kunz to Double-A Binghamton to start 2008 where he excelled. He saved 27 games, posted a 2.79 ERA and earned a promotion to the big league team. I actually was at his last game in Double-A and I met Mets GM Omar Minaya who was there scouting Kunz, and he told me the Mets really like him. I wonder if they like him as much now? He appeared in 4 big league games, only 2.2 innings allowing 5 hits 4 runs, including his first home run allowed since 2005. He just looked nervous and uncomfortable. Now the question is, did the Mets ruin Kunz’s psyche by calling him up? They sent him to Triple-A New Orleans where he managed to do nearly as bad, posting an ERA of 7.94 in NOLA. In 5.2 innings there he allowed 9 hits and 5 runs. In hopes of helping him out the Mets sent him to the Arizona Fall League where it was all the same as Kunz posted an ERA of 10.93 in the AFL. Kunz still has the repertoire you want from a late inning reliever, a big fastball(mid 90s with some hard sink) as well as a plus slider that he throws in the mid 80s. It really just seems that once the Mets called Kunz up it was all downhill from there. You can expect Kunz to start in Triple-A Buffalo, and probably be the closer (possibly being set up by Bobby Parnell). A strong showing there boosts Kunz’s value big time, if he again flounders you can really see a big arm fall off the maps completely. He still has upside, but 2009 is absolutely crucial to Kunz’s career.

Mike Rodgers on Ike Davis:

Ike Davis had (at the time of the draft) room to grow. Conversely from Raben, Davis' swing does lend itself to high contact, but not a ton of power, according to Alex Eisenberg of The Hardball Times. He feels that Davis' hands get too far out in front which fails to let the ball travel into his happy zone -- for the lack of a better term. However, the PG Crosschecker scouting report from earlier notes a very balanced, upper-cut swing which shows great power potential. Unfortunately he struggled in the Alaskan Summer League in 2006 and lost valuable time to prove what he could do with wood bats in the Cape Cod league due to his wrist surgery. However, he was sitting in the lower-90's when he took the mound for the Sun Devils as a left-handed closer, which means he does profile as a potential right fielder with his athletic frame and above-average to potentially 'plus' arm strength.


Mets Alumni:

From MiLB: - There comes a time in every big league player's life, whether it's voluntary or forced, that he has to hang 'em up, so to speak. Letting go of the game, of course, is much easier said than done. To ease that transition, and because so many players believe they have much to offer the next generation, many pursue a second career in coaching and/or managing. There are several familiar names who are embarking on that very journey in 2009. Some are joining the coaching ranks for the first time, some are sliding to new positions as they are still getting their feet wet on that end of the game. All have ample motivation to make the most out of this new direction. "I'm very excited," said Joe McEwing, who spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues and is set to manage for Winston-Salem in the White Sox organization a year after being their Triple-A hitting coach. "It's something I always wanted to do when I was done playing. I knew I wanted to be on this side of the ball. I want to take what I learned over the years that I played, with the managers I've had. I'm looking forward to it."

The Colorado Rockies signed LHP Glendon Rusch.

The Phillies signed 2B Miquel Cairo.

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed 2B Ruben Gotay.

Mack: boy, the Mets have had a shit load of guys play second in the last 6-7 years…