10/14/09

Minors Stuff




New York Mets


Matt Holliday, Jason Bay and John Lackey will all be big names on the free-agent market this fall, and whichever team signs each of them will spend a lot of money and, in return, get a player who could make a difference. Meanwhile, there are other free agents available right now who would cost considerably less and might really help a team, too. None of them, however, are players.


In St. Louis, Manager Tony La Russa and his longtime pitching coach, Dave Duncan, face uncertain futures and may or may not be back with the Cardinals in 2010. Bobby Valentine, after his second stint in Japan, is back stateside working for ESPN. He wants to manage in the majors again and could be tempted by the right job.


Kevin Towers, the longtime general manager in San Diego, is free, too, now that the Padres have let him go despite the four National League West titles he won in 14 years with an often-limited payroll.

PP: One prospect who held his own against older competition was Double-A's Ruben Tejada. What does he project to be at the major league level?

Hyde: That's actually a really good question. After hitting .289/.351/.381 as a 19-year-old in Double-A while playing smooth defense at short, he absolutely looks like a big leaguer. He finished with his best month by hitting .319/.358/.416 in August with a season-high eight steals. He's not a burner, but rather an opportunistic thief. The real question about Tejada is whether he'll continue to add strength and become an impact bat. Coaches who have worked with him note that he's become stronger in the last year, but he's still a slightly built five-foot-ten and well shy of 200 pounds. Last year, he hit just .231/.294/.297 with an 18% IF/F and a .270 BABIP. That IF/F dropped to 11.4% this year as his BABIP rose to .325. Are there some good bounces in that BABIP? Absolutely, but he was also making much stronger contact. In 2009, major league shortstops hit .271/.328/.393 while second basemen hit .271/.336/.416. It doesn't seem like a stretch at all to think that Tejada can reach a 750 OPS. Given that he'll play good defense, he'll be a cheap asset, whether or not he ever hits for the kind of power that would make him a star.

http://projectprospect.com/article/2009/10/11/minors-only-mets-system-qa



Brooklyn Cylones:
An appearance by David Wright helped raise Mets’ fans spirits in Brooklyn, while he was recovering from a concussion. The All-Star third baseman took batting practice and hung around the team for two days, while signing autographs and interacting with fans. Wright even took time to help Cyclones’ third baseman Richard Lucas work on his throws to first base. The Cyclones opened up the gates four hours before game time in order to allow fans the chance to Wright up close and personal. Carlos Beltran made an extended stop in Brooklyn on his way back to the major leagues while rehabilitating his injured knee. The Gold-Glove centerfielder played in five games for Brooklyn, going just 3-for-20, while with the Cyclones. However, he gave Brooklyn fans something to cheer about when he came away with a huge walk-off hit against Lowell in early September. Oliver Perez, Andy Green and Angel Berroa all donned the Cyclones’ uniform in 2009, as well.

The Arizona Fall League started today as Surprise defeated Peo Javelinas 17-4. Ike Davis belted a third inning grand slam, finishing the day going 4-for-6 with two doubles, a HR, and six RBI. Lucas Duda started in LF going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. SS Ruben Tejada also went 2-for-5 with an RBI double. Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News reports that, "GM Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco, top deputies Sandy Johnson and Bryan Lambe, Adam Fisher and virtually every professional scout from the organization," was in attendance during today's game. A good day to impress, especially for Ike Davis with basically the entire Mets organization in attendance. I think Davis is ready to make the jump to the bigs personally. He smacked over 20 homeruns combine at St. Lucie and Binghamton, tore up the World Cup, and now today's performance makes me think he's ready. I don't know what else Davis needs to prove at this point.


Mets top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia is due to start Wednesday’s game, with Scott Moviel, Eric Niesen and Josh Stinson assigned to the bullpen. Reese Havens, who played shortstop for St. Lucie this season, is on the taxi squad and is eligible to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. He’s been getting experience at second base, where he has never played in his career. Havens, by the way, lost 20 pounds during the Florida State League season.
Free Agency:

2010 Baseball Free Agents: Leftfielders

Garret Anderson, 38, Braves - 09:$2.5M (Type B)
Jason Bay, 31, Red Sox - 06:$0.75M, 07:$3.25M, 08:$5.75M, 09:$7.5M (Type A)
Marlon Byrd, 32, Rangers - 09:$3.06M (Type B)

Carl Crawford, 28, Rays - 05:$0.5M, 06:$2.5M, 07:$4M, 08:$5.25M, 09:$8.25M club option
($2.5M buyout), 10:$10M club option ($1.25M buyout) (Type B)

Johnny Damon, 36, Yankees - 06-09:$13M/year (Type A)

David Dellucci, 36, Blue Jays - 07:$3.75M, 08:$3.75M, 09:$4M
Matt Holliday, 30, Cardinals - 08:$9.5M, 09:$13.5M (Type A)

Reed Johnson, 33, Cubs - 09:$3M

Gabe Kapler, 34, Brewers - 09:$1M
Greg Norton, 37, Braves - 09:$800K

Wily Mo Pena, 28, Mets - 09:minor league contract

Manny Ramirez, 38, Dodgers - (Type A)

Gary Sheffield, 41, Mets - 07:$13M, 08:$14M, 09:$14M

Fernando Tatis, 35, Mets - 09:$1.7M (Type B)

Randy Winn, 36, Giants - 07:$4M, 08:$8M, 09:$8.25M (Type B)



Mets Alumni:

First Jerry Koosman, now Ron Darling. (Lenny Dykstra, too, but at a much grander level.) According to the Tax Watchdog blog, Ron Darling, the former pitcher and current SNY and TBS analyst, owes $544,197 in state and federal taxes. •The IRS filed a $71,076 lien against Darling on July 29 in the New York City Register's office. •The state of New York filed a $12,664 tax warrant against Darling on May 23 in the New York County Clerk's office. •The state of California filed an $84,860 lien against Darling on June 6, 2008, in Contra Costa County Court. •The IRS filed a $375,597 lien against Darling on May 15, 2008, in the New York City Register's office.
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