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9/15/10

METS Q&A: - SP - Michael Hebert

Mack:

Good morning folks. Today we're talking with the Mets' seventh round draft pick in the 2008 draft, starting pitcher Michael Hebert.  Morning Mike. Heading out of Savannah today?


Hebert:

Yes. Left at 5am and just arrived in California


Mack:

Mike, you were signed right out of high school in 2008... tell us about draft day? .


Hebert:

It was early in the morning when I got the call and I forgot the draft was at 11am Eastern, so it was 8am here in cali . It was a very pleasant wake up call.

Mack:

I remember your first professional outing... 0.1-IP, 6-ER. The good news was the fact that you went 20.2-IP, 5-ER the rest of the season. Do you smile when you think about your professional debut?


 Hebert:

Yeah, it was quite a learning experience for me and Ii feel like it only made me better .


Mack:

You repeated K-Port and finished the season this year in Savannah. I've got you on paper returning there to be part of the 2011 rotation with Gonzalez German and A J Pinera. How about letting the readers know what you're throwing lately? .


Hebert:

Yes, I hope so. It was a lot of fun for the brief time I was there. I throw a fastball curveball and changeup and working on a slider .


Mack: 

Well, get ready for a full season, and wild sprints every day, five hours before gametime, in a heat index of 105. Anthing else you'd like to share with the readers out there? .


Hebert:

That's what i heard. I just wanted to say thanks for supporting us and to keep ur eyes out for minor leaguers getting their chance in the coming years cause we have very good players in our organization. take care .


Mack:

Thanks Michael... we'll see you in Lucy in March.
 
Old Hebert stuff:
 
From: http://www.the-signal.com/ : Four Centurion graduates are taken in first 16 rounds of the draft, including pitchers Michael Hebert in the seventh round and Shawn Smith in the ninth. Hebert, a right-handed pitcher, was also drafted, in the seventh round by the New York Mets. Aside from reaching the first step of their baseball dreams, the two had another thing in common. Like Smith, Hebert was asleep when he got the call at eight in the morning. Except it wasn't one of those annoying early morning phone calls. Hebert was told he'd be taken somewhere between the 7th and the 16th round, and although he got his hopes a few times on the first day, the seventh round suits him just fine.



Hebert was a 7th round draft pick in 2008 (he was the second pitcher chosen that year by the Mets), who has gotten off to a slow, unspectacular start; however, progress was made in 2009.


In 2008, Hebert signed with the Mets and went on to the GCL Mets, where he went 2-2, 4.71, in nine games, three starts. Control was not his forte, walking 29 batters in 21.0 innings.



Hebert came back to the GCL Mets in 2009, and finished up: 1-3, 3.38, in seven games, five starts. More importantly, he walked only 14 batters in 29.1-IP.



2010 Forecast: Let’s not forget that Hebert was drafted as an 18-year old, straight out of high school. But, let’s also not forget that, so far, this was a very bad choice for the second pitcher you’re going to draft. I really hate 18-year old high school pitchers, especially ones that pitched to inferior competition. I’m old school. Give me the guy that pitched three years at Texas, or Clemson, or Rice any day. That being said, Hebert may be doing baby steps, but they aren’t embarrassing. So far, in his major league career, he is 3-3. 3.68, 1.59, in 14 games, with 28 Ks in 39.1-IP. He’s also too young to buy a beer in the Piggy Wiggly down the block from my townhouse. Let’s give him two more years. Look for a well deserved promotion to a full season team in Savannah.


8-27-10 from: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100826&content_id=13951936&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp  – (8-27) Hebert has been one of the staples in the Kingsport rotation, pleased to have moved out of the Gulf Coast League after an unusual series of events kept the seventh-round pick from 2008 there for parts of two seasons. "From March until now, I'm a different pitcher," he said. "I'm more of a pitcher and not just a thrower. Everything is looking a lot better." The right-hander from Saugus, Calif., presents a positive outlook, despite his professional career having taken stutter steps since he signed as a 17-year-old. Prior to the 2009 short-season, he toiled in extended spring training. When he and some friends went to Game 4 of the NBA Finals between his favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Orlando Magic, he was deemed to have missed curfew. With that, he was suspended 45 days by the Mets organization.

9-14-10: - 2011 Forecast: - Hebert is past all the growing pains and should wind up next season with a full season team. My guess right now is he will return to the team he finished the season with, the Savannah Sand Gnats.

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