The Mack Report – 40-man Additions, Prospect Slotting 46-50

November 20, 2010



The Mets chose not to place pitchers Brant Rustich, Nick Carr, Jose De La Torre, and Eric Niesen on the 40-man squad, this creating a position in which all three could be drafted by other teams in the upcoming Rule V Draft.

Frankly, there were no surprises here. Rustich (2010: 0-1, 4.91, GCL/Lucy) has been a mess this year and, though a recent surgical procedure looks promising, he’s a long way from the prospect status he used to be at. The Mets recognize his long term potential, but teams looking for instant solutions will pass here.

Carr also has been a mess both during the regular season (2010: 1-1, 5.40 at Lucy) and winter ball (0-1, 5.06, 12-BB in 16.0-IP). Yes, he throws the ball a billion miles an hour, but I can’t see spending a 40-man slot on him.
De La Torre would, in my opinion, be a loss for the Mets. He really has been an effective minor league pitcher out of the pen (2010: 3-2, 2.69, AAA/AA) and I had hoped to see him in Queens next year. Let’s hope he’s not lost.

Lastly, the Mets were hoping to continue the conversion of Niesen to the pen this winter, but a poor performance in the AWL (5.40) didn’t help. I don’t think anyone will scoop him up. We’ll see.



Top Prospects 46-50 – team slotting:

46. SP Akeel Morris – 17-years old - Not too many people have heard of Akeel Morris.First of all, who drafts someone out of the Virgin Islands? And, in the 10th round, no less? Here’s a 17-year old that sits at 94 and his only downside is no one knew anything about him until he threw a perfect game for his high school. He signed with the Mets and pitched his first game on 7-17-10, pitching two scoreless innings. By the end of the season: 8-games, 6-starts, 24-2-IP, 28-K, 2.19. Did he also give up 17-BB… yes. Do I care… no. He’s 17 and sits 94. Come on folks. There’s absolutely no rush with Morris so the Mets will probably send him to Jeff’s playground next to the roller coaster in Coney Island.
2011: Brooklyn rotation
2012: Savannah rotation



Mack Ade

 47. SP Brandon Moore – 24/yrs. old - Moore is one of the “Savannah 5” that dominated the first half of last season in the Sally League. Brandon does have a little more velo than his pitching buddies, especially a nasty slider he throws up to 90. His three year stats as a Met are 16-13, 3.03, 1.14, with 269-K in 258-IP. 2011 will have to be the year for him to shine at Binghamton if he wants to be serious considered for the 2012-2013 Mets roation.

2011: Binghamton rotation
2012: Buffalo rotation

48. SP Chris Schwinden – 24/yrs. old - Here’s another of the original “Savannah 5”almost ready for the majors and there’s only one slot available to compete for, if any. Similar Mets stats as Moore: 3-year total: 21-14, 3.48, 1.25, but less strikeouts/IP. Another SP5 candidate and it sure is going to be interesting in a year or two when all these are fighting it out for the same slot.

2011: Binghamton rotation

2012: Buffalo rotation



Allan Greene

 49. C Albert Cordero – 20-years old - Finally, the name of a catcher. And, to be honest, he had to come out of nowhere to make this list as the top Mets catching prospect in the system. In the pecking order, there are plenty of catchers that are head of Cordero and, on paper, he shouldn’t get the nod in Savannah ; however, screw the math and make way for the prospect. This was a relatively unknown entity going into the 2010 season, who had a couple of nice seasons for the VSL Mets (.267 in 2008; .284 in 2009), but really didn’t make too many headlines. He came stateside basically as a third-string bullpen catcher and proceeded to hit .277/.306/.466/.772 in 206-AB for the 2010 Kingsport team. Yes, he could be a little more patient and bump up his 8-BB, but he also only struck out 24 times. Most importantly, he only had 6-E in 54-G and he had 8-HRs as well. That ied him for 8th in a league he didn’t even finish the season with. Keep an eye on this kid.

2011: Starting catcher in Savannah

2012: At least, St. Lucie

50. RP T.J. Chism – 22/yrs. old - If you thought no one has ever heard of Akeel Morris, well, move over A.M., here comes T.J. Chism hit .310/.466/.561/1.027 for LaSalle in 2009, so the Mets drafted him as a pitcher. So far, that has panned out, with him acing K-Port this past season (4-0, 0.45, 1.05) and then moving on to Brooklyn (0-0, 1.59). He does run it up to the 92-93 range which is exactly the minimum you want for a major league relief pitcher. Obviously, this guy has awhile to go, but he’s not a spring chicken either. I’m thinking Savannah in th spring.

2011: Savannah pen
2012: Could go as high as Buffalo

So…

Here’s what our rosters look like so far for the 2011 season, based on 2012 need:



Buffalo (9): Rotation: (1) - SP Jenrry Mejia

Relievers: (2) – Manny Alvarez, Jose De La Torre

Catchers: (0) –

Infielders: (4) – 2B Josh Satin, SS Reese Havens, IF Jordany Valdespin, 3B Zach Lutz

Outfielders: (2) – Fernando Martinez, Kirk Nieuwenhuis



Binghamton (12): Rotation: (5) – Jeurys Familia, Robert Carson, Jimmy Fuller, Mark Cohoon, Brandon Moore, Chris Schwinden

Relievers: (5) – Nick Carr, Brant Rustich, Brad Holt, Scott Moviel, Eric Beaulac

Catchers: (0) -

Infielders (1) – 3B, Wilmer Flores

Outfielders (0) -



St. Lucie (10): Rotation (4) – Matt Harvey, Kyle Allen, Yohan Almonte, Collin McHugh, Jimmy Fuller

Relievers (2) – Eric Goeddel, Ryan Fraser

Catchers (0) –
Infielders (1) – SS Robbie Shields

Outfielders (2) – Cesar Puello, Corey Vaughn



Savannah (8): Rotation: (1) – Greg Peavey

Relievers: (0) – T.J. Chism
Catchers: (0) – Albert Cordero
Infielders: (2) – SS Wilfredo Tovar, 3B Aderlin Rodriquez

Outfielders: (3) – Darrell Ceciliani, Javier Rodriguez, Jenry Marte