1/10/12

Mets - Darin Gorski, Carlos Beltran, Scott Sauerbach, Brad Holt



1-3-12 - mets360  - 8. Darin Gorski, LHP, Hi-A, 11-3, 2.08 ERA, 140 Ks in 138.2 IP - Most of the major prospect hounds are taking a wait-and-see approach with Gorski. They want to see how he does at Double-A before getting on the bandwagon. Gorski came out of nowhere last year and dominated at St. Lucie, yet he did this as a 23 year old, adding to the doubts. But here’s what Gorski has going for him: He’s a lefty who throws strikes, scouting reports have him at around 90 (Keith Law said 87-91 while Kevin Goldstein said 90-93), he throws three pitches and has outstanding command.

Carlos Beltran, OF  STL –  After back to back seasons where Beltran’s knee problems prevented him from playing more than half a year, he bounced back last season and managed to appear in 142 games.  His power was back, his average was up and it looked like he was the Carlos of old.  However, he did miss some time in August after tweaking that same knee and was lost for about two weeks, so the health concerns emerged once again.  Was this little incident just a minor thing or is it a foreshadowing of more consistent problems as we move forward?  The Cardinals seem to feel like he’s ok and have him slated to play regularly in right field, but the market for the soon-to-be 35 year old was pretty thin this offseason, so perhaps, there are some that don’t fully  believe that his knees can continue to hold up.  He can certainly be a fantasy asset when healthy, but using anything more than a 15th round pick could cost you plenty in the long run. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/top-10-high-risk-veterans-part-1/

What was your draft experience like, and how did you first know the Mets were interested in drafting you?: My draft experience was pretty miserable actually. I thought I had a chance to be drafted after my junior year in college, and sat around the house for three days waiting for the phone to ring. It never did, obviously.  I had two great starts to start my senior year in college, and then broke the thumb on my throwing hand in start number three and missed pretty much the rest of the year. I took the splint off the last couple of weeks of the season and pitched, as I had to get out there on the mound for anyone to see that I was healthy enough to pitch- which meant be healthy enough to be drafted. If you have ever tried to pitch with a broken thumb, it’s not the smartest thing you can do, but I really didn’t have a choice. Usually after the first inning it would swell up enough to render it useless in every sense, and I think I would of actually been better not having a thumb at that point, as it was not in contact with the ball at all and was just getting in the way. http://seamheads.com/2012/01/05/scott-sauerbeck-discusses-his-career/

1-6-12: - metsmerized  - 31. Brad Holt (RHP) Holt was at one time ranked up near the top of this list, but after failing miserably as a starter upon arriving at AA, he regressed for several seasons before seemingly straightening things out towards the end of last year. He has therefore fallen pretty far in the rankings as he tries to re-invent himself as a relief pitcher. I wrote a pretty involved spiel on Holt back in September, in the “Buffalo 2012 Preview” piece, entitled ‘Help On The Way’. Here’s some of what I said:  “Holt’s 2011 season wasn’t eye-popping, but he is definitely making progress. His overall numbers this year are average, 8-8 with a 4.71 ERA, but most of the runs he gave up were in the first half when he was being utilized as a starter. Since being converted to a relief pitcher full-time, he has been quietly doing a superb job, going 6-2 with a 4.09 ERA, in one and two inning stints. In his last eleven games out of the pen Holt is: 4-1 with a 4.02 ERA, and opponents are hitting .203 off him. The biggest improvement Holt has made is in his increased command, which has resulted in fewer walks, and that was crucial for him. As a starter last year, his K/BB ratio was 39/42, that’s right, more walks than strikeouts. As a reliever, his K/BB was 35/15. If he can keep moving forward, and make the necessary adjustments to the higher caliber of play at AAA, he could emerge as a “relief ace” for Buffalo, a real lock down 8th inning guy, which is exactly what the Mets see him as in the bigs. Will he be a help to the Mets at sometime in 2012 as a bullpen option? Why the heck not? He’s got the talent, hopefully his mechanics will fall into line.”

No comments: