Stuff – Zach Dotson, Zo Harris, 12th Pick, Willie Nelson

I heard from P Zach Dotson over the weekend:

“Hey Mack, I'm just working on some stuff I'm still in Kingsport…”

Zach remains on a very long road to recovery from the surgery that put him down two years ago. I can speak firsthand about this kid because I covered him as a local boy out of Effingham High School and, boy, could he bring it. He’s tried to return to the game a couple of times (don’t look at the ERA), but he’s just not ready to pitch.

I give the Alderson team a lot of credit staying with pitchers like Dotson and Steven Matz (Dotson’s roommate). The talent was always there and both were great picks (Dotson might have been an even better one since the Mets stole him in the later rounds after all signs were that he was going to turn down any offers and go to college).

You’re not going to see Zach or Steven anymore this year, but that’s just fine. They’ll be basically living in extended camp working out their problems. I wish both of them nothing but success.

Alonzo Harris

Toby Hyde had a very enlightening piece on CF Alonzo Harris:

That subtle positional shift reflects how far Harris has come as a player this year on both sides of the ball. Harris has raked at a .319/.389/.469 rate with 23 walks and 25 strikeouts in 50 games in the second half. He’s walking plenty, not striking out, hitting for a little pop and stealing bases. Oh, and he’s playing centerfield. He was recruited as a Division I defensive back in football out of high school, so I think he has the speed and explosiveness for the postion. Harris’ playing time went up when Ceciliani and Puello went down with injuries, and he’s taken good advantage of the opportunity. It’s hard to see an everyday player in a 23-year old in advanced-A, but his speed and defensive versatility (CF/LF/2B) could make him a fit on a big league bench.

Toby went on to go overboard, stating that he would pick Harris over fellow almost-prospect outfielder, Cory Vaughn. Was that necessary? Couldn’t you just say something nice about somebody doing something well, rather than put down another player who might win their divisional home run championship?

My problems with Harris have always been outside the game. He simply is a very inward person who first comes off as someone disliking you. Then, as you spend time around him, you realize it’s just his reserved, quiet approach to life. Add to this a lack of smile (I challenge you to find a picture of him smiling J) and it’s easy to see why so few have written about him.

Me? Having two outfielders being written about in one article because they both have talent that may project them to the majors? I’ll take this problem!

12^th Pick

I’m writing this before the Colorado series, so things can change real quick here.

I’ve got the Mets getting the 12^th pick in the 2013 draft.

It’s quite early, but there are some guys that simply won’t be around by then. They are: OF Austin Meadows, RHP Mark Appel, RHP Clinton Holton (#1 on my personal mock), C Jeremy Gonzalez, and OF Austin Wilson.

That leaves six more picks before the Mets would pick.

Position wise, there are a ton of very talented high school catcher in this draft that are going to be gone on the first day. Some include Reese McGuire, Nick Ciuffo, Zach Collins, Logan Koch, Chris Okey, Anthony Sherlag, and Tyler Alamo.

Any of these would be a great first day pick.

Willie Nelson

I saw where 79-year old Willie Nelson had to cancel a concert he was scheduled to give at a private home (really?) because he felt dizzy and became ill. Christ, we were done with Willie showing up and playing in local Austin bars when I lived there is the early 90s. Why can’t old, sick guys just go away (if this doesn’t cue a response from either Petey or the NYFS dudes, nothing will)? J