2-11-13 – Cory Vaughn, Zack Wheeler, Michael Bourne, Felix Hernandez, Elvis Andrus

Frank Insjersey asked -

 "Mack, still a big fan of the site. My question is regarding Corey Vaughn. Do you see him ever in the majors, if so, how long and what role? Thank you."

Mack:

          Hey Frank, long time.

          I have never questioned Vaughn’s God-given talent, though my comments on draft day were quite harsh. He has proven he can hit for average (2010 – Brooklyn - .307) and power (2012 – St. Lucie – 23-HRs). The problem last year was that he sacrificed his BA (.243) for his pop.

          There’s a lot of people that have a lot of opinions about Vaughn and mine are shared by more than one. Vaughn has one of the more unconventional swings that should have been changed the day he came into the organization. He also has a very special relationship with his fellow outfield prospect, Darrell Ceciliani, and their two-year batting coach, Benny Distefano. Not every teammate has been a fan of this and it probably will be a good thing that Vaughn will move on to Binghamton without him.

          Let’s give him another year… we need to remember he was one home run away from leading the league last season. Last time I looked, we don’t have too many of these kind of hitters around here. Right now, I would project him as a 4^th/5th outfielder, but his bat could change that.

         

Zack Wheeler, New York Mets

Position: RHP

Ht/Wt: 6’-4”, 185

Age: 22

Bats/Throws: L/R

Drafted/Signed: 2009, 1st Round (HS: East Paulding, GA)

Wheeler is one of the best pitching prospects out there — he’s not a secret anymore. With R.A. Dickey aging and the inconsistencies of the rest of their staff exposed, Wheeler will get the call in 2013.

He’s a tall, lanky pitcher with a killer curveball that fools both left- and right-handed batters. His change-up is solid, but nothing to brag about. His breaking balls are the main attraction to his repertoire, though. He can reach as high as 98 mph with his fastball, but consistently stays in the mid-90s with his sidearm release on his two-seamer. -  TTF

Andy Martino ‏@MartinoNYDN

Latest on Michael Bourn: Mets still hopeful of signing, but I'm told there are currently "no discussions" bt union and league about draft pick issue. As we reported, union, not Mets would have to file grievance, then there would be hearing before arbitrator, MLB, Union could settle before a hearing. But again, I'm told no talks are happening about that as of this moment.

I don’t see any other team making a move here which is good for the Mets. Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow. Bourn is going to start getting anxious and look for an adjustment by his agent on the amount of year demands for his next contract.


Everybody in baseball was shocked with the extension that will pay P Felix Hernandez $175mil over the next seven years.

Well, Buster Olney reported Sunday that the deal isn't done yet and ther seems to be some medical questions regarding the condition of Hernandez' pitching elbow.

Buyers remorse and unlimited critical press can easily make a team take a little longer look through the MRI machine (think Mike Napoli), so we'll have to keep an eye on this one. 

I'm sure this will be the lead story on Hot Stove at 9am.


Lastly, I have a question for you...

Is SS Elvis Andrus a possible future candidate for SS for the New York Mets?

A couple of thoughts... we know that Ruben Tejada could make the conversion to 2B pretty easy. We also know that it's only a matter of time before Jurickson Profar becomes the Texas shortstop.

This could be a nice 12-18 month project for Sandy Alderson that he could keep bringing up each time he talks to either Texas or Andrus' agent, Scott Boras.

The Mets are going to have some real nice young pitching available in the next 12 months. In addition, 2B Daniel Murphy offers a DH option to Texas. Build enough into this deal and Texas could throw in their 2013 contract of OF David Murphy.

Andres is under contract for $5.05 in 2013 and $6.725 in 2014. He will play 2013 as a 24-year old.