Mack Ade – Morning Report – 4-19-13

Sully ‏@asvpxsully

@Mets how long until Gavin Cecchini comes up. That man is legit.

Will Carroll‏@injuryexpert2m

Travis d'Arnaud's fracture is in a very difficult place for catcher, on instep. Will cost him significant time, second lost season.

                -give me a fucking break…

Gideon Turk‏ @gideonturk - Eventually d'Arnaud will need to be moved from the catcher position...

                -Mr. d’Arnaud… this is right field… right field… this is Mr. d’Arnaud.

There seems to be some concern about where the extra 3-mph velocity has come from for pitcher Oliver Perez. Perez has pitched out of the pen in eight games, posting a 1.13 ERA in 8.0-IP. Radar clocks got him well above what he has thrown in the past and we are talking an aging body here. Hmm…

Fangraphs on Kevin Plawecki – link

Through 12 games, the contact-oriented catcher has 10 extra base hits fueling a .375/.426/.667 triple slash line. While scouting him in Rome, I overheard a scout say something to the effect of, “How can I not like this guy? He has six doubles since I started following the team and he barrels everything.” Plawecki’s swing is rhythmic and generates easy bat speed. He doesn’t throw his hips hard to maximize power, but the catcher doesn’t have to. Clean, repeatable swing mechanics will result in moderate power production when combined with Plawecki’s size and low strikeout totals.

                Plawecki’s getting screwed right now. Every catcher in the system seems to be playing good and there simply is no place for him to go, even after the d’Arnaud injury. He will die of old age before he gets to the majors.

John Sickles on Jeurys Famiia – link

It was originally hoped that Familia could become a workhorse starting pitcher, but he appears more comfortable in the bullpen and that seems like his best role going forward. He has enough stuff to be a closer if the command is there, although for now middle relief will give him the opportunity to prove that he can throw strikes well enough to take on a larger role. I like his upside enough that I gave him a Grade B- in the 2013 Baseball Prospect Book and ranked him as the Number Six Mets prospect for 2013.

Former Met Pedro Beato is off to an impressive start for Triple-A Pawtucket, allowing one run in eight innings. “He should be up with Boston,” said one scout who has been watching Beato in the International League. “He’ll help them this year.” The Mets traded Beato -- who fell out of favor for legitimate performance and clubhouse reasons-- last year for catcher Kelly Shoppach.  Shoppach found it challenging to play baseball, and interact with people. link

-With David Ortiz due back perhaps as early as Friday rookie outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.  will likely the option to the minor leagues. Bradley has missed four out of the last seven games for the Red Sox essentially due to poor performance. Bradley is hitless in his last 20 at-bats with 10 strikeouts and for the season is 3 for 31. Bradley seems to be taking the pending assignment in stride. - link

                Sadly, it is proven every time a rookie is rushed, a rookie is rushed. Fans will never understand this. They simply want things before they are ready. Bradley will be fine. He was the complete 5-tool player out of South Carolina who lost a little giddy-up with a ticky-tack injury. He’ll be back.

-By my count, there are five minor league starters on the DL. They are, and the level they should be pitching at, are:

                                Luis Mateo – A+ St. Lucie

                                Cory Mazzoni – AA Binghamton

                                Michael Fulmer – A+ St. Lucie

        Jenrry Mejia – AAA Las Vegas (by the way, just what in thhe hell has happened to this     guy?

                                Alex Panteleodis – A+ St. Lucie

I have no idea on the status of Mateo or Pants, but Savannah is currently operating with seven starters (Ynoa, Matz, Lara, Cessa, Bowman, Taylor, Koch) and somebody has to be moved to Florida to fill in the SP5 slot. Hopefully, this will be taken care of by the time this report comes out II’m writing this on Wednesday night).  

We may have to start to take SP Jake deGrom more serious. He was a 9^th round draft pick in 2010, out of Stetson, who spent the entire 2011 season on the DL (TJS). No one expected to hear from him again, but Jake would have nothing to do with that. He went 6-3, 2.51 for Savannah last year, followed by 3-0, 2.08 for St. Lucie (combined 9-3, 2.43, 111.1-IP, 96-K, 20-BB). This year he started back at Lucy (1-0, 3.00) but was an emergency promotion to Binghamton to fill in for the injured Luis Mateo. All he does Wednesday night is go 8.0-IP, giving up one run and striking out eight while walking one (1.13). I’m not exactly sure if he will stick here if and when either Mateo or Cory Mazzoni come back, but this was a hell of a first AA outing for the 6-4 right that turns 25 this June.