Mack Ade – AM Report – 7-5-13 – Reese Kaplan, Andrew Church, Akeel Morris, Wuilmer Becerra, and Stuff

 

We’ve had a couple of injuries here on Mack’s Mets… I’ve been down for two days with a recurring virus that comes and goes ever since I blew out my immune system a year ago after being bit by a spider (don’t walk your dog on the edge of a river). Additionally, Reese Kaplan broke seven ribs in a motorcycle accident and he has to shelve his posts for a couple of healing weeks. 

(could always need a few more writers on a weekly basis... one post per week minimum... you write it, I'll schedule it Sat or Sun 12noon...  email me at: macksmets@gmail.com 

  

A couple of our recent pitching draft picks made it to the GCL Mets mound on Wednesday. Round three pick Casey Meisner (0.00) pitched a scoreless inning in the 6-2 loss to the Marlins, while #2 pick Andrew Church (27.00) debuted in the twin bill 5-4 win by giving up three earned runs in one inning.  

 

 

 An interesting pair of pitchers in Wednesday’s Cyclones game. The starter was Carlos Valdez (6.0-IP, 3-H, 0-R, 0-ER, 1-BB, 5-K, 2.93), a late blooming 22-year old, first out of the LAA DSL system and then ours, but the other pitcher was Akeel Morris (4.0-IP, 1-H, 0-ER, 1-BB, 5-K, still 0.00 for the season) who supposedly is now a member of the pen. Four innings sure look like a piggy-back to me. I’ll check with Akeel and see…

 

I’m starting to realize that the ‘throw-in’ in the R.A. Dickey trade just could turn into the hidden jem in this deal. RF Wuilmer Becerra is currently impressing everyone associated with the GCL league, hitting .324 (19^th in the league)/.366/.378/.744. Yes, it’s a small sample (37-at bats) and most of the hits are singles (12), but there’s only eight strikeouts for this ex-bonus boy 19-year old (BTW, teammate 3B Jhoan Urena (.351) is 13^th in the league). 

Speaking of Latin bonus baby prospects, 3B Pedro Perez was signed before the 2011 season began. He had a so-so season in 2011 (DSL-.262), played sparingly in 2012 (Kingsport-.119), and was off to a slow start again in Tennessee this season (.219 before yesterday). Well, the 19-year old broke out of his shell yesterday, hitting two home runs and knocking in seven runs. He finished the day with his BA up to .270 and we’ll  keep an eye out on him. 

Jonathan Niese’s follow-up MRI has been pushed off until next Monday because the doctor that is supposed to do it is vacationing in the Hamptons. Are you fucking kidding me? You can’t find an MRI-tech somewhere in the hospital to get this done and then FedEx it out to Dr. Who on the beach so we can get back to the business of baseball? 

 

Jon Presser –     

Rookie outfielder Juan Lagares has been a pleasant surprise for the New York Mets here in 2013, as Terry Collins' outfield roulette seems to land on "Lagares, center field" more often than not these days. The 24-year-old Lagares went relatively under the radar as he rose up the Mets' minor league system the past couple of years. He was a shortstop in his teenage years in A-ball, before moving to the outfield and steadily emerging as a legitimate plus defender in center. Since Lagares made his MLB debut, he's shown Mets fans that his defense in the spacious Citi Field outfield is for real, and it's probably been good enough to warrant an everyday spot in the lineup for the short-term, at the very least. http://thesheafaithful.com/articles/juan-lagares-and-production

 

Chase Bradford -

Today is a day we celebrate the freedom we have because of the few and proud who fought and died for what we have and hold true. I'm sad to say that we have gone away from what makes us the greatest country in the world. Sadly my generation but a few have no idea what it is to love your country and do anything for it. Instead of standing tall like the great nation we are this generation in my opinion has failed. This generation is lazy, entitled and scared to do anything for our future. Forget about our political parties and let's start doing things for each other and this nation. Happy fourth of July and please remember those who served and continue to serve.

Michael Scannell asked –

What do you think Jeremy Hefner could fetch?

                For every Frank Francisco lost there is a Hefner found. We talk about outfield prospects like the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Peterson or Detroit’s Nick Castellanos all the time. Teams offer players like this every day for established, successful, major league players (Wheeler for Beltran). This increases even more when a pitcher is involved.

                What I wonder is… what if this guy is for real? We’re waiting for pitchers like Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard to develop. What if, long term, we have a better one on the roster already? I can’t think of a better pitcher to slot in between the speed of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler during a three or four game series with another team.