Last 61 games... 34-27
Loses as of Tuesday morning –
1) Houston – 84… 2) Miami – 76… 3) White Sox – 74… 4) Brewers - 71... 5) Cubs – 71… 6) Phillies – 70… 7) Padres - 70... 8) Twins – 69… 9) Giants – 69… 10) Angels 69… 11) Toronto - 69... 12) Rockies - 68... 13) Seattle – 67… 14) Mets 66
Current projected 14th pick:
RHP Dylan Cease
6-11-13 - 10. Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS, Ga.: This year's Draft was partly about the outfielders in Georgia. Cease will make 2014 about pitching, as the right-hander has a loose, electric arm that touched 97 mph this past spring to go along with a good breaking ball and a feel for a changeup. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130611&content_id=50293726&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_50293726
6-30-13 - Jheremy Brown @JBrownPG - 2014 RHP Dylan Cease (Milton, GA) warming up at 92/93 on field 2 at East Cobb
7-2-13 - 10. Dylan Cease- RHP, Milton (GA) HS - 6’2, 180 RHP who ran it up to 97 at the National Showcase http://www.ninebaseball.org/Wordpress/jeff-sullivans-top-100-2014-prospects/
7-5-13 - Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS (GA) - A 6’-2”, 190-pound right-hander with an extremely live arm, Cease hit 97 mph at the Perfect Game Nationals and showed the makings of a plus curveball. He adds a solid change-up and he has a clean, easy delivery. Like many others on this list, he is a very good athlete and two-way player. He had a 1.05 ERA and 98 K/35 BB over 68.1 innings as a junior. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/prep-arms-chicago-cubs/34856#Vp7zJ4JvRevfV1fR.99
7-25-13 – Top 30 High School Prospects For 2014 Draft - 4. Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS (GA) - 6'2/180, Draft Day Age: 18.44, No college commitment, Full Report & Video - Quick Take: Cease isn't that big but will sit 93-95 and hit 97 mph with a well-synced delivery, mix in a mid-70's curveball that's plus at times along with a changeup that's at least average. http://sbb.scout.com/2/1310090.html
8-2-13 - Jeff Sullivan @JSully12 - Dylan Cease - RHP, Milton (GA) HS sitting 95-96 in the 1st inning. 2 K pic.twitter.com/fMGNd718O0
8-6-13 - Top pitchers - East Coast Professional Showcase, Syracuse, NY - 1. Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS (Ga.): In his first inning of work, Cease threw a steady diet of 95- and 96-mph fastballs in a very effective inning. His velocity dropped in his second and third innings, not typically an issue, and he did have trouble commanding his breaking ball a bit. Still, Cease had as big of an arm as anyone at the event. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130806&content_id=56048786&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
2013 East Coast Pro Showcase Top 50 Prospects - 2. Dylan Cease – RHP, Milton (GA) HS - Tough choice for 1 and 2, as Cease sat 95-96 in his first inning. His curve ball is a pitch in the works, which is why he is at 2. http://www.ninebaseball.org/Wordpress/sullys-top-50-ecp-prospects/
8-14-13 – Through The Fence – Top 50 Prospects – 19. Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS (GA) - With a fastball that sits in the 93-96 mph range, the 6’-2” right-hander is another hard throwing prepster in a class deep on them. He adds an above-average curveball and is a very athletic player who also shines on the offensive end. The mound is where he dominates, however, and he still has projection left. Plus, he plays in Georgia where they grow elite players on a farm somewhere. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-top-50-prospects/36463#mwWwsFxSUZy7YC5V.99
We're going to have to keep an eye on Kingsport 12-year out phenom starter, Chris Flexen. Okay, he's not 12, but he pitched a complete game last night and is now 7-1, 2.14 for the season with 56-K (only 12-BB) in 11-starts and 63.0-IP. Watch for a jump to Lucy in Spring 2014.
Michael Scannell –
I have another question for you. Juan Lagares is cementing himself as one of the best defensive CF in baseball. Can he hit and get on base enough to hit leadoff it #2?
Mack – That’s the $64,000 question.
All anyone is looking for is the second coming of Carlos Gomez.
This year’s BA, April (.083), May (.171), June (.271), July (.353), August (.211). You can’t have a starting centerfielder that hits only one month out of the year.
Now, if he can hit what he hit for the combined June-July period for the entire year and be flanked by two other outfielders that hit for both average and power, then you have yourself a starting centerfielder.
Me? I want to see more first.. I want to see him beat out both Matt den Dekker and Eric Young Jr. in the spring for the CF slot and then start off strong. Then and only then will I anoint him with the job.
John – on ‘bone chips’
As someone who has bone chips and plays baseball (granted in a men's league far from the pros) and someone who pitches, it can be very difficult and at times painful to pitch with bone chips in your elbow. I felt that I had a harder time finishing my pitches and reaching back for velocity. I know it is not the same thing as Mejia since he is in the majors and has vastly superior stuff compared to mine, but as I pitched this summer, the pain came and went but never got much worse and was tolerable most of the time when anti-inflamatories were taken. So I think that it was okay to let Mejia pitch through it as long as he could as long as he did not do any more damage. At the same time, I think that letting him get the surgery now is good so he can be ready for spring training.
Suspended Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun told stars around baseball before spring training 2012 that the man who collected his urine that tested positive for synthetic testosterone was anti-Semitic and a Chicago Cubs fan in an effort to gather support throughout the game, three sources familiar with the conversations told Yahoo! Sports. Ryan Braun received a 65-game suspension from MLB for his ties to the Biogenesis clinic. (AP)Braun sought backing from Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, whom he had beaten out for the National League MVP months earlier, along with Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto and Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, among others, sources said. He reached out to peers in hopes they would publicly stick up for him following an expected suspension. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ryan-braun-tried-to-discredit-urine-collector-in-calls-to-mlb-stars-021053235.html
Sandberg is inheriting a team of ghosts: Ryan Howard, the franchise player who once was and never again shall be; Chase Utley, the aging fan-favorite who has gone on the disabled list each of the last four years; Jimmy Rollins, the former face of the franchise who has all but gone on record saying he's playing for career milestones now; and Jonathan Papelbon, the reliever whose fastball velocity, strikeout rate and usage are declining already, with three years remaining on his monstrous deal. People talk about a youth movement in Philadelphia, and for some reason Darin Ruf's name keeps popping up, because 27 actually does seem pretty young when compared to all of the other regulars holding down spots in the lineup. And the farm system? There isn't really one to speak of. http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/57463086/?tcid=tw_share
Jose Torres asked –
Mack, I know you don’t handle the ranking of the prospects anymore, but I’m curious what your thoughts are right now on the potential of how many future major leaguers we have in our system.
Mack – No problem, Jose.
Projecting major league pitching is almost impossible to do below the AA level. That being said, I’ll give it a stab.
I think the Mets have five future MLB starters in their system… Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, and Luis Mateo.
I think there are eight more that have a 50-50 chance of starting in the majors… Logan Verrett, Jake deGrom, Dan Gorski, Rainy Lara, Matt Bowman, Gabriel Ynoa, Akeel Morris, and Luis Cessa.
And, I think there are six more in the lower levels that have a 30-70 chance of being a major league starter… Miller Diaz, John Gant, Robert Gsellman, Carlos Valdez, Chris Flexin, and Robert Whalen.
Anywhere from three to five of these guys will go down with career crippling injuries, but still, this is a lot of quality pitching for one organization.
There are ton of Mets writers out there all trying to figure out who’s going to be added to the Mets rotation if and when somebody else is either hurt or shut down. It look like Carlos Torres will step in for the opening created with the Jenrry Mejia injury, but what’s next come September 1st? It seems like every Mets pitcher from Binghamton to Willet’s Point is being shut down for too many innings pitched this year.
So, while all this speculation is being… well… speculated, let me throw out the name of Darin Gorski.
The 25-year old lefty has pitched in 15 games this year and did have four miserable games in Las Vegas (4-games, 3-starts, 6.59, 13.2-IP, 7-K, 9-BB), but, since then, has been almost spotless for Binghamton. He’s now pitched in 12 games there (11-starts) and has cared an impressive 1.97 ERA.
Sandy and Company fell in love with this guy during spring training and actually considered bringing him to Queens on opening day as the ‘other lefty’ a long side Josh Edgin. That never happened, but I can’t think of a better time to showcase another lefty in the system than September.
An East Central University (OK) student from Australia has been found shot to death in Duncan. Duncan Police Chief Danny Ford says 23-year-old Christopher Lane was found shot to death Friday. Three juveniles have been arrested on first-degree murder charges for the shooting. Ford said Lane was jogging on Country Club Road when the three suspects, ages 15, 16 and 17, chose him as target in what he believes was a random drive-by shooting. http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/state/australian-east-central-university-student-shot-to-death-in-duncan-three-juveniles-arrested#undefined.uxfs#ixzz2cT2lzjhS
In response to Chris Flexen,
ReplyDeleteI think a jump to Port St. Lucie is too aggressive. I do believe though that he will skip Brooklyn and pitch in the favorable conditions of Grayson Stadium for the Savannah Sand Gnats which would put him on the same age path as Fulmer before he got injured.
18 at GCL
19 at Savannah
20 at St. Lucie/Binghamton
21 at Binghamton/ Vegas/added to 40 man during off-season for Rule 5 protection
22 at Vegas/ready for mid-season
In terms of adding arms to the big league club for September, what do you think about The recently released Dice-K? I think I would rather see what he's got left as opposed to the 2 guys we signed and shipped to Vegas yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets signed two pitchers yesterday and assigned them to Las Vegas. I expect they (Mitch Talbot, Daryl Thompson), Matt Fox, and Giancarlo Alvarado will be the guys used, if needed.
ReplyDeleteDid I say St. Lucie?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry... I meant Savannah
Glad you brought up Darin Gorski. I’ve often thought of him as a left-handed Dylan Gee—not overpowering, but knows how to use his repertoire. Would likely be behind the “break glass in case of emergency” locker door in a Harvey-Neise-Wheeler-Mejia-Syndergaard rotation (along with Gee & DeGrom) but probably should be protected on the 40-man.
ReplyDeleteAlong with DeGrom & Matz, Gorski would seem to be the type of player a team might very well risk carrying on their Active Roster via Rule 5 (position players—Dykstra, DenDekker, Vaughn—much less so IMO). Yet Rule 5 is a lesser risk than adding prematurely to the 40-man and DFA’ing in a numbers crunch. If they feel they must protect him (them) in Dec., however, bring him (them) up in September.
I wonder if a Lagares/MDD R/L platoon might work in CF next year.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind that aggressive a jump. Kid's got great stuff.
ReplyDeleteGorski will never scream off the page at you, but I really liked the LLOGY idea the Mets had last ST.
ReplyDeleteA Lagares/MDD platoon will not break down defensively and could actually increase the offensive numbers for that position... that's the bottom line... if it works, do it.
ReplyDeleteI always like to look to the future with what I have, not what I want, so, for me EJY is in left, Lagares/DD in center, and a returning Byrd is in right.
Now... you add from there... or wait for Puello and possibly, Vaughn.
As do I.
ReplyDeleteGreat morning report, Mack.
ReplyDeleteI'd add Gabriel Ynoa to the first list you have there. He's about the same age as Fulmer, has good stuff, great stats this year, and some of the best control you will ever see from a 19-year-old. He won't be a Wheeler or a Mejia, but he should project to a mid-rotation guy. Next year in a more hitter-friendly St. Lucie should speak a lot to what we have there but he's right there with Matz and Fulmer to me as "the next three".
isn't it great when we're debating over who will be the 15th or 16th starter that makes the majors?
ReplyDeleteIt is great. I'd also add Ynoa. He's young and along with Matz/Fulmer, has pitched wonderfully in the SAL.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, but of all the Cyclone starters from last year, only Ynoa has really built upon it. Yeah, Lara pitched himself to Lucy, but hasn't taken off there. I hoped for more from him, but I guess he's holding his own.
Robles has fell off the map. Mateo got hurt. Cessa isn't standing out either. Ynoa looks to be a good pitcher.
Moving forward, Sandy has so many options because of these arms. They shouldn't have to spend big money on a free agent pitcher for years. If in contention, they shouldn't have to trade away any prospects to acquire one for the stretch run. He could easily trade an arm or two for more offensive help. The question is which one.
I honestly feel the Niese and Gee are going to be dangled this off season. Both are pitching excellent and are showing that they are legitimate starters in MLB. They both also are under controll for a couple years. That's a very valuable commodity in MLB.
I wonder if Gee would be enough, alone with perhaps another prospect, to get the mets a great bat for the outfield. Niese certainly would be able to get them a great package, much like the Dickey deal. Because of the cost of pitching, I just wouldn't go looking to trade any of the prospect arms. You just get so much more for the ML tested pitchers and you get to replace them with much cheaper arms.