Mack Ade – AM Report – 8-28-13 – Draft Order, Dilson Herrera, MMs Writers, Anthony Recker, Matt Harvey, Benny Ayala, Dustin Lawley

 

2014 Draft Order – 1 – Houston  86, 2 – Miami  80, 3 – CWS  76, 4 – Cubs 76, 5 – Brewers  73, 6 – Toronto 73, 7 – Giants 73, 8 – Twins 72, 9 – Padres 72, 10 - Mets 71,  11 - Angels 71, 12  – Rockies 71, 13 – Phillies 71,  14 – Seattle 71

 

We have two new writers here at The Mack’s Mets Report.

                David Whitman joined us with his first post yesterday morning.

Christopher Wuensch also joined us and will be writing about baseball, in general, and baseball cards, in particular. Chris and I worked together as sports reporters (he was my boss) for the Morris News Service.

That’s now 21 writer here, something I am very proud of; however, many of them write somewhere between once a month and once a year. We can always handle more intelligent, adult writers that understand the game we all love (I’m particularly looking to expend on writers to cover other teams). Please email me at macksmets@gmail.com to discuss you joining our great site.

 

Re: Dilson Herrera - There is a month to go in the season. Any time you can trade for the 11th prospect in a team's chain, for players you are not going to sign next year... well, you have done a great job regardless of what level that new player is at. Sure we want somebody that was 2014 ready, but you put these players up on waivers and the Pirates claimed them. All you can do now is work the best deal you can with that team.

In this case, you got yourself a top level prospect second baseman, something the Mets simply didn't have in their system. LJ Mazilli is having a nice season in Brooklyn, but he's not a top prospect. Herrera is and it will be interesting to see if he plays St. Lucie or Savannah in September.

I'm thrilled as a minor league weenie... and Soto... you're going to have to update the rankings now :).

ETA: mid-2016.

Thoughts From Soto - I absolutely love this trade. Sandy Alderson demanded a Top 10 prospect for Byrd at the trade deadline and even though its almost 30 days later...he ended up getting what he wanted.  Dilson is a small rangy 2B who was listed as the Pirates #9 overall prospect. Surprisely, even though he's 5'10" 150lbs he packs some power in his tiny frame with 11 HRs in the SAL this season which is generally a pitching first league. He should have enough room to pack on another 30 lbs without reducing his speed which will add to power giving him plus power potential. No one is going to be ahead of him in terms of the organizational depth chart so he has a clear path to the MLB with an ETA of probably Sept. 2015. This is an absolute steal for 2 one month rentals plus there is still a PTBNL. Remember the last time Alderson had a PTBNL? Turned out to be Wuilmer Becerra, who has potential to be a Top 15 prospect in his own right.....Very Very Happy.

 

Dejan Kovacevic      ‏@Dejan_Kovacevic        -  Huntington on PTBNL: “New York’s going to get a pretty good second piece. The #Mets did a nice job.”

 

Dilson Herrera ‏@Dilson_H  - I'm also excited for this new chapter of my career in the @Mets organization #NewYork #Colombia

 

Jeremy Hefner     ‏@jeremy_hefner53 - Surgery in the morning! Get this thing fixed and come back stronger! Thanks for the encouraging text and tweets

 

From MetsBlog - The Mets will promote Anthony Recker, which could signal a trade involving John Buck, Adam Rubin suggests on his blog for ESPN New York.

I would like to keep Buck around as a mentor to Travis d’Arnaud and the primary catcher to Matt Harvey; however, with the recent injury, this just my not be in the cards anymore. The Mets have the money to do this, figuring Buck would probably accept a deal in the $3-4mil range. Then again, this may be a moot point and he could be traded by the time you read this. Either way, the Mets are going to need more than someone like Juan Centeno or Francisco Pena to replace  Recker as the #2 catcher. Let’s see how Recker  fairs the rest of the season.

 

Peter Gammons –

People all around baseball were sick at the news that Matt Harvey’s elbow may require Tommy John Surgery. “What makes it so bad for the Mets is not only that it denies them one of the best young pitchers in baseball,” said one general manager, “but look at the next couple of years. He will miss the 2014 season. He will be on an innings limit in 2015, like 140-150 innings. Then at the end of the 2015 season, he will be arbitration eligible.” http://www.gammonsdaily.com/matt-harvey-tommy-john-surgery/

 

 

Odds of Harvey Breaking Down -

Putting it all together, there were no glaring red flags pointing to an injury issue with Matt Harvey, just a couple of slightly pink ones. He was experiencing a small drop in velocity and may throw the ball too hard on a regular basis. Other pitchers do the same things daily and don’t tear their UCL. Additionally, he showed no signs of bad mechanics, inability to throw strikes, high work load, too many breaking balls or late game inconsistencies. His injury is just another example of a pitcher trying to do his best and his body not letting him. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-odds-of-matt-harvey-breaking-down/

 

 

Lost in all the meshugas of Monday was the horrendous performance of Noah Syndergaard for Binghamton… 11 runs in three innings pitched! Some are saying a missed rotation start could have caused this; however, something is really wrong here. This guy was hitless all season for the B-Mets. Hell, his ERA AFTER this outing is still only 3.00.

Can’t we just shut down him and Wheeler before something else goes wrong this season?

 

Zach Sanders – Roto:

Matt Harvey’s UCL is torn, may need TJ -  Outside of his shoulder literally falling off or some kind of vicious decapitation, Harvey having a partially torn UCL is the worst. Harvey has been put on the DL, and he will remain there for the rest of the 2013 campaign, and perhaps all of the 2014 season. Harvey is still being evaluated, and a torn UCL doesn’t always mean surgery; it usually does, but there’s still a chance that Harvey can rehab through it and be ready for 2014. Life sucks sometimes, and I really do feel for Mets fans. They haven’t been able to catch much of a break in a long time, and losing their best player is no way to turn things around. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/roto-riteup-august-27-2013/

 

Grantland –

Harvey is young and strong, with years of big performance likely still ahead. Whereas 50 years ago a torn UCL was usually a death sentence, today it's a procedure done on hundreds of pitchers, with very a high success rate. If he does end up needing surgery, missing a year of action is never an ideal situation. But with the Mets still rebuilding, this is as good a time as any for an injury like this to happen. A year from now, two years from now, five and 10 years from now, this could all seem a distant memory — a minor speed bump in what could end up being a spectacular career. http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/72614/lets-calm-down-about-matt-harveys-elbow

 

Benny Ayala -

I really think the greatest feeling in our world is that moment when you realize your dreams come true. As my plane touched down in Queens, it was like Christmas night in America – I felt so nervous because everything I wanted in life was about to be given to me. It’s a simple feeling but it’s very complicated, too. You’re being offered a chance that not everyone gets – what happens if you fail? What happens if this is only a cup of coffee rather than a lifetime of five-course meals in the big leagues? That’s what went through my mind as Luis Alicea (not the Cardinals player from the ‘80s), one of the men who worked in the Mets Public Relations department, yelled out my name as I made my way through the gate at La Guardia Airport. No more thoughts and what ifs. Now I had a job to do. http://www.instreamsports.com/alpha/node/340

 

Sam Dykstra -

Dustin Lawley, meanwhile, has been the best power hitter in a circuit that notoriously favors those on the mound. His 25 homers lead all sluggers and put him seven ahead of his closest competition -- a three-way race for second between K.C. Hobson (Dunedin), Nick Ramirez (Brevard County) and Kennys Vargas (Fort Myers), each with 18.The 24-year-old left-fielder, whose previous career high was just 14 homers last year for Class A Savannah, also ranks first with 90 RBIs, second with a .514 slugging percentage, tied for third with 31 doubles and sixth with an .826 OPS. He spotted a .257/.311/.514 line over 117 games with the Mets.