Mack Ade – Noon Report – 8-23-13 – Masahiro Tanaka, Trace Evans, Chris Flexen, Zack Wheeler, Dominic Smith, Davey Johnson

Several teams expect Japanese righthander Masahiro Tanaka to make the jump to Major League Baseball next season, but there could be changes to the posting system on the way that affect his future. Earlier this year, MLB teams received a memo from the commissioner’s office stating that MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball were in discussions regarding potential revisions to the protocol agreement between the two leagues. Nobby Ito, the NPB chief of international baseball operations, also told The Japan Times this month that MLB and NPB are in negotiations about the posting system. Contrary to what some teams have believed, MLB confirmed that the posting system is still in existence, but declined to comment on any potential discussions to modify the agreement. http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/as-teams-scout-masahiro-tanaka-posting-system-changes-could-be-coming/

 

 



 

A year ago, Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies became the 22nd player in major league baseball history to hit a home run in four consecutive at-bats. Last week, a big kid with a mop of blond hair named Trace Evans hit a home run in 11 consecutive official at-bats to power the Las Vegas Baseball Academy Lightning to the championship of a 104-team tournament for kids 12 and under at Cooperstown Dreams Park, which is 5.3 miles up scenic State Route 28 from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. While most 12-year-old baseball pitchers do not throw nasty sliders, I consider the young Las Vegas slugger’s the more impressive feat. http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/ron-kantowski/las-vegas-12-year-old-swats-11-homers-row-cooperstown-tourney

 

 



 

After a rocky start to the season the Mets 2012 14th round draft pick, Chris Flexen, has stepped up his performance and developed into one of the most productive pitchers in the Appalachian League. Impressively, Flexen currently ranks among the top pitchers in the league in several  key categories. He ranks  fourth in ERA (2.14), fourth in strikeouts (56) and he is tied for third in WHIP (0.95). He is also tied for first in wins at 7 and is the only pitcher to throw two complete games this season (although one was in a 7 inning double header). http://metsminors.net/flexen-lighting-up-the-appalachian-league/

 

 

 



Wheeler is the future to Matt Harvey’s present, a guy with a big fastball and ace potential. He may never reach that apex -- he doesn’t yet have Harvey’s command, let alone his complete arsenal of secondary pitches -- but he has pitched much better than I expected after watching his first couple big league starts, with a 3.49 ERA through his first 12 spins in the rotation. Those outings included a 12-strikeout gem in his previous start in San Diego and a one-run, no-walk effort the game before that in Arizona. Wheeler’s fastball is a weapon almost by itself. Since his recall on June 18, only 10 pitchers have struck out more batters on fastballs. His other pitches -- slider, curveball and changeup -- are works in progress, with the slider looking like it will become his top off-speed pitch. Ask Jason Heyward about the one he struck out on in the third inning. http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/39340/team-of-the-future-in-n-y-its-the-mets

 



 

The Mets 2013 1s round draft pick, 1B Dominic Smith, continues to impress for the GCL Mets. Smith went 3-4, 1-R, 2B yesterday and raised his seasonal batting average to a season high .277. He went into that game with a .308 batting average in his last 10 games. It’s hard to project what team he will play for in 2014. My guess, because of his young age, will be Brooklyn where the suits can get a nightly look-see at him.

 

 

 

 



 

Davey Johnson did his weekly appearance with the Junkies on 106.7 The Fan today, and it produced yet another best-ever quote from the Nats manager. “I’ve got scouts out there that you guys have been really raunchy today,” Johnson scolded the Junkies shortly into their interview. Jason Bishop then explained that they had been discussing the news that Red Sox slugger Mike Napoli apparently is dating a porn star who goes by the name Rachel Starr. Johnson’s reply: “Well none of my guys could, ’cause we can’t score.”