The announcement that the Commissioner of Baseball is stepping down after the same season that Sandy Alderson’s contract runs out with the Mets is very interesting. If I remember it correctly, they had this whole scenario planned before. Any replacement for Selig requires a written vote of approval by 75 percent of the 30 owners and has to take place no later than si months from the date of the contract expiration. I have no idea where Alderson currently stands with the other teams in the league. It’s not like baseball would be losing one of the more successful General Managers in the business.I would think that the first indication of whether or not Alderson plans on crossing over is the length of Terry Collins’ new contract. On year would make this whole process wrapped with a bow.
Harry (Wisconsin): Amed Rosario only hit .241 in the APPY league. Am I missing something?
Clint Longenecker: Harry, you have a great point. Rosario's stats alone would not dictate No. 1 status. But evaluators loved his defense, athleticism and hitting potential. One evaluator even said that Rosario played better defense than a perennial All-Star shortstop that came through the league at the same age. Despite his pedestrian offensive numbers, Rosario drew rave reviews for his hitting ability and power potential. A huge factor is in statistical season was he was the only position player to qualify that played the whole year as a 17-year-old. His numbers might not be stellar for a few more years, as he will nearly always be among the youngest players in his league as he advances. He will play all of next year at a full season club at 18, which is extremely rare.
Greg K (NYC): How many different scouts were consulted regarding Amed Rosario and how would you describe the range of opinions?
Clint Longenecker: Great question, Greg. We spoke with over a dozen evaluators that saw him in game action. Frankly the feedback was fairly consistent. Only one person said that they questioned his ability to stay at short. But that individual said it was largely a by product of his age and not sure how much weight he will put on over the next few years, not anything about his present ability. One person said that they think he will get faster considering his age.
John (Chicago): Can you contrast Amed Rosario with 2008 Wilmer Flores, the #2 prospect in the league at the time?
Clint Longenecker: Given the team and age of the players when they played in the Apply League, there are some similarities between the two. The separators are the speed, athleticism and defensive profile. Even at the time, Flores was a below average runner that people thought would profile in a corner. While Rosario has a good speed and the ability to stay at shortstop for the foreseeable future.
John (Chicago): I'm surprised that you found consistently positive reviews on Amed Rosario. When he first signed, Ben Badler said that he was a very divisive prospect among scouts. Is the consensus just a result of increased exposure?
Clint Longenecker: Given Ben's reports, I was also surprised, frankly. It sounds like he has improved over this time, which has helped narrow the gap between the ends of the evaluation range.
Michael Stern (Rochester NY): Does Rosario project more as a leadoff hitter or middle of the order bat? In you write up it says he can run (although he only stole 2 out of 8 bases) or will his projected power play further down the line-up as he fills out. Thanks for the chat!
Clint Longenecker: He profiles to hit for power power, especially as he begins to fill his frame. It’s unlikely he will profile as a leadoff hitter. That 2-8 in stole base attempts is a perfect example that he has developmental strides left. Its just a matter of him learning how to use his speed advantageously. - http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1380197414
Mack – Reading that one of your players is a prospect is exciting, but when Baseball America, the premier prospect site in the world, says you have the top prospect in a specific league, that’s really exciting. I tell you this all the time… batting average, ERA, stats, and SABR shit are not the only factors in this sport. We knew Cesar Puello had the God given ability to excel in this sport when he passed through Savannah here, regardless of his stats. It looks like that Rosario will now definitely wind up in Savannah and will push Gavin Cecchini to St. Lucie. Bad news for Phillip Evans, but he simply hasn’t earned a starting job at either level.
The Mets seem to be building themselves quite the infield (1B – Dominic Smith, 2B – Dilson Herrera, SS Rosario or Cecchini, 3B David Wright, C Travis d’Arnaud) that will begin to pay benefits around 2017.
21 comments:
The Mets under SA have opted to go slow with their hitting prospects. So I'd be surprised if it doesnt go like this: Evans to PSL, Cecchini to Savannah and Rosario to Bkln.
Hey Mack you and I aren't getting any younger so can't they be ready say by 2015 or so? All kidding aside Sandy and Co. seem to be doing a great job of building a solid foundation going forward which seems to have been their plan all along but its just that after 7 years of no playoffs and 5 awful seasons at Citi and the last 3 were we can't win at home I hope we've finally hit bottom and the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train. After Sandy's few innings in the booth last night he might be more suited to the political arena were they can talk for hours and say nothing but of course that's the GM's credo. I really think the simple answer is "better players" and now he has the whole winter and a lot of cash to make it happen...Lets Go Sandy!
Yea...I just do not see Rosario starting in Savannah next year. He may get a cup of coffee for a playoff run. I hope im wrong though. Only time will tell. I do see Miller Diaz taking a ridiculously big step forward and would love to see him put that into play.
BTW, all we need is one loss to give us a protected #10 pick!. Lets pray for two losses though.
Where do you think Domo will play next year? If Rosario could be suggested for Savannah than isn't that the same case for Domo?
Great stuff on Rosario. I was wondering myself why he was ranked so high when his stat line was "meh". This front office group seems not to challenge the kids too hard and skip levels. I'd be surprised if that changed next year.
I know they pushed Rosario quickly this year with his Kingsport placement, but given Checchini will be given a priority placement as well do I his standing as a first rounder, I think they'll opt for a more conservative placement with each. I doubt they'll want to promote either too aggressively and although Rosario probably could handle Savannah, the question is wether Cecchini can handle Lucy.
That's what's going to decide their placements. Since I'm not convinced Cecchini is ready ready for that, coupled with Rosario only being 18 all next year, I'd say Brooklyn and Savanna are their most likely destinations.
I certainly would perfer they both end up in full season ball next year. However, at just 18, I don't think the mets would put Rosario in a full season league. It just doesn't seem like their style.
Yea,I figured Rosario for Kingsport or Brooklyn, not a full season roster at 18, which 1. Would be very agrressive, but not unheard of (see Dilson Herrera), but 2. There's really nowhere to put him at Savannah or St. Lucie with Cecchini, Evans, Mazzilli & Herrera taking the starting middle infielders for Savannah & St. Lucie respectively.
As you mentioned , the big question is where do they assign those 4 guys (Cecchini, Evans, Mazzilli & Herrera) next year? I see the infielders breaking down something like this, (give or take a player or two):
Infielders
AAA - Las Vegas
Allan Dykstra 1B (26)
Daniel Muno 2B (25)
Wilfredo Tovar SS (22)
Zach Lutz 3B (27)
Rylan Sandoval SS/2B (26)
Josh Rodriguez. 3B (29)
Richard Lucas 3B/1B (25)
AA - Binghamton
Jayce Boyd 1B (23)
T.J. Rivera 2B (25)
Matt Reynolds SS (23)
Aderlin Rodriguez 3B (22)
Robbie Shields 3B/2B (26)
Brian Harrison 1B/3B (25)
Chad Zurcher 2B (25)
High A - St. Lucie
Cole Frenzel 1B (24)
Dilson Herrera 2B (23)
Phillip Evans SS (21)
Jeff Reynolds 3B (24)
Jonathan Leroux 1B/3B (23)
Ismael Tijerina SS (24)
Richie Rodriguez 3B (24)
Low A - Savannah
Matt Oberste 1B (22)
LJ Mazzilli 2B (23)
Gavin Cecchini SS (20)
Dimas Ponce 3B (23)
Jeff McNeil 2B (22)
Juan Carlos Gamboa 2B (23)
Yucary De La Cruz 2B (23)
Zach Mathieu 1B (22)
SSA - Brooklyn/Kingsport
Dominic Smith 1B (18)
Branden Kaupe 2B (20)
Amed Rosario SS(18)
Pedro Perez 3B (19)
Brandon Brosher 1B (19)
Luis Guillorme SS (19)
Elvis Sanchez 1B (20)
Jhoan Urena 3B (19)
Anthony Chavez SS (21)
Alex Sanchez IF (23)
Victor Cruzado SS/OF (21)
Jeyckol De Leon 1B (23)
Yeixon Ruiz 2B (23)
Leon Canelon 2B (22)
Manuel Hilario 1B (22)
Jean Rodriguez2B (21)
Don't forget about Luis Guillorme either!
The Mets need a loss, just one single loss, to walk away with a protected draft pick. As a Mets' fan, I'm nearly certain that because of this the Mets will probably win both games 10-0, with both their starters pitching perfect games.
So, as much as I love that just one single loss guarantees a good draft next year and a better off season, this is still far from a sure thing.
Brooklyn infield next year:
Dominic Smith, Amed Rosario, Jhoan Urena, and ? at second. I think those guys have the priority, but the draft will come into play.
"If we drafted Beede, we could consider moving Montero this offseason without it being a major loss for the future, especially since Beede would only need a year or two being a college junior."
I doubt Beede makes it past #3 in the draft but he certainly will not be there at number 10 barring an injury. Even if he did we can't push the draft up prior to this off season so the Mets can trade Montero.
I didn't hear the quote yet but I was reading that Alderson said he doesn't plan on pursuing a free agent who was made a qualifying offer, except for possibly Choo. I know they can address shortstop without this being a problem but the outfield might be a little tricky. I know they say they are set at 1B with internal options but it got me thinking about Abreu a little more seriously than I previously was.
I think a best case scenario would be for the Yanks to sign Cano soon and ARod suspension getting delayed. I don't think the Yanks could afford to make Granderson a qualifying offer then. I like Granderson a lot for this team. I know he won't hit 40 HRs for us but he's still a solid bat.
Let's see how these last two games go....
Then, we can start featuring some key players that will be available
Closer, is this your mock?
Beede will start IMMEDIATELY at the A+ level
there have been very few players in the Mets system (since 2007) that jumped from the GCL team to Savannah.
I would love to see him in Savannah, but my educated guess is Brooklyn
Look guys with Pence coming off the market for a reported $90 mil. for 5 years that will make $100 mil. for 6 a starting point for Choo and thus it won't matter whether we have a protected pick or not Sandy's not going anywhere near that neighborhood and so we're looking at 2nd tier free agents and trades.
also everyone needs to read Olneys ESPN article "Astro's season highlight's incentive to tank"
let's discuss Choo tomorrow in 'The War Room'
I'd really like to see Smith and Rosario pushed and challenged in Savannah but I doubt they're promoted so aggressively.
With the protected pick locked down, I'm still hoping to move up to #8 or #9, at this point the higher the better. A young cohort of Nimmo, Cecchini, Smith, Rosario, and Gettys coming through the system would be great.
Sandy never said they'd not go after the top free agents. It was a report given from a "source ". I don't buy it. I think the Mets can't afford to sit back and forego the best players available. They have a team to build and a fan base to appease.
No, it was a top 50 prospects list i borrowed from another site and didnt include a link.
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