Mack Ade – Morning Report – 10-1-13 – Nelson Cruz, Draftable Outfielders, Sully, Frank Francisco, Syracuse

The More I look at Texas OF Nelson Cruz as an opportunity for the New York Mets, the more I like it. Here is a legitimate power bat that is four years younger than Carlos Beltran three less than Marlon Byrd. Additionally, like Byrd, his past association with a drug suspension will seriously limit his negotiation power in the off-season. Oh, he won’t go broke, but he can forget about anything close the kind of deal that Shin-Soo Choo or Jacoby Ellsbury will get in this off-season. Based on the Biogenesis situation and his $10.75mil deal, my guess is a 3-year, $45mil ($13m, $15m, $17m) would seal the deal. You still have plenty of money to sign another outfielder and still solve the shortstop situation.

 

There looks like there is going to be a good chance that the Mets draft pick is going to hit the board and no outfielders have been chosen yet. Most draft experts currently have none in the first ten picks so the Mets have a perfect opportunity this year’s Courtney Hawkins (sorry… couldn’t help myself).

These will probably be the top five picked and the first is a high school kid that if the Mets go OF) could wind up playing for the GCL Mets. OF-1B, Braxton Davidson, 6'2 205, L/L, TC Roberson HS, Asheville NC – Davidson is as much a first baseman as an outfielder who has some decent bat speed and dead pull power to right field. Not known for his defensive skills but he doesn’t suck either. He will go as far as his bat will take him. Over 31 games as a junior, he hit .403 with seven doubles, eight home runs, and drew 30 walks for a .600 OBP/.831 SLG. Tied a TOS record with three home run in four games. Nine Baseball has him as the ‘most feared batter in the 2014 draft’.

If you want speed there is Virginia’s Derek Fisher. 6’2, 21-, L/R with a ++ arm from the outfield. Has potential to steal 20+ bases in the ML. Straight away power, good strength and bat speed. Put up a great turnaround 2013, hitting .306 with 12 doubles, seven home runs, stole eight bases and had a .420 OBP/.505 SLG. He also cut down his strikeouts from 61 to 38 while upping his walks from 22 to 28. Not flashy, just an all-around decent player.

Another wild card would be Kel Johnson, a home schooled player out of Palmetto, Georgia. Johnson plays for the very talented travel team, the East Cobb Braves, and is the premier bat in that league. Actually, he’s one of the premier bats in the entire draft, but he projects out eventually to be a first baseman. I love what one scout said about him… ‘the kind of player you come out just to watch him hit in batting practice.” 6-4, 210, R/R.

The first college outfielder picked probably will be Oregon’s Michael Conforto – 5’11, 190, L/L – has adequate defensive skills plus gap power to right field. Should hit 15-20 home runs as a pro and definitelt projects as a corner outfielder. One of best offensive tools hitter coming out of the college ranks for 2014. College Junior Scouting Report:   One of the top college bats for 2014   Strong, muscular build  Open stance   Smooth swing with lift   Excellent bat speed   Plus raw power  Ball jumps off bat. His stock could rise with a great 2014 season.

And then there’s Michael Gettys (Gainesville (GA) HS – 6-2, 215. Most of us had him as one of the top pitchers in the upcoming draft. He does has a 95-mph fastball but his bat is more deadly. As a junior, he hit .406 and stole 38 bases over 32 games. The problem is he also had a 0.99 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 114 K/18 BB over 73 innings. Plus-plus speed with average power. Is a projectable 5-tool player that does need to work on his pop. Biggest asset is 100-mph arm from the outfield. Showed some serious power at the Under Armour All-American Game home run derby at Wrigley Field.

 

Jeff Sullivan (‘Sully’s Draft’) updated his top 10 picks yesterday… 1.HOU-Rodon 2.MIA-Gettys 3.CHW-Hoffman 4.CHC-Holmes 5.MIN-Turner 6.SEA-Beede 7. PHI-Kolek 8.COL-Davidson 9.TOR-Jackson10.NYM-Gatewood

 

Patrick Flood –

                I  wrote a blog about the New York Mets from the end of the 2009 season through the 2012 season. The Mets won 230 games and lost 256 over that span, finishing second-to-last in the division each season, with attendance falling each year despite a new stadium. For those three years, the Mets were bad, if not remarkably so. Over those three years I spent thousands of hours watching that unremarkably bad baseball team fall down and drop fly balls and strike out. I spent thousands more hours blogging about that team. What possesses someone to spend that much time writing a blog about a bad baseball team? http://narrative.ly/swinging-for-the-fences/the-misadventures-of-a-baseball-blogger/ 

 

 

Metsiac7@aol.com  asked -

What on earth does the GM have planned for Frankie? A few weeks ago, no one expected him to ever throw a pitch for the Mets again, then he was activated and used, and climaxed with a Save in the final game yesterday. His contract is up, so he's obviously not being showcased for a trade. We already knew what he can/can't do. Is he being auditioned for a re-signing next year? The pen is full as is, with 7 RHRPs in Parnell, Black, Hawk, Germen, Torres, and Familia, only 5 of which can be kept. And if the GM wants to, he can re-sign Aardsma and Atch as insurance.

                Mack – Bill, this will go down in Mets history as one of the great DiVinci Code decisions. I have no idea why he was activated and was never eligible to any team that would have wanted to use him in the playoffs. His activation date was way past that deadline. I thought it was strange enough the first time he pitched, but the last inning of the last game? There’s absolutely no chance he will ever wear a Mets uniform again under any condition. I simply didn’t get this move and still don’t.

 

After three straight years of declining attendance and growing debt, changes are coming to the Syracuse Chiefs. And it’s not clear whether the future of the International League franchise will include the Simone family, whose name has been synonymous with professional baseball in Syracuse for more than five decades. The board of directors for the community-owned Chiefs met last Friday to discuss the team’s financial woes—which, according to the Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard, include a $500,000 operating loss this season and $64,000 owed in back rent at NBT Bank Stadium—and have called another meeting for this evening. The Chiefs have been the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate since 2009, following 30 years with the Blue Jays. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/syracuse-chiefs-consider-changes-after-attendance-decline/

                Mack – So, what do you think? How about we move them to Montreal and they become the Mets AAA affiliate in 2015?