Mack’s Morning Report – 2002 Draft, Sully-Chat, The Mets Outfield, Kevin Plawecki

- Coming up:

              11am :   Are the 2014 Mets a Better Team on Paper? (Left Fielders) - Christopher Soto

                2pm:    Reese Kaplan - Channel Your Inner Alderson:  What Moves Would You Make?

Bobby Parnell - 

                 “In my head, I feel like I’m still the closer. ’ll go with that until told otherwise. I’m going to get back into baseball shape and not look back. I don’t think there’s any question that I will be ready [for Opening Day],”

                         Mack -   This is great news...  though I have never heard anyone say on an audio press conference that they don't feel 100%. I still expect to see at least one new face in the pen this spring... someone that probably will give Vic Black a run for the 8th inning role.


We're three down now on the arbitration signings. OF Eric Young Jr.,  SS Ruben Tejada and 1B Ike Davis have been signed for the 2014 season. The Mets have a solid record on avoiding arbitration so I expect the other four to go smoothly also (though Daniel Murphy is going to cost them).           

We continue to look at the draft years of 2000-2007 for the NL East teams. Specifically, we break out the players chosen in the top three rounds and an overall assessment of success (sic) in choosing players in the draft.

2002 –

Mets  -          

            #1       P Scott Kazmir        1,180-IP, 76-70, 4.16

            Two of the 48 players drafted made it to the major league level

            Both (Kazmir, Matt Lindstrom) had some success at that level

Florida -       

            #1       OF Jeremy Hermida          2,012-AB, .257, 250-RBI

            #2       SS Robert Andino              1,320-AB, .232, 96-RBI

            #3       P Trevor Hutchinson        career ended at the AA level

            Eight of the 50 players drafted made it to the major league level

Four (Hermida, Andino, Josh Johnson, Scott Olson) had some success at that level

Montreal -  

            #1       P Clint Everts          career ended at the AAA level

            #2       P Darrell Rasner    166-IP, 9-15, 5.00

            #3       IF Larry Broadway              career ended at the AAA level

            Three of the 50 players drafted made it to the major league level

            All three had some success at that level

Atlanta -      #1       OF Jeff Francoeur              4,603-AB, .263, 618-RBI

                        #1       P Dan Meyer                       114-IP, 3-9, 5.46

                        #2       C Brian McCann                 3,863-AB, .277, 661-RBI

                        #2       SS Tyler Greene                  288-AB, .224

                        #3       P Charlie Morton              589-IP, 30-49, 4.70

                        Six of the 52 players drafted made it to the major league level

                        All (5 listed above + Chuck James) had some success at that level

Philadelphia –

            #1       P Cole Hamels        1,597-IP, 99-74, 3.38

            #2       P Zack Segovia       15-IP, 1-1, 8.22

            #3       3B Kiel Fisher          career ended at the A level

            Four of the 48 players drafted made it to the major league level

            One (Hamels) had some success at this level

248 ballplayers were drafted in 2002 by the NL East teams

22 made it to the MLB level -  8.9%

Only 15 had success at that level   -  6%

(The 6% rate of success here might be the highest in this series… we’ll keep track of that as we continue. It’s also worth noting the tremendous amount of early round draft picks the Braves had in these years. No wonder they built decent teams)

Sully-Chat –

Comment From Josh - Signing John Buck is a decent signing for the Mariners right? Not really Miguel Olivo 2.0 for a backup on a one year deal.

Jeff Sullivan: Not bad, in that he’s better than Humberto Quintero and probably better than Jesus Sucre and he’s able to start in the event that Zunino isn’t good. Sort of an all-or-nothing hitter who doesn’t have his old power, and he’s not a good pitch-receiver, evidently, but Buck is an adequate veteran on a deal that’s never worth more than a few hundred words.

Comment From Steve - What are your thoughts on Zack Wheeler? Will he take a step forward next year and lower his WHIP?

Jeff Sullivan: I get nervous about guys who don’t throw enough strikes. I think he’ll be better than his debut-season 112 xFIP-, but not by a whole lot — he’s got real kinks to work through and I’m uncomfortable assuming big improvement

Comment From Grack Zeinke - who do you think Ike Davis eventually gets flipped for?

Jeff Sullivan: An interesting pitcher who never quite makes it

BP -

Travis d’Arnaud, Mets: The best fantasy catcher headed into 2014, d’Arnaud has all the tools needed to be a top-10 fantasy backstop some day but health is a serious concern at this point. “TdA” has played in just 130 games over the past two seasons combined, and while you could make the argument that his torn PCL, broken foot, and concussion were all freak injuries, such are the perils of playing behind the plate. He should be the Mets’ starter in 2014 and he has top-15 fantasy catcher upside, but he’s far from a safe pick and shouldn’t be viewed as a future stalwart. That’s the state of minor-league catcher talent right now. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=22586#151871

Jason asked –

            Hey Mack, about the outfield… should we be happy now with the moves that have been made?

                        Mack – Hey Jason.

                        Happier, yes. Happy, we’ll see.

            Sandy Alderson addressed this problem from top to bottom. The additions of Chris Young and Curtis Granderson have actualy given the Mets depth in the outfield, which are two words that haven’t shared the same sentence in quite awhile.

            He also drafted Champ Stuart and Ivan Wilson, who are dripping with raw tools.

            Internationally, he signed bonus babies Ricardo Cespedes and Oswald Caraballo.

            And lastly, there was the acquisition of Wuilmer Becerra.

            You keep doing this, year after year, and, eventually you are going to wind up with a pretty decent outfield. Remember, we are only talking three positions here and one is now filled with Granderson.

Do I see another potential superstar outfielder in the Mets organization… no, but I do see 6-7 prime candidates to have a pretty decent pro career.

Kevin Plawecki –

Kevin Plawecki earned a promotion during his first full season in the Mets organization, showing a knack for hitting for average and getting on base at both stops. If he displays a little more power and continues to prove to people that he can stay behind the plate despite his big frame, he could be a big league regular someday. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/mlbcoms-list-of-top-10-catching-prospects?ymd=20140116&content_id=66617222&vkey=news_mlb