Coming Up –
10 am – Christopher Soto -
MM's Top 25- #8 LHSP Steven Matz
12 noon – D Whit - A Wild
Week Already in Mets-World and it’s Only Tuesday Morning.
4 pm – Herb G - Jonathan Mayo would rather trade for Franklin than sign Drew!
4pm - Top 10 Catchers in 2014 MLB Draft - Revised 2-24-14
6 pm – Chris Ellis, Joseph Gatto, Trea Turner, Isan Diaz
8 pm - A Quick
Look - RHP - Alex Lange - Lee's Summitt West
(MI) HS
I reported last night here on Mack's Mets that the Mets are monitoring Chicago Cubs SS Starlin Castro. This is a professional credible source that I feel comfortable in reported. I didn't say the Mets have signed him. I didn't even say they are dancing on Lakeside Drive.Those o you 'in the know' understand where the word 'monitoring' comes from. Yes, I said I was out of the source info, but I feel a need to pass on what I hear. Nothing will probably happen here, but, trust me, phone calls and assignments were here to 'monitor'.
Fresh on the addition of the Kingsport Mets’ Josh Lawson, we have also added another new writer. John Loopy joins us today, first as a guest writer at 4pm, and then a future member of the Mack’s Mets staff. John comes from ‘down under’ (Australia) so his posts will have to be read only during overnight hours… just kidding. Please welcome John aboard.
Wednesday was Photo Day
at spring training. God, do I miss this day. This was when ‘we’ media types
were allowed to photograph every member of the team as they came out of the
clubhouse and on to the practice fields. This is where I took most of my great
shots, like the one on the top of this post. All the guys wearing uniforms with
high numbers (I got a great pic with Dillon Gee with
a number in the 60s) would come first and, back in those days, the heavyweights
(David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Jose
Reyes) were the last to come out. Strangely, they were also the most
patient and friendliest, letting even a small dude like me take his time and
focus. These were the kind of days that made you feel how special you were to
be part of this community.
Kevin
Plawecki –
Still, Plawecki was a high draft pick for a reason. He has
been playing catcher since high school. As a freshman at Purdue, he called his
own games. He was a starter there for three years and worked on refining his
swing. His coaches emphasized limiting his strikeouts and getting on base,
which he had a knack for.
In three seasons at Purdue over 638 at-bats, he struck out
only 29 times. In his junior year, in 2012, he had a .445 on-base percentage.
And he was named Big Ten player of the year after helping the Boilermakers to
their first regular-season conference championship since 1909. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/sports/baseball/a-luxury-for-the-mets-two-promising-catchers-in-darnaud-and-plawecki.html?ref=baseball&_r=0
Mack – This was a good story in
Wednedays’s NYT about the Mets catching depth. What you want to do as a reader
is to read this and stay with Mack’s Mets throughout the season as we highlight
and keep tract of players like Plawecki, who could alter the 25-man squad of
this team in 2015.
Plaweck not only has the ability to make that
squad… he also has the ability to be traded for someone that plays another
position, to make that squad. He’s that valuable.
I truly feel that Travis d’Arnaud is the designated
future Mets catcher, making it even more important for Plawecki to keep
growing.
Stay tuned.
Jenrry Mejia –
What
changed for Mejia? Maybe nothing. He finished his season with a 2.30 ERA and a
sparkling 6.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but he also finished with only five
starts and yet another trip to the disabled list. It was a minor procedure
compared to his Tommy John surgery, but it’s easy to see why the Mets made a
point of building considerable rotation depth behind him during the offseason.
But maybe something did change. For one thing, Mejia showed
up with a new and devastating slider that garnered a swing-and-miss 27 percent
of the time (in a very small sample, this was almost double the rate of Matt Harvey’s notoriously filthy slider). His overall
command improved significantly as well, throwing 67 percent of his pitches for
strikes in 2013 up from 60 percent in 2010-2012. Fastball command, a nasty
breaking ball, these are the hallmarks of the kind of pitcher Mejia was
expected to become. http://metsblog.com/metsblog/the-curious-case-of-jenrry-mejia/
Mack – This is a good piece by Maggie Wiggin, but it just
strengthens my belief that Mejia should be coming out of the Mets pen for the
rest of his career. His past has proven his inability to hold up while throwing
over 30 balls a game. Why fool with Mother Nature? You have a devastating 8th
inning guy here for 4-5 years easy.
Sit him next to Vic Black, Bobby Parnell, and Jeurys Familia and your late game is
put to bed.
Jose Valverde –
If Valverde has an explanation for his
struggles last season, he isn’t saying. But an industry source who has watched
Valverde said the pitcher’s workload in recent years is probably a significant
factor. Three years ago, he led the American League in appearances with 75, and
he appeared in 71 games in 2012.
“What happened in the past will stay in the
past,” Valverde said when asked about last year’s struggles. “It’s no big deal.
I think everybody will have a back and forth, up and down. If somebody is
perfect, they will make a lot of money. Nobody is perfect.” http://nypost.com/2014/02/26/mets-dominican-mafia-benefiting-from-valverdes-presence/
Mack – A good story, by Kevin Kiernan, about the
‘Dominican Mafia’. Something happened to Valverde last year that was more than
just getting old and tired, but no one is talking and no one cares if he can
return to the way he pitched a few years ago for the Tigers. Another stay
tuned.
After Dark Chat –
Comment
From bdhudson - I have four picks left and no catcher. I could probably have
Yan Gomes or TDA. Gomes, right?
Jeff Zimmerman: yes.
Paul Swydan: I might roll the dice on d’Arnaud, since
he’s probably going to get more PT.
Comment From Sandy Alderson - What would
it take to get Reyes back to NYC?
Paul Swydan: Toronto punting their season? Which I don’t see happening.
Sully-Chat –
Comment
From Guest - Would you rather see Franklin stick around as a super utility guy
or traded for Lagares and a pitcher?
Jeff Sullivan: Lagares and a pitcher would be
wonderful. I’ll also take just a pitcher. There’s some sense in hanging on to
Franklin as depth/insurance but he just makes more sense elsewhere and the M’s
ought to cash in on that
Comment
From Brad - Seems like Zach Wheeler is being
overshadowed by the other young pitchers. Is it because his walk rate is high?
I don’t mean to compare him to Kershaw, but his was really high too initially.
What are your thoughts on Wheeler? Thanks
Jeff
Sullivan: Wheeler, at 23, had 11% walks and 20% strikeouts.
Kershaw, at 20, had
11% walks and 21% strikeouts and a far superior FIP in a lower-strikeout league.
Wheeler’s been a 61-62% strike-rate guy and that’s a little low for my likings
when you have a guy who isn’t throwing unhittable stuff. Obviously, Kershaw’s
going to be the best-case scenario of a guy who comes up and doesn’t throw
enough strikes out of the gate, but for every guy who takes a leap forward like
Kershaw, there’s the rest of baseball. Big upside for Wheeler if he boosts that
strike rate a few percentage points, but the same could be said of Matt Moore.
Comment
From Jon - Boras says Drew would be willing to play 2B during an interview with
Toronto sports network. This has to happen, right? Protected picks and whatnot.
Jeff
Sullivan: Pretty obvious fit, but it’s also pretty obvious to see Drew in New
York or New York. And Toronto might not actually trust him as a 2B,
necessarily, or maybe they have their sights set on another guy who wouldn’t
cost as much future value or who would provide more future value
Comment
From Slack Schmeinke - are you less high on Nick
Franklin going forward than you may have been a year ago?
Jeff
Sullivan: More high. Now he’s dominated Triple-A
Comment
From Blend - What is your take on Franklin — possibly acceptable defensively at
SS or sure-fire 2B like Dave believes?
Jeff
Sullivan: I mean, it’s all about what a team is willing to accept, right?
Franklin could play shortstop every day. He wouldn’t be very good at it, but he
could do it. Derek Jeter has done it. Franklin will never be more of a
shortstop than he would be in 2014-2015. Eventually, I suspect any/every
organization would shuffle him over to second or third
Comment
From Guest - What’s a fair return for Ike Davis?
The O’s seem to have balked at the idea of giving up Eduardo
Rodriguez.
Jeff
Sullivan: Ike Davis is a not-cheap first baseman who last year was worth -0.1
WAR. Rodriguez is a top-100 pitching prospect. Logan Morrison
fetched Carter Capps. Davis couldn’t get much
more than something like that right now.
Mack's Mets
@JohnMackinAde - @JSully12 - I've got Marcus Wilson as long shot for Mets at #10 (Dom Smith
loved my choice :)
Jeff Sullivan @JSully12 - “@JohnMackinAde: @JSully12 - I've got
Marcus Wilson as long shot for Mets at #10 (Dom Smith loved my choice :)” Love Marcus! Those tools😳🙌
7 comments:
I wouldn't want to part with Lagares for Franklin. Now for one of the two kids on Arizona I might have to think about?
Also I would prefer Mejia to stay a starter, I understand where u r coming from Mack with the injury bug he has, but he preformed better as a starter overall in his career as opposed to a reliever.
John, I understand what you are saying but Mejia breaks down as a starter before the season is even half done
The first time could be contributed to his usage as a reliever from what I can recall? I don't know but I feel he would be more useful when he builds his arm strength up a little more.
Also I would rather trade for a shortstop then sign drew. They could use Drews money to go over the cap in the the international free agent market ( like the Cubs did last year and the yanks are supposed to do this year).
@Zozo
I like your thinking.....but this year's international market is not nearly as strong as last year's (which is why the Cubs went balls deep into last year's market.)
I guess I keep seeing 2014 as a HUGE year for Mejia and Familia. There's just so much young pitching throughout the organization. Whether starting or out of the bullpen, this has gotta be the year those decisions are finalized.
......and I hope both TDA and plawecki both thrive this year. Mets have competition at positions this year, but its nothing like the 'value' they would have with two legit starting caliber catchers going into that possibly magical 2015
i you want a magical 2015, you need no more TJS
Mejia should be given every chance to stay in a rotation. I would put him in the Las Vegas rotation to stretch him out.
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