Morning Report – 4-15-14 – A+/IF, Robles, Tapia, Montero

1937 Wrigley Field

Coming Up –

          10 am - Craig Brown - I May Be Wrong But...

          12 Noon - Stephen Guilbert -  10 Mets Minor Leaguers I'm Watching in 2014  

            2 pm -  Minor League Ball - Seattle Mariners Top 20 Prospects   

            3 pm - The Best Shortbread On Earth

       

           5pm -  J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Gunnar Troutwine, Monte Harrison, Luke Bonefield

         8pm –  OF - Stone Garrett - George Ranch (TX) HS

Okay... don't panic on Granderson and Lagares.

First of all, it's early. Young will be back post haste an fill one of these spots.

Don't be surprised if the Duda experiment in right field is repeated, but Eric Campbell (.325) and Kirk Nieuwenhius (.310) is hitting respectful numbers at Vegas, going into Monday's game.

The Captain also offers flawless defense in center.

It could be worse.



There is a very good thing developing in the St. Lucie lineup… an excess of good hitting middle infielders.

The Mets have been rotating Dilson Herrera, T.J. Rivera, and Phillip Evans and all three are producing at excellent levels. Frankly, I’m surprised that Rivera didn’t start the season off for Binghamton. He’s a non-prospect who is now playing his third season at this level (Binghamton could use the 25-yr. old’s experience). The surprise here has been Evans, who hasn’t produced well since being signed with a hefty bonus (2012 Brooklyn: .252, 2013 Savannah: .203). We all know what’s right behind these guys (LJ Mazzilli, Gavin Cecchini, Amed Rosario (extended camp)) so it’s especially rewarding to see such depth at the middle infield position.

My suggestion at this point would be to make sure Herrera and Evans are getting most of the time on the field, while Rivera is used as a designated hitter. Past that, I’d like to see Herrara finish the season at the AA level so we can get a peek at how he handles the pitching there (even though Rivera deserves the promotion first).

I’ve mentioned before that Binghamton SP Hansel Robles has been projected to go to the Mets bullpen someday. Most of this speculation is based on projecting a future rotation of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, and two from a group that includes Jenrry Mejia, Dillon Gee, Jon Niese, and Rafael Montero. The fact is Robles will be ready to pitch in the majors at the same time the Mets will already have their hands full figuring out what their rotation will be.

His height of 5-11 also comes into play which is considered very small for a right hand throwing pitcher. He’s 23-years old and should be done with Las Vegas sometime in the 2015 season. Obviously, he will then become a major trading chip; however, other teams will also be concerned about his height and future as a starter. No, hopefully Robles will be one of many other successful Mets minor league starters (like Jake deGrom) that will be converted to that ‘home grown’ pen we always hear so much about.

(Robles pitched five more scoreless innings (81-pitches, 54-strikes) on Sunday to keep his seasonal ERA at 0.00)

Let’s move on to another ‘starter’ that projects as a future reliever, but this one won’t be fully ready until the 2016 season

St. Lucie RHP Domingo Tapia also pitched five scoreless innings on Sunday, lowering his seasonal ERA to 0.90. The 6-4 22-year old has had control issues at all levels (2013: St. Lucie – 101.1-IP, 89-K, 63-BB), which is probably the main reason the Mets chose to repeat him in Florida this spring. So far this year, he’s pitched 10.0 innings with 4-BB, so there is still a ways to go. Very talented, but still, very raw. 

He’ll be quickly left behind if he doesn’t find the zone real soon.

The local El Paso Chihuahuas, AAA affiliate of the San Diego Padres, are in their opening season.  Right now they feature two former Mets on their roster, RP Blaine Boyer and OF Jeff Francoeur, the latter the victim of a prank an entire month in the making.  Very well done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2llUpTmIkdc#t=375

‘Was That The Phone From Queens Ringing? Update

Rafael Montero now has three starts under his belt. He’s given up five earned runs in 17.1 innings pitched (2.60) and has 18 strikeouts while only giving up three walks.

All this has been done in the wild Pacific Coast League. He’s ready, but we knew that at the end of last year when he started 16 more games for Las Vegas. All this for money not spent.

The health of the current rotation plus the length of Bartolo Colon’s contract stands in the way of Montero being the first Vegas starter to be promoted. Oh yeah… there’s that little thing called ‘Super Two’ also…

A reader of mine turned me on to a Matt Cerrone post on 4-14 about Ruben Tejada, Wilmer Flores, and Scott Boras… your basic Mets shortstop snafu piece.

I also was told that the current Mets have the lowest OPS in major league baseball.

My question to you is simple… do you honestly think a one-year contract to one of Boras’ clients is either the short or long term answer to this team?

The Mets have no many offensive holes. Most of their players wind up hitting around .250 after a hot streak. And, I don’t see any relief until the rotation turns into the young studs we are all waiting to graduate to the majors. No, they aren’t going to knock in any runs, but there will less needed to get the job done.

Right now, we have no idea if it was a good idea to sign Chris Young and, even if it was, he’s gone next year. We’re also starting to worry that the long term contract to Curtis Granderson might be more of a burden than we originally thought. Imagine what two more bats would be doing for us right now?

My first reaction would be to have a St. Valentine’s Massacre. I would sign both Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales to a one-year deal, make Ruben Tejada one of utility infielders, release Omar Quintanilla, trade either Lucas Duda or Ike Davis for whatever is currently the best on the table, and demote the other to AAA. I would then make my run for a playoff spot with Drew, Morales, Wright, Murphy, d’Arnaud, Chris Young, Lagares, and Granderson.

I’d pretty much know if this worked by the time the all-star game rolled around and, if it didn’t, I would have ample time to deal off the contracts running out by the end of the season.

The good part is I didn’t touch any of the Mets young pitchers and I can start all over again next free agent season with a pocket full of new prospects to boot.

But, that’s just me.