7/7/14

Morning Report – July 7th – Greg Peavey, Jon Niese, Nick Ahmed, Oakland, Cubs Shortstops



                                                                                                                
Coming Later Today –                                                                          
         
          12 00 pm - Craig Mitchell -- My Top Ten Baseball Flicks

          1 30 pm - Stephen Guilbert - Future Major Leaguers- Savannah Sand Gnats

          3 00 pm – D-Whit  -   My 2014 All-Star Ballot    
                      
          6 00 pm - 2015 Draft Profile  -   OF/2B  -  Jahmai Jones  -  Wesleyan (GA) HS - UPDATED 6-30-14



Eric Campbell's .456 BABIP is the highest among MLB hitters with at least 90 PA's


Binghamton's Dustin Lawley continues to hit home runs. It was #15 last night and his 7th in his last 11 games...


A lot of things happened Sunday at the Vegas game that could have some real positive implications for the second half of the season... first, the team won 21-1... then, Wilmer Flores kept pounding the ball, this time for his 11th AAA home run... then, out of nowhere, Cesar Puello (.233) decided to wake up and hit two home runs... next came Kevin Plawecki (3-5, 3-RBI, .200) who showed signs of breaking out of his AAA funk... but the cherry on the top was the 7.0-IP, 1-ER, 8-K performance by Noah Syndergaard.  These four could be really damn important to the future of the 2015 Mets.


David Lennon ‏@DPLennon  1-  For those now dreaming of Starlin Castro trade to #Mets, he’s due $49M thru ’19. Not exorbitant by any means, but still a $ investment


John Harper on Starlin Castro http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/harper-mets-run-cubs-castro-article-1.1856497 


Mark Simon - For those enamored with Cubs Starlin Castro... he regularly leads in Misplays/Errors... this season, his 33 errors are most among MLB SS


Mets are now tied with Oakland for the most first inning runs.


Dilson Herrera at AA: .338, 5-yrs younger than average player in league


SP Greg Peavey can’t seem to get his AAA shit together. His two stints for AA-Binghamton resulted in a splendid 6-1, 2.86 line, but four starts earlier this season for Las Vegas resulted in a 10.24 ERA and a return to B-Town. Still, it was his time to give it another shot Saturday afternoon… and boy, that didn’t work: 5.0-IP, 11-R… that’s right, 11 runs in four innings, 14-H (what kind of manager leaves you in when you’re pitching this bad?) … which raised his AAA ERA to 12.21. Peavey’s going to have to work this out if he wants to make the next step, which is a big one.



A major league executive whose team has been scouting the Mets indicated it would be short-sighted to keep Niese based on the fact he is the team’s only lefty starter. “If you aren’t going to win this year, it shouldn’t make a difference,” the executive said. “Get the best deal you can and worry later about having a lefty.”

I extracted this from an article that Mike Puma wrote about the possibility of the Mets trading away LHSP Jon Niese.

This is how the majority of baseball executives operate. Develop a winner now and then worry about the future.

It’s all in the deal… and the first deal determines what you need in the next deal.

The Mets are not going to be relevant in 2015 because of players they receive in trades for Daisuke Matsuzaka, Chris Young, or Bobby Abreu, but they could be with the returns of a deal for Daniel Murphy and/or Niese.



Some of you have expressed an interest in Arizona Nick Ahmed as a possible answer to the Mets SS problems.

Here’s what Fangraphs said about him on Friday:

Ahmed’s current stint with Arizona will be short. Currently, his job is to keep Owings’ seat warm until he returns from the Disabled List. Ahmed is suited a replacement role on a last place team with little ambition. At a time, he held in higher regard. Recall the 2011 amateur draft where the Atlanta Braves reached outside of Georgia to draft Ahmed out of Connecticut in the second round. Then, after a season and a half with Atlanta, he was shipped to Arizona with others in the Justin Upton trade. At that time, the Diamondbacks thought they were getting a better player. On paper, Ahmed reads well with cliches abound. Wiry.  Athletic frame. Strong arm. Projectable.  The University of Connecticut product was and is all of these buzz words, but he’s a few steps too slow to be an everyday shortstop and doesn’t have the bat for third. Without a better stick, Ahmed won’t be more than a utility infielder for a second division team. Though, that may be optimistic.


Baseballprospectus on Oakland –

Beane has disassembled his farm over the past two years at nearly the same pace he had used to build it. Seven of the 11 top prospects ranked by Kevin Goldstein in January 2012 have been traded, including three of the top five. In fact, Goldstein's current employer, the Astros, employ as many of those 11 players on their active roster (two) as the A's do—though Jarrod Parker would give the A's the lead if he weren't disabled. Beane's aggressive prospect trading extends beyond those 11: he moved two players from the bottom nine, pushing the total to nine of the 20 players listed. The A's didn't just trade the spare parts. They traded half their farm. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/a/23678

Mack – It’s hard to even believe this is the same guy features in the book ‘Moneyball’. As of today, the A’s farm system is dead last in talent.


The Cubs ‘other Shortstops –

Starlin Castro – $60mil through 2019… reasonable contract range of $6.857/2015 through $11.857/2019… 2014: .290, 11-HR, 50-RBI

Javier Baez – team’s #1 prospect going into the Addison Russell trade… 21/yrs old – AAA: .241, 12-HR, 48-RBI – excellent bat, questionable defense, average defense – team controlled pre-ARB

Arismendy Alcantara - #7 team prospect – AAA: .307, 10-HR, 41-RBI, plays 2B also, good defenser, strong arm, projects long term at second base – under team control

         

Minor Notes –


Savannah OF Jared King returned to the GCL Mets on a July 4th rehab assignment, going 2-4 (2-R), with a triple… RP Cameron Griffin also quietly returned (1.0-IP, 0-ER). He pitched 23.1 innings for the GCL Mets/Brooklyn last season, going 3.09, 21-K… R.J. Anderson for Fangraphs: December 18, 2012: Traded OF Collin Cowgill (no. 9) to the Mets; received 3B Jefry Marte. The most boring trade of the bunch. Cowgill couldn't find a spot in the crowded A's outfield, so Beane traded him for a lottery ticket. Marte, the rare non-vet return, might not reach Triple-A… SP Robert Whalen pitched his first rehab inning Wednesday for GCL: 0-H, 2-K… Luis Mateo also pitched a rehab inning in the same GCL game, gaining the save (0-H, 1-K)… SP John Lannon continued his rehabbing Saturday for St. Lucie (4.0-IP, 2-ER)… frankly, I’m not sure what the Mets long term goal here is… are they planning on offering him a 2015 contract or selling him this year? Strange… I noticed that OF Cesar Puello didn’t play in either of the doubleheader games on Saturday so I checked and, yes, he has quietly been placed on the 7-day DL…

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Did Puello come off the DL yesterday?

Mack Ade said...

yes - he had a concussion

Mack Ade said...

Michael Cala ·

(Michael - you need to go further down and post your comments where it says "Post a Comment" in orange
.
I say make the move for Castro, Mets! Ya gotta do something to bolster the offense and the bonus is he's a SS w. a great arm. Any other defense liabilities can be improved-he's only 24 and will become more of a power threat. He's a doubles machine right now!

Michael S. said...

I may be in the minority but I want no part of Castro. He's not the one I'd target if the Mets talk to the Cubs. Baez will be the 2B there and the Cubs came out and said (grain of salt) that Castro is their SS of today and tomorrow. They wanted a pitcher but Russell was the best player available so they employed a BPA strategy, something I'd like the Mets to always do when trading for prospects. It wouldn't surprise me if Russell was flipped again for young pitching, something we have in spades.

Also, with his recent disgruntled comments Tulo is likely on the market. I know I'm beating a dead horse with him. But, if we grab Russell I'm sure he'd be an attractive trade chit for the Rox. We have a lot of MIF prospects, even though Russell would clearly be the best. OR, we find a way to grab Tulo and keep Russell, giving us a nice DP combo with Tulo at SS and Russell shifted to 2B.

Unknown said...

I would love to hold onto Wheeler for something better but I'm just not sure anything better will be available. I would make the Wheeler for Castro trade, then trade Murphy hoping to solve our OF dilemma. If you can't get an outfielder, do what the Cubs did and acquire the best available talent, then try and flip that for a need. I like Murphy a lot and he's one of the few consistent guys on this team, but a Castro/Murphy middle infield combo would be brutal. Not that Flores would be better in the short term but Dilson Herrara could be ready by this time next season if he keeps pace and Castro/Herrara could form a 10 year middle infield combo.

Even as I type this, I hate proposing to trade Murphy. It's hard to deal proven players for prospects since so many of them don't pan out as projected/hyped.

I'd rather make a move and be proactive though, as opposed to sitting around doing nothing.

Hobie said...

Not a big Castro fan, Mack… makes Valdespin look like John-boy of the Waltons. Now Baez…

Actually, I’d rather an OF Bopper and live with Tejada (or Reyonolds—heck, Tovar is .313/.377 with a 13/9 BB/K in Bingo…and just what has my home-boy TJR done wrong at any level?) until the Rosario era begins.

So would you (or SEA) do Neise (Colon?) for Austin Wilson?
I’m going to hold off on dealing Murphy until I’m sure Dilston is less than a year away. Right now I’d dump the Youngs, play Campbell & Kirk in LF and call up Wilmer & Reynolds. But that’s me (I?).

note: 2nd posting. 1st evidently didn't get through.

Mack Ade said...

sorry about the site, Hobie

Steve from Norfolk said...

Castro's troubles, from what I've read, are not in his skills, they're in his head. It apparently swelled after his first season. He may be good on offense, but he's a sieve defensively. Tejada's dWAR - 0.7 - 3rd in the league. Castro's dWAR - negative 0.3 - worst in the league. I'd rather get Didi Gregorius from Arizona. SS is one position where you HAVE to have good defense.

Bill Metsiac said...

I want NO part of Castro. Terrible attitude, worse D (I read somewhere that he has OVER THIRTY Es already, compared to Ruben's 5), and a ridulous contract thru '19.

Ruben has been in fire snce May 20, playing excellent D, and has drawn raves from Gary/Ron/Keith. I say wait the season out, maybe give Reynolds a shot, and if we still need a SS until kids like Ceccini and Rosario are ready, sign a short-term FA. Keep the chips for a big OF bat.

Steve from Norfolk said...

Sorry, one more thing.

Tejada is producing at this time. He may not be slugging, but he's getting on base, hitting doubles, scoring runs, and saving runs in the field. No, he's not Tulo, but we could do a lot worse - remember how hot some people were on Nick Franklin, now of the Tacoma Rainiers, and playing more 2nd than SS?

Mack Ade said...

But Steve -

Do you want to give Tejada his ARB money and bring him back next year as your starting SS?

Steve from Norfolk said...

Mack,

Not if we can do better. All I'm saying is that we don't need to grab the first SS available. He's doing an adequate job - let's try to get someone who suits our long term needs. What do you think he'd get as an ARB-2? I say $3-$4 million. Unless we can get a first-class prospect, that may be just what happens. I can't see Fred/Jeff/Sandy springing for a first-class ML shortstop until they're ready to go for it(i.e. never).

Steve from Norfolk said...

Bill,

Castro has ONLY 11 errors. that's bad enough. Sure, he hits. But, how many runs does his defense cost you?

Anonymous said...

Maybe the Cubbie to go for is Kris Bryant. only Russell and Castro project at SS, so if they keep all IF, Bryant is heading to....Left Field

Anonymous said...

Tulo. Lets get him in here.

Unknown said...

Bryant isn't going anywhere. 30 HRs in AA & AAA currently. They will find a position for him. The Cubs are going to score a lot of runs soon. Bryant, Castro, Baez, Rizzo, Russell all by some point next season. Hopefully, their pitching allows more than they can score.

We definitely match up very well with the Cubs for a trade though.

Bill Metsiac said...

Steve--- you're right about the 11 Es. Maybe the article said he was on pace for 30 or some such. In any case, his E totals for his four full seasons are 27,29,27 and 22. NOT acceptable.
By contrast, Ruben as a SS has 35 in 306 career games.