Morning Report – August 12th – Noah Syndergaard, Sand Gnats, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Michael Conforto, Wilmer Flores

Jonathan Niese and Curtis Granderson cleared waivers.


Adam Rubin explains why you aren’t going to see Noah Syndergaard this year - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/93044/the-case-against-noah-in-majors-in-2014?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter –

It’s spelled out pretty simply. Thor is one of the young arms that the Mets need to shut down early, especially in a year that means nothing. I don’t know what ‘your plans’ are for this guy… IMO… he’s either going to be a front end (probably SP3 for Mets) pitcher or the guy that can get you a premier solution for shortstop of left field

No, the Mets need to shut him down after the next dominating outing and leave the baseball world with that taste in our mouth. 

Article on the possibility of the Savannah Sand Gnats leaving Savannah… featuring Mack’s Mets Wally Murphy - http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-08-09/all-its-charms-grayson-stadium-again-issue-savannah-sand-gnats-future#.U-diV_ldWLx

One more big problem in Savannah… the weather here is Africa hot. The heat index yesterday was 105 and, like most summer days here, there were severe afternoon thundershowers. There always has been a lot of rained out games in Savannah, but now the games are being called because of ‘poor field conditions’ even before a drop of rain falls that evening. The place is still soaked from the night before.

Regarding Jacob deGrom and Jenrry Mejia’s ‘soreness’, this is why you shut down young arms early in seasons you are not competing in. Bring up any combination of John Lannan, Giancarlo Alvarez, or Ryan Reid and put these kids on the shelf until the Instruction League. That is, if you just survived any TJS scare. And don’t forget Dice-K, who will be available soon and could replace Zack Wheeler.

The Mets set deGrom’s pitch limit this season at around 180 innings. Right now, he’s at 138.2. Do you want to risk an operation and 12-15 months on the shelf all for a few more starts to help come in second in the Rookie Of The Year voting? DeGrom has nothing more to prove this season. He’s either a sure fire SP3/4 for the Mets next year of the primary trade chip in the off season. Go pitch him if you want to mess this up.

While we are talking about potential great future Mets rotation pitchers, this might also be a good time to consider shutting down Steven Matz for the season. He’s had a wonderful season so far in 2015, combining for a 9-7, 2.48 record for St. Lucie/Binghamton (which includes a fabulous past Sunday star of 7.0-IP, 0-R), but we do need to remember that Matz was lost for two whole seasons due to past arm problems which included Tommy John Surgery in 2010. True, he hasn’t been hurt since, but I’ve seen enough this season and, after the deGrom scare, I’m ready to baby all by big arms for the remainder of the season.

The real interesting decision here could be if the Mets trade Jonathan Niese in the off-season, which would leave them without a lefty in the rotation. Matz will pitch as a 24-year old next year and, age wise alone, would be ready to take on the task.

Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, Montero, Matz… yeah, I could live with that.

We’re getting close to the mid-point in August and it’s starting to look like that Brooklyn Cyclone OF and ex-first round draft pick, Michael Conforto, is going to remain in Brooklyn for the remainder of the minor league season. You might remember that his bat caught on fire the minute he arrived and everyone speculated that he would probably end the season with Savannah and help them achieve their second championship in-a-row; however, the hot bat has turned stone cold as of late. Yes, he’s still hitting .301 for the short-season, but he’s only recorded .179 over the past 10 games. However, I am a convert here and can only speculate at this point the level he will begin the 2015 season. My guess: St. Lucie with a possible Queens ETA of opening day 2016.

We’re getting that daily look at Wilmer Flores that many of us wished for, but we also are reminded of the fact that he does not grade out as a major league shortstop defensively.  Flores would have to win this job with his bat, which has not even begun to heat up. I did find the Twitter world pretty cruel to him after Sunday’s collapse to the Phillies. Sure, he booted a critical play, but so much more happened to lose that game, including umpires that seem to be on the Philadelphia payroll.

No one wishes he would start hitting three home runs a game, but let’s remember I was the guy that saw him fail at this position for parts of three seasons in Savannah. The fact remains that Wilmer Flores is not a shortstop and, at best, deserves to be a DH in the American League.

Let’s hold our breath and 86 the negative Twitter chatter for the remainder of the season and give him, Kirk, and dD a chance to prove they deserve to stick around next year. Having people cheer for you rather than troll after every game wouldn’t hurt either.