Zack
Wheeler is now
averaging 94.9 mph on fastball -- fifth fastest of all qualified starters in
baseball, via Fangraphs
Xander
Bogaerts before
moving to 3B: .296/.389/.427… while playing 3B: .182/.217/.300… since moving
back to SS: .128/.140/.170
-Kudos to SP
Rafael Montero yesterday. This is a big step
forward for a team that need as many trade chips as they can find to hopefully
fill in their holes at LF and SS. Montero threw an outstanding 7.1 innings with
six strikeouts and only one run give up. The Mets need to keep Montero in the
remainder of the 2014 rotation and pray for quality starts for the remainder of
this season. Teams tend to want to trade first for pitchers that have been time
tested at the major league level. Tow of two more starts like this one will
place Montero is a category way above where he was when he arrived back in
Queens earlier this month.
Michael
Scannell -
I still get
angry thinking about how I wanted Giolito in that draft whenever Gavin comes
up. Having said that, it seems that after a rough transition he might be
figuring things out in St. Lucie.
Gavin is
starting to look like one of those players who struggles in a new environment,
adjusts, and then 'gets it'. If he can
start off at Binghamton next year there's an outside shot he could be ready in
early 2016. If he becomes the player
he's supposed to project as (solid defense, decent hitting, strong OBP, a
little pop, etc.) he could be the answer at SS as well as a solid leadoff/#2
hitter in the not too distant future.
That being the case, I wonder if we don't wait on bringing in a
long-term answer at SS and deplete our assets this winter. Maybe we try and make an incremental
improvement for next year with an eye on Gavin being ready sometime the year
after
Any chance
he starts 2015 at AA?
Mack
– Gavin Cecchini is a very talented infielder
who seems to be a little too streaky at this point in his professional career. I
have questioned many times if he should have been picked by the Mets in the
first round.
Many
ballplayers, especially the younger ones, have problems adjusting to the
advanced talent at a new level. Cecchini was lost early in Savannah as well. He
seems to be putting his game together now for St. Lucie and, hopefully, he will
finish strong at this level.
There’s
one more thing. He’s 20 years old. There ‘s no one pushing him behind him in
Savannah, so you might consider keeping him behind in Florida there and work
additional with the home camp hitting instructors.
Lastly,
I really don’t have an opinion here. People have told me that we have better
defensive shortstops in the organization. Offensively, we know there is no pop
here.
We’re
just going to have to wait out this growth process.
If you
happen to catch Marcos Molina in action these
days, you'll be witnessing the maturation of a young pitcher. The Mets'
16th-ranked prospect allowed one hit and recorded a career-high with 12
strikeouts Friday night as Short-Season Brooklyn blanked Vermont, 7-0. Molina
(6-2) yielded just a leadoff single to Jose Brizuela in the bottom of the
second inning. He followed that by striking out seven straight Lake Monsters
and ended up facing three batters over the minimum in his 10th start for the
Cyclones. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140816&content_id=89842710&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb
I
hate when organizations, especially MLB or MiLB, write feature articles about
19-year olds in the sub-A or rookie level. It’s simply too early to crow about
this stuff… “Maturation of a young
pitcher”… maybe… striking out 12 guys of which 11 are never going to make it to
the major leagues… probably.
Don’t
get me wrong… I’m excited to see him in the lineup every five days but I’ve
watched this so many times over the years. I’ve obviously become much more
jaded since I began blogging about the minor leaguers and guys like Thomas Brennan have taken over the
‘motivational speaker’ role here.
Here’s
what I want here. I like the fact he did this in under 100 pitchers. Let him
finish the season at that pitch count. Then, give him some time to visit his
family and then get him a winter assignment where he can work on his secondary
pitchers.
Lastly,
send him here to Savannah next year as a 20-year old. On the bright side, I do
consider him one of the top Mets prospects on ceiling alone. I just want to see
more of it before I send him to the Hall of Fame.
If
Binghamton Mets pitcher Tyler Pill threw 96
miles per hour, you'd likely hear more about him on a regular basis. Instead,
Pill flies under the radar and simply continues to dominate Eastern League
hitters and win games. Pill, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-hander from Covina,
Calif., has not lost since May 5. That's 15 games, including one Triple-A
start, since Pill (7-5) lost. The NFL hadn't held its draft and LeBron James
was still pursuing an NBA title with the Miami Heat when Pill last lost. http://www.pressconnects.com/story/sports/columnists/2014/08/15/tyler-pill-pitcher-mets-prospect/14125533/
The
Mets seem to have a bunch of these guys… Dillon
Gee, Matt Bowman, Jacob DeGrom, and Pill. All great athletes
that also pitch pretty decently. I have no idea where they fit in the overall
pitching picture on this team. My assumption is that Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler will be 1-2 in the rotation
until their arm falls off. From there is all speculation.
Doesn’t
there has to be a market for some of these guys other than Thor? The problem is
every other team is just looking for one or two players to polish off their
25-man squad, and they have their own long list of prospects. Offering three or
four prospects for the services of one star shortstop doesn’t turn a team on
that doesn’t have any room for anymore, as John
Sickles would
say, ‘C’ level prospects. You want a great shortstop? Fine… offer a great
pitcher.
I
don’t want to lose Noah
Syndergaard before
he throws a single pitch for the Mets, but I don’t see any other scenario if
the owners of the Mets won’t allow the team to increase the payroll to solve their
problems.
Donation
Drive (drive end 8-30) –
Received so far – $75.00
Goal - $1,400.00 - $1,325.00 to go
God
Bless you for your consideration.
13 comments:
Great to see Montero be...well, Montero yesterday. He's got a low innings count. Keep him starting for the rest of the season, absolutely.
I just got off the phone with Cooperstown, Mack, and they have a spot reserved for him right next to the Dominican Dandy Juan Marichal!
I honestly wonder if the Mets hierarchy would give any edge over a Gee, for instance, because of what looks like the best hit tool of any pitcher the organization likely has ever had. Maybe his bat would help win a few games over the course of a season...and he could be used to pinch hit.
Mack I felt the same way as you on Gavin...offensively no pop here" but he has 8 HRs this year, including 5 in the past 6 weeks...I know he worked to get stronger in the offseason. I just wonder if the 22 year old version of Cecchini in 2016 might be a 20 homer guy. One added note: what I like about his August so far is only 3 Ks in 60 at bats. You can't fake that stat.
Gavin's plate discipline and increased power have me wondering what another offseason of training can do for the kid. Since he takes time to adjust, I'd like to see him get almost a full season at AA next year, with maybe a late July/early August jump to AAA.
You're right, in two years we could have 6'1" 205lb SS who can field well enough, have moderate power (15-20 HR) and get on base enough to hit #2 in the lineup.
If the FO believes in that trajectory and that he can play SS at the MLB level we should be looking to add a power bat to the OF.
PS - He could find himself in the top 75-50 prospects at some point over the next 12-18 months, at which point we might really regret dealing Thor to Chicago.
This Anon Joe, I register later today, just posting from phone. I actually thought 2014 was going to be the year, not to make the playoffs, but turn the comer and now think 2015 may be more realistic, not because of the ML team, but because of the Farm. I was hoping they wouldn't move anyone because I felt that one more year of seasoning would raise the stock of the higher end prospects and while Nimmo, Herrara, Thor and even Cecchini/Smith/Rosario have had nice move up years, I think one more year without depletion could see several players move into the Top 100 and that changes so much for filling needs internally and raising stock for trades. I could live with short term options in 2015 in order to see the above players take anothe level step forward. If Nimmo, Matz, Herrara, Thor and even Reynolds/Bowman were getting it done in AAA in June of next year, Cecchini/Fulmer were adjusting to AA, Smith/Stuart/Conforto were playing well at STL, along with a couple of the Sand Gnat pitchers and guys like Rosario/Urena/Lupo/Becerra/Molina/Oswalt and a sleeper or two were kicking it in Savannah, the Farm inventory looks dramatically more attractive for filling internal needs and chips for trading that don't include top pitching prospects. I think one of Sandy's best traits is often misconstrued as a weakness:Restraint. He did not blow the budget on Bourn or Choo, even at the expense of missing on Abreu, who by the way was passed on by the bottomless budget of the Yanks. I'm all for upgrading, but one more year of prospect seasoning could change the whole picture.
Great points. There really aren't any players that Sandy "missed out on" that I'm disappointed about.
I know it's a pipe dream, but I'm hoping the Marlins hold off one more year before dealing Stanton. I think we could put together a competitive offer now, but with one more year of maturation of our farm and we'd likely blow away anyone else.
BTW, Matz with another gem yesterday. I'm not the least bit worried about moving him to AAA next year. He's already made the big jump to AA look easy.
Yes, it looks like a lot of talent in the pipeline, but as you say, Mack, most prospects don't make it. If Ceccini becomes our next long-term SS, that means we will have failed to trade for (or sign as a FA) a proven ML SS.Maybe that's good long-term, but definitely NOT good near-term.
What's this "registration" process? Every time I post, I have to type in my name, copy a number, then "publish". Is there a way around that?
BTW-- My check is in the mail (I don't use Pay Pal). Good luck in reaching your goal. You deserve it.
We might be able to find a short term answer, someone on a 2-year deal to play SS.
According to the Daily News, the Mets want Russell from the Cubs over the other two.
We could have Russell, Cecchini, Reynolds, and Herrera to pick from. One can play SS and shift another to 2B.
Of course Alderson wants Russell. Given a choice between a proven MLer or at least someone with ML ABs, vs a "prospect", he'll choose the latter every time.
I'd rather Russell of the 3 as well.
I would rather take Soler than any of the Cubs but price may be too steep
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