Jake deGrom has won the NL Rookie of the Month
Award for September
Mack’s Mets – the premier site for information on the New York Mets talent pipeline and dialogue on Mets prospects, Mets news, and Mets opinions.
9/30/14
ROOKIE WINNER - SP - Jacob deGrom
Jake deGrom has won the NL Rookie of the Month
Award for September
2015 Draft Profile - RHP - Riley Ferrell - TCU - UPDATED 9-11-14
9-11-14 – Fangraphs Top 50 Players in Draft - 35. Riley Ferrell, RHP, TCU: Ferrell sat out this summer but is plenty well-known to scouts as the two-year closer for the Horned Frogs and last summer for Team USA: he sits 94-97 with reports he’s hit 99 or 100 mph and an above average to plus slider, but it’s relief-only. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2015-mlb-draft-top-51/
6-30-14 – Through The Fence – Early College Prospects - 12. Riley Ferrell, RHP, TCU - A lot of Ferrell’s draft stock will be determined by his role next year. He has worked out of the pen his first two seasons and has been dominant. Over 31 appearances this season, he had a 0.79 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 70 K/14 BB over 45.1 innings. He held opponents to a silly .132 BAA and had a 13.9 K/9 ratio as his fastball has great life and he has very good command of the pitch. The 6’-1”, 200 pound right-hander turned heads when he was sitting 95-98 mph with Collegiate Team USA over the summer. His secondary stuff is still developing and the progress of those offerings will decide his starter/reliever role. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2015-mlb-draft-early-30-college-prospects/43327
6-28-14 -
Career Honors
• 2014 2nd-team Perfect Game All-American
• 2014 3rd-team NCBWA All-American
• 2014 ABCA 2nd-team All-Midwest Regional
• 2014 1st-team All-Big 12 Conference
• Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (April 22, 2014)
• 2014 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List
• Member of the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
• 2013 Big 12 All-Freshman team
• 2014 3rd-team NCBWA All-American
• 2014 ABCA 2nd-team All-Midwest Regional
• 2014 1st-team All-Big 12 Conference
• Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (April 22, 2014)
• 2014 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List
• Member of the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
• 2013 Big 12 All-Freshman team
2013 (Freshman)
Ranked second on the team with 23 appearances on the mound... was 0-2 on the year with a trio of saves... posted a 2.20 ERA in 32 2/3 innings pitched... fanned 39 and walked just 11... held opponents scoreless in 18 of his 23 appearances... allowed just one of his 11 inherited runners to score... team posted a 13-10 record in games he pitched... made his collegiate debut on Feb. 17 at Ole Miss... gave up two hits and struck out one in 2 1/3 scoreless innings... was touched for three runs on three hits in two innings against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 23... struck out two in a scoreless inning of work at Jacksonville (March 2)... held Pacific scoreless for 3 1/3 innings... gave up three hits and struck out a career-high five batters... gave up a pair of runs on one hit in 1 1/3 innings against Kansas on March 16... made two appearances against Oklahoma March 22 and 24... recorded five outs against the Sooners on March 22... suffered the loss after allowing a run in 1/3 of an inning against the Sooners on March 24... notched his first career save on March 29 at Texas Tech... struck out four and held the Red Raiders scoreless for 2 1/3 innings... retired the only batter he faced against Texas Tech on March 31... struck out the side against UT Pan American on April 2... fell to 0-2 on the season on April 7 against San Francisco... gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in 2/3 of an inning... didn't allow a run in 11 appearances spanning 14 1/3 innings... streak began on April 14 against Oklahoma State with 2/3 of an inning... struck out the only batter he faced against UT Arlington on April 16... matched his career-high with 3 1/3 scoreless innings against Baylor on April 20... threw a scoreless frame at Kansas State on April 28... fanned the side on April 30 against Texas Southern... made two appearances at USC on May 2 and 4... struck out four in 2 1/3 scoreless innings at West Virginia on May 11, picking up his second save of the season... tallied his third save of the year with a scoreless inning against UT Arlington on May 14... pitched two shutout innings against Texas on May 18... pitched an inning against Kansas in the Big 12 Championships on May 25. http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/riley_ferrell_816626.html
Ranked second on the team with 23 appearances on the mound... was 0-2 on the year with a trio of saves... posted a 2.20 ERA in 32 2/3 innings pitched... fanned 39 and walked just 11... held opponents scoreless in 18 of his 23 appearances... allowed just one of his 11 inherited runners to score... team posted a 13-10 record in games he pitched... made his collegiate debut on Feb. 17 at Ole Miss... gave up two hits and struck out one in 2 1/3 scoreless innings... was touched for three runs on three hits in two innings against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 23... struck out two in a scoreless inning of work at Jacksonville (March 2)... held Pacific scoreless for 3 1/3 innings... gave up three hits and struck out a career-high five batters... gave up a pair of runs on one hit in 1 1/3 innings against Kansas on March 16... made two appearances against Oklahoma March 22 and 24... recorded five outs against the Sooners on March 22... suffered the loss after allowing a run in 1/3 of an inning against the Sooners on March 24... notched his first career save on March 29 at Texas Tech... struck out four and held the Red Raiders scoreless for 2 1/3 innings... retired the only batter he faced against Texas Tech on March 31... struck out the side against UT Pan American on April 2... fell to 0-2 on the season on April 7 against San Francisco... gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in 2/3 of an inning... didn't allow a run in 11 appearances spanning 14 1/3 innings... streak began on April 14 against Oklahoma State with 2/3 of an inning... struck out the only batter he faced against UT Arlington on April 16... matched his career-high with 3 1/3 scoreless innings against Baylor on April 20... threw a scoreless frame at Kansas State on April 28... fanned the side on April 30 against Texas Southern... made two appearances at USC on May 2 and 4... struck out four in 2 1/3 scoreless innings at West Virginia on May 11, picking up his second save of the season... tallied his third save of the year with a scoreless inning against UT Arlington on May 14... pitched two shutout innings against Texas on May 18... pitched an inning against Kansas in the Big 12 Championships on May 25. http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/riley_ferrell_816626.html
5-20-14 - Riley Ferrell, RHP, TCU -
95-98 fastball, ++ curve, and good change-up...
6-1,200 pounds
Projected to be added to rotation in 2015
HAPPY RECAP - PART 2 OF 7 - 2014 AA B METS
I started a series Monday
that will provide the Happy Recap on each minor league Mets team. I call
it Happy Recap in honor of Bob Murphy, whose happy recaps I always enjoyed,
along with his terrific, positive announcing of Met games for so many years.
Anyway, the happiest of all happy recaps is that of the Eastern League 2014
Binghamton Mets. The Bingos won 5 of 6 over 2 playoff series, first knocking
off Red Sox affiliate Portland, which had the league's best record, and then
putting a whoopin' on Richmond.
The playoffs culminated in a game in which future Met starter lefty Steve Matz utterly dominated the Richmond opposition, throwing no hit ball through 7 1/3 and striking out 11 before surrendering his first hit. I am looking forward to Steve joining the Mets' rotation some time in 2015, after his 2nd straight terrific season after his prolonged recovery from TJS had stalled his early minor league career.
Steve had plenty of pitching help, with Greg Peavey (11-3) and Tyler Pill (9-5, with a team leading 120 Ks in 124 innings) having strong starting seasons. My one disappointment there was Pill not getting more ABs. He went 8 for 19 with no strikeouts in the few games he got to bat in. If he can crack the Mets' crowded rotation in the future aat some point, he can bring his Ruthian bat with him.
They were aided and abetted by the "ERA's", Dilson Herrera and TJ Rivera, who after promotion to AA, both shrugged, said No Biggie, and tore up AA to the tune of a combined .348 in 442 total at bats. Dilson got a "Do not stop in Vegas, come straight to NY" card in September and gave us some glimpses of a possible future star 2B in Flushing.
The playoffs culminated in a game in which future Met starter lefty Steve Matz utterly dominated the Richmond opposition, throwing no hit ball through 7 1/3 and striking out 11 before surrendering his first hit. I am looking forward to Steve joining the Mets' rotation some time in 2015, after his 2nd straight terrific season after his prolonged recovery from TJS had stalled his early minor league career.
Steve had plenty of pitching help, with Greg Peavey (11-3) and Tyler Pill (9-5, with a team leading 120 Ks in 124 innings) having strong starting seasons. My one disappointment there was Pill not getting more ABs. He went 8 for 19 with no strikeouts in the few games he got to bat in. If he can crack the Mets' crowded rotation in the future aat some point, he can bring his Ruthian bat with him.
Matt Bowman was only 7-6
at the time of his promotion to AAA, but was 3.11 and almost a K per inning in
17 AA starts, and then did fine in Vegas. He is another bright pitching light
in the Mets’ constellation.
Greg Ynoa at 21 found AA more challenging that earlier dominating stints in lower leagues, but has gone 29-8 the past 2 seasons, including the playoffs. My guess is at 22 in May of next year, the Eastern League will be in for a formidable hombre in Greg for the first half of 2015. Rainy Lara did OK in 109 innings. Darin Gorski was excellent (4-2, 2.22) but had a season-ending injury in mid-July.
Cody Satterwhite and Jack Leathersich combined with other relievers to make this the bullpen no one wanted to face. Cody, who had career injury issues that resulted in him being at the advanced age of 27 in this season as Bingo's closer, did fine indeed (15 saves, 2.33, 9.5 K/9). Electric Jack K'd 79 in 46 innings before his promo to Vegas late in the season. He showed mercy on the rest of the hitters. Hansel Robles was shaky as a starter but excelled in 20 innings in late season relief (1.80, 24 Ks).
Greg Ynoa at 21 found AA more challenging that earlier dominating stints in lower leagues, but has gone 29-8 the past 2 seasons, including the playoffs. My guess is at 22 in May of next year, the Eastern League will be in for a formidable hombre in Greg for the first half of 2015. Rainy Lara did OK in 109 innings. Darin Gorski was excellent (4-2, 2.22) but had a season-ending injury in mid-July.
Cody Satterwhite and Jack Leathersich combined with other relievers to make this the bullpen no one wanted to face. Cody, who had career injury issues that resulted in him being at the advanced age of 27 in this season as Bingo's closer, did fine indeed (15 saves, 2.33, 9.5 K/9). Electric Jack K'd 79 in 46 innings before his promo to Vegas late in the season. He showed mercy on the rest of the hitters. Hansel Robles was shaky as a starter but excelled in 20 innings in late season relief (1.80, 24 Ks).
Pitching-wise, the B Mets
were 5th out of 12 in ERA, first in K’s, and a close 2nd
in WHIP. No complaints.
Hitting in Bingoville was truly impressive overall. Offensively, the B
Mets were a juggernaut like the Vegas boys were: 718 runs in 142 games (5.1 per game),
.278/.353/.423 – all 4 being best-in-the-league stats. And a close 2nd in HRs and a close
3rd in doubles.
At season's start, 3 of
the team's big bats (Vaughn, Lawley, Taijeron) each really struggled early.
Vaughn got bumped to AAA after major league promos there and did a bit better
in Vegas. Dustin L and Travis T both picked it up a lot from June
forward, with a combined 28 HRs, 37 doubles, 85 RBIs, and .253 average in a
combined 142 games. Both have significant strikeout issues to fix in
order to someday have a real shot at making the big show.
Bingo led its league in homers, largely due to guys like Lawley and Taijeron, but also due to older vets like 33 year old journeyman slugger Brian Burgamy (32 doubles, 23 homers) and 27 year old Matt Clark, who hit 10 homers in 67 Bingo games, then went to the Brewers organization and hit 19 more, including 3 with the Brewers since a call up.
Bingo led its league in homers, largely due to guys like Lawley and Taijeron, but also due to older vets like 33 year old journeyman slugger Brian Burgamy (32 doubles, 23 homers) and 27 year old Matt Clark, who hit 10 homers in 67 Bingo games, then went to the Brewers organization and hit 19 more, including 3 with the Brewers since a call up.
It was a year of well-deserved mid-year promos of offensive players. We got
terrific hitting of the singles variety from Matt Reynolds before his
mid-season promo to AAA, and equally terrific of the doubles variety from
catcher Kevin Plawecki, both of whom accelerated towards soon becoming major
leaguers with their overall 2014 performances.
They were aided and abetted by the "ERA's", Dilson Herrera and TJ Rivera, who after promotion to AA, both shrugged, said No Biggie, and tore up AA to the tune of a combined .348 in 442 total at bats. Dilson got a "Do not stop in Vegas, come straight to NY" card in September and gave us some glimpses of a possible future star 2B in Flushing.
Brandon Nimmo also was a mid-year promotion to AA, did not hit like the
previous two, but kept getting on base at a pretty high rate, did great in the
playoffs, and finally showed there's pop in that bat in 2014, and scored an
organization-high 97 runs to boot. Fine
season, Brandon, who is now a faster track to Citi.
1B Jayce Boyd tore up Savannah and St Lucie to the tune of .330 in 2013 but needed off-season thoracic surgery. He struggled early in 2014, and his games were limited due to the presence of matt Clark on the team, but a hitting surge of .354 with 18 extra base hits over his last 52 games after June vaulted Jayce to a final average of .293, and had the playoff’s winning hit to boot. It will be interesting to see how his relatively high on base, low strikeout, lower-than-desired power for a 1B gets him to the pros.
Wilfredo Tovar missed several weeks with injury, but finished up at .282/.345/.345 in 78 games. Xorge Carillo, Darrell Ceciliani, and Kyle Johnson also had solid offensive seasons.
Overall, the B Mets finished at 83 – 59 in the regular season and then won 2 playoff series. KUDOS, GENTLEMEN!
1B Jayce Boyd tore up Savannah and St Lucie to the tune of .330 in 2013 but needed off-season thoracic surgery. He struggled early in 2014, and his games were limited due to the presence of matt Clark on the team, but a hitting surge of .354 with 18 extra base hits over his last 52 games after June vaulted Jayce to a final average of .293, and had the playoff’s winning hit to boot. It will be interesting to see how his relatively high on base, low strikeout, lower-than-desired power for a 1B gets him to the pros.
Wilfredo Tovar missed several weeks with injury, but finished up at .282/.345/.345 in 78 games. Xorge Carillo, Darrell Ceciliani, and Kyle Johnson also had solid offensive seasons.
Overall, the B Mets finished at 83 – 59 in the regular season and then won 2 playoff series. KUDOS, GENTLEMEN!
Somewhere, when he thinks
about the Bingo season, Sandy is smiling.
A whole lot.
Morning Report – September 29 – Buddy Carlyle, Rafael Montero, Daisuke Matsuzaka, WAR, Kansas City Royals
So, what’s
going to happen at Mack’s Mets during the off-season?
Well,
basically no change at all.
The Morning
Report will come out every day at 8am, though it may have some more emphasis on
the Winter Leagues and Hot Stove season.
I know Reese Kaplan will have his bi-weekly post (Wednesday
and Saturday – 11am) and I anticipate that Ernest Dove will
also continue his weekly post on Friday’s at 11am.
Christopher
Soto has a wonderful off-season series
of special posts in October and Thomas Brennan has
a bunch of things already scheduled.
I can’t
predict what the other writers will do, but I am sure we will hear from them if
they have something to say.
Just join us
every morning and become part of the growing community that shoots the Mets
shit via comments on the 8am post. We’ll keep the site up-to-date throughout
the day if any big news happens.
Mike Vorkunov on Buddy Carlyle -
Carlyle is
unsure if he will try to pitch again. He looks at teammates like Jeurys Familia with awe -- though he has an ERA nearly
a run lower with a fastball six miles per hour slower. The end has to come
sometime. Still, he already preached to young pitchers how difficult it is just
to reach the majors. And to stay. Finally, Carlyle has found a way. "Do
what you’re supposed to do every day, just be where you’re supposed to be, and
do things the right way," he says, reciting his lessons this spring.
"It’s a lot easier to stick around. Especially if you need that second,
third, or for me, my 15th chance." http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2014/09/mets_buddy_carlyle_nears_end_of_long_winding_career_in_baseball.html
Mack – Boy, was Carlyle a
pleasant surprise this season… 1.53-ERA in 26 relief appearances. Now… do you
match what offer he will get in the of-season from some other team? Trust me,
there is always an offer to match when it comes to players like this. It
probably won’t be a two-year deal a la Latroy
Hawkins ($2.25mil
2015 team option with Colorado), but it will be one of the decisions Sandy Alderson has to do in the off-season.
Rafael
Montero's last 5 G: 3
starts, 19.1 IP, 16 H, 3 ER, 10 BB, 21 SO, 0 HR, 1.40 ERA
Mack –
Boy, just what in the hell are the Mets going to do with this guy.
Right
now, the Mets have six starters on opening day… Matt
Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese, and Dillon Gee.
Additionally,
there will be two more ‘coming up’ around the all-star break… Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz.
And then there’s Montero.
The
emergence of deGrom has even taken Montero out of my ‘dream rotation’
projections for Opening Day 2016. This is the primary reason I keep hyping him
for the pen. I want my team to have the most talented team controlled pitchers
in their system, so the first three guys to go would be the off-injured Niese,
the regressing Gee, and the ancient Colon.
This
probably makes Montero as your top, young, team controlled, lack of injuries,
starter for a future trade. I’m glad the Mets featured him for a few late
starts this season. The stats seem to speak for themselves.
Montero
is a successful major league pitcher that has to be addressed.
Daisuke
Matsuzaka on pitching
in 2016 -
“I want to
start. But I haven't really put too much thought into whether it's going to be
here or there anything. At this point I just want to start."
Mack – I wish him well in
obtaining his dreams, but my guess is that will happen only in Japan. The Mets
simply don’t have a starting role for him, unless he accepts a job anchoring the
Las Vegas rotation and acting as the emergency starter in case someone goes
down in Queens… but even that math doesn’t work unless the Mets deal off three
other starters. No, thanks D and best of luck in the future
Mets WAR:
Mets WAR:
Fangraphs
1. Juan Lagares, 3.8
2. Lucas Duda, 3.3
3. Jacob deGrom, 3.0
4. Daniel Murphy, 2.65. Bartolo Colon, 2.1
…
41-(t). John Lannan, -0.4
41-(t). Omar Quintanilla, -0.4
41-(t). Scott Rice, -0.4
44. Chris Young, -0.6
45. Gonzalez Germen, -0.7
1. Juan Lagares, 3.8
2. Lucas Duda, 3.3
3. Jacob deGrom, 3.0
4. Daniel Murphy, 2.65. Bartolo Colon, 2.1
…
41-(t). John Lannan, -0.4
41-(t). Omar Quintanilla, -0.4
41-(t). Scott Rice, -0.4
44. Chris Young, -0.6
45. Gonzalez Germen, -0.7
Baseball Reference
1. Lagares, 5.5
2. Duda, 3.7
3. deGrom, 3.1
4. David Wright, 2.8
5. Murphy, 2.0
…
40-(t). Juan Centeno, -0.3
40-(t). Josh Satin, -0.342-(t). Lannan, -0.4
42-(t). Rice, -0.4
44. Bobby Abreu, -0.6
45. Jose Valverde, -0.8
1. Lagares, 5.5
2. Duda, 3.7
3. deGrom, 3.1
4. David Wright, 2.8
5. Murphy, 2.0
…
40-(t). Juan Centeno, -0.3
40-(t). Josh Satin, -0.342-(t). Lannan, -0.4
42-(t). Rice, -0.4
44. Bobby Abreu, -0.6
45. Jose Valverde, -0.8
We stay in
the AL-Central for our search of a LF and SS in 2015. This time, it’s the
Kansas City Royals.
According to
Cot[i],
the Royals’ 2014 payroll is $92,185,521.
The Royals
don’t seem to like long term contracts. They have only four, none of which are
shortstops or outfielders.
The
(current) starting outfield is Alex Gordon ($14mil
through 2015), Lorenzo Cain (pre-arbitration),
and Norichika Aoki ($1.91875mil-2014, FA-2015).
The 4th outfielder, Raul Ibanez, is
also a free agent at the end of this season.
Alcides
Escobar is the
starting shortstop and is signed through a team option in 2016 ($3mil/yr).
Prospect
wise, SS Raul Mondesi is their top prospect,
with an ETA of 2016. Additionally, Orlando Calixte (AA
– 11-HR, 37-RBI) could be available via a trade because there doesn’t seem to
be any room for him on their future 25-man roster.
Outfield
wise, Jorge Bonifacio plays a disappointing year
in 2014 at AA (.230). Bubba Starling (ETA-2016)
is the future.
Mack
Observation – The farm system for the Royals seen very thin and they don’t seem
to have a 2015 replacement for either Ibanez or Aoki. I don’t see anyone here
to go after. I’d move on.
9/29/14
2015 Draft Profile - OF/2B - Jahmai Jones - Wesleyan (GA) HS - UPDATED 9-11-14
9-11-14 – Fangraphs Top 50 Players in Draft - 41. Jahmai Jones, 2B/OF, Wesleyan HS (GA), North Carolina commit: The 6’0/210 Jones has played mostly outfield this summer but looked like he could fit at 2B last summer; the above average to plus runner has a simple, efficient swing and caught fire late in the summer. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2015-mlb-draft-top-51/
8-8-14 - Big League Futures – Jahmai Jones is another talent with potential as an SS, though he could make the move to center field as a pro. Regardless, he’s another guy who looks like a near-lock to have his name called in 2015′s first round. The righthanded hitter’s bat speed aids in his potential to hit for both average and power, and he covers the 60 in 6.57 seconds. With that kind of speed and a 92-MPH outfield arm, the Georgia-based slugger could call CF home for his post-amateur career. http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2014/07/15/future-nine-games-will-feature-top-talent/
6-11-14 - Jahmai Jones, Wesleyan (Norcross, Ga.), OF - Could play shortstop or outfield, but his speed and arm strength make him an outfield candidate. Batted .467 with 10 home runs. http://www.maxpreps.com/news/RE_IkTleBU-vFF_g8YCOQg/top-10-high-school-players-to-watch-for-2015-mlb-draft.htm
7-9-14 - B/R - 7. New York Mets Select Ga. HS SS/OF Jahmai Jones = Georgia prep star Jahmai Jones is committed to the University of North Carolina, but it would be a massive upset if he didn't end up in pro ball next summer. Jones has dabbled at shortstop and center field, though the latter is his best position at the next level. His arm strength doesn't play on the left side of the infield, but the speed and range will play just fine in the outfield. Offensively, Jones has a lot of wiggle in his swing. He's got a high leg kick and shifts his weight from the front to the back before committing. It's going to cause some problems against velocity, but the bat speed is tremendous, the wrist strength is very good and the raw power is above-average. If he can quiet down some of the loudness in that swing, the bat's potential is huge. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2085268-mlb-mock-draft-2015-brs-official-early-predictions-for-next-years-top-10/page/2
7-3-14 - For such a high-profile pro baseball prospect, there sure is a strong football presence in the family of 2015 prep Jahmai Jones.
His father Andre played at Notre Dame before getting drafted into the NFL, and so did brother T.J., who suited up for the Irish before getting picked this year by the Detroit Lions. Then there’s Malachi, another sibling who’s about to enter his junior season with Appalachian State. And given Jahmai’s 6’0″, 215-pound frame, it’s easy to envision him lining up at — among other positions — running back on the collegiate level. However, that’s not what the future holds for the Wesleyan High (Ga.) stud who could be called a five-tool talent.
http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2014/07/03/jones-has-football-skills-future-on-the-diamond/
6-30-14 -
6-28-14 -
PG - Jahmai Jones is a 2015 SS with a 6-0 205 lb. frame from Roswell, GA who attends Wesleyan HS. Strong live bodied athletic build. Right handed hitter, spread stance, busy hand load, swings hard and creates serious bat speed, can get long at times with some uppercut but showed game ability to make adjustments, ball comes off the barrel very hard, swing mechanics still raw and will have some swing/miss but has very high ceiling hitting tools. 6.62 runner, quick twitch fast feet, plays lighter and smaller than his size on defense, best position to be determined, arm strength and mechanics still developing, could blossom as either a second baseman or centerfielder. Plays with a high energy level and enjoys the game. Very young 2015 prospect. Elite athletic family background primarily in football.
Wesleyan (GA) High School 6-0, 215 OF-2B Jahmai Jones represents one of the power bats in the 2015 draft.
Clocked at 6.6 for the 60 and is projected to remain in centerfield.
Sophomre stats: .483, 9-HR, 14-doubles, 32-RBI
HAPPY RECAP - AAA LAS VEGAS 51'S
HAPPY RECAP – AAA
LAS VEGAS 51's
Howdy,
dear readers.
The Mets' minor league teams had splendid seasons, to varying degrees. They played really well, season ends, and all is forgotten. Well, not me!
So I thought I'd write a little summary about each of the teams. A HAPPY RECAP, in remembrance of the great Bob Murphy.
First, our boys in Sin City, Las Vegas, land of hot, dry weather and thin air. The PCL is a hitter's league, at least for its western-based teams, but the 51's were a HITTER'S TEAM in a hitter's league. They scored LOTS of runs. Period.
In fact, this team (before guys like Flores, Dekker, Campbell, Kirk, and Brown were promoted to the Mets) were an offensive juggernaut scoring 7.1 runs per game through late May.
I joked on a blog around that time, when the Mets were in a stretch of their season where they were losing with regularity, and not scoring, that the Mets might wanted to consider swapping the entire offensive team from Vegas to Citi. I was only half joking.
The 51's ended up still outscoring all other teams by 90 runs or more, with 880 runs in 144 games (6.1 per game), with a league-leading 172 homers. And, again, consider all the games the above 5 guys were out of Vegas due to call up, and the hitting was remarkable, regardless of locale.
Pitcher call ups also thinned the ranks, with a dynamo named deGrom, along with Black, Edgin, Matsuzaka, and Montero, getting call ups. Two journeyman call ups, Eveland and Carlyle, who I expected little from, shut me up by doing extremely well once called up.
Think of those 12 call ups (and there were a few more), yet the 51's were a league-best 18 games over .500 by season's end. REMARKABLE. How'd they do it? Well, all 12 guys mentioned above did really well prior to call up from the 51's. Not to mention, collectively, AFTER being called up.
They won enough to get in the playoffs behind guys such as the stunning Matt Reynolds who hit like crazy in AA, and then did the same in AAA but with added power. And with guys like first year AAA 2B Danny Muno, who turned it up in the end half as he always seems to, adding 14 homers in 359 official at bats (if he played every day, and at bats were not wasted on old-timer Omar Quintanilla), he’d likely have exceeded 20 homers).
Kevin Plawecki's promotion in mid-season to the 51's helped offset the firepower lost from all of the promotions to the Mets noted above. Cesar Puello, mystifying in the first half, significantly inproved in the 2nd half, and showed his superior speed and defensive tools. Maybe 2015 is a breakthrough year for him.
Allan Dykstra may or may not ever make the bigs, but he had fine on base and slugging %'s (.426/.504) and improved on an ongoing flaw by reducing his high career K rate. Another "may or may not ever" guy who was an excellent part timer was Anthony Seratelli (.414 on base %). I hope both get a shot somewhere, if not with the Mets.
Amongst the tossers, Noah Syndergaard was shaky in 2014 in a tough pitching environment, but was still better than most any AAA pitcher a team could throw out there. A stud in the making. Logan Verrett was a solid 11-5. Matt Bowman did well in 6 post-promotion starts.
The pen was so-so, but Leathersich pitched a bit better in his brief return to AAA after a poor AAA cameo in 2013, and as always, struck out the world. I'm hoping to see him in Citi in 2015. Ike Davis trade guy Zach Thornton was OK (1-5, 4.22, 65 K’s in 59 2/3, 1.47 WHIP).
A disappointing playoffs left the churned-up 51's bowing out in the first round. But for those like myself who followed their season-long progress (and thanks to Herb G for excellent daily minor league in-season updates) it was great to follow the 51’s.
The Mets' minor league teams had splendid seasons, to varying degrees. They played really well, season ends, and all is forgotten. Well, not me!
So I thought I'd write a little summary about each of the teams. A HAPPY RECAP, in remembrance of the great Bob Murphy.
First, our boys in Sin City, Las Vegas, land of hot, dry weather and thin air. The PCL is a hitter's league, at least for its western-based teams, but the 51's were a HITTER'S TEAM in a hitter's league. They scored LOTS of runs. Period.
In fact, this team (before guys like Flores, Dekker, Campbell, Kirk, and Brown were promoted to the Mets) were an offensive juggernaut scoring 7.1 runs per game through late May.
I joked on a blog around that time, when the Mets were in a stretch of their season where they were losing with regularity, and not scoring, that the Mets might wanted to consider swapping the entire offensive team from Vegas to Citi. I was only half joking.
The 51's ended up still outscoring all other teams by 90 runs or more, with 880 runs in 144 games (6.1 per game), with a league-leading 172 homers. And, again, consider all the games the above 5 guys were out of Vegas due to call up, and the hitting was remarkable, regardless of locale.
Pitcher call ups also thinned the ranks, with a dynamo named deGrom, along with Black, Edgin, Matsuzaka, and Montero, getting call ups. Two journeyman call ups, Eveland and Carlyle, who I expected little from, shut me up by doing extremely well once called up.
Think of those 12 call ups (and there were a few more), yet the 51's were a league-best 18 games over .500 by season's end. REMARKABLE. How'd they do it? Well, all 12 guys mentioned above did really well prior to call up from the 51's. Not to mention, collectively, AFTER being called up.
They won enough to get in the playoffs behind guys such as the stunning Matt Reynolds who hit like crazy in AA, and then did the same in AAA but with added power. And with guys like first year AAA 2B Danny Muno, who turned it up in the end half as he always seems to, adding 14 homers in 359 official at bats (if he played every day, and at bats were not wasted on old-timer Omar Quintanilla), he’d likely have exceeded 20 homers).
Kevin Plawecki's promotion in mid-season to the 51's helped offset the firepower lost from all of the promotions to the Mets noted above. Cesar Puello, mystifying in the first half, significantly inproved in the 2nd half, and showed his superior speed and defensive tools. Maybe 2015 is a breakthrough year for him.
Allan Dykstra may or may not ever make the bigs, but he had fine on base and slugging %'s (.426/.504) and improved on an ongoing flaw by reducing his high career K rate. Another "may or may not ever" guy who was an excellent part timer was Anthony Seratelli (.414 on base %). I hope both get a shot somewhere, if not with the Mets.
Amongst the tossers, Noah Syndergaard was shaky in 2014 in a tough pitching environment, but was still better than most any AAA pitcher a team could throw out there. A stud in the making. Logan Verrett was a solid 11-5. Matt Bowman did well in 6 post-promotion starts.
The pen was so-so, but Leathersich pitched a bit better in his brief return to AAA after a poor AAA cameo in 2013, and as always, struck out the world. I'm hoping to see him in Citi in 2015. Ike Davis trade guy Zach Thornton was OK (1-5, 4.22, 65 K’s in 59 2/3, 1.47 WHIP).
A disappointing playoffs left the churned-up 51's bowing out in the first round. But for those like myself who followed their season-long progress (and thanks to Herb G for excellent daily minor league in-season updates) it was great to follow the 51’s.
What
do you think?
Stay tuned in the days ahead as I continue with Happy Recaps for the Mets' other minor league teams.
Stay tuned in the days ahead as I continue with Happy Recaps for the Mets' other minor league teams.
NEXT HAPPY RECAP:
the Champion Binghamton Mets.
Morning Report – September 28 – A Team Controlled Future, DL, Kiley-Chat, Eno-Chat, Detroit Tigers
I walked
away with one distinct trend when I broke out the 29 other teams and if they
had any potential SS or OF prospects the Mets could target in the off-season.
You read
these sites, all their local blogs, the trade rumor sites, and you walk away
with the feeling that Sandy Alderson isn’t the
only General Manager out there that is trying to build the future of their team
around team controlled players.
There was a
time that you could trade a couple of high level prospects for an existing
starting player (under contract) in a heartbeat, but that is quickly changing.
Nobody wants to give up their top prospects anymore.
Oh, there
are exceptions… the Dodgers and Yankees come to mind… but everybody is starting
to look to the draft, the international free agent market, and even the
independent leagues, for long term answers for their parent team.
Right now,
the Mets have a very defined ++ talent level for their projected long term
infield. C Kevin Plawecki, 1B Dom Smith, 2B Dilson Herrera,
SS Amed Rosario, and 3B Jhoan
Urena could all be in the same lineup come 2018, or latest, 2019.
Nothing is guaranteed and people like David Wright aren’t
just going to roll over, but I did want to point out the high level of talent
that has joined this organization lately by either the draft, trades, or the
international market.
Reinstated from DL:
Lucas
Duda hit the @Mets’ 1st walk-off HR
while losing a shutout since Duke Snider in
1963.
The
Washington Nationals five regular starters did over their final 13 games: 13-0,
0.89 ERA.
Reinstated from DL:
RHP Ty
Bashlor, RHP John Church, RHP Miller Diaz, RHP Jose Encarnacion, RHP Chris
Flexen, RHP Michael Fulmer, RHP Carlos Gomez, RHP Jeremy Hefner, RHP Johnny
Magliozzi, RHP Tyler Vanderheiden, RHP Jeff Walters, RHP Beck Wheeler, LHP Darin
Gorski, LHP Scott Rice, 1B Jon Leroux, 3B Aderlin Rodriguez, 3B Gregory
Valencia, SS Omar Quintanilla, OF Brandon Brosher
Kiley-Chat –
Comment From
The Iron Sheik - Thoughts on Brandon Nimmo? ML
regular, perhaps starting tail end of next year?
Kiley
McDaniel: Regular
upside but should be in minors all of 2015
Comment From
Dave - At draft time, was the power for Dominic Smith all
future power? How concerning is his complete lack of power so far?
Kiley
McDaniel: line drive approach, 55 now/future raw power but game power will take
a little time to integrate. scouts comp’d to todd helton in high school.
Mack
– Both Nimmo and Smith get some steady positive press these days and my hopes
none of goes to the head of the players or the decision makers that determine
where they play next season. We need to handle both these cases differently.
Send Nimmo to Las Vegas and let him hit some balls over the wall. It would be
nice to get him in the Queens starting lineup after the all-star break, but I’m
willing to stretch this to opening day 2016.
Smith’s
a completely different animal. All he needs to do next year is show up the
first player in the cage and work with the batting coach well past the end of
the game. It’s going to take some time and a lot of talent to pass by both Jayce Boyd and Lucas Duda.
Eno-Chat –
Comment
From Andrew Y - How concerning was deGrom’s shoulder tendonitis earlier in the
year? Should we be worried his arm will fall off next season?
Eno
Sarris: It’s too bad that he’s now had
a major elbow event (TJ) and a minor shoulder event. He has good command and
uses a wide array of pitches, and hasn’t thrown as much as other young
starters, but he has the injury asterisk because of those two events.
Comment From
Schiraldi - Low-amplitude trade ideas: Allen Craig to the Mets for Bartolo Colon.
Eno Sarris:
Hey I like this! Not sure the Sawx do, but they could use a vet in the back, it
looks like Craig isn’t going to be super useful. We know the Mets don’t mind
ceding defense in certain places.
Comment From
Marty - Next year’s ranks: Alex Wood, Jacob deGrom, Pineda.
Eno Sarris:
deGrom Wood Pineda. I like them all, but Pineda’s innings will be lowest number
in the set.
Mack
– Having an injury asterisk next to deGrom could be a good thing. All the other
GMs will stop asking about him and we’re assured a return of possibly our long
term SP2.
Oh
yeah… one more thing… I didn’t bring up
Alan Craig again. This time it was Eno.
We continue
our look for a new shortstop and/or left fielder in the AL Central, with a look
at the Detroit Tigers.
According to
Cot[i],
the 2014 salaries for the Tigers is $163,635,500. It includes five long term
contracts, none of which are for outfielders or a shortstop.
There also
are seven players going into free agency, including OF Torii
Hunter. The other two starting outfielders are Rajai
Davis ($5mil-2015, FA-2016) and J.D. Martinez
(pre-arbitration). Don Kelly ($1mil-ARB3) serves
as the 4th outfielder.
Eugenio
Suarez (pre-arbitration) is the starting
shortstop, with Andrew Romine (pre-arbitration)
as backup.
Prospect
wise, an interesting name is OF Steven Moya. He’ll
play next year at 24, has been hampered by injuries (TJS-2012), and still hasn’t
played AAA, but he hit 35-HR and 105-RBI for the Tigers AA team last year. Also,
there’s LF Tyler Collins (AAA: .263, 18-HR,
62-RBI) that could fill the 2015 need for the Mets.
Shortstop
wise, Hernan Perez (AAA: .287, 6-HR, 53-RBI)
projects as a botton of the lineup hitter.
Mack
Observation – I would be surprised if the tigers turn to Moya to fill the void
left when Hunter departs. Thus, I see them looking for help outside their
system.
I’m not sure
Moya is worth either Jonathan Niese or Dillon Gee. I probably would look to another team to
solve my 2015 problems.
9/28/14
2015 Draft Profile - RHP - Kyle Molnar - Aliso Niguel (CA) HS - UPDATED 9-11-14
9-11-14 – Fangraphs Top 50 Players in Draft - 51. Kyle Molnar, RHP, Aliso Niguel HS (CA), UCLA commit: Molnar doesn’t have much physical projection or the prettiest arm action, but he flashes three above average pitches with feel and keeps improving. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2015-mlb-draft-top-51/
7-19-14 - Todd Gold @TGold_PG
Liking the newest addition to the repertoire of 2015 RHP Kyle Molnar (Aliso Viejo, CA): low 80s CH w good darting life down to AS
6-11-14 – Kevin Askeland/MaxPreps – Top 10 High School Players To Watch for 2015 Draft – Kyle Molnar, Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), RHP - Had a strong year at the plate and on the mound for Aliso Niguel, which reached the Southern Section Division II championship game. Posted a 10-2 record with 81 strikeouts and a 1.81 ERA in 81 innings pitched. His best outing was an 8-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Los Alamitos. Also batted .320 with seven doubles and three home runs. http://www.maxpreps.com/news/RE_IkTleBU-vFF_g8YCOQg/top-10-high-school-players-to-watch-for-2015-mlb-draft.htm
6-10-14 - Kyle Molnar, LHP, Aliso Niguel High School, CA
An athletic lefthander, Molnar could rise towards the top of draft boards this year. The UCLA commit has a chance for 3 above average pitches. is fastball has touched 93 and both his breaking ball and change show potential.
The Los Angles Times said that Aliso Niquel (CA) High School's RHP, 6-3, 200 pound Kyle Molnar, is going to be the next best pitcher in baseball.
Arsenal includes - 89-92, 94 fastball,,, 80-82 deceiving change-up... and work-in-progress curve.
Over 60 inning period.... 63/K, 12/BB
MaxiPrep ranks Molnar as the top 2015 sophomore...
2014 - 1.80-ERA, 10-wins, 74-IP, 78-K, .172-OBA