2/7/15

Mack – Morning Report – 2-7 Saturday Weekend Edition - Vladimir Gutierrez, Doug Fister, Victor Martinez, Rule 5



Cuban pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez has defected from Cuba and will establish residency in another country. Ben Badler is very high on the 19-year old –

Righthander Vladimir Gutierrez, one of the top young pitching prospects in Cuba, has left the Cuban team at the Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico, along with shortstop Dainer Moreira, Baseball America has learned. USA Today and El Nuevo Herald also reported earlier that the two players have left the team.

Baseball America ranked Gutierrez, 19, as the No. 12 player in Cuba in August, and his stock has only improved since the 2014-15 season began in September. At 6-foot-3, 170 pounds, Gutierrez has a tall, lanky frame with long arms and plenty of room to add weight, which should help him add to a fastball that sits at 88-93 mph. Gutierrez’s best pitch is his plus curveball—arguably the best curveball in Cuba—that has tight spin and sharp action at 77-80 mph. Gutierrez primarily operates off those two pitches, though he has flashed an average changeup at times. - http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/vladimir-gutierrez-top-cuban-pitching-prospect-leaves-team-caribbean-series/



You may be asking, what exactly is awesome about having a fastball that sits at about 87 MPH, and a set of off-speed pitches that sit at around 80 MPH? Well nothing, unless you are able to be one of the more dominant pitchers in all of Major League Baseball in 2014 while throwing no harder than a good varsity high school pitcher. That’s just what Fister did. The 30-year-old ground ball pitcher capitalized on his move away from one of the worst infield defenses in baseball to post career high numbers, finishing last year’s campaign going 16-6 in just 25 starts, with a 2.41 ERA and walking just 1.32 batters per nine innings.

You know what else is awesome? Pitching like this. Despite being one of the game’s slowest throwers, Doug Fister is one of the games fastest pitchers, which keeps things interesting. But it isn’t just for entertainment value, he does this for two reasons. First, it allows him to control the rhythm of the game. Hitting and pitching is all about rythm, and when you don’t throw above 90 mph, it’s even more important to control this aspect of the game. By moving quickly, he keeps hitters off balance. Second, it helps him tremendously with keeping runners on base. With his six foot eight inch frame, and his low velocity, he should be relatively easy for runners to advance on. However since he gets to the plate so quickly, he also makes it harder for runners to get into a rhythm against him as well, which helped contribute to his outstanding left-on-base percentage of 83%.

What else is awesome about Fister? Well for one, his middle name is Wildes, which I can’t believe we haven’t talked about before. Want more? How about the fact that he and his wife gave tons of Nats fans free Starbucks over Twitter for Christmas, just because? - http://thenatsblog.com/2015/01/which-nats-starter-is-the-best-doug-fister/



Victor Martinez injured his left knee during an offseason workout last week, and was examined today at the Watson Clinic. According to an update released by the Tigers, Martinez tore his left meniscus and will undergo surgery with Dr. James Andrews next week. Martinez will miss all of spring training, putting his status for Opening Day in doubt.
Martinez is coming off the best offensive season of his career in 2014. He hit .335/.409/.565 with 32 home runs and 103 RBI, finishing second to Houston's Jose Altuve in the batting title race. He was worth 4.4 WAR despite serving as the team's primary designated hitter, and finished second in the AL MVP voting to Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. The Tigers rewarded Martinez with a four year, $68 million contract extension this offseason. The 36-year-old Martinez iterated his desire to finish his career in Detroit. He will be 39 years old during the final season of his contract, in 2018. - http://www.blessyouboys.com/2015/2/5/7987727/victor-martinez-meniscus-injury-spring-training-tigers




          Rule 5 - Last updated on 2/5/2015 - The following players will be eligible for the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft on December 10, 2015 (players in bold will be eligible for the first time). Teams can protect players from the Rule 5 draft by placing them on the 40-man roster. The deadline to add a player to the 40-man roster this year is November 20, 2015.

Added to 40-man roster, no longer eligible for the Rule 5 draft - None

AAA --- Las Vegas 51s

Chase Bradford
Daniel Muno
Kevin Plawecki
Matt Reynolds
Zack Thornton
Cory Vaughn
Jeff Walters

AA --- Binghamton Mets

Matthew Bowman
Jayce Boyd
Xorge Carrillo
Ryan Fraser
Chase Huchingson
Kyle Johnson
Adam Kolarek
Rainy Lara
Dustin Lawley
Brandon Nimmo
Tyler Pill
T.J. Rivera
Travis Taijeron

A+ --- St. Lucie Mets

Maikis De La Cruz
Phillip Evans
Michael Fulmer
Julian Hilario
Matt Koch
Seth Lugo
Luis Mateo
Tim Peterson
Paul Sewald
Domingo Tapia
Beck Wheeler

A --- Savannah Sand Gnats

Octavio Acosta
Victor Cruzado
John Gant
Rob Gsellman
Jon Leroux
Yeixon Ruiz
Stefan Sabol
Logan Taylor
Tyler Vanderheiden

A- --- Brooklyn Cyclones

Adrian Abreu
Alberto Baldonado
Shane Bay
Michael Bernal
Anthony Chavez
Jeff Diehl
Pedro Perez
A.J. Pinera
Eddie Rohan
Joe Tuschak
Brandon Welch

R --- Kingsport Mets

Gaby Almonte
Wuilmer Becerra
Leon Canelon
Oswald Caraballo
Jose Figuera
Audry German
Vicente Lupo
Bradley Marquez
Craig Missigman
Christian Montgomery
Luis Ortega
Persio Reyes
Ruben Reyes
Jean Rodriguez

R --- GCL Mets

Kevin Canelon
Jose Celas
Nabil Crismatt
Jose Encarnacion
Gabriel Feliz
Manuel Hilario
Alvin Maracaro
Natanael Ramos
Alfredo Reyes
Dionis Rodriguez

Lenny Rosario

24 comments:

Ernest Dove said...

Wait, the OTHER Cuban defector plays SS? How is that not immediate/crisis/news at 11 type front page news? I wanna hear about how he is better then Wilmer ;)

Another interesting rule 5 eligible list coming up.....the benefits/non benefits of a strong farm system. Maybe its soon time to start packaging prospects off for something valuable.

Positively Half St. said...

We Nats fans love Fister down here, but we only have him signed through this coming season. If the Mets ever start spending money again, he might be yours. I don't think Mike Rizzo is going to trade him- our 89-year-old owner wants to win this year, even if it means making 2014 15-game winner Tanner Roark a long man.

+1/2St.

Zozo said...

Wow that's a lot to protect, I would protect
Plawecki
Carillo
Bowman
Lara
Nimmo
Filmer
Mateo
I would like to keep more but that would probably be way too much.

Zozo said...

Fulmer

Ernest Dove said...

I assume Plawecki joins SOMEBODYS 25man next year.
Bowman might be next years logan verret unless mets give in and trade one of Thor/matz/Montero
Where does Nimmo go in 2016 if he plays entire 2015 season at aaa level ?

Tom Brennan said...

Too early to sweat who will be exposed to the Dec 2015 rule 5 draft, but it is clear we'll lose some good talent if Sandy does not work several into trades.

Read an article that Wilmer feels he's really worked hard at SS and is confident he will do well this year. So am I. Go for it, Mr Flores - make us forget Tejada ASAP.

Charles said...

Really doubt that Carillo and Mateo get protected. Lara won't either, especially if they didn't protect Verrett. With Darno and Pawlecki, the Mets do not need to protect another catcher when they have Recker already on the 40.

Despite all that, who knows what could happen after this season. Players surprise, like Robles last year. It's way too early to really know.

Fulmer is a wild card this season. He'll either recapture his status as a legit top ten prospect, or settle into a role where he may end up a valuable back end of the bullpen arm. Or, possibly completely fall off the map if he has another injury riddled season and can't produce any results.

After his excellent year in Savannah, I really thought he'd be part of a future super rotation that was Harvey, Wheeler, Thor, Fulmer, and Niese. Then the knee injury happened(which Mack broke the story), and he hasn't been the same pitcher. Hopefully, this season he reclaims his spot as a potential future starter in the Mets' talented rotations. Boy, what an embarrassment of riches that would be if Fulmer ends up in that discussion.

bgreg98180 said...

Thomas

What you mentioned worries me.
The jury is still out on Alderson's ability to trade minor league talent away.
It sure would hurt to know promising talent is lost for nothing because no other team met Alderson's trade price.

Zozo said...

Hopefully Fulmer and Mateo come back strong from their injuries, but Carillo is getting better with age. If he progresses like he did last year, I can envision him being our backup to either Darnaud or Plawecki.

Charles said...

If Nimmo plays all year in Vegas, then he's had a bad year. I don't care what Sandy has stated, Vegas is a hitters paradise, and Nimmo may just tear the cover off the ball.

At the same time, Cuddyer may get hurt or Grandy may strike out 40% of the time. If the Mets are sitting at .500 in July and one of those things are happening, and Nimmo is batting .325 with 10 homers and a .400 OBP, I don't think they'd sit on their hands and go with a struggling veteran. This year means too much.

I know they'll be stuck with these expensive outfielders for a few years, but the importance of 2015 is undeniable. It's success means more than any players contract. If they have a legit option that's a minimal cost, it's probably the only move this financially strapped team can make.

I fully expect Sandy to go with the best option possible if it means this team may win more games.

Charles said...

Anythings possible. I just think the Mets system is too strong at this point. They're in a position now where good players are going to be available to other teams in this draft.

Zozo said...

Heres a blast from the past Justin Huber. I am watching the Australian baseball league on MLB network and he is getting interviewed on the show. He has just retired and is GM of the Australian Aces. I was hoping for him to be a star player for our Metsies.

Charles said...

Bob

What are you going to get for Verrett? Yes he's a legit SP5 prospect. But that type of prospect isn't going to bring back anything unless he's a throw in on another package. A cherry on top type of player in a deal, like Wuilmer Beccera was in the Dickey deal.

I can't blame Sandy for losing Verrett. If he doesn't stay in Baltimore all season, and that a huge possibility, the Mets can get him back. Besides, I think the Wilpon's are actually counting on the extra 50,000 they get in these deals in order to pay to keep the lights on during night games this season.

bgreg98180 said...

Charles
I don't believe I said anything about Verrett......ever.

Your hostility towards anything I post seems silly.
Don't worry
be happy


Mack Ade said...

HUber follows me on Facebook and is a reader of Mack's Mets - he's a really good guy

Mack Ade said...

Bob... Charles...

"we are the world..."

Mack Ade said...

Positively Half -

First of all, welcome to my site.

What's the word on the Mets over in Nat-land other than the fact you can kick our ass 90% of the time.

Are we starting to look like a contender?

Ernest Dove said...

Well maybe this is just crazy talk (I've been up since 6am thanks to my daughter) but after the whole Thor Montero Matz thing is resolved one way or another (and veterans gee niese and colon do what they do) im not really that worried about losing any other current pitchers in the entire farm system, except Molina. Keep, trade, unprotect whoever after that. This team supposed to be kinda set at this point anyway to contend yearly regardless of any other immediate new talent in the next 2-3yrs.

bgreg98180 said...

Ernest

New daughter?
Are belated congratulations in order?

Tom Brennan said...

Ernest, let me add that in the slew of positive articles on Mets recently in the Daily News and Post recently about individual players, one was Niese, who actually was pretty good last year. He said early last year, it felt like knives were being stuck in his shoulder. He said the shoulder now feels fine. Another positive to savor, while making him either a top Mets asset in 2015 or more tradable.

Charles said...

I think that was the first time I ever posted anything about something you wrote....

Sorry Bobby.

I brought up Verrett because that's the type of player you're going to lose when you have a good system so that's the type of player you'd be looking to trade before they get taken in the draft.

The problem is that ML SP5 have little value so prospects whose ceilings are SP5, you just aren't going to get much for.

Charles said...

If Niese is actually healthy, and can give the Mets near 200 innings, that would be huge. He's the most likely to be dealt next off season once Matz is ready.

Ernest Dove said...

Hey Bob,
My one daughter is enough ;)
Now 2 yrs old and as of today now fits (somewhat) into her David Wright shirt.

bgreg98180 said...

Ok.
Well.....A VERY belated Congratulations!!!!! to you then.