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:
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.
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.
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.
Fulmer
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 ?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Charles
I don't believe I said anything about Verrett......ever.
Your hostility towards anything I post seems silly.
Don't worry
be happy
HUber follows me on Facebook and is a reader of Mack's Mets - he's a really good guy
Bob... Charles...
"we are the world..."
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?
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.
Ernest
New daughter?
Are belated congratulations in order?
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.
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.
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.
Hey Bob,
My one daughter is enough ;)
Now 2 yrs old and as of today now fits (somewhat) into her David Wright shirt.
Ok.
Well.....A VERY belated Congratulations!!!!! to you then.
Post a Comment