7/17/15

Mack’s Morning Report – 7-17-15 – Casey Meisner, Anibal Sanchez, Relief Pitching, Dash Willingham



20-year old RHP Casey Meisner continues to impress at the mid-range of A+ - St. Lucie. Meisner pitched six more scoreless innings this past Monday, lowering his A+ ERA to 2.16, but that’s the least of his professional career.
The 3rd round draft pick in 2013 straight out of Cypress Woods High School(TX) has now pitched 192.2 professional innings for the four Mets teams he has been assigned to and his overall stat line… at 20 years old… is: 15-8, 2.90, 1.18, 192.2-IP, 172-K, 54-BB.

Meisner will cut his bones in AA-Binghamton next year where you will begin to read much more about this budding star. Good pick, Sandy.



I found a story that was originally published on 7-11-15 by Ryan Divish in The Seattle Times    about Detroit Tigers Anibal Sanchez, playing across the diamond from Seattle Mariners Rich Donnelly. The story had nothing to do with baseball. It was about how two men on opposite teams were coping with the loss of their child.

Go read it please. You’ll stop worrying about who’s going to play in the Mets infield for a half an hour.

We’re now in the second half of the season and went into it with the following win-loss record

          Washington -       48-39          87 games played

          Mets  -                  47-42           89 games played

The Mets have played two more games than Washington has… and has three more loses. There is nothing they can do about that and this can become a very important fact once the season moves into September.

In essence, Washington is in a much stronger position to win the division.


There was a great roundtable discussion show on MLB-TV the day of the all-star game. One of the subjects they talked about is the future of pitching, in general, and relief pitching, in specific. We all know that the past decade has seen a huge decline in offensive baseball and teams continue to build their future around young arms (I’ve written extensively on how this starts well before high school with coaches of youngster teams placing their best, and tallest, athlete on the mound).

The discussion on this show, that included Mad Dog and John Smoltz, warned that more and more teams will be cutting back on the innings their starters throw and you will see teams, like Kansas City, that have four 95+ mph power arms to handle the last three to four innings.

I don’t agree with them, but (staying with 2015) we are going to enter into the period soon where pitchers like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard, will have to have their innings limited. The roles of pitchers like Jenrry Mejia, Bobby Parnell, and Jeurys Familia could become even more important… and… determine whether this team makes the playoff this season.


Does 19-year old 1B Dash Winningham have the chance to someday replace Lucas Duda on first base? I mean the Kingsport first baseman seems to be having a much easier time hitting the long ball than Dominic Smith did at that level, or even hitting at his current level of St. Lucie.

Winningham is a 8th round in 2014 – Trinity Catholic HS FL) – combined 2014 GCL/current 2015 Kingsport: 243-AB, 58-K, 23-BB, 9-HR, 51-RBI, .243/.320/.420/740

Dom Smith 20-yrs old – 1st Rd 2013 – Junipero Serra (CA) HS – 3 yrs: 937-AB, 169-K, 98-BB, 8-HR, 123-RBI, .286/.356/.386/742

Interesting HR/OBP/OPS comparisons.

Here’s what Chris Soto said about him earlier this week:

He has some outstanding power, especially to his pull side, and his swing has outstanding hip rotation and a good weight transfer, allowing him to use all of that strength. In terms of RAW POWER, he could push a 65-70 grade here.
That said his Game Power is another story. His hands are pretty slow through the zone and he doesn't have good bat speed. He can get beat on inside pitches pretty regularly. He also has some moving parts in his stance which can make him vurnable to good off-speed stuff. He's not exactly your typical "athlete".
However, if he can shorten that swing up, while still maintaining that brute strength of his....you could have yourself another Lucas Duda here.

Hmm…

24 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Reading what Chris wrote about Dash W, I really wonder if he will ultimately be better than Lucas. He is just 19 and doing what he is. It could come down to personality: meaning, for instance, if Mark Teixera's brain were in Duda's body, would Duda be a lot better? Winningham's personality might drive him higher.

Another low minors slugger, Brandon Brosher, lost a game-tying homer to the winds of Cyclone Park. At one point Nellie Figueroa was saying their manager warns his players to hit liners, not flies, because you may need to hit it 425 to go over the 325 sign in right.

One of those power arms in a Mets pen might be Chis Montgomery, Mack. He was throwing hard for the Cyclops (I like that name better) last night, and now in 9.2 IP has allowed just 3 hits, 2 walks, and K'd 18.

Bob Sugar said...

Good write up. People are concentrating on Dom Smith's low power numbers too much in my opinion. I understand that 1b is a position that typically provides home runs however Smith is going to give us plenty of other qualities like RBI's and hits when they matter. By the time he is on the big club perhaps the power could come from other areas and Dom Smith can simply complement that power with great defense and a great average and RBI's .

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

Morning.

A lot can happen in these early professional years. Look at Montgomery, who couldn't find the side of the barn the past few years. The Mets stuck with him because they had scouted him before his pitching problems in school.

I really have no idea where Willingham or Brosher is going. No one does at this point.My job is to point out players that are standing out from the pack.

Who knows... maybe even Smith will hit another home run this year (sic)?

Mack Ade said...

Bob -

Morning and thank you.

Did I say something nice in this post about Dom Smith?

Bob Sugar said...

No Mack you were just giving us a comparison with Dash. I've been following Dash as well but let's see he fares at the higher levels. I'm protective of Smith as I see a future star for many years. Bats are so hard to come by for us and he seems like a natural

Ernest Dove said...

I need the Mets front office to make some phone calls and ensure that Meisner starts on the 30th so I can watch him LIVE ;)

Tom Brennan said...

Hey Mack, Lutz back and Castellanos takes his place in Japan!! So no Alex in Queens. Lutz to replace Campbell perhaps at 3B? Hitting .800!! After 1 game, of course.

Mack Ade said...

Bob -

Smith is a viable prospect and is high on my list. He has tremendous gap power at his age, plus please don't thing those balls are bouncing off the top of the wall. He's a great hitter into the holes and a fast runner that gets him to second base more often than others.

He also is the top fielding first baseman in the organization.

My only concern is his becoming a home run hitter which I question whether he will or not. I see him in the 10-15 range some day, no more.

Just an opinion.

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

I also heard that Cecchini went on the DL.

Did you hear why?

Tom Brennan said...

Nothing on Cecchini. Played last night got on base in 8th but played 9th. Maybe pulled a hammy? It appears he played the whole game.

Tom Brennan said...

If Cecchini was DL'd, time to promote Rosario or McNeil. Both had a hit and walk last night.

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

I guess we'll see if he plays tonight.

The 29 year old Lutz does give the Mets another 3B option if David Wright doesn't come back the rest of this season. I'm sure this crossed the mind of at least one Mets official before they re-signed him.

Ernest Dove said...

If Lutz becomes the answer at 3B, Panic City will officially begin to burn.

Tom Brennan said...

I know my brother will have choice things to say if Lutz shows up in Queens again. Don't be there when he does.

Going 4 for 5 makes it seem he is very happy to be stateside again.

Unknown said...

Let's see how Dash does in Savanah before comparing him to Dom Smith - remember Smith's numbers have come against older and better competition

Besides - for most 20 yr Olds, doubles turn into HRS - I am pretty confident that Smith's 50 doubles 8 HRs will ultimately translate to 40 doubles and 20 HRs

Even if it doesn't I recall Boggs and Gwynn being HOF hitters who had little power - and Gwynn played a premium offensive position - I doubt Smith will be as good as Gwynn (who is?), but his ceiling as a hitter is close

Unknown said...

For Lutz to play 3b, he has to hit enough better than Tejada to make up for Wilmer at SS - not sure he can, not sure he can out hit Tejada

Mack Ade said...

Lutz was always a good AAA player and pretty decent in the field also. He never made the grade at the major league level, but, if either Murphy, Tejada, or Flores went down, he could be a viable option.

Unknown said...

I see Lutz as a fall back to the fall back - Reynolds (if healthy) gets the next shot - speaking of which - any word on his elbow?

Unknown said...

I see Lutz as a fall back to the fall back - Reynolds (if healthy) gets the next shot - speaking of which - any word on his elbow?

Tom Brennan said...

Trying to look up Cecchini health status without success, but did see the B Mets manager express his sadness for Lwaley, Aderlin Rod, and Rudy Pina releases. Said all were good guys. Pina was hitting .305, and .441 in his last 10 games, when released. We'll see which team might give these guys another chance.

Mack Ade said...

Lew -

no details out of 'North Korea'

Christopher Soto said...

@Tom

Pina and Ad-Rod were both minor league free agency eligible guys....they were released to clear the way for promotions

I did find the Lawley release to be odd though....I'm gonna ask around tomorrow when I go to NYSEG Stadium to see if anyone has any intel.

I did speak with some a guy in the front office yesterday and they were all pretty down on the news.

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

I was particularly sad by the loss of Lawley on a personal basis. I have gotten to know some of these guys over the years and Dustin and I are Facebook friends.

Mack Ade said...

BY THE WAY -

ALERT -

TOMORROW'S Q AND A COLUMN HAS ONLY ONE QUESTION

PLEASE SEND SOMETHING TO: macksmets@gmail.com