2/17/16

Mack’s Morning Report - 2-17-16 – Josh Edgin, Jacob deGrom, Ruben Tejada, Jerry Blevens, Keith Law



Good morning.


Anthony DiComo ‏@AnthonyDiComo  - Josh Edgin says he's roughly targeting May 1 as a return from Tommy John surgery. He, Blevins and Bastardo could give #Mets three lefties.

Mack – Edgin had an excellent bullpen session yesterday in Port St. Lucie and is now ahead of schedule. This would sort of leave Dario Alvarez, Sean Gilmartin, and Josh Smoker out of the picture.

Obviously Alvarez and Smoker would return to Las Vegas but I wonder about the future of Gilmartin. He could become part of the Las Vegas rotation, but we’ll have to wait and see how he is used this spring.



anthonydicomoEarly reporter – Instagram - Jacob deGrom says his World Series loss made for some sleepless nights this winter

Mack – There were a bunch of Mets pitchers that threw a bullpen session Tuesday morning and none was more filmed and followed by the Mets press than deGrom. According to my source, probably more than Harvey.
Still no early sign of Yoenes Cespedes in camp.

Steven Matz working on adding a knuckle-curve.




Sports Illustrated had a feature story on Ruben Tejada and Chase Utley

New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada has not spoken to Chase Utley since the Los Angeles Dodgers' second baseman broke his leg on a late takeout slide in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, according to the New York Post.

“I would never do that to another infielder,” he said. “That is the position I play, and I would never want to hurt another player that plays that position like that. It would have been different if some other position player, a corner infielder or an outfielder had done that to me, but he is a middle infielder, he should know better."

Mack – Utley is a creep and obviously should have visited Tejada in the hospital the night of the slide.

It’s going to get quite interesting when these two teams meet in late May, especially the night Noah Syndergaard will be on the mound.



 Adam Rubin wrote about the return on LHP Jerry Blevens –

                   Blevins, 32, initially thought his summer tumble was relatively harmless. He had returned to his car from his hotel room because he was concerned his iPhone would be baked in the Florida sun had he not retrieved it.

“I just didn’t want it to melt in the heat,” Blevins said. “So I went and grabbed it and was bringing it back out. I was on the phone with my now-wife and slipped and caught myself. It wasn’t anything crazy. It just happened. … I caught myself, and I just felt a little bit of pain. I went back into the training room and it felt sore. And we iced it and it didn’t go away. So we went and checked it out -- X-ray style. It came back and there was a little crack. So we decided to go with the surgery.”

Mack – The important thing is Blevins is now at 100% and ready to return to the Mets.



Keith Law’s Top Mets Prospect –

1.    Dominic Smith 1B
2.    Steven Matz LHP
3.    Amed Rosario SS
4.    Gavin Cecchini SS
5.    Wuilmer Becerra OF
6.    Brandon Nimmo OF
7.    Desmond Lindsay OF
8.    Robert Gsellman RHP
9.    Jhoan Urena 3B
10.Luis Carpio SS
11.Ali Sanchez C
12.Matt Reynolds SS
13.Milton Ramos SS
14.Eudor Garcia 3B
15.Seth Lugo RHP
16.Luis Guillorme SS
17.Max Wotell LHP
18.David Thompson 3B

Mack – A few things…

2B Dilson Herrera isn’t on the list because he has too many bog league at bats and doesn’t quality as a prospect anymore. Trust me… he would be either #1 or #2 on this list if he qualified.

Compared to a year ago, this is a weak list.

I agree on the top seven names though I might have them in a different order.

I consider Gsellman and Reynolds a little too high on this list

I would think that Garcia got knocked down a few pegs due to his suspension





13 comments:

Tom Brennan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Reese Kaplan said...

I'm a numbers guy, so obviously there's something to Amed Rosario I'm not seeing in the columns of figures. He's not showing the ability to hit for average, power nor overwhelming speed. Is it that he fields like Ozzie Smith? In nearly two full seasons worth of ABs he's delivered 5 HRs, 76 RBIs and 22 SBs while hitting .257. That's in 974 ABs, so halve those numbers for single season output.

Tom Brennan said...

eith Law included my 2016 favorite Max Wotell in his list. Great minds think alike. I had Max higher. Interesting that the list did not have Gabe Ynoa. Or Pat Mazelka. Or Akeel Morris. Maybe they were #19, #20, # 21.

Extend deGrom. Please.

How is the knuckle curve on an elbow?

Cespedes spotted at a cigar stand in an undisclosed location.

Good health wishes for Edgin and Blevin.

eraff said...

Reese... we can't evaluate prospects based entirely on production. Sadly, all we get to see are the stat lines.

He plays a highly skilled position competently..... he's competing effectively with his bat. He's "Passed Go" at every single level, at least 3 years younger than his league peers. He did it last year at a very big deal A+ League. Add that to "Screaming Tools", and it's a big reason to be very encouraged.

He will play this season as a 20 year old, most likely at AA. He's in a 1-3 year window. NOW is the time to begin more closely observing and tracking his Progression with Production and Performance.

Ernest Dove said...

Well everyone on here knows my thoughts on Rosario ;)
He is ABOVE AVERAGE defensively at short. He has a cannon for an arm even while being a 'little guy'. He has plenty of bat speed. Can go opposite field with two strikes and pitches thrown outside.
I didn't notice any monster hits in games I watched But even his 'numbers' showed a ton of doubles.
Oh and he can fly around the bases. He and jeff mcneil were automatic in taking extra bases off hits, fly balls etc. Not bad for a 19 year old.

Zozo said...

Wow all but 4 are pitchers out of 18. We must start building that up again to keep on pace for 4 years from now. Get us some young pitching!!!
Hopefully they go big on the international draft.

Mack Ade said...

Reese -

I remember reading that scouts said that Rosario was playing well ahead of the level he was at even though it didn't show in the stat numbers

Mack Ade said...

Zozo -

Losing 11 in one season does tear up the system

Zozo said...

Yeah I know but it was well worth it

Tom Brennan said...

Am I right that Keith Law had our top prospects list at 4th best?

Not reflected in his #'s is that Mets' minors should have killer bullpens. Morris, Sewald, Mateo, Montgomery are just 4 of many good arms. How many make it? Another story.

Anonymous said...

You can't use stat sheets as the exclusive focus on evaluating prospects -- which is why so many blogger-generated lists are pure drivel. Any semi-informed fan can come up with a reasonable Top 20 list after an hour of research. But for meaningful insight, you have to be there and you have to understand what you are seeing: projectability.

It's also why I value Ernest's observations on players he's seen.

James Preller

Mack Ade said...

James -

I agree 1000%.

Eye contact trumps stats every time.

Let's not forget Christopher Soto's trips to Binghamton.

DSchulps said...

Ernest -

You mention Jeff McNeil and I see he's not in Law's Top 20. How do you rate him?