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