Mack’s Morning Report – 3-2-16 – Intra-Game, Chasing Cars, Yoenis Cespedes, Dilson Herrera, Ed Coleman

Good morning.

The Mets played their annual ‘Blue vs. Orange’ intra-game on Tuesday…

Singles by Matt Reynolds, Alejando de Aza, and Michael Conforto produced a run in the top of the first. Reynolds also had a double in the sixth against Stefan Sabol.

Juan Lagares hit a first inning home run against Robert Gsellman. He also singled and stole second base in the third.

T.J. Rivera started the second inning with a single. He also hit a 2-run home run in the seventh off of Chason Bradford.

it was good to see SS Gavin Cecchini back healthy. Started a spectacular double play on a Danny Muno grounder in the second inning. He also singled in the second.

(Wilmer Flores was in the original lineup at 3B but his name was pulled and replaced by Luis Guillorme – turned out he was just under the weather)

Logan Verrett threw a perfect 1-2-3 third inning and issued only a walk in the fourth.

Dilson Herrera homers against Duane Below. Below followed this with a perfect 1-2-3 inning.

Dominic Smith drew a walk in the fourth.

Travis Taijeron made excellent catch in right field. Guess he made camp.

Zack Thornton throws a perfect 1-2-3 inning against Danny Muno, Raywilly Gomez, and Victor Cruzado (lineup’s getting a little thin) and follows with a second scoreless inning.

Seth Lugo threw a perfect frame in the fifth. Johnny Monell had an RBI double against Lugo in the seventh after a Muno error. This was followed by a Nevin Ashley RBI single.

Josh Smoker pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth.

Mack – Yes, this was just an intra-game… and yes, no one was hitting against anyone that will be in any team’s rotation… but it still was nice to see Rivera, Reynolds, and Lagares hit the ball well. Pitcher of the day goes to Thornton (2-IP, 5-K).

Injury check – pitcher Erik Goeddel continues to be sidelined with a ‘side muscle issue’.

It seems that Terry Collins has had enough of the fast cars and riding the horses… he told the team it’s time to get back to the serious game of baseball. I guess I agree with him. There probably will never be a more important reason to get off to a fast start this year.

 Fangraphs has a great breakout on left fielders and they had this to say about Yoenis Cespedes –

Yoenis Cespedes‘ full-season numbers, including his time with the Mets, are reflected in the table above. He is the clear standout of the group, hitting the ball harder than everyone with a respectable K rate for a power bat, hard enough to make his low walk and slightly excessive pull tendency tolerable. He did make progress in a key area, with his pop-up rate dropping into the average range after three seasons in the 95th, 95th and 97th percentiles, respectively. He’ll need to make some adjustments to excel in his mid- to upper-30s, but he’ll be plenty good enough with the bat in the near term.

Mack – Yes, we will see Cespedes most of the time in center, but the breakout is dominated with hitting percentages and rankings. Let’s face it… we can’t get enough of baseball writers saying good things about this guy.

Fangraphs on Dilson Herrera –

              Herrera’s first taste of the big leagues was a little rough, but his offensive showing wasn’t half bad for a second baseman. It’s also worth noting that his time in the show was interrupted by a broken finger, which may have negatively affected his performance. Big league performance aside, everything about Hererra’s minor league track record suggests he’ll make for a very good second baseman. And his Triple-A numbers suggest he could be that as soon as this year. Whether he gets that opportunity remains to be seen.

Ed Coleman chimed in on the upcoming season –

              Coleman believes outfielder Michael Conforto will be a big part of the Mets success this season, and sees the young prospect playing on a daily basis.

“I think Conforto will play well enough down here to prove that he’s ready to go every day,” Coleman told Francesa. “I think what you will see sometimes is you’ll see [Curtis] Granderson sit, see Conforto in right, and [Juan] Lagares in center, and [Yoenis] Cespedes in left.”