Mack’s Morning Report – 5-19-16 – David Wright, Travis d’Arnaud, Tulo, Dominic Smith, Rafael Montero

Good morning.

Jimmy P had a few very interesting observations yesterday on our current third baseman, highlighted by this -

Again: I never want to have my doubts and observations on his performance to ever be confused with my respect and admiration for him as a man and as a ballplayer. But I think his current strikeout rate is a huge, huge red flag. Nobody in MLB history strikes out that much and succeeds. He's kept it together so far, thanks to an unreal walk rate, but this is not looking good. FanGraphs recently ranked him the worst defensive 3B by a large margin. I only have sympathy for the guy. But I do wonder about Sandy's Plan B. Jimmy P

          Mack – A couple of things here.

1.     I really don’t want to break up the current roster or the handful of ++ prospects we have to find a new third baseman

2.     That being said, there really is no one in the system right now that could produce the kind of output Wright has produced over his career.

3.     This leaves us coming to a realization that third base is not going to be a future position to produce a ‘super star’ in the same category Wright was.

4.     This doesn’t mean that someone like Wilmer Flores couldn’t ‘represent’ himself well in this position. Frankly, I don’t think he will ever hit about .250, but he does have the talent to hit 15+ homeruns which wouldn’t be half bad for an 8^th hitter in the lineup.

5.     By the way… MLBTR.com doesn’t list one single third baseman on the projected 2016/2017 free agent list…

Catcher Pat Mazeika has been activated off of the Fireflies disabled list

INF Niuman Romero transferred from Binghamton (AA) to Las Vegas (AAA)


C Tyler Moore was transferred from Columbia to the Brooklyn roster

From MLBTR   –

There’s no indication that Travis d’Arnaud is close to a return to the Mets, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. At this time, d’Arnaud isn’t even with the team but has traveled back to his L.A. home to work out his ailing shoulder with a personal trainer. The oft-injured 27-year-old has played in just 13 games for the Mets this season. In his absence, Kevin Plawecki will get his chance to prove that he can be considered an everyday option behind the dish.

Mack – Is it just me or does this guy just seem to never heal fast enough?

In a way, I’m glad Plawecki is getting a shot right now.

To date this year, Plawecki is hitting .232 in 69-AB… d’Arnaud had hit .196 in 46-Abs this season and has never hit above .268 (2015). His 4-year lifetime MLB BA is .242.

Kevin Plawecki on Noah Syndergaard –

                   “He’s a special man. No stage is too big. No moment is too big.”

BeckyWitGudHair: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/troy-tulowitzkis-trade-value/  mid May last year Dave said tulo was worth thor, matz and Rosario without the Rockies even paying down the contract. I want what he was smoking.

Paul Swydan: First – We’re all going to be wrong sometimes. That comes with the territory. Second – Tulo’s decline and Thor’s ascension both happened faster than anyone anticipated.

Jeff Zimmerman: Thor was not Thor then.

                   Mack – Thank God the Mets didn’t make this deal.

Adam Rubin  on Dominic Smith –

          After a slow first week to the season in the frigid Northeast, 2013 first-round pick Dominic Smith heated up with Double-A Binghamton. Throw out a 1-for-14 opening three games and Smith is hitting .310 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 129 at-bats this season in the Eastern League.

Mack – It’s nice to see that other writers than me recognize Smith’s projected power in the future…

Also from Adam Rubin –

                  Rafael Montero was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week after logging 11 2/3 scoreless innings during starts at Sacramento and Oklahoma City. Montero is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six starts for Las Vegas this season, but he has averaged 91 pitches over slightly less than five innings an outing.

Mack – Montero has to put in more innings to be taken serious this season.