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5/19/16

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 8th 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.

16 comments:

  1. Wright is almost half way to 100 strikeouts (47) in 139 plate appearances. .221. And 17 Ks in his last 10 starts. Those sort of numbers occur when a guy is done. Jayson Bay twilight-of-career numbers. Fielding deteriorated. Time to figure an exit plan?

    Hey, Ty Kelly is hitting .413 in Vegas and has played a lot of 3B in his career....lots of errors there, but what the neck...

    Dude has 1 RBI in the past two weeks...here he goes again. Please reappear.

    d'Arnaud just filed for Social Security disability.

    Dom Smith has warmed up...time to go on a tear.

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  2. Wait, so Matt Oberste isn't the future Mets first baseman ?

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  3. They really need to think about T J Rivera. Hitting nearly .350, 34 RBIs in 34 games (2 as a PH) as he finally is hitting in the heart of the order, and just 1 error. T J can play all 4 IF positions. Another AAA wonder, or someone who can help?

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  4. Ernest -

    Just having some fun with ya, Ernest.

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    Replies
    1. Its all fun n games until someone mentions Jeff McNeil in a bad way. Then I fight to the death.

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  5. Mets are third in pitching with Harvey being terrible and Colon reverting to what we expected 4-4.5 ERA with a mix of decent and terrible starts. Mets can go far with this.

    The offense however is worrisome again. Cespedes is carrying the whole team it seems. Mets arent going to run David out of town without a long long leash. Every time I see him dive for a ball I worry about him. Whats the story on Rivera, is his defense just so bad that he isnt acceptable? Watching Reynolds get at bats just feels like we are giving up free outs. I know we have hit a battery of good starters lately but the offense just looks anemic.

    Can Ryan Braun still play 3rd base? Is he someone to consider? Play him in OF, 3B, 1B? I'm sure the Brewers would love to dump his salary.

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  6. Dallas

    I believe Braun has back issues also.

    The season, so far, is proving that it was a bad idea to go into the 2016 season relying on Wright and D'Arnaud as important cogs in the the Mets offensive machine.

    I am very glad that Alderson recognized this and fortified the offense with Walker, Cabrera, and Cespedes. Cespedes is proving that he should always have been in the Mets plans for this season and the near future.

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  7. btw oberste played thirdbase the other day. or at least was listed in the box score as a 3rd baseman

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  8. The problem is that Wright's leash may well extend until the all-star break - of 2017. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for Wright, and maybe, maybe he can pull it together for a stretch or two, but he simply looks overmatched and physically unable to do anything about it.

    In a perfect (OK, not perfect, but better) world, you DL Wright (for the season - get that insurance kicking in), bring up Herrera, and move Walker to 3B. Is he a star there? No, but he's league average-ish, which is a whole lot better than where we are now. Dilson might need a couple of months at the level to fully adjust, but better to start that process now than to desperately need him to hit the ground running in August or September.

    The combo of Granderson and Wright at the top of the lineup is killing this team. I would like to see a lot less of Grandy, and to start the negotiations with David on a generous buyout with a long-term position within the org if he wants it.

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  9. Agree, Adam. We need young Dilson up here soon and Wright to retire with insurance. He seems done. We hoped he could get us to mid-season, but the likelihood of him being anything other than a liability seems low.

    Granderson needs to beat the shift more and spread out the infield. Bunt and use that speed, what's still left of it.

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  10. I echo the TJ Rivera comments.......do you really think he would produce less then David has so far this year? TJ would be an upgrade in the field and at the plate and it NEEDS to happen pretty soon.

    I love David Wright (well, not that way, but you understand), but when you take off the "Mets blinders" it is pretty easy (and really sad) to see that he is done. I would like to see him retire with some dignity and some sort of negotiated buyout on the Mets' part.

    Long term, I still say we need to move Ahmed Rosario over to third. He's a big kid who will eventually fill out (like ARod, minus the extra help) and it would open up SS for the other kids in the system (currently our deepest spot in the minors).

    Mike

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  11. I think it's time for David to place a call to his friend Cuddyer. I would like to think David has too much pride to push this too much further for the betterment of the team and his life going forward. Now if you couple his issues with Grandy and one week on and one month off Duda it's amazing we're where we are but for how much longer is anyones guess and we ALL wonder what Sandy's plan B is and also how his health situation affects all this.

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  12. Aside from all the other questions, I have no idea why David insists on putting his back in jeopardy by stealing bases and sliding hard into home plate trying to score on a hit.

    BTW --- I read somewhere (here?) the other day about Oberste playing some 3B.

    But every day, it seems, I miss Uribe and Johnson (and Ruben) more and more. When will Sandy get us veteran IF backups, at least one who bats LH.

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  13. Aside from all the other questions, I have no idea why David insists on putting his back in jeopardy by stealing bases and sliding hard into home plate trying to score on a hit.

    BTW --- I read somewhere (here?) the other day about Oberste playing some 3B.

    But every day, it seems, I miss Uribe and Johnson (and Ruben) more and more. When will Sandy get us veteran IF backups, at least one who bats LH.

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  14. Maybe someone here has already suggested this, but I wonder if Wright,
    gent that he is, has said to mgmt -- give me a full year, 500 AB's, and if the numbers are bad and I can't get it done we'll work something out that benefits everyone.

    Those K numbers and defensive rankings are a bit startling.

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  15. Wright should not be stealing unless critical. Too fragile. Game is physical enough.

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