MIKE, SMITTY, PHIL, DAVE, TOM, AND DES by Tom Brennan
Mack (recently inducted into the Mack's Mets Writers Hall of Fame) wrote at 8 AM today on this website. Make sure to read his fine article. In it, he said he'd like to see an outfield of Cespedes, Bruce and Conforto in 2017.
So would I, so let's talk about Michael (MIKE) Conforto, and a few other guys while I am at it.
MIKE: Vegas tends to inflate hitter stats. But Mike's numbers smack of much, much more.
1) Since sent down, he is 26 for 50 (.520/.556/.900) - knock 100 points of each - still WOW.
2) In 29 AAA games in 2016, Mike is hitting .423/.480/.748 - WOW.
3) What about hitting lefties? How does 16 for 33 sound? WOW.
So he struggled in the bigs this year - who doesn't? Ask Jay Bruce and de Aza. Pencil young Mike in as a Mets starter in 2017.
SMITTY: Dominic Smith has had 3 hits in 3 of his last 4 games, raising him to .306/.370.470 in AA, and .370 in July and August with a .570 slug.
He turned 21 in June, and as a point of comparison, Lucas Duda STARTED his minor league career older than Smith is today. And slugging Duda did not start hitting homers like Smith's 14 in 500 plate appearances until he was 24. Smitty, in other words, is coming fast. 88 RBIs, too.
Maybe he is our first baseman of the future starting mid-2017.
PHIL: Phil Evans has been on fire with 3 or more hits in 6 of his last 10 games. In 85 AA games, he is hitting .333/.372/.486. I'm mighty impressed. .333, by the way, leads the Eastern League.
DAVE: David Thompson is an RBI machine, with 89 in 107 games. That would work out to 135 over a full 162 games. He needs to stay awake when no one is on base, as he is at just .229 with the bags empty in 183 at bats, But put guys on base, you've got him laser focused, hitting .317 in 215 at bats. Fans love RBIs.
TOM: Tomas Nido has quietly caught 83 games in St Lucie. how does .310/.347/.453 sound? And he has gunned down 40% of would-be base stealers. Watch this young guy.
DES: Only in one game in the past 3 weeks has Desmond Lindsay not been on base, and in 28 games in this injury-shortened season, the 19 year old (now in NY Penn A ball) has performed to a split of .314/.468/.500, and recently hit what was described by a writer as a "mammoth home run." My favorite kind. The future looks very bright for Des.
It also, of course, looks bright for hitters Nimmo, Rosario, and Alonso. But today in my books is MIKE, SMITTY, PHIL, DAVE, TOM, AND DES DAY.
Tom
ReplyDeleteI commend all of you writers who have taken the ball and run with Mack's absence...
Anyway we need a rock solid plan for Conforto... He needs to be in the line up everyday in 2017... and in RF permanently in the second half of 2017 (if we trade Bruce) or By 2018 Permanently... We must ride him until he proves he is not an answer... (to me his floor is Jay payton, his ceiling is ryan Braum)
1B seems to be destined to be filled by someone in the Minors (Alonzo, Smith, Thompson)
Smith is so young you never know ... He shows great tools but some scouts doubt him... But he is entering his prime age for a prospect...
Alonzo who has the look of a 1B, will need all of 2017 to prove what he really is... I am hoping he is the guy and he is older ... Maybe takes a conforto track to the Majors (IE... 1 Year?)
David Thompson... doesn't seem to have the arm for 3B but may have the bat for 1B... Still need to prove it but a RBI machine is a hell of a calling card...
One of these guys need to explode and take ownership of the position for the next 7-8 years...
Here's hoping Evan is the next Daniel Murphy... Don't know about position but maybe our next manager can develop some player as Zobrist was (he turned out without a fixed position right?)
Nido Nido Nido man we could really use this to work out... We have no solution to the Catcher position... ( i was hoping we drafted one this year) and watching Sanchez in Pinstripe making all the head lines that we thought Darnaud would have is rough...
Lindsay is so young and raw but hoping he continues to develop... Doubt he is CF but hoping he is the Next RFer in Line...
What is the latest on W. Becerra?
Eddie, great thoughts on these guys.
ReplyDeleteScouts say what scouts say on Dom Smith...but scouts likely commented before his past two months, and I see a guy who just turned 21 and has hit .370 over the past 2 months with considerable pop and has a real glove to go with it. I feel he is can't miss.
I hope Alonso is for real - man, is it frustrating to not see him for the last month of 2016.
Lindsay similarly is frustrating to know what we would have had, had he not missed so much time in 2016. We'll find out in 2017.
Becerra, I remember him peaking at .424 in late April then playing hut, then going out - I have no word on his return - I hope he is 100% healthy for 2017 (for Jeff McNeil, too, who looked promising and then after 12 ABs this year, missed the rest of the season). I do not have a timetable on Becerra.
Nido - we need to hope he is for real - and fast - but Mazelka is also in the picture. He also missed a ton of time this year 9the first few months), and upon his return, his power in Columbia has been diminished, but he is having a strong offensive August and in 123 career minor league games, he is .322/.429/.462, so he is another possible MLB catcher - he does not gun them down like Nido, though.
Tom I totally feel you ... I saw Alonzo go down and I was like REALLY REALLY ...
ReplyDeleteLindsay I didn't feel that way about yet because he was rather young... I mean if a Prospect get to the majors at the age of 20 or younger I usually say he is special... I typically expect them around 22-23...
Smith or Alonzo take your pick but One needs to pan out... Something Sandy has on his ledger need to be a long term / low cost solution...
I hope any of our catcher pan out (i believe Ali is the best shot we have) But what Nido is doing is impressive and would be sorely welcomed...
Was in Charlotte earlier this week and rode down to see COL vs the SFG farm team (my cousin's kid pitches for them).
ReplyDeleteMazelka was the DH that night. Went 1/4 with a 2B an an RBI & squared up in all 4 AB's. Reminded me of ... wait for it ... Mackey Sasser! (Hopefully without the yips).
BTW, Eudor Garcia was playing 1B that night & went 2/4 with a 2B & a 3B. And some guy named Emmanuel Zabala (CF) was 5/5.
Eddie, I agree.
ReplyDeleteHobie. Zavala had a great night but is not performing top tier.
Pat Mazelka needs to play all of 2017 and prove he is the real deal. My guess is he will. His 2015 partner in hitting Kevin KACSMARSKI is hitting quite well in St Lucie (looking for more pop, though).
Hey hey hey.
ReplyDeleteMy 2 cents having watched about 4 lucie Mets games this year including last night's 13-0 WIN.
Not comparing BUT the sound of ball off David Thompson bat reminds me of conforto and Dom last year.
And David looks good at 3B
And Jhoan Urena played the hell out of 1B last night and looked like a natural over there.
Kevin Kaczmarski is good at baseball. Hes a future MLB outfielder.
Reliever Tyler Bashler was born to throw strikes and throw them hard.
Hey, Ernest on Location: pretty cool, dude. Good to hear from you. You can still write articles, can't you? Reese and I - and Mack - are having fun writing here…drop a few in here, why dontcha?
ReplyDeleteYour man Smitty is in need of a surge protector - he is high voltage.
Urena has a lot of selling to do, maybe in 2017 he spurts like Phil Evans.
Good first hand insights on the others, adds confirmation to what I think of them. I do want to see Thompson go deep more, hopefully 20+ in 2017 in a cooler climate, But he and Smitty are neck and neck in the organization RBI race.