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11/7/16

Mack’s Morning Report – Las Vegas 51’s – 2017 Starting Pitching



Good morning.

Here’s what would be my Las Vegas starting pitching would be on opening day –

SP – Zack Wheeler – One thing that’s important here… Wheeler is far past the prospect age. He will pitch… I assume he will pitch… 2017 as a 27-year old. My guess is that Alderson and Company would never tell you this publicly but I would think they now regret not dealing him off. I would start him off slowing in Vegas and be quietly shopping him in a package that includes Nimmo, T.J., and Gsellman. You probably could get a killer catcher or second base prospect.

SP – Robert Gsellman – Gsellman was one of top five most valuable Mets in 2016. 8 games, 7 starts, 4-2, 2.79. Sure, his WHIP was 1.27 but these are all-star kind of numbers for a guy that had a AAA ERA of 5.73. He’ll only be 23 next season so stash him away in Vegas and await the mash phone to ring, or, as I said above, maximize your position here and package him in a deal for a premium catcher or second baseman.

SP – Seth Lugo – This is even a better story than Gsellman. Lugo was a 34th round pick in 2011 who basically limped his way through the system until 2015 when he went 6-5, 3.80, in 19 starts for Binghamton. 2016 looked like a complete bust in Vegas (21-G, 14-starts, 6.50) until he too was called to Queens for the pennant run. What a contribution… 17-G, 8-starts, 5-2, 2.67). Lugo is of prime age in 2017 (27) and he too would sit by the phone after every Mets game.

SP – Gabriel Ynoa – It’s  not easy producing a below 4.00-ERA in the PCL, but Ynoa made it by 0.03 last season (25-starts, 12-5, 3.97). He didn’t have the late season Mets success that both Gsellman and Lugo had (10-G, 3-starts, 1-0, 6.38), but he definitely earned himself an invite back in 2017 to rejoin the Vegas rotation.


SP – Andrew Barbosa – A real potential rags-to-riches story here. The 6-8 Barbosa was a 36th round draft pick in 2011 by Arizona. Never got above A+ ball and wound up pitching for the Indy Long Island Ducks in 2015. The Mets signed him for the 2016 season and quickly worked him through the GCL Mets (0.00), St. Lucie (0.40), Binghamton (2.33), and Las Vegas (1.80). He’ll be 29 this season and the Randy Johnson pitch-a-like will be a solid part of my Vegas rotation this season.

21 comments:

  1. That would be a killer AAA rotation - I might move there!

    Hopefully, Barbosa stays with the team (not sure if he can walk). He had quite a finish in his last 2 starts in 2016: 15 IP, ONE HIT, 3 BB, 16 K. His last 10 games, 0.46 ERA in 39 IP.

    Maybe he is a key lefty arm in our bullpen, over the likes of Edgin, and not AAA insurance.

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    1. Blevins is no longer a LOOGY, so whether or not he stays the true LOOGY competition should be between Edgin and Smoker. The backup plan would be Barbosa, though To eboom could make the jump if needed.

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  2. Montero would be Vegas' 6th man? I thought we drained our pitching reserves.

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  3. Bill, Smoker is a good reminder. When a guy like Barbosa is so dominant at season's end, it really speaks to a high ceiling. Of course, most of that was below AA.

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  4. Will we ever hear Wheeler this spring say, "I threw 3 innings today and my elbow feels great?"

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  5. Didn't Montero finish at Binghamton? Maybe he's the new face of the Rumble Ponies.

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  6. I am still wincing at "Rumble Ponies."

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  7. Now you know how I felt when my hometown El Paso franchise voted to call their team the Chihuahuas

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    1. At least I know what a chihuahua is. And can relate to it's desire for Taco Bell.

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  8. Put Tebow on a Rumble Pony and let's ride into battle!!

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  9. Hobie -

    I have Montero going back to Binghamton to start over in the pen

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  10. Reese -

    Hey... I now live near the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

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  11. Banana Slugs was taken.

    I'm still waiting to see that Lugo and (to a lesser extent) Gsellman's performances were real. If so, we definitely have more pitching depth than we thought a year ago.

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  12. I'm a much bigger believer in Gsellman than in Lugo. Look at their minor league numbers. Granted, it's not always a good indicator, but Gsellman was pitching at a close to elite level whereas Lugo was merely average.

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    1. Hopefully Seth Lugo is the next Rick Reed. And Gsellman is Jake deGrom (Slightly) Light. Mack, i'll bet you're right on Raffie.

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  13. man if Lugo is rick reed that would be amazing...
    Reed was one of the most under rated players we ever had...

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    1. Lugo being the next Rick Reed sure would be amazing, Eddie

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  14. Nowhere NEAR as underrated as R.A. Dickey.

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    1. Dickey is perhaps baseball's all time overachiever. From scrap heap that only the Mets chose to visit, all the way to Cy Young. A movie someday.

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