Good morning.
Before we go any further... let's remember one thing about minor league players looking good in spring training games. A good percentage of their time spent playing is playing against other minor league players, not the guys that are going to start in the majors every game.
C Kevin Plawecki
– well, it seems like the Mets missed a bullet last Saturday to injury
caused when the Nats’ Rafael Bautista collided with him at the plate.
1B Lucas Duda – Duda made his spring debut on Friday and turned extremely well on a 2-run double in the third inning. He followed it up on Saturday with two more doubles. Things look good here so far.
SP Noah Syndergaard - Nothing special. Two walks and pitching under 100... still, a nice couple of innings in his first spring start.
SP Noah Syndergaard - Nothing special. Two walks and pitching under 100... still, a nice couple of innings in his first spring start.
RF Jay Bruce –
Bruce was seen taking ground balls at first base on Sunday morning. It will be
interesting to see how this proceeds.
SP Zack Wheeler –
Wheeler threw a successful bullpen session Sunday morning, targeting on
off-speed pitches. He followed this up on Wednesday morning with his first 'live BP' session. Scout watching said he 'looked good'.
C Travis d'Arnaud - D'Arnaud's new controlled swing continued to pay dividends this spring whenhe hit his first spring home run on Tuesday.
C Travis d'Arnaud - D'Arnaud's new controlled swing continued to pay dividends this spring whenhe hit his first spring home run on Tuesday.
OF Michael
Conforto – Conforto continued his torrid pace on Sunday, raising his
3-game OPS to a staggering 2.285. Add to this his great sliding catch on Tuesday against the Marlins and his throw home to nab Justin Bour to end the second inning. Also, Conforto seems to be having no trouble hitting pitchers coming off the bump from both sides. He really is becoming an every day player right in front of our eyes.
LHRP Josh Edgin did
through a scoreless inning on Monday, even if it was shaky. It did lower his
spring ERA to 9.00. My guess is that Edgin has to be almost perfect for the
rest of the spring to remain a member of this organization. Cream rises to the
top and lefties like Josh Smoker and David Roseboom seem to be stepping up to replace guys
like Edgin and Sean Gilmartin.
RHSP Jacob deGrom - DeGrom wasted little time, hitting 97 in the first inning. According the Brooks Baseball, the fastest pitch deGrom threw last year was 96.71. Hit 97 multiple times yesterday. Two innings, three strikeouts, no hits... BOOM.
3B David Wright - This didn't take long. We're all worried about his neck and there goes the shoulder. I mentioned this on Soto's FLASH post regarding the announcement and I'll say it again here... it is time for Wright to settle with the Mets for a medical payout and join the team in some unofficial capacity in the front office for the remainder of the season. He can travel when the team sets up the 'goodbye David' tour, which other teams always like because it sells more seats. A retirement makes the Mets speed up a long term decision on who replaces Wright here. For now, Wilmer Flores, T.J. Rivera, and yes, maybe even Nick Evans or Gavin Cecchini can hold down the fort. David Thompson could help in a year, Past that, the Mets will have to look outside the system to solve this... one last thought... can Astrubel Cabrera be moved to third and Amed Rosario remain in Queens at short?
SP Seth Lugo - Lugo, who will start Team Puerto Rico's WBC opener against Venezuela, threw up three more scoreless spring innings. That's five in two games over five days. Remember one thing about Lugo's game... it's his killer curve that sets up the rest of his game and the pitch is designed to end up in the dirt. If it does, hitter's bats miss it.
SP Marcos Molina - Molina had a choppy second start on Wednesday, but only gave up one run when CF Juan Lagares threw out Randal Grichuk trying to score on the third hit that inning. Molina and Sean Gilmartin gave up five runs in the third inning, but not one run was earned due to a T.J. Rivera error. I hate this rule. Bad pitching should be rewarded with bad stats.
SS Luis Guillorme - The best catch of the century went to Guillorme who snagged an errant bat Thursday that was heading at his head in the dugout. An outstanding play that will never get a mention in a stat line. This kid is really catching eyes in camp.
IF Phillip Evans - Here's a guy that has absolutely no chance of breaking camp with the parent team and yet he's impressing the hell out of an organization desperately in need of a third baseman and always looking for another good bat.
RP P.J. Conlon - Everybody came to camp wondering if this kid was for real and, so far, he has shown no reason not to be. He now has a total of four scoreless innings under his belt and his only sign of being human was the two walks he save up yesterday. Another ++ 'Young Dude'.
RP David Roseboom - Roseboom had a shaky second outing on Thursday that included a lot of bad luck. An inch here and a good catch there and everything would have turned out a lot better for him.
Some observations -
An interesting thought is the fact that it took until this Friday to roll out the projected Mets starting rotation, For many reasons... the extended ST season due to the WBC... the fragility of the Mets starters... still, the starters they did use before Friday that have any chance of sticking with the parent team (Lugo, Gsellman,
Montero) had11 innings of scoreless ball.
Normally, you could see some of the marginal players that are in the main clubhouse being returned to the minor league side of the complex, but this is a WBC year and many Mets will be shipping out to the teams they have chosen to play for. Therefore, I don't look for any returnees at this point.
So far, in spring training, 16 Mets pitchers, have pitched a combined 50.2 innings... with a combined ERA of 0.00. Outstanding!
RHSP Jacob deGrom - DeGrom wasted little time, hitting 97 in the first inning. According the Brooks Baseball, the fastest pitch deGrom threw last year was 96.71. Hit 97 multiple times yesterday. Two innings, three strikeouts, no hits... BOOM.
3B David Wright - This didn't take long. We're all worried about his neck and there goes the shoulder. I mentioned this on Soto's FLASH post regarding the announcement and I'll say it again here... it is time for Wright to settle with the Mets for a medical payout and join the team in some unofficial capacity in the front office for the remainder of the season. He can travel when the team sets up the 'goodbye David' tour, which other teams always like because it sells more seats. A retirement makes the Mets speed up a long term decision on who replaces Wright here. For now, Wilmer Flores, T.J. Rivera, and yes, maybe even Nick Evans or Gavin Cecchini can hold down the fort. David Thompson could help in a year, Past that, the Mets will have to look outside the system to solve this... one last thought... can Astrubel Cabrera be moved to third and Amed Rosario remain in Queens at short?
SP Seth Lugo - Lugo, who will start Team Puerto Rico's WBC opener against Venezuela, threw up three more scoreless spring innings. That's five in two games over five days. Remember one thing about Lugo's game... it's his killer curve that sets up the rest of his game and the pitch is designed to end up in the dirt. If it does, hitter's bats miss it.
SP Marcos Molina - Molina had a choppy second start on Wednesday, but only gave up one run when CF Juan Lagares threw out Randal Grichuk trying to score on the third hit that inning. Molina and Sean Gilmartin gave up five runs in the third inning, but not one run was earned due to a T.J. Rivera error. I hate this rule. Bad pitching should be rewarded with bad stats.
SS Luis Guillorme - The best catch of the century went to Guillorme who snagged an errant bat Thursday that was heading at his head in the dugout. An outstanding play that will never get a mention in a stat line. This kid is really catching eyes in camp.
IF Phillip Evans - Here's a guy that has absolutely no chance of breaking camp with the parent team and yet he's impressing the hell out of an organization desperately in need of a third baseman and always looking for another good bat.
RP P.J. Conlon - Everybody came to camp wondering if this kid was for real and, so far, he has shown no reason not to be. He now has a total of four scoreless innings under his belt and his only sign of being human was the two walks he save up yesterday. Another ++ 'Young Dude'.
RP David Roseboom - Roseboom had a shaky second outing on Thursday that included a lot of bad luck. An inch here and a good catch there and everything would have turned out a lot better for him.
Some observations -
An interesting thought is the fact that it took until this Friday to roll out the projected Mets starting rotation, For many reasons... the extended ST season due to the WBC... the fragility of the Mets starters... still, the starters they did use before Friday that have any chance of sticking with the parent team (Lugo, Gsellman,
Montero) had11 innings of scoreless ball.
Normally, you could see some of the marginal players that are in the main clubhouse being returned to the minor league side of the complex, but this is a WBC year and many Mets will be shipping out to the teams they have chosen to play for. Therefore, I don't look for any returnees at this point.
So far, in spring training, 16 Mets pitchers, have pitched a combined 50.2 innings... with a combined ERA of 0.00. Outstanding!
All in all, a remarkable spring so far. Youngsters looking very good, and starters on the verge of scaring the rest of baseball.
ReplyDeleteOne guy who deserves soeial mention is Brandon Nimmo, who is 10 for 21 (.476) and starting to convince me that he could be a starting MLB OF soon.
I'm so impressed with just about everyone that I have too pinch myself. I can't remember the last time we had this much quality talent coming into a season except probably 86' and we know how that ended. When you think of the pitching staff it's only the dreaded "if they stay healthy" line that gives you a little pause before you say this it THE BEST starting staff we've EVER had and if Wheeler is right we have the "problem" of what to do with Gsellman and Lugo (and is it to crazy to throw Montero's name in the mix) who came out of nowhere last year and surprised us all so all I can say is: lets get this season started.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is hard not to be impressed at this point guys. As for Nimmo, I always want to leave someone for you Thomas :).
ReplyDeleteI temper all this excitement with the fact that all these pitchers are throwing only two or less innings per outings. But, most of the Mets runs are being made early in the game, by our Young dudes, against other team's regulars.
You are not seeing this happen when Cabrera, Reyes, Granderson, and Lagares have a bat in their hands.
I don't know it they'd do it, and there's some plausible depth to give them reason not to, but I would give very serious consideration to Cabrera at 3B and Rosario at SS to start the season.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that they would only do this if they're prepared to entertain the notion that DW is actually finished. They probably don't want to yank Rosario up and down if they can help it.
All the other guys you mentioned, Mac (and Nimmo, Thomas) are opening eyes. I want to see more of Luis "Badass" Guillorme, Phil Evans, Cecchini, and the kid pitchers.
Conforto has to be in the starting lineup in Queens, no question. If Duda's healthy, I think they have to, have to, have to find a way to trade Bruce.
The guy who's having an under the radar impressive camp is Lagares. Looks terrific in CF, his arm is clearly back, and although he doesn't have much to show for it, has been scorching rockets all over the place right at people. I would so much rather see him in CF regularly than Granderson.
The pitching, the pitching, the pitching. Sheesh. 97 out of the gate for deGrom? Can't wait to see Harvey today.
Adam -
ReplyDeleteYou could get your wish if the Mets had a 35 year old manager and a 4o year old General Manager.
Reese is probably right here... Reyes will be the third baseman.
Remember the proclamation, "You hit or you sit"? More BS from the Skipper.
ReplyDeleteReyes was .239 against righties last year and his defensive metrics were just awful at 3B. Don't get me wrong -- he's a quality ballplayer to have ON THE BENCH but he's likely not a starter anymore.
The issue with Rosario is service time. They wouldn't want his clock to start ticking earlier than necessary. You can figure that scenario will never happen.
I have a prediction on the roster going north on Wednesday, but of the so-called young dudes, the only one coming north on the offensive side of the ledger is T.J. Rivera and that's only because of Wright's injury.
I'm predicting Nimmo beats out Conforto as the spare outfielder alongside Lagares because they are higher on Conforto and will want him to play every day. Since both Bruce's and Granderson's paychecks dictate they will play (not to mention their veteran status), I suspect the lesser prospect will be promoted to the bench.
Read about Harvey today, said he feels great. I figured it out - t=it's the Trump Effect.
ReplyDeleteHarvey has been hacked!!!
ReplyDeleteWatch the clubhouse spread and see if caviar and vodka start appearing regularly.
ReplyDeleteHarvey was HARVEY in the first inning today! He worked out with Jason Bourne in the offseason, so it is no surprise.
ReplyDelete3 run HR allowed in 2nd inning, so Harvey should be a short reliever??
ReplyDeleteI think both Nimmo & Conforto will start out playing every day in Vegas. Reyes & TJ can handle the occasional 5th OF slot with Cecchini or Reynolds (even Kelly if DW goes on the 60-day) as a 3rd spare IF.
ReplyDeleteThey won't put him on the 60 day DL unless the doctors insist he rest at least that long. They are VERY conservative with how they handle Wright and still want to create the illusion that he could snap out of it and return to being a productive player in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteWhy is now of all times,the time for Wright to take a buyout? It's the start of the season - not usually a time big changes like that are made - rosters are generally set for the most part. And based on what we're told - doctors are still telling him he can rehab this thing. A minor setback in ST doesn't often trigger retirement. It'd be strange to walk away now just because the rehab from surgery might take a month longer than expected.
ReplyDeleteBesides, is Asdrubal Cabrera is the best the Mets can do at 3b even if Wright retires, Wright might as well keep trying.