Mack’s Morning Report – 4-6-17 – Back Relief, Eight Starters, Breakout Guppies, Update on Rotations

Good morning.

Back Relief –

I always worry about two things when it comes to the Mets… injuries and relief.

I don’t worry about the ton of starters and the depth of bats on this team, but with Jeurys Familia basically sitting out April, and most of the starters on pitch counts early in the season, you can’t get off to a good start without a winning 7-8-9 inning combination. Fernando Sales (7.36-ERA) and Addison Reed (8.18). Didn’t scare anyone. Hansel Robles (0.00) was the exception.

So, how has it gone so far?

Game 1 Monday – Robles and Salas had scoreless one-inning outings, which was followed by a bizarre decision to pitch SP5 Robert Gsellman in the ninth. There was no Reed sighting since there was no save opportunity.

Game 2 Wednesday - the only reliever that pitched poorly was Rafael Montero, who was supposed to be our weekend spot starter

       Eight Starters Need

  

        Sandy Alderson was asked in the off-season how many starters he needs to go to camp with and he told the press gaggle that the number was ‘eight’. Most Mets fans could easily find this confusing since the plan at that time was for the Mets to have a 5-man rotation. Sure, they could push it to six, but this isn’t college and there is no need for a ‘Friday Starter’ system.

Well, the Mets proved early that Alderson was right. A blister will cost Noah Syndergaard his next start and Seth Lugo could now be out until sometime in May. This has already created a need for a fill-in starter before Thor comes back. It’s pretty dismal past that and the Mets may want to consider signing someone with big team experience, at the lowest cost to the team, to stash away in Vegas in case this downslide continues. Anyone got the cell number for Big Pelf?

(Thor's 3-2 pitch to strike out Nick Markakis was thrown at 93.7 and dropped 21 inches... )

Breakout Guppies –

Ex-Mack’s Mets writer David Groveman wrote another fabulous article on  Mets 360. It’s a post about potential minor league breakout players with the emphasis on Michael Conforto. It also mentions –      

 Thomas Szapucki, SP: Can we bank on a breakout year after a breakout year? Depends. For those of you who are not yet excited about Szapucki, prepare to be.

Desmond Lindsay, OF: The Mets are hoping that Lindsay can start to gain steam as he progresses in 2017. The Mets would like to establish a firmer timeline on when he might contribute at the major league level.

Wuilmer Becerra, OF: Becerra was hitting everything in 2016 and then he got hurt. Look for a healthy Becerra trying to make up for lost time.

Patrick Mazeicka, C: Injuries combined with the SAL held Mazeicka’s numbers to more normal levels. In 2017 he should be healthy and graduating to the FSL. I expect a boost in his offensive output.

Marcos Molina, SP: Injured for nearly all of 2016, Molina got a lot of time in spring training. The Mets seem ready to promote this young pitcher aggressively.

David knows his guppies and I agree with all his choices, except for Mazeicka. I’m just never high on minor league catchers.

As for the rest, I see Molina as the next great Mets closer.


Short report today... heading to Clemson with daughter and grandchildren for the Clemson spring football game

And lastly

            Let’s never forget Donny Everrett -  http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/born-to-be-a-vandyboy/#Gjdfb9IPfKusDhyi.97