Tom Brennan - FAST AND NOT FURIOUS
One guy has stolen 16 of 18, the other 11 of 13 and the season is only about a quarter complete. THAT'S FAST! Vin Diesel refused to drag race against them - even without them using a car!
But one of those 2 guy is hitting .204 and one is hitting .213. They are certainly not giving the baseballs a FURIOUS beating.
My guess is that CHAMP STUART would edge out PATRICK BIONDI in a foot race, given his grade 80 speed.
But sadly, neither can really hit well enough, and as the old adage says, "you can't steal first."
The 24 year old, 6'0", 185 lb. Stuart's problem has always been far too many strikeouts.
It seemed progress was being made by Champ, and as recently as May 2, Champ was hitting .258 for the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
But his last 7 games? Doozies: 28 at bats, 2 hits, 16 Ks.
Despite his blistering speed, Champ has hit just .225 in 1,322 career at bats, with 503 Ks, a nasty K rate. In the past 2 years, he's played 142 games and fanned 207 times.
Sadly, a guy who's stolen 117 of 134 in his career just can't seem to fix the K flaw. It would seem the path to major league success for Champ would be cutting the strikeouts in half, at a minimum...easier said than done. Well, he has 3 1/2 more months this year to figure something out.
I suppose there would be no rush to cut him in 2018, either, to give him more time to drastically improve his contact rate. But without major improvement, a dead end.
Biondi, small at 5'8", 170, and a former 9th rounder in 2013, is already 26, and in 29 games this year has just one extra base hit (a homer, one of just 6 he has hit since 2013).
He had a decent year last year with St Lucie (.271/.352/.332) and has stolen 75 of 95 in the last 231 games since 2015.
But without power (a career .316 slug %), it would seem his path to the big leagues would really require a minimum 50 point boost to his career .253 average, even for a guy who has stolen 116 career bases with a 75% success rate.
And, at age 26, time is "running" short in his quest to make that sort of a quantum hitting leap.
And, at age 26, time is "running" short in his quest to make that sort of a quantum hitting leap.
Sad to see such speed seemingly not being enough for either to get them over the hump that few prospects manage to make it over. I hope they prove me wrong.
BEFORE I GO:
The Mets' pitching has been a mess....case in point, the throw-away loss to lowly San Diego after having an early 5-1 lead. DILLON GEE. meanwhile, stymied the Las Vegas 51's on Wednesday, allowing just 2 hits over 6 shutout IP, fanning 9. It represented his second straight excellent start and 6th in his 9 starts for the Round Rock PCL affiliate of the Rangers.
At some point, Wheeler will hit his very low innings limit, and Thor may or may not be back by then. So shoring up the pitching is a worthwhile idea before the season slips away. I know Gee was not treated well in his departure from the Mets, but I would think he'd prefer Queens to Arkansas. So, unless the Mets feel that AA's PJ Conlon (7 brilliant shutout innings Wednesday night) is a viable near-term addition for the big league club, I would explore a deal for Dillon.
BEFORE I GO:
The Mets' pitching has been a mess....case in point, the throw-away loss to lowly San Diego after having an early 5-1 lead. DILLON GEE. meanwhile, stymied the Las Vegas 51's on Wednesday, allowing just 2 hits over 6 shutout IP, fanning 9. It represented his second straight excellent start and 6th in his 9 starts for the Round Rock PCL affiliate of the Rangers.
At some point, Wheeler will hit his very low innings limit, and Thor may or may not be back by then. So shoring up the pitching is a worthwhile idea before the season slips away. I know Gee was not treated well in his departure from the Mets, but I would think he'd prefer Queens to Arkansas. So, unless the Mets feel that AA's PJ Conlon (7 brilliant shutout innings Wednesday night) is a viable near-term addition for the big league club, I would explore a deal for Dillon.
The Mets in Queens are Fast and Furiously Fading. Paul Sewald is a shining light for them, however.
ReplyDeleteThese guys made me think of a former Mets speedster, Eric Young Jr. Young is now 32 and hitting .339 with the Utah Bees of the PCL with 13 steals - but he still is in the PCL even with those #'s.
ReplyDeleteTom,
ReplyDeleteI think you display one knee-jerk reaction we all have to the question of hitting. You're immediately talking about how Biondi doesn't have a lot of extra-base hits. THAT'S THE WHOLE IDEA. It isn't a requirement that these speedy guys hit home runs. They're supposed to get on base, advance a base with a steal, then get driven in. Not everyone is supposed to be a lumbering, slow-footed home run hitter. The base stealers are supposed to get in the pitcher's head, distracting them from their next pitch to the big fatty who's at the plate. Also, every time one of these guys singles and steals a base, they've effectively hit a double.
All -
ReplyDeleteIs there still someone out there that thinks the current version of the 'dram rotation' will turn this season around?
I blame very little of this,other than the second Thor injury, on Sandy or TC. Stuff happens and, in the case of this fragile pitching staff, they fell like a house of cards.
Speaking of that, doesn't House Of Cards come back soon? (I am starting to sound like Tom...)
I truly believe we are wasting precious time to get a jump on the trading market and clean the 25-man out.
Richard, appreciate your thoughts. Biondi does not need power, I agree, but he should be, as an offset, hitting .350 at this point, not .250, to have himself in real prospect consideration.
ReplyDeleteTo me, speed and power - nice to have both, but a guy better have one or the other - Pat clearly has the speed side...but you have to hit a lot better in A ball than .250 at age 26 unless you have a lot of speed AND power. And he lacks the latter. So he needs a lot more batting average.
Mack, cats have 9 lives, Montero has 10, and he just burned the 10th. I personally would try to get Dillon Gee today - the Rangers could want too much, but send them a Flexen for a guy who can help now.
ReplyDeleteMilone, Montero, Smoker, Ramirez - who are we kidding? Even if matz and Lugo come back healthy in 10 days, we can good use of a Gee over those 4.
Thankfully, we have Sewald...16 innings, 13 hits, 3 walks, 20 Ks, 1.13....on his way to mets' pitcher of the month.
Tom -
ReplyDeleteEvery team knows the Mets IMMEDIATELY needs pitchers to make a run this year. This will increase every offer.
Please do not bring Dillon back. I know Dillon. Dillon is a friend of my. The Mets are no longer a home for Mr. Gee.
I hear you, Mack, Gee was mishandled by the Mets...but Gee was in the minors while Cole Hamels was out so it would seem they won't call him up soon - I'd rather be in the majors than the minors.
ReplyDelete