TOM BRENNAN - MINORS SPOTLIGHT: MET SLUGGERS
There really are precious few sluggers in the Mets' system.
Who are our
Dash should change his name to Smash, Mash or Bash.
The 21 year old, a 6'2", 225 lb. first baseman that bigger Tim Tebow might refer to as Tiny, is now in Columbia.
Dash has knocked in 180 runs in 1,041 at bats, with 66 doubles and 33 homers. While he is just a career .242 hitter so far, those power numbers truly stand out.
The good thing for him is, at 21, he has ample time to strengthen his batting average and perhaps even add further power. Another good thing is that his strikeout rate is reasonable, at 241 so far in 280 games.
David Thompson - like Smash err I mean Dash Winningham, Thompson loves RBIs. 137 of them in 778 at bats is impressive indeed. He started slow in AA year, hitting an anemic .171 as late as April 29, but has cranked it at a .320 pace since then. He certainly is a future Mets 3B candidate. He is ERRORLESS in 35 games at 3rd in 2017, very impressive (compare to Jhoan Urena below).
Mike Paez - a diminutive power hitting SS drafted in the 4th round 2016, the red hot Paez was hitting .292 through Monday with 5 homers and 14 other extra base hits in just 38 games. He has hit .325 since he filed his taxes on April 15. He also sports a nifty .381 on base % this season.
Mike is definitely one to watch.
Pat Mazeika - heck, man, I have written about this lefty career .330 hitter with the explosive bat before I learned to spell his name correctly, and I have written about him afterwards too. I may start spelling his name Pat Amazing. Pat is having an MVP year for St Lucie.
Jhoan Urena - one level down from Thompson, the 22 year old Urena is hitting robustly in St Lucie (.337/.432/.491), but his highly error prone ways continue, with 12 errors at 3B this year in 30 games, and a mind-blowing 105 in 350 games at the hot corner in his career. A switch to 1B (which he has played) or the outfield (which he has not) may be in order.
Travis Taijeron - ol' reliable is putting up strong numbers again for Vegas (.304/.400/.569 in 43 games). His 41 Ks is a distinct improvement, and he has done it mostly against righty pitchers. I still see a career in the bigs for him primarily against lefties, against which he is a fierce hitter with a lower strikeout rate. 317 career extra base hits in just 2,333 at bats (1 every 7.3 ABs) is very impressive.
Those are your boppers in the minors, people. Hopefully a few will make a Conforto-like impact. Because we love Mike.
I wonder if we'll ever see Taijeron with the big club but now would be a perfect time after another gut punch loss AND hearing about YC's latest issue. I don't know about you but after his recent setback I'm starting to wonder if Mr. Yoenis "I'm in such great shape I might win the MVP" Cespedes is laughing all the way to the bank at our expense and no one has ever mention just how old he really is....here's hoping I'm dead wrong on this one.
ReplyDeleteGary, I hope you're wrong about Cespedes. let's be clear about one thing with Cespedes - in his very first rehab at bat, he walked and then scored from first on a double. When I saw that, my first thought was why on earth would he try to score for first on a double? After all can you get hurt over exerting in your first Game back? And sure enough he strained his quad - honestly, that was unquestionably stupid. Is continuing to play in April when I was hurt was also stupid. We need some more players, stupid ones prevent us from reaching our goals.
DeleteHis continuing to play when he was hurt, that is.
DeleteOne thing about Taijeron, Gary, is that he may not be as talented as Cespedes but he doesn't get hurt. I guess that makes him the smarter player
DeleteOther than Syndergaard, deGrom, and Conforto, I'll take Cespedes over anyone eise in this organization.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY MEMORIAL DAY EVERYBODY
ReplyDeleteMack, I agree on Cespedes. He could be # 1 on this team. But he is making theoretical.
ReplyDeleteI hate to be repetitive. I was so looking forward to Cespedes coming back. So, Yoenis, WHY would you try to score from first on a double in a meaningless rehab game?
The idea is to ease the legs back into playing condition.
Same thing in April - you'd already missed 5 games, you couldn't have gone on the DL for 5 more to avoid a long term injury?
This team is sinking and he frankly is reason # 1. His injuries have made him a complete non-factor.
Somehow, I do not think Jeter makes the same mistakes - he was a savvy star. A SMART star. He knew that he was great because he actually played in games.
Don't see calling up Taijeron unless Duda or Bruce are traded, and not likely then. A Grandy-lite offensively, his OF play is less than Duda-like (remember that?).
ReplyDeleteIf adding a non-Nimmo OF to the ML roster (assuming trades have cleared 40-man space), my pick would be Victor Cruzado--.310/.355/.517/.872 since his return from the DL (29 AB's). Switch hitter, plays all OF positions, started life as a SS in the DSL.
Note to Thomas: Yes my Victor Cruzade continues.
Victor Cruzado, the Cruz Missile...we'll see, Hobie.
ReplyDeleteI always hesitate to write good things about Taijeron - because no sooner do I do so than he strikes out 8 times in 3 games, as he just did. I see him as a little short of ex-Met Andrew Brown - and he sputtered in the bigs.
ReplyDeleteThree minor league games of pitching interest today...Matz starts for Vegas, Lugo for Binghamton, and Molina for St Lucie.
ReplyDeleteTom- Mack and I discussed Thompson earlier this off-season. After speaking with scouts from 2 NL teams, they both had great things to say about David's bat. However, they both agreed that his real progress was at third, where he is still never going to cover a lot of ground as his lateral motion is not great, speed-wise. However, he DOES have great reflexes, a fantastic hitter's eye and the ability to bear down when runners are on base and bring them home!Glad to see he had some adversity to start the year- he's overcoming it, which is great for his maturity, and hopefully it portends becoming the third baseman of our future!
ReplyDeleteAs far as Cespedes goes, the one mistake he made was listening to the team and going to Barwiss this offseason. Again, I am in contact with one of his close friends in the organization, and he worked harder then ever this offseason to come into camp in the best shape of his life! He really wants to play another 10 years and hopes to put up HOF style numbers. With a body like his, adding more muscle, like with Thor, was the wrong way to go. He should've been working on tendon strength and repetitions with lighter weights then going thru that superhuman workout series with Barwitt-less! It wasn't his ability to hit more homers that needed a fix- he did that- it was his ability to STAY ON THE FIELD FOR 150+ GAMES that needed work. Not ready to blame the player, who I can assure you is DESPERATE to get back to the team- once more, sadly, it's the org that gets the lionshare of the blame for this one...
And great post, as usual!!!
Thanks, David. Let's hope Thompson surges and Cespedes heals fast.
ReplyDelete