SILVER LININGS: EARLY SHORT SEASON BALL
For those of you either with short memories, short on knowledge, short on cash, or just plain short, short season ball in the Mets organization includes the following:
- Brooklyn Cyclones - most advanced; generally older
- Kingsport Mets - not as advanced; generally younger
- GCL Mets - guppies; youngsters getting their fins wet
There are also two developmental teams (DSL 1 and DSL 2), the super-young players of each of which being somewhere between guppies and amoebas - quite a few of their players were born in the 21st century - and are fledgling trainees excluded from today's treatise.
I hear diapers are still handed out in DSL clubhouses. Some of the kids will miss sweet 16 parties, too. (Actually, a few DSL guys are doing well, but I won't write about them until well into their season, to see who is truly rising to the fore).
I hear diapers are still handed out in DSL clubhouses. Some of the kids will miss sweet 16 parties, too. (Actually, a few DSL guys are doing well, but I won't write about them until well into their season, to see who is truly rising to the fore).
It's early in the 3 rookie league teams' respective seasons, but let's look for early silver linings and performance:
BROOKLYN (2-6): no silver linings thru the first 8 games through Wednesday. No breakout performers. Sorry.
The team, consistent with the bad hitting Brooklyn squads of 2015 and 2016, was hitting just .198 with just 1 HR. The Nationals' affiliate has 12 homers already. The 38 walks in 8 games by the hitters is the bright spot, I'm sure Sandy Alderson would say, but walks are not that exciting. The pitchers have a 5.14 ERA. Very little play by any 2017 draftee so far, so when they join the team in earnest, maybe it'll pick up.
By my count, only 13 of the 2017 draftees have played so far.
Only 2017 draftees playing in Brooklyn so far are:
3rd Round OF Quinn Brody: 1 for 3, BB
5th round OF Matt Winaker: 0-4
8th round RHP Trey Cobb: 1 scoreless inning, 2 Ks
15th round SS Dylan Snypes: 2-9, 3 BB
18th round 3B Carl Stajduhar: 0-10, 6 K
KINGSPORT (3-2): 3B Rigoberto Terazzas has started out 11 for 20 (.550), so that is exciting. 4 other guys with 17 or more at bats are hitting over .300, but obviously, such early season numbers are poor indicators of future performance. Pwer-wise, RF Anthony Dirochie has 2 homers and an amazing 10 ribbies in 5 games, and C Juan Uriarte also has 2 early homers.
Strong very early pitching performances by Ronald Sanchez, Christian James, and Carlos Hernandez.
Only 2017 draftees playing in Kingsport so far are:
10th round RHP Steve Villines: 1 IP, 3 H, 0 R
21st round LHP Aaron Ford: 1 perfect inning, 2 K
26th round 1B Gavin Garay: 2-11, 1 BB
27th round RHP Billy Oxford: 1 IP, 2 R, 2H, 2 K
28th round 1B Jeremy Vasquez: 2-8, 3 BB
31st round RHP Ryan Selmer: 1 perfect inning, 1 K
33rd round RHP Mac Lozer: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1K
GULF COAST METS (1-2): Guillermo Granadillo is an early 7 for 14; Anthony Dimino, who was tearing up St Lucie earlier this year before he got hurt, has played a few rehab games there and presumably will resurface with St Lucie shortly. Also playing there in rehab is 2016 5th round SS Colby Woodmansee and highly regarded 19 year old OF Ricardo Cespedes.
2017 draftee (37th round) Joshua Walker tossed 2 perfect innings Wednesday and fanned 2. Mike Gibbons got roughed up a bit in his first outing since he pitched briefly in his 2015 debut season, presumably another recovering Tommy John victim.
A GCL Mets pitcher named Jaison Vilera pitched 5 perfect innings, fanning 6 on Thursday. Nice! Just as nice? In 30 innings in the DSL in 2016, the 6'1", 200 RHP was 4-0, 0.59.
Actually, as one can see, it is a little too early for many short season ball silver clouds to be forming. I expect to do another update on the rookie teams' silver linings in a few weeks, and may look at and update around this time next week as to which 2017 draftees are playing, for which of the teams, and how they are doing.
8 comments:
Some early morning updates:
Chris Flexen back from his short DL stint with a gem: 6 IP, 1 H, 10K
Travis Taijeron hit a come-from-behind grand slam in the 8th to give Vegas (30-50) a 5-4 eighth inning lead. Exciting....but... Who blew it? Robles, who surrendered 3 runs in the 8th and 9th, including a HR to a .224 hitter. He and his 8.10 ERA won't be back in Queens any time soon.
Matt Winaker on Thursday had 2 hits and 2 walks after my article was written. At least one drafted hitter getting on base with regularity.
Rigoberto Terrazas scored 3 runs yesterday, but only went 2 for 6, so he slipped under .500 to .483.
Oh, and the Mets now are winners of 5 of 6, Trea Turner is out with a broken wrist, and if the Mets sweep the crappy Phils this weekend, then they have the injured Nats to try to gain on. Win these next 6 and let's talk.
Tom -
I love your optimism, but all the Mets are capable of doing this year is beating up on crappy teams.
The Nats starters are too talented.
We're wasting time here losing draft positions.
Hi Mack
Nats are 10-12 in their last 22, and now without Turner and a truly crappy pen, they conceivably could be vulnerable.
I would wait, if I were Sandy, to see if we win the next 6. An extreme long shot - if the cannot get to within 7 games by then, sell, and sell fast.
By the way, and it is likely totally irrational, but just on a gut reaction, I put OF Jacob Zanon as my # 12 prospect. He makes very good contact and steals a ton of bases (9 of 10 this year in 12 games, and 29 of 32 in 56 games in his career), and is hitting .333/.469/.513 so far this year.
No idea if he can keep it up, but as of right now, he is my # 12.
Mazeika, also probably irrational, I slipped down to # 15. After his crazy hot start thru mid-May, when he was hitting .370 with 13 doubles and 5 HRs, he has hit just .225 in 129 at bats for St Lucie with 3 doubles and 2 homers. Maybe it is just the heat and playing too much (68 games already, 46 as a catcher) in it. He has thrown out 27 of 98 (27.5%) which is not too bad, actually, especially compared to Plawecki and d'Arnaud.
Tim Tebow, in case no one noticed, is 5 for 9 with 2 walks, just one K, and a 2 run jack in 3 St Lucie games. Anyone can get lucky for 3 games, right? :)
Tebow's surge has him hitting .270 in June with a .371 on base %. Many of the Mets' minor leaguers are doing worse - most actually.
Heck, golden boy Amed Rosario is hitting .231 with a .282 on base % in June. How could Tebow be doing so much better than Amed? Hmmm.
So when it comes to Tebow, have a little (ahem) faith, folks. The best may yet still be to come.
Where is that Number 1 pick... whats with the kids from Oregon, Conforto took the summer off too...wasting time to prepare for a MLB career... Its not like we drafted a HS kid... Peterson was partially selected because he was meant to move fast through the minors...
Also I believe his signing is preventing us talking and taking a shot at the promising young kids we drafted that would require a higher slot...
Hi Eddie.
Justin Dunn started his career on July 4 last year, so hopefully this year's 1st rounder Peterson will sign and similarly start his career in the next week, although I have heard nothing yet. I guess part of it could be if they feel his arm needs a rest.
Conforto started July 19, 2014. I remember feeling the same way - maybe an extra 4 weeks that year inches him up a little quicker.
2nd round teenager Vientos has not started his career yet. Maybe they have him in camp and are trying to gauge which level he should start at (GCL or Kingsport) - hopefully he shows up very soon.
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