SILVER LININGS: JACOB ZANON and PETE ALONSO
At this time, much is going wrong in Metsville.
How bad? How Bad??
I tell ya, Rodney is giving up wife jokes to make Met jokes.
It's BAD I tell ya - it's BAD!
The team in Queens after 72 game (which is 44.44% of a full season) sat at # 28 in ERA, with a 5.07 ERA.
Two MLB teams are worse, but only slightly: 5.08 and 5.10.
Even worse, the all time baseball worst 40-120 Mets of 1962 had a superior 5.04 ERA! Aggh!
And...there is no help over the horizon in AAA: Vegas has a 5.31 ERA and 5.8 total runs per game. Uggh!
We search for a Silver Lining deep in the minors, & we find:
The Mets' JZ.
Zanon was a 15th rounder in 2016.
He turns 22 this weekend and is a 6'1", 180 righty hitter.
He turns 22 this weekend and is a 6'1", 180 righty hitter.
He struggled in his pro cameo in Brooklyn in 2016, hitting just .197 in 44 games - BUT fanned just 25 times, walked 21 times, and stole a stellar 20 of 22.
This year, it has been hard to evaluate JZ, as he got hit by a pitch on April 10, breaking a bone, and his next game was June 20. So he's missed a whole bunch.
In fact, only 23 plate appearances to date (thru Thursday) in 2017, but how does getting on base 14 times sound? 8 hits, 5 walks, and that nasty HBP - and just 2 strikeouts.
5 for 5 in steals, making him 25 for 27 as a pro, a ratio a mother could love - and everyone else, too.
And he has a double, triple and HR in those 8 hits. BOOM!
His stat line? .471/.609/.824.
Which leads me to say one thing to our JZ:
"Can you do that all year? Not greedy, just asking!"
Keep up the good work, JZ. You've got our respect, I tell ya.
PETE ALONSO:
A broken hand bone last year...and this year. Tough breaks. Hitting just .143 recently, 1B slugger Pete over his last 8 games showed why he was a high Mets draft pick.
13 for 29, a bunch of doubles, 3 homers, 12 RBIs, and the strikeouts disappeared. Truly a SILVER LINING.
15 comments:
We tend to forget about Alonso. He was a 2nd rounder who I had as the 3rd best 1Bman in the draft
The way a healthy Alonzo has hit of late, he could be our future 1B or 3B. He could be the kind of major power bat we rarely grow in our system.
Zanon is now 7 of 7 in 7 games in steals. We could use that sort of speed in Queens too.
I am surprised Jordan Humphreys had such a bad debut for St Lucie, after being dominant every single start for Columbia. 4 innings, 11 hits, just 1 strikeout. My guess is he bounces back big in the next start.
He spotted the opponent a 5-0 early lead, but St Lucie won going away 19-7. Two missed extra points.
Zanon is intriguing. It's too bad he missed so much time. Let's hope his hot start is for real, and he can steal a promotion this year anyway. (See what I did there?). He's 22, so they should be happy to fast track him through the lower levels based on performance. Alonso has been double unlucky with injuries (or, you know, maybe he's just a natural for this franchise). The bat has potential, and he should be fun to watch for the rest of the season.
Tom -
Humphreys had a typical first start for someone going to the next level... could have been a combo of nerves and increased bat talent
He straighten out by the beginning of the third but ran out of pitches after four.
No sweat.
Zanon was playing well before injury. He is a grinder. Had another good game last night. Kannapolis looks pretty good. Flies promoted 3 and I believe Kannapolis promoted 8. Harol Gonzalez struggled on the mound. Someone asked about Taylor's arm. He was touching 93 MPH. Tebow looked rough last night. Hit a laser to CF in 9th. Thought he burned CF playing shallow. Guy turned, ran and made a great play. Tebow also bobbled a ball in LF and runners advanced. Still has a long way to go in LF. Carpio had three hits last night. Hoping he has a good second half.
Anonymous, it was me asking.
Blake Taylor has an unlucky go of it, but he is probably on the verge of getting it together, is my guess. 93 is a good velocity, maybe he is a future Mets pen arm.
Tebow's defense is puzzling - we all know he has a Grandy-like arm, but you would think he'd be moving further along with the rest of his D. Be aggressive on the offense, Tim.
You can contact Mack any time if you'd like to throw game posts about the Fireflies - your comments add a valuable and interesting perspective.
Adam, what I like most about Zanon is he has only 2 Ks in about 30 plate appearances this year.
Contact and speed burner? Seems a formula for real success.
Great article in MILB on Alonso - interviewed, he sounds great - very unlike Asdrubel $$$$ Cabrera:
https://www.milb.com/milb/news/new-york-mets-peter-alonso-plates-career-high-five/c-238402652/t-185364810
Zannon stole 2nd last night and catcher overthrew and he went to 3rd. He had a massive jump. Good speed. I think he stole a base the night before too. Too many games running together lol.
It's ironic that Tebow's path to the majors is his bat and not his arm. After all, what position did he play in the NFL? Oh yeah, that's right...I saw him try to throw there, too :)
Thomas,
Contact hitter with speed? Not like we could use one of those in the system. Good thing TC will be gone long before he can not have any idea how to use him.
Soft tosser like Tyler Pill who may be a better hitter
Blake Taylor is the second round arm Sandy traded Ike Davis for. It would be something if he eventually finds his way to Queens.
Charles, that is right on Blake Taylor. I think he will refine his stuff and start to move fast.
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