Good morning.
Dirty Laundrey –
Mack’s
Mets writer Casey Wentworth no longer writes for
Mack’s Mets. We wish him well with the rest of his life.
In
addition, Charles Hangley has moved on to write
exclusively for www.mets360.com.
Please visit that site to read what he posts alongside another ex-Mack’s Mets
writer, David Groveman.
We
continue to look for additional active writers here at Mack’s Mets. Please
email me at macksmets@gmail.com
and we’ll talk.
Helium Alert –
The
GCL Mets 3B/2B Hansel Romero is making a name
for himself during his first stateside assignment this season. The 20-year old
was signed as a 16-year old prospect in 2014 and was given a $50,000 bonus. He
then spent three years honing his game for the DSL Mets, hitting .204 in 2014,
.210 in 2015, and, finally, putting it all together last year, hitting .317.
This
year, he’s off to his best start yet. Through xx at-bats, his stat line is:
.444/.488/.528/1.016
There’s
probably an outside chance he could finish the season for the team he will play
opening day next season for, the Kingsport Mets.
Remember
the name… not Hansel Robles… Hansel Romero.
Power Bats vs. Power Arms –
The
debate seems to begin every year at this point in the season. It’s heightened
even more this season what with the signing of their top pick. RHSP David Peterson, this week, but also the failure to
remain competitive through the All-Star break.
Did
the Mets target the draft for enough ‘power bats’ instead of always seeming to
go after pitching? Sounds easy on paper, but the fact is that there simply are
only so many decent sluggers these days that also play decent defense at their
position and don’t strike out more than desired.
I
grew up in a time where the barometer of a great hitter was 40+ home runs, 120+
runs batted in, and a batting average around .300. There are rare numbers these
days. Guys like Jay Bruce, who produce these
kind of homers and ribbies, barely hit .260 and these are overall considered
all-star numbers.
I
told this to one of our readers last week (ZoZo) and reminded him that we
wouldn’t be in this pickle of a season if our ‘top 7’ starters would have
turned out as projected this season.
No,
the game is being taught differently at the school level. Emphasis is on OBP,
not slugging%. And most of the real weight training power guys are limited to
one sport only in school and that has turned out to be football.
But,
if you are the tallest player that turns out for baseball tryouts and can throw
a decent ball back and forth with the fellow tryouts, the baseball coach will
call you aside and ask you if you have ever considered learning the art of
pitching.
What
hitters you do successfully draft are instructed in your minor league system to
concentrate on getting on base (BA, OBP, BB/9) instead of swinging for the
fence. Swinging for the fence produces far more strikeouts and can hinder your
growth though each level of the team’s pipeline.
You
don’t honestly think that Dominic Smith was told
to target his game this way in locations like Savannah and St. Lucie?
Look
folks, pitching is like penicillin. It’s a basic cure all for all your problems
on the field. Look at those SP1-3 guys with the Dodgers and Nats. Why do you
think these teams are at the top of their division? Power bats? Come on.
You want better field defense. Put up better pitching and watch it happen.
Right
now, it looks like we will start the 2018 season with three potentially great
starters, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz. Clubs would kill for this kind of lineup,
but, as this season’s visits to the DL proved, this won’t be enough to make it
through the night.
Chris Flexen will begin
the next wave of quality starters to Queens, followed in the next two seasons
by Marcos Molina, Corey Oswalt, Justin Dunn, Jordan
Humphries, and Merandy Gonzales. There’s
a good chance we will fine two ample replacements for the likes of Matt Harvey, Tyler Pill, Robert Gsellman, Zack Wheeler,
and Seth Lugo.
I’m
sorry, but this is how it works in baseball these days. 15 starters get you
five.
MLB
updated their Top 100 prospect list to include newly drafted players as well as
re-positioning by some of the players that were last ranked during the
pre-season.
SS Amed Rosario moved up a notch from 5th to 4th
while 1B Dominic Smith had a sizable jump from
65th to 49th
.
Past
that… steak knives.
It’s
entirely unacceptable that there are only two Mets on a list of 100 players.
And lastly…
Let’s
face it. A signing of Bartolo Colon would have been, at best, an innings eater
for the remainder of this season so some of the Mets arms could be rested. At
worst, it would have been another carnival scene similar to what’s going on
with Tim Tebow.
I’m
upset he did not return to Queens, but we can limp through the second half of
the season without him.
It’s
not a big deal.
12 comments:
As Amed miss soon to make his MLB debut, Hansel Moreno is Another good example of the value of signing int'l players, which I address in tomorrow's 8 AM.
Let the selling begin.
Lets play the kids.
Tim Tebow: any successful hitter starts with a solid strikeout rate. Tebow has fanned once in his last 5 games and 6 in 46 plate appearances since his successful promo. Tells me his trajectory has heightened.
Why is it that the Mets limit their international net to central and South America while ignoring Cuba and Asia entirely?
I don't know, Reese.
I guess the Cuban thing is a moot point now.
I always thought they turned up their nose on Asian players after signing so many bad ones.
Reese, to your point, Yoan Moncada would have been a high stakes Cuban investment, but one that appears to be well worth it right now...it got Chris Sale for the Red Sox.
Play the kids sounds right but you know management they'll keep trying to sell the "were still in it" garbage and waste valuable time to evaluate the kids. The big question I have for all of you is: would you trade Thor or Matz to replenish the system. I would seriously think about trading Matz if his value is as high as I think it would be as his value may never be this high again.
I think we should trade all of our free agents to be, plus Familia, Cabrera and Blevins. I also think we should try and trade some of those prospects we get back to the Marlins for Dee Gordon and their Catcher Realmuto.
I would love Gordon and Rosario batting 1 and 2 for a few years. 30+ stolen base guys and great defense up the middle.
Mack please call Sandy and make it happen
Zozo -
He didn't answer.
Damn it!!! Lol
Did you leave a message?
Hey I missed the futures game... any one give a review on our boys?
Rosey fanned twice, good in field. Nido an RBI single
How did Jose Abreu work out for the White Sox? He's at .299/16/58 in a subpar season. He was there for the taking if you made the investment. Instead the Mets went for the "proven" commodities like Curtis Granderon.
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