Well, the Mets season ended at 70-92, and I know we all thought the season would go better with the roster we had. Unfortunately, we dealt with a multitude of issues that we all remember quite well. The Mets have already been busy this month preparing for the 2018 season. Here's a bit of what has happened this month.
- Starting off with hiring Mickey Calloway as the new manager after the retiring of Terry Collins. The Mets pitching staff really struggled in the 2017 season and hiring a former pitching coach as manager can help us out a lot.
- AFL- We have some people tearing it up down in Arizona. Especially Matt Pobereyko and Kevin Kaczmarski. Some of you know that Kaczmarski is my favorite Mets prospect, others don't. Kaz is just a guy who has a willingness to strive and get better as the years go on. Kaz will provide the good contact bat; although not necessarily any power, but not everyone can be a power hitter. Don't be surprised to see Kaz get some time in the bigs in 2018, especially if we see injuries in the outfield. As for Pobereyko, he had a lights-out year in Columbia. His time in the AFL hasn't been any different. He is a good strikeout pitcher who might skip St. Lucie altogether. I expect to see him in Binghamton to start 2018.
- Next, for the rounds of cuts. Most of these cuts were warranted as not everyone can fulfill their big league dreams, but there were some guys who I was surprised they let go. The main one being Placido Torres. The Mets 8th Round draft pick from 2016 was released after really just one year in the organization. Torres tore up D-II College Baseball playing for Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee. Torres debuted about 30-40 miles north for Rookie-level Kingsport where he posted a sub 4 ERA coming out of the bullpen. After the 2016 season, he basically disappeared. He pitched in all of about 5 games in 2017. My only assumption was that he got hurt. Still makes no sense to release a player that had so much upside. I was kinda surprised when the Mets released Gunner Kines and Marty Anderson. I'm aware that these UDFAs have a short leash, but these 2 should've been given at least the 2018 season.
- The World Series is about to wrap up and free agency will get underway and I will be willing to bet that the Mets will make some sort of big splash, but we will get to that when free agency comes.
Thank you Clay for your monthly wrap-up.
ReplyDeleteClay informs me that he will be posting a monthly wrap-up at the end of each month.
Good job, Clay.
ReplyDeletePobereyko and Bashlor - do you have any thoughts comparing and contrasting the two?
Kaczmarski - I am pulling for his to break through in 2018 too. At least next September.
I did an article, I dunno, 3 or 4 years ago, when the Mets cut a slew of pitchers - I looked at their records and most had winning records and ERAs below 4.00 - I wondered at the time (before Mickey Jannis showed up in Metsland) whether a lot of these guys ought to give the knuckler a try, since their current stuff was not lousy. I know $$ in the minors is awful, but I am surprised more guys don't try the knuckler. RA Dickey got rich with it.
A recommendation:
ReplyDeleteI realize it’s not always easy to come up with ideas for articles and everyone is constantly writing about the same things, especially in the off season. May I offer, rather than just write a ho-him review and a paragraph each on everything we already know about and have moved on passed, why not find one thing and do a little deeper analysis on that one area to offer something new to the reader?
They're also clearing up a lot of spaces on the 40-man roster.
ReplyDeleteTom- I don't think there is a huge difference between Bashlor and Pobereyko. I would imagine they would give the edge to Bashlor considering he's been in the organization longer if there is a decision between them. Both are stellar.
ReplyDeleteTom- Also, Kaz will most likely get to play in Las Vegas in 2018, so I would say he'll have a high batting average hitting out there. I'm gonna say he gets the call up earlier than September.
ReplyDeleteNice job Clay!
ReplyDelete