Mack’s Apples - Casey Mise, Chris Flexen, Baseball SABR Terms, CBS News on Mets, Colorado Druggies

Good morning.

Players To Watch in  College Baseball   -

       

    RHP Casey Mize, Auburn - Mize has blossomed into a first-round prospect after going undrafted in high school. Last season he went 8-2 with a 2.04 ERA and 109 strikeouts despite missing three starts because of an arm issue. His strikeout total was the highest by an Auburn pitcher since 1999. Mize led the nation with a 12.11 strikeout-to-walk ratio and struck out 11.73 batters per nine innings.

John Sickels on –

          

7) Chris Flexen, RHP, Grade B-/C+: Age 23, 14th round pick in 2012 from high school in Newark, California; excellent season in the minors, 1.76 ERA in 61 innings between High-A and Double-A with 63/10 K/BB; promoted to majors ahead of schedule and was blasted, 7.88 ERA in 48 innings, 36/35 K/BB, but still retains rookie eligibility for ’18; in the minors he looked like a solid Grade B prospect with above-average to excellent command of low-90s fastball, curve, and change; I think that’s all still in there but he’s going to have to learn from adversity; ETA 2018. QUESTION MARK: getting crushed in the majors.              minor League Ball

Glossary of baseball's most useful advanced  stats and how to use them –

        

   wOBA (weighted on-base average) — In an effort to paint a more full picture of offensive performance, this statistic weighs each individual outcome at the plate (from a single to a home run) differently. Unlike OPS, which weighs the on-base and slugging portions of that combination equally, wOBA attempts for a more complete offensive picture while still valuing each component fairly.

 CBS News forecast on the 2018 Mets –

    

       The Mets have a new skipper, Mickey Callaway, who stewarded a fine rotation in Cleveland last year. As pitching coach of the Indians, Callaway lorded over the best staff in the sport. Maybe his mojo or leadership can turn this baseball tanker back around. They have the parts, they just need direction, a little luck and a willingness to ignore their ignominious history.

Texas college baseball coach:  Colorado athletes not welcome due to 'trouble passing drug tests'

        

   “Thanks for the interest in our program. Unfortunately, we are not recruiting players from the state of Colorado. In the past, players have had trouble passing our drug test. We have made a decision to not take a chance on Student-athletes from your state. You can thank your liberal politicians. Best of Luck wherever you decide to play.”

Update - 

“Mike Jeffcoat is no longer an employee with Texas Wesleyan University,” school president Fred Slabach said at a news conference. “He was separated from the university due to the discriminatory remarks contained in an email to a potential recruit from the state of Colorado and for another factor that we have been investigating for the last week. This additional factor is an NAIA rule violation that has recently came to our attention.”