Mack’s Apples – Gerson Bautista, 'Copa de la Diversión', Jay Bruce, Mets Earned $97mil

Good morning.

John Sickels on –

      

     15) Gerson Bautista, RHP, Grade C+: Age 22, signed by Red Sox out of Dominican Republic in 2013, over with Callahan in Addison Reed trade; 4.22 ERA with 73/31 K/BB in 60 innings between Low-A and High-A; best pure arm of this group of relievers, fastball can hit 100; good slider, too; command needs work and he’s not as close to the majors as Callahan and Bashlor; ETA 2020; QUESTION MARK: grading relievers is problematic.  minor league ball

Minor League Baseball To Have 'Copa de la Diversión' Initiative; Reach Hispanic, Latino Communities –

        

   “Sports teams symbolize their respective community’s uniqueness, often adopting nicknames and logos depicting these special traits,” said Kurt Hunzeker, MiLB’s Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Research. “MiLB and the participating teams embraced this creative approach when developing the ‘Copa de la Diversión’ brand identities, and the final designs reflect the unique characteristics of each team’s fan base while staying true to MiLB’s one-of-a-kind brand of fan-centric fun.”

All told, there will be 165 games across Minor League Baseball that will engage in Copa de la Diversión starting on April 8, in Round Rock, Texas, and concludes on Sept. 2, in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

            The Brooklyn Cyclones will be renamed The Brooklyn Jefes

Fangraphs on Jay Bruce –

     

      Jay Bruce turned back the clock in 2017, flirting with three wins after three straight seasons of failing to eclipse even 1 WAR. He then parlayed that into a three-year, $39 million contract from the Mets, who (a) didn't need him and (b) probably shouldn't have trusted the breakout was real. Bruce remains a bad defender and his game is entirely dependent on power. In fact, the only difference between his 0.9-WAR 2016 and 2.7-WAR 2017 was seven points of wRC+ and his best defensive showing in three years (though still below average).

At almost 31, Bruce isn't going to suddenly become a better defender, and his decline is coming. The projection here is for something approximating 2016 offensively, and that's probably about right. But if his defense craters back to 2015-16 metrics, Bruce is suddenly approaching replacement level again.

New York  Mets Earned $97 Million At Citi Field Last Season - 

       

    The New York Mets won only 70 games in 2017 and attendance at Citi Field averaged 30,757, 12% below the previous season.

But documents obtained by Forbes via a FOIL request to the New York City Economic Development Corporation show the MLB team did very well at the cash register.

Queens Ballpark, LLC, the entity that runs Citi Field for Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the Mets, generated revenue of $163 million and net income of $97 million in 2017. The previous season the ballpark posted revenue of $168 million and net income of $75 million.

Baseball’s innovative front offices have created a handful of dominant superteams - 

             

The era of the baseball superstar is over.

The era of the baseball superteam has arrived.

In 2017, three teams (the Astros, Indians and Dodgers) won 100 games or more. Another team (the Nationals) won its division by 20 games. You don’t need to calculate standard deviations to appreciate how special that was. It’s never happened in the history of professional baseball.

Here’s the scary part: None of those four teams enters 2018 showing signs of regression. The New York Yankees were on the cusp of superteamdom even before they poached National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins. Fans of the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox have ample reason to believe this is their year, too. Seven teams have a chance at winning the 2018 World Series; the other 23 have a chance at being the last to get off their lawn.