(pictured above: our decision makers)
Tom Brennan - A GLIMPSE AT ANOTHER TEAM'S DRAFT APPROACH
I decided to briefly look at league hitting leaders in the South Atlantic League, to see where our guys were in the list.
I noticed two teams had nearly 60 homers, while the Mets' squad had just 21.
What started me thinking about how that relates to the Mets' annual draft process is that I noted that the Colorado Rockies franchise in Asheville had the following 3 guys drafted last year, up among the league's leaders:
Chad Spanberger, 6th round, 2017: the 6'3", 235 first baseman has the following scintillating line as a pro:
102 G, 402 AB, 25 doubles, 4 triples, 33 HR, 92 RBI, 14-17 steals, .310/.366/.620.
Brett Boswell, 8th round, 2017:
102 G, 419 AB, 21 doubles, 7 triples, 19 HR, 73 RBI, 6-12 steals, .301/.342/.520.
Casey Golden, 20th round, 2017: 6'2", 185 OF:
104 G, 403 AB, 25 doubles, 2 triples, 32 HR, 97 RBI, 22-25 steals, .300/.372/.610.
I list them to make a few points:
1) I do not know if any of the 3 will make the majors someday, but their hitting, especially as it concerns power, far exceeds guys the Mets drafted in 2017, and they are hitting far better, too. Right now, I would rather have these 3 guys than anyone the Mets drafted from the 6th round and beyond last year.
Excluding then-17 year old Mets 2nd rounder Mark Vientos from the discussion, who is several years younger than the Rockies' guys and hence not comparable, the Mets' two best hitters from round 3 forward in 2017 to date have been:
Quinn Brodey (3rd rd.) - 8 HR, .236, 436 ABs
Jeremy Vasquez (27th rd.): 11 HR, .276/.381/.433, 416 AB.
A very big power gap.
2) When a team earnestly tries to draft power hitters by drafting big guys with power, they actually may be pleasantly surprised with the results. The Mets draft very few high power bats, with unsurprising results.
The Mets drafted pitchers in the last several rounds of the top 10 draft picks last year, bypassing Spanberger (6th round) and Boswell (8th round) in the process.
And maybe they were looking to draft more of their favored little scrappy guys around the 20th round or even more pitchers, but the booming bat of Casey Golden was sitting there; the Mets evidently didn't have their eyes out for a guy who was big and strong and fast, and hits like a son of a gun.
In the first 10 rounds this week, the Mets drafted lots of pitchers and a smallish SS and 2B...what a (non) surprise.
I wonder if they passed over any 2018 Spansbergers, Boswells, and Goldens in the process.
I bet they did. They always do.
5 comments:
There’s very little about how this team is run that could be termed encouraging. Other than Alonso, and maybe McNeil, if you count a 26 year-old, we don’t have anyone in the system putting up numbers like the three Rockies you profiled (all from the same draft). Makes me wonder whether the problem is philosophy, decision making, or scouting. Since this is the Mets, it’s probably all three.
Spnsberger turns 23 this year, Boswell & Golden 24, and they're raking in A-. Maybe that's the problem, David Thompson at that age was spitting time between AA & AAA.
Of course maybe these 3 are blocked by even heavier lunber above, but I don't see that.
Hobie, you may be right, but it is only their first full season. They may do very well, despite age, and move fast, and I think Spanberger is 22. Our top 3 drafted guys after Vientos have 70 less homers and are hitting 50 points less too.
I would trade our 5 best guys in rounds 6-20 from 2017 for those 3 Rockies dudes, no questions asked. Bottom line, Rockies drafted power bats...we almost never do.
0-0, mid 6th, with Baltimore. In one of those hitting/scoring death spirals - can they snap out of it?
Wheeler doing great.
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