7/19/18

From The Desk... 7.18


Good morning.


     1.    JJ Cooper - @jjcoop36 - Not one all star pitcher failed to touch 94. - Sale  100.7 MPH… Vázquez 99.9… Díaz 99.4… Foltynewicz 99… Severino 98.9… Treinen 98.9… deGrom 98.8… Scherzer 98.5  -  Mack – this speaks volumes about the necessity for velocity in this game. Finesse pitchers like Tom Glavine don’t stand a chance anymore. It’s speed and more speed. The important thing now is movement, location, and release point deception.


     2.    The Mets RHP Justin Dunn is going threw the growing pains right now. He has now started seven games for Binghamton and is 3.02/1.16. He could be a lot better but he ain’t David Peterson, right? What I like the most is the 49 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched. He had nine arlier starts this season for St. Lucie (2.36) and could easily finish the season as an outside candidate for the 2019 Mets rotation. Oh, and he’s 22 years old.


      3.    I told you how I was dancing in the halls when the Mets drafted RHRP Ryley Gilliam in the 5th round of this year’s draft. Yes, my daughter graduated from Clemson. Yes, I follow the Tigers every game. And yes, I have watched this kid dominate throughout his college career (2018: 27-G, 1.41). So, it comes to no surprise to me what he is doing so far for Brooklyn:  3-appearances, 3-IP, 6-K, 0.00. Does have two walks (2.00-WHIP) but that will come down. The important thing is the runs and most experts felt that he was the closest pitcher in the draft ready for the majors. My hope is the 21/year old finishes the season in Columbia.


      4.    Jerry Blevens had his annual free baseball clinic for kids. A great read:  link


      5.    Vinny Messana - @V_Messana - I've heard from someone close to the situation that the Mets have discussed the possibility of replacing Callaway with Wally Backman – Mack – see, this is the kind of shit you have to read when you have a Twitter Mets feed, You have three options here… one,he made this up (you think?)… second, the person that told him was his 108-year old Grandmother who is in hospice care… and thirdly, his 108-year Grandmother who is in hospice care made this up and passed it on to Vinny.


      6.    An outstanding article on Jeff McNeil - link  

      7.  Yoenes Cespedes played in his third straight (in three days) rehab games for the GCL-Mets. Played first base and went 1-4 (.250 overall) with a home run to boot. So what's going on here? Is this telling Peter Alonso to relax the dry Nevada heat? Does Wilmer Flores have to get out the crying towel again? Does Dominic Smith need to stick a screwdriver in his neck?  As they used to say on the news promo... "details at 11"

      8.    Clay Ramsey - @ClayRMetsFan - Kingsport RHP Noah Nunez is down with an elbow injury. He looks to rehab soon and could be back as soon as next month. Kingsport SS Shervyen Newton left tonight's game in Princeton with an injured foot. I don't know many details so I can't update. 

     9.  We need to begin to realize that SP David Peterson just may not be a starter prospect and future member of the Mets rotation. The 22-year old former first round pick is having a miserable season so far for St. Lucie, going 6.82/1.76 in six starts. He started the season fine for Columbia (9-starts, 1.82), but you can't go back and start over. The good news here is both Anthony Kay and Justin Dunn are stepping up and giving the Mets some SP options by 2020. As for Peterson, I just don't know at this point.



10 comments:

Bob Gregory said...

Say what anybody will about Wally Backman.

Have what ever feelings the owners or Met front office have regarding Backman.

BUT....
It sure seems like the AAA team's performance, the AAA players readiness for the majors, and the major league team's performance have suffered since his removal from the organization.

Mack Ade said...

Bob -

The players will tell you that they loved him.

Sandy loved him.

Fred and Ethel loved him/

So what went wrong here?

Tom Brennan said...

Peterson hopefully has just hit a rookie wall...but he has been bad for St Lucie, and St Lucie is far from major league competition.

Hopefully, Dunn is a fast riser. Ryley Gilliam too. If he is the most major league ready pitcher in the draft, and is a reliever, let's get him in the Queens bullpen by this time next year.

I wonder how fast Dunn is on the gun? Can he do high 90's, or just mid 90's? Big difference.

The most important thing for this team, if it avoids a full rebuild, is Cespedes playing 150 games - if that means at 1B, then so be it. Pete will have to wait a while. I wonder if Yo can play 3B? I heard he did in Cuba, and he has a lethal arm?

Sherveyn Newton was leading the Appalachian League in doubles - and strikeouts, with 40 - but was impressive offensively. Hopefully, he will not be out long.

Mack, can Clay get us pictures of Kingsport guys that we can use to post up?

And what does Clay think of Raul Beracierta?

Bob Gregory said...

Francisco Mejia traded for Hand + another reliever?

Too bad Mejia couldn't have been an example of the "creative thinking" challenge given to the Met front office by the Wilpons.

Given just how many trade chips the Mets potentially have, I would have hoped they would be among the teams completing trades at this point. The more they wait, more targets are removed from the game board.

Done smartly, the Mets could be setting the value for later trades by establishing earlier trade hauls.

Mack Ade said...

Clay said to let him know what pic you want when you want it

I just sent to you on Twitter his Twitter address for you to follow each other and communicate

As for Raul, he says:

I think Beracierta is a legitimate prospect... High contact hitter. Probably the most aggressive hitter in Kingsport right now. A lot of folks want him to go to Brooklyn. He's only 19. He should stick in Kingsport for the time being

Mack Ade said...

Bob -

I expect both Familia and Cabrera to be gone by this time next week.

Bob Gregory said...

Is that an informed opinion or just logical thinking?

I ask, because the Met organization has been clearly challenged often when it comes to logical thinking.

Mack Ade said...

Just logical thinking.

I think the Machado and Mejia deals have opened the gates.

Familia will easily be the top back end reliever rental this year and Cabrera is proving he still has what it takes to help a team get to the playoffs.

Mike Freire said...

I remember when 90 mph was a big deal! (now that is an off speed pitch)

Dunn is developing quite nicely.....Peterson, not so much?

Regarding Gilliam, the more power arms in the bullpen, the better.

Backman in Citi-Field? Only if he buys a game day ticket, I suppose.

Met Monkey said...

Familia and Cabrera are better than some Mets fans give credit for, and their caliber demands actual material in return. Let's not be fleeced by contending teams who are highly, highly, highly, highly motivated to pay.