Tom Brennan - Rookie League Hitters Heating Up and Cooling Down
Rookie ball seasons are not too far from ending, after feeling like they just started. So....who's heating up, who's cooling down? You ask such excellent questions!
Jarred Kelenic torched the GCL in his debut, then went through a tough slump once promoted to Kingsport. His last 14 Kingsport games? 21 for 57, so he has surged, which is great to see from our # 1 pick this year. 21 extra base hits in 52 games - also very solid.
Ronny Mauricio was our favorite scorching 17 year old until he went frigid. Hitting .333 on July 29, he went 4 for 47 from July 30 thru August 14, but with only 6 Ks, indicating it was a temporary dip, likely embued with some good old fashioned bad luck. Sure enough, in the next 3 games, Ronny went 5 for 12 and a walk - and just got promoted to Kingsport.
Luis Santana has one gear in Kingsport this year - HOT!
Having just turned 19, the 5'8" 2B has been "A Number One", with a .348/.446/.471 split in 53 games with just 23 Ks! Career, he has 516 at bats, 84 runs, 98 RBIs, 29 doubles, 10 triples, 7 homers, and .329/.426/.465.
Smells like "BLUE CHIP PROSPECT" to me.
Yoel Romero, 3B, had lousy DSL seasons in 2015 and 2016, hitting a combined .182, then doubled it in 2017, hitting a sensational .364/.439/.464 in the DSL in 2017. It has not translated over in Kingsport, however, as he is hitting .242/.360/.303 this year.
Raul Beracierta looked like he was on his way to Cooperstown after his first 4 weeks in Kingsport, hitting .393/.519/.656. The next 5 ice cold weeks have been the polar opposite, though, as he now plunged down to .279/.399/.434 for the season.
Mark Vientos has cooled a bit hit-wise very recently, but the young (18) dude has a tremendous 47 RBIs in 53 games, which I categorize as a heckuva season. Hitting a fine .287/.383/.497 overall for the K Mets.
What you really have to like is his hitting with runners in scoring position: .357/.439/.657. We need stuff like that!
Sherveyn Newton has done all things well - except striking out.
The 6'4" SS recently fanned 10 times in 10 at bats in a 3 game stretch (then amazingly did not fan once in his next 3 games). The 19 year old switch hitter is at .280/.399/.455, 46 runs and 39 RBIs in 53 games, but with 82 Ks. In fairness, he has been up a whole lot, so that works out to "only" about a K every 3 plate appearances. But that K rate has to come down.
Guillermo Granadillo is a speedy 21 year old CF in Kingsport having a fine, but powerless, season. In 42 games, just 3 doubles and a HR, but otherwise, .329/.415/.366, with 20 of 28 in steals. Power is a must to add for the very consistent 2018 hitter to progress.
In Brooklyn, 4 guys get a mention here:
OF Ross Adolph has had a fine rookie campaign. The 21 year old is at .272/.333/.489, with 6 doubles, NINE triples, and 5 homers (including 3 in a doubleheader recently). 9 of 11 in steals for the 21 year old lefty bat and 12th rounder.
2B Carlos Cortes - the 5'7" 3rd rounder hit .250 in July, but .345 in August. Very nice uptick.
Now, on to two slumpers:
Anthony Dirocie feasted on Appalachian League pitching for 2 weeks (.408/.492/.755), but in his last 10 games at Brooklyn, the OF has been frosty at 6 for 39 with 15 Ks. Overall, in 47 games, a solid but fading .280/.382/.453.
C Nick Meyer was drafted in the 6th round as a defensive specialist but started out hitting really well, too, at .318 on July 21. Since then, sadly a reversion to his expected norm, as he has badly slumped, going 6 for 48 with all 6 hits in only 3 of his last 15 games.
Lastly, back down to the DSL, let's highlight 2 very young guys:
17 year old SS Felix Valerio started out OK with the DSL 2 Mets, but once transferred over to DSL 1, he has had a blazing red hot 22 games, hitting .416/.495/.573 with just 8 Ks. Just 5'7", another short infielder with seemingly superior talent.
17 year old bonus baby Adrian Hernandez - it has been a season of gradual improvement for this hitting hopeful. .236 in June, .255 in July, then a jump to .302 with more power and run production in August. 47 runs scored in 58 games, too. A solid stepping stone to 2018.
So, I am still quite heartened by the quantity of talent down in rookie ball. How about you?
P.S.
The other Guerrero, Vlad's cousin Greg, has missed all of 2018 with an injury, after just .217 in 38 games in the GCL in last year's injury-shortened season. He is turning into our teenage David Wright. barring a late season explosion, poor Vlad won't hit .400, having dropped to .389. Glad we got Gregory instead, aren't you?
P.P.S.
Nolan Gorman is the kind of guy we should have drafted rather than Smith and Cecchini in the past. Undeniable power. The 18 year old (# 19 overall, picked by the Cardinals, in his first pro 50 games, was hitting .324/.413/.633, with 11 doubles and FIFTEEN HOMERS. To be just 18 and hitting like that...wow. You want your high draft picks to elicit a WOW. That has been profoundly missing in the careers of Smith and Cecchini.
P.P.S.
Nolan Gorman is the kind of guy we should have drafted rather than Smith and Cecchini in the past. Undeniable power. The 18 year old (# 19 overall, picked by the Cardinals, in his first pro 50 games, was hitting .324/.413/.633, with 11 doubles and FIFTEEN HOMERS. To be just 18 and hitting like that...wow. You want your high draft picks to elicit a WOW. That has been profoundly missing in the careers of Smith and Cecchini.
10 comments:
He had Gorman on our roster...wait, that was Tom Gorman. And he was a pitcher.
Alot of talent in the lower levels.
The Mets have done a great job over the past 2 years especially in Latin America
My darkhorse -
SP Willy Tavares
Mack has a case of the Willys!
Hope you're right on Taveras.
It was really nice to have the 6th overall pick to get a player of Kelenic's quality.
We are blowing it right now winning too many games
True, Mack. Glad the incompetence showed up yesterday.
Kelenic another big game last night. He HAS to be in full season ball next year.
No more Jose Bautista here for the Mets.
He may not have been the most valuable Met in 2018. But he did always give 200% in everything that he did here, and the younger players could appreciate the example that he always provided. I respect the man and will miss him a lot.
On both Jose Bautista and David Wright, maybe Jose Reyes as well, three very good candidates for NY Mets coaches when their playing days are over. Jose Bautista a batting instructor, fitness guru. Jose Reyes an infield coach and base stealing instructor. And David Wright, a manager I think, if he wants it.
I tip my hat to all three.
On Noah Syndergaard
I never give up on greatness. Never.
Sure, Noah Syndergaard has not been quite the same exact pitcher he was prior to the hoof and mouth thing. But it happens, arms get tired over the length of a season. The season is really long. But it's no big deal to me, and I have seen it dozens of times before with a lot of really good pitchers like him.
Noah throws really hard. He still is cranking out 99/100 mph heaters. So what's the difference you ask? Okay, give me a moment to collect my thoughts.
I think Noah Syndergaard maybe/sort of lives a little too much by the fastball. Yes, he's a flamethrower and we all know that. But there is more to throwing flames to be outstanding sometimes.
I think earlier on he got more swings and misses on those flames because he was locating them just outside the strikezone more often than now. Plus, I get the feeling that at this juncture in his really good career, it may behoove Noah to add in his curve or slider more often, and a killer bee change up pitch. In other words, keep the heater a little more subdued in his repertoire, and rely a little bit more on his other pitches as both set-up to the flame and also as more bewildering out pitches.
A fairly good percentage of MLB batters today can catch up with the 97-101 mph fastballs. The trick is do they cut, break down? Do they have good movement along with the speed? I think Noah's fastball does, but the good MLB batters may know better now what is coming with him and prepare themselves. So Noah has to adjust to this fact,
Just like every other established starter. Add in the element of "surprise" in the form of these other pitches he could throw.
Will he be able to accomplish this feat?
A: It's Noah Syndergaard for goodness sakes, of course he can. All MLB players go thru this, the league has learned them and an adjustment is what makes a player great again. I am quite certain on Noah. So have faith in the man.
He's Thor. So what more do we need to know.
Tom Brenner
Good pickup on Urena last night.
There are a few guys I am also watching, along with Urena. Guys that have consistently caught my eye basically all season long. here are the others along with Urena.
Kivlehan, Alonso (HR last night too), Terdoslavich, Gimenez, and Neatoe (Tomas). I love intentionally spelling people's names wrong. Anyway, my point is that each one has a chance to get invited to 2019 NY Mets Spring Training 2019. And once there, each one could conceivably make a name for themselves.
Take this, then out.
A couple of starts back and against the Phillies (nice addition there with Bautista. The Phillies really needed another power bat in their lineup and now they have one) Noah was starting, and every single Phillies batter came up and swung at the first pitch and had some success doing that. And if I remember correctly, in that game they scored like three runs in that first inning. It set the tone of this whole game. It was ambitious.
Flash forward to last night and a couple of Mets games prior as well. Amed Rosario got into hitting the first pitch leading off. He hit a homerun this way, the first inning, first pitch a couple of games prior and last night had an extra base hit. The man can fly.
My point is that it can work really well against most MLB pitchers I think. The reason simply being that most pitchers really do want to get ahead in the count from pitch one.
Sabertoothmetrics or not, this really isn't a bad idea to have Mets batters looking to swing at the very first pitch. The count does not have to go to two strikes to swing. It's aggressive, it's assertive, and it makes a lot of sense to me.
Can we try it once to see? Humor me here. If it does not work, I'll eat crow. With ketchup on it, and preferably cooked though!
I love a team that is aggressive, any sport accept maybe golf. You cannot beat people over the head with your driver. It's not considered good sportsmanship, and there could be prison time involved for that. You could end up in a cell with 350 pound "Bubba" as your cellmate, and he refuses to sleep.
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