From The Desk… Yoenes Cespedes, Brittany Apgar, Peter Alonso, Franklyn Kilome, BVW

Good morning.

Anthony DiComo - @AnthonyDiComo

Yoenis Cespedes' second (left) heel surgery has been delayed a few days due to a scheduling conflict. It should still be done by the end of this month, keeping him on track to begin baseball activities around late 

            Mack – A ‘scheduling conflict”?

            Is there ever a sense of urgency from this organization?

Doug - @FTLO_Baseball\ - 

            From just released, Baseball America Mets 2018 Draft Report Card:

Zach Rheams (27th Rd) posted elite exit velos in pro debut, on par with Alonso!

Manny Rodriguez (10th Rd) has 80 grade wheels.

Jaylen Palmer (22nd Rd) out of Queens HS: strong                                    athlete/sleeper.

A TOURNAMENT OF THEIR OWN -

          

  Brittany Apgar loves baseball. Not softball. Baseball.

"I love the competition and the challenge," she says. "Baseball is not just a physical game. It's a mental game too. You have to have a good memory, but if you make a mistake, you have to be able to forget about it and move on to the next inning."

Apgar, 15, was one of the nearly 300 girls, ages 9-18, who converged on Rockford, Illinois, last summer for four days of spirited competition. They came from across the United States and from as far away as Australia and France for the Baseball for All Nationals, the largest girls-only baseball tournament in the world. The event brought together the past, present and future of women and the national pastime. Games were played at Beyer Stadium, home of the iconic Rockford Peaches, the team immortalized in the movie "A League of Their Own," and players wore patches commemorating the 75th anniversary of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.


The Washington Nationals signed the first free agent of the young off-season. Ex-St. louis Cardinals' closer Trevor Rosenthal signed... details not announced yet. The 28-year old Rosenthal went 3.40/1.20 in 50 appearances last season, which included 76-Ks in 47.2-IP.

2080 Baseball  on Peter Alonso –

      

     Large, bulky body with elite strength in both halves. Solid athlete for his size; body will require maintenance in future.

Swing Mechanics - Even, shoulder-width extended set-up, bent knees, hands low, bat across shoulder. Leg raise, average stride, quiet load up behind ear, legs engaged, natural loft in bat path, excellent extension. Bat speed, hands, timing to impact baseball.

        Tool  Present         Future

         Hit       45                  50

Looks to damage and does; comes with swing-and-miss. Plus barrel-feel on anything hard; vulnerable to spin away. Solid approach; doesn't expand early-count, can take a walk. Two-strike approach needs work, doesn't shorten up. Will strikeout and walk.

Game Power          60       70

Murders fastballs middle-in and up out over plate; waits on and punishes hangers up in zone. Pull-heavy at present; some vulnerability soft away, but has feel for barrel. Half-grade projection with adjustments to tap opposite field power.

Raw Power             70       70

Elite strength, plus bat speed, elevated bat path, and leg engagement all work together for top-scale pull power and ability to go out to all fields.

Run               40       30

Not a clogger; down the line at 4.45; will lose a step with age. Station-to-station on bases.

Field             50       45

Compensates for below-average lateral mobility and stiff fielding actions with plus hands. Will cost outs on dirt, save outs with scooping ability at bag. With age, good enough to stick at fringe-average.

Throw          50       50

Accuracy and strength to make solid DP throw to 2nd; makes throw across diamond on line.

Mack – Personally, I found the current 50 fielding rate a little high, but I still though you should see this in writing.

The Disappointing Loss of Franklyn Kilome  -

                  

     Franklyn Kilome has an electric fastball and is developing a nasty curveball. MLB.com rates his fastball at 70/80 and his curveball at  55/80. If his other pitches don’t develop or the Mets’ “big four” block him from joining the starting rotation, a hard fastball and a good curveball immediately become a good base for a solid relief pitcher. Many pitchers have accomplished more with less.

Mack – I always question why some of these guys get sent to winter ball after throwing so many pitches during the regular season. Yes, he never pitched one pitch there, but he was assigned and the word is that he ‘heard something’ as he was preparing for a winter worth of baseball.

Mets could be adding new problems to old ones by picking agent Van Wagenen as GM -

                         

          Based on his experience, however, he is as qualified to be the Mets' first baseman as he is to run the organization's baseball operations -- which is to say, he's not really qualified at all. And beyond the inherent questions of practical application, the Mets' move to hire Van Wagenen is so overloaded with conflict-of-interest quandaries that folks on all sides of the industry, from Major League Baseball to the union to club management, find the choice to be bizarre and inevitably problematic.

And lastly… one of our loyal readers, Stewart Wolpin, came to me with a problem he has that could benefit you. He is a 30-year season ticket holder at Citifield with GREAT seats… just in front of the SNY booth (section 319, row 6, seats 5-6… but he needs to sell off around 15 games or he may have to give them up. 

If you are interested to pursue further, contact Stephen at stewartwolpin@yahoo.com