From The Desk – Mark Vientos, Fix Baseball?, Jerrion Ealy, Jason Bay, Roberto Clamente

Good morning.

Fangraphs  Top 25 Mets Prospects –

          

  4. Mark Vientos, 3B Video

Drafted: 2nd Round, 2017 from American Heritage HS (FL) (NYM)

Age     19.1    Height 6′ 4″    Weight            185     Bat / Thr         R / R    FV       50

Tool Grades (Present/Future)

Hit       Raw Power     Game Power  Run     Fielding          Throw

25/55       60/70                40/55         40/35       35/45             55/60

Vientos got on the national scouting stage as a prep underclassman when he flashed first round tools despite being very young for his draft class, which is pretty unusual. He didn’t hit as much as expected as a senior and some scouts questioned  his defensive ability, competitiveness, and feel to hit, so he slipped to the second round despite flashing big power and being 17 on draft day, something that is generally really attractive to analytically-leaning clubs. Vientos performed fine in his pro debut, but broke out in his second year, crushing the Appalachian League at age 18 in 2018. He controlled the strike zone and hit for power while exhibiting very high exit velos for someone his age. Vientos is advanced mechanically, making him a potential 6 bat/6 power combination at maturity if he continues at this trajectory. The competitiveness that some scouts questioned showed up in 2018 when Jarred Kelenic arrived in Kingsport and became the top prospect on the team, and then when Ronny Mauricio, Luis Santana, and Shervyen Newton were all top 10 prospects in the system in an infield time-share with him. If the makeup has turned a corner and the hitting continues to progress, the main issue will be defensive fit. Vientos is a well below average runner who one scout described as ‘athletic from the knees up,’ to the point where the lack of quickness will limit him to being average defensively, but he’s far from that right now. One Mets source drew a parallel to Nolan Arenado’s makeup and defensive concerns, which quickly evaporated in the upper minors as he turned into the best third baseman in baseball, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Héctor Gómez - @hgomez27 - Manuel Machado, Manny’s Father: "I believe that the team you will probably less think about is the one that’s gonna sign Manny Machado."

Fix baseball?   Nah. Tweak it? Absolutely –

         

  At various points in the year, you’ll hear various sportswriters or commentators bemoan how baseball needs fixing, or how it’s rendered irrelevant by football and basketball. Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz added his voice to this issue last August by proposing, among other things, a split schedule in order to prevent tanking.

I’m a baseball purist but consider myself open-minded enough to allow that some things about baseball are simply outdated and need to be corrected. I’m not naive enough to believe all my suggestions about baseball would be implemented, or if they’re truly the best recommendations for the sport. But with that said, here’s my pitch to help the sport.

            Mack – I fixed businesses when they were losing money.

Have you noticed how much money is coming into this game from network and merchandising revenue?

            Come back and ask me this question when teams start financially bleeding.

Austin - @2_seamfastball

According to Fangraphs projections, the Mets currently have the 3rd best bullpen in baseball

A $2 million decision: Will Jerrion Ealy  choose MLB or college ball? It's all about 'joy' –

         

  As Jerrion Ealy mulls his future, Jackson Prep's two-sport star is looking for one thing. It’s not money, and it’s not fame. It’s more of a feeling than anything else. He’s searching for joy.

Within the next five months, Ealy will make two life-altering choices. One will determine where he goes to college. The other will decide if he accepts a multi-million dollar contract from a professional baseball team.

Mack – I expect Erly to choose Clemson for his football choice, so this is kind of personal to me.

See who's new on the 2019 Hall of Fame  ballot –

            

           

                    LIKELY ONE AND DONE (less than 5 percent of vote)

          Rick Ankiel (13 wins and 51 appearances as a pitcher, 462 hits as an outfielder)

          Jason Bay (2004 NL Rookie of the Year, 121 OPS+)

          Freddy Garcia (156 wins, 2001 AL ERA title)

Jon Garland (136 wins, 2005 World Series champion)

Travis Hafner (213 HR, tied MLB record with six grand slams in 2006)

Ted Lilly (130 wins, 1,681 SO)

Derek Lowe (176 wins and 86 saves)

Darren Oliver (766 appearances)

Juan Pierre (2,217 hits, 614 SB)

Placido Polanco (.297 BA, 2006 ALCS MVP)

Miguel Tejada (816 XBH, 2002 AL MVP)

Vernon Wells (270 HR, 2003 AL hit crown)

Kevin Youkilis (.382 OBP, 123 OPS+)

Michael Young (.300 BA, 2,375 hits)

Clemente   , Robinson families to be honored here for legacy of 'innovation' through inspiration - 

The Branch Rickey Award for "innovation in the game of baseball" will be given to Vera Clemente and Sharon Robinson to honor their families role in charity, humanitarian work, and education advocacy that has redefined legacy for ballplayers and Major League Baseball. The award is given each year by the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and it is named for Branch Rickey, who revolutionized baseball as an executive with the Browns, Cardinals, and Dodgers. The award will be given Sunday, Jan. 20, during the 61st annual baseball writers' dinner in St. Louis.