Mack – New Weekly Post

Good morning.

Here’s week two of my new weekly post which will explore thoughts going through my head on all things Mets.

PC - Gordon Donavan

I think I found the answer to our future third base problems. 19-year old Shervyen Newton is currently playing shortstop for the Mets and the 6-4 power hitter will never stick at that position. He just is too tall. He also has a power arm that would fit perfect at third. Last year, for Kingsport, he hit .280/.408/.449 with 23 extra-base hits. Scouts reported that he is very polished and they go out of there way to point out how valuable a switch hitting power third baseman is for a team. It’s early, but I think this guy has a good chance to become a future Mets third baseman and I look forward to watching him play Columbia next season, hopefully some at third.

Let’s talk about the rotation.

Firstly, there is nothing wrong with the top three guys we currently have in Queens. Efforts should be made to extend all of them into multi-year contracts.

One thing Jacob deGrom has proven to us all. You can play shortstop in college, have major reconstructive surgery on your cannon, get drafted in the ninth round after posting a 4.48 ERA, and still wind up being paid $17mil/yr while being under ‘team control.

But…

Thinking all four current studs will go injury free and pitch brilliantly as they remain a Met into their mid-30s is a pipe dream.

We need to look past this and see what’s coming next in the pipeline.

Right now, there are four guys that could make a difference in the next two seasons. They are:

         

LHP David Peterson – There are two schools of though on Peterson. One, is he’s a 6-6 lefty that hits 93, which is like a righty hitting 98. He also has a decent four pitch mix.

The other school of thought is that he doesn’t have any one signature pitch which translate as a passing only grade for a future major league starter. He also pitched choppy for St. Lucie last season, posting a 4.33 ERA in 13 starts.

He’s scheduled to open up in Binghamton, but that could be fast tracked to Syracuse with a possible promotion to Queens by the end of the 2019 season.

I happen to think he is a potential SP4 at best.

Things he needs to keep doing well – 1.17 Pro-WHIP

Things he needs to improve on – 8.09 K/9

       

PC - Ed Delany

   LHP Anthony Kay – Here is a power 6-0 lefty who sits 91-94 and hits 96. Kay pitched better at the A+ level last season (10-starts, 3.88) than a level below that (13-starts, 4.54). The Mets seem to be rushing the kid after two of their top rotation chips, both listed below, went down for Tommy John surgery.                 

He came to the Mets after being the Friday starter for Connecticut… 2005: 14-starts, 2.07, 0.98 and 2006: 17-starts, 2.65, 1.14. His K/9 declined sharply last season from Columbia (10.13 K/9) to St. Lucie (7.59 K/9). But that’s not the primary problem here. Kay pitched a combined A/A+ 122.2 innings and gave up 49 walks.

So far, he also translates as an SP4 at best. I personally think his pitch mix, delivery, and durability is a better fit as a reliever and, unless he goes of the charts in 2019 as a starter, I would expect to see the Mets begin this conversation before the end of the season.

Things he needs to keep doing well – gave up only 1-HR in 53-IP last season for St. Lucie

Things he needs to improve on – control

                   

LHP Thomas Szapucki – Now, let’s get to the ‘ace’ of the affiliates.

This power 6-2 lefty wasn’t supposed to be sign out of high school, but that didn’t prevent the Mets from calling his name out in the fifth round of the 2015 draft.

His ‘stuff’ is electric, that includes a fastball that tops out at 96. Yes that’s right… a lefty delivering 96.

He wasted little time. 2016 K-Port: 5-starts, 0.62/0.86… 2016 Brooklyn: 4-starts, 2.35/0.91.

His 2017 season was forgettable. He started off missing the first two months of this season due to a left shoulder impingement. He then followed this with six starts for Columbia (2.79/1.17) before departing on July 6^th after 2/3 of an inning. It was diagnosed that he should immediately have Tommy John Surgery (TJS). He missed the rest of the season and all of 2018.

The assumption here is he is ready to go but we won’t get an idea until we can either see him when pitchers and catchers report or get the chance to talk to someone who has more knowledge on this subject. We also have no idea what level he will pitch. He would have been opening up in AA if the injuries didn’t set in.

My spin is this is our true SP1 candidate; however, if he suffers from setbacks from the TJS surgery, could wind up a power reliever. I hope not.

Things he needs to keep doing well – 116-Ks in 83 professional innings

Things he needs to improve on – stay healthy

RHP Jordan Humphreys –

This guy came out of nowhere.

He was an unheralded 6-1 righty that was drafted in the 18^th round of the 2015 draft. The $150K bonus might have come into play here.

He wasted little time in 2015, posting 1.54/1.11 for the GCL Mets in 2015. 

His 2016 follow up for Kingsport (12-starts, 3.76/1.15) and 2017 Columbia (11-starts, 1.42/0.72) opened some eyes in the front office, but the Mets shut him down in August for Tommy John Surgery. Like Szapucki, he was completely lost last season and it is close to impossible to project where he will open up when he comes back. He did tell me last Thursday that he is 100% and ready to go come spring training.

My opinion: Well, MiLB.com projects him as a back-end starter but I have him mid to upper range. He has excellent control of all four pitchers and not afraid to pitch the same pitch in multiples.

Wherever he starts, I am sure he will finish the season for one of the New York State teams.

Things he needs to keep doing well – minor league 1.02-WHIP

Things he needs to improve on – also needs to stay healthy


Overall thoughts...

   Right now, we really don't have a go to guy here that is turning out slam dunk numbers.

  A couple of these guys need to further step up in 2019 so we're not... err... out Dunn'ed here.