Good
morning.
14.
Carlos Cortes, LF Video
Drafted:
3rd Round, 2018 from South Carolina (NYM)
Age 21.5 Height 5′
8″ Weight 200 Bat
/ Thr L / S FV 40
Tool
Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game
Power Run Fielding Throw
30/45 60/60 35/55 40/40 40/45 45/45
Cortes
was a bit of an oddity as a prep underclassman, a switch-thrower who played
multiple positions and had elite bat control. His body went south a bit from
that point and he’s lost some athleticism; he’s now a left fielder or first
baseman after a stint at second base and a short-lived attempt to catch. Cortes
has plus raw power and a good lefty swing with some bat control, but not as
much as he used to have, and it’s further undermined by his power-based
approach. He was streaky at South Carolina, getting hot in the second half of
his draft year. Scouts who see him when he’s running well think he has elite
offensive ability, and given the defensive and physical limitations, Cortes
will have to be an elite offensive force to be more than a platoon corner bat.
We’ll probably know if that’s possible in the next year or so.
Fangraphs
top 100 prospects –
#92 – 3B Mark
Vientos - Vientos is a third base, power projection bat who had a loud
statistical 2018.
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
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.
PECOTA's 2019 Breakout Bets (Hitters) –
 |
| PC - Ed Delany |
Top Three Same-Age
Comps: Rhys Hoskins, Chris Carter, A.J. Reed
Alonso is a
24-year-old should-be designated hitter on an NL team that didn’t call him up
last season and PECOTA isn’t sure he’ll hit .225. So why is he on this list?
Here’s everyone projected for a higher isolated power than Alonso in 2019: Mike Trout, Joey Gallo, J.D. Martinez, Giancarlo Stanton,
Aaron Judge. That’s it. Alonso’s skill set is riddled with red flags,
but he’s hit .290/.381/.560 in three minor-league seasons, including
.285/.395/.579 with 36 homers last year. He figures to arrive in New York as
soon as his free agency has been delayed for another year, and PECOTA assigns
Alonso the second-highest “breakout” rate (25 percent) among expected regulars.
The top-comp roller-coaster of Hoskins/Carter/Reed seems perfect.
Major League Baseball
pushing to ban betting on spring
training –
A
request from Major League Baseball to gambling regulators to ban betting on
spring training games was quickly rejected in Nevada and is under consideration
in at least two other states that recently legalized sports betting.
The league asked for
the ban on Wednesday last week -- the day before the first scheduled spring
training game -- arguing in letters to regulators that the exhibition games are
"more vulnerable to manipulation" because teams are focused on
getting players ready for the season, not on winning. MLB said its concerns
have grown because of the spread of legal sports gambling after a ruling by the
U.S. Supreme Court last year opened the possibility of new American markets.
The games have
historically attracted little to no betting action in Nevada, where casinos in
Las Vegas and elsewhere have taken bets on spring training games for decades.
Angels' Bobby Knoop
retires after 53 years in baseball
Longtime Los Angeles
Angels player and coach Bobby Knoop has
announced his retirement after 53 years in baseball.
Los Angeles shared
the news in a release Tuesday.
The 80-year-old Knoop
was one of the Angels' first recognizable figures, earning the club's MVP award
four times in its inaugural decade.
11 comments:
Carlos Cortes - did not realize he had 60 power. Great.
Vientos might just become a superior version of Wilmer Flores.
Pete Alonso got a taste against Verlander Saturday. All part of the learning curve
I really like Vientos but I had my concerns with Cortes' game when he played here in South Carolina
Mack, Guillorme just hit a game-tying 2 run shot. Add power, make the majors was my advice. He is playing well.
Dowdy destroyed in his 2/3 of an inning
Dom Smith has surged awake - tearing it up
An Alderson would keep Dowdy to save face. Would BVW?
Tom if Vientos is in the same conversation as Flores he is a bust....
Vientos needs to be in the conversation as Wright... That's the expectation...
Eye Openers This Spring
Pete Alonso at 1B.
Just looks like a gamer to me. Has all the offensive tools and abilities. Best pure power hitter probably since David Wright came aboard. Has similar batting approach, zeal for the game, team playership, and controlled awesome hard impact swing. Suggestion: Definitely bring north on the 25 roster, and maybe ease him into a gradual stretching exercise to keep limber for first base, if not already doing that already. Came to camp ready to proof himself and already has. Amazing Met.
Amed Rosario a SS.
Looks like a veteran player now. Has ramped up his game beautifully and is playing already at mid-season form. To me, Amed looks ahead of even Jose Reyes at this early career stage. Amed has "All Star" written all over him. Suggestion: Just keep doing what you are doing Amed.
Tim Tebow in left field.
Looks like Tim is getting into the MLB swing of things battiong and in the field. Tim is a unique specimen in that he already has the power and strength to excel here. His batting mechanics looks quite solid and he just needs as much game time as he can get in the bigs to excel. Hoping he makes the 25 roster and goes north with the Mets because to me Broxton and Lagares are quite similar and the Mets could use the additional power bat Tebow provides. If he ever starts a "Tebow Town" sign me up. Proud to have him on the NY Mets. A breath of fresh air always.
Michael Conforto RF.
Michael is picking up where he left off when he was 100% well and it is great to see. With Conforto and Nimmo the Mets have the capability to carry one more power batter because both can cover center field well.
Wilson Ramos (catcher) and Robinson Cano (2B).
I have no worries at either position. They are tried and proven MLB players and it is great that they are here with the Mets now.
Minor
Rumors online saying Mets sniffing lefty Mike Minor. Can start or relieve. Stats in 2018 quite impressive actually. Low WHIP, low walks, solid numbers all round.
Unrelated Health Stuff
As Jimmy Smits says in his recent television commercial, the immunity system within us all may determine if a person gets and maybe even cures cancer. Our bodies may be the solution.
Genetics, exercise, diet (green vegetables too), antioxidants, and a happy healthy attitude. Attitude should never be underestimated in the health and cure scenarios.
Something new I recently saw online that could have possibly many health applications (immunity system and mental smooth including anti-depression, to name just two) is a thing called "Wim Hof". At the very least, I find this very interesting to say the least.
As always, talk to your smartest/best doctor before beginning anything new. He or she will be able to advise you correctly on what is best for you.
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