POWER ARMS / POWER BATS
Philosophically, Plato, Aristotle, Confucious, and even my brother Steve all agree with me.
I have said it before, I'll say it again, since I know Brodie VW reads all of our articles for our cogent (if sometimes, in my case, deranged) analysis:
Our simple draft mantra is this:
DRAFT POWER ARMS - DRAFT POWER BATS.
Fling lots of power up against the wall.
See what sticks.
Remember the movie Back to the Future? Well, let's go Back to the Past instead - past Mets drafts, with lots of questionable picks.
In 2016, the Mets selected some guys up through round 13 that, to me, did not fit the description of "Draft Power Arms - Draft Power Bats".
In 2016, the Mets selected some guys up through round 13 that, to me, did not fit the description of "Draft Power Arms - Draft Power Bats".
Some guys did, like Pete Alonso - but others did not. No need to itemize them here - just trust me, all right?
The drafted players were happy to be picked, of course, but if they are outside of "Power Arms/Power Bats" segment of the drafted player population, I have to ask:
"Why Pick 'Em?"
In round 13, as the 390th pick, the Rays drafted 1B lefty hitting 6'4". 245 Nathaniel (Nate) Lowe.
In 2018, in A, AA, and AAA, Lowe hit .330/.416/.568 and had just 90 Ks in 130 games. That ain't Lowe performance, it's GREAT performance.
He hit an ultra, super duper moon shot in a recent spring training game, too. See the video in this article link:
https://www.mlb.com/rays/news/5-things-we-know-about-rays-after-10-games
I know, I get it, we already had Dominating Dominic Smith...and we had just drafted Poundin' Pete Alonso in Round 2 that season. Another 1B? I say "Sure, why not."
Do I know if Nate Lowe will be a future major league star? No.
But if there was a 1B logjam, caused by a kid drafted in the 13th round kid killing it like Lowe is, the Mets could, for instance, trade him in 2020, I'd imagine.
For someone real good.
So I say:
DRAFT POWER ARMS / DRAFT POWER BATS.
WHADDYA GOT TO LOSE?
Think of Tim Tebow - does his being built like an NFL lineman and not your typical baseball player help him succeed as much as he has so far in his brief minor league career? Simply, I think the answer is yes. His power potential is helping him succeed, even if his power #s in games are not yet huge.
Mack yesterday questioned why Kevin Kaczmarski has not gotten more traction despite a good minor league career batting average. Simple to me: his lack of power sure seems to be holding him back.
Draft Power.
It was hard for me to get Mack to pose for that picture. it took some arm twisting.
ReplyDeleteGood thing you persisted 👍
DeleteDon't people like Kelenic and Lindsay have power? How about pitchers like Kay and Dunn?
Seriously...
DeleteThere is something wrong that finds hitting .300 at the AAA level a bad thing.
About that search for power only players... how has that one over the lat 10 seasons?
I meant:
ReplyDeleteHow has that gone over the last 10 seasons?
I think Tom's point is that the Mets don't typically draft power bats. They are big on drafting power arms, however. Neither is a guarantee of success, but for every Freddy Patek struggling to get noticed, there are plenty of slugging hitters getting 3rd, 4th and 27th chances.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, yes those 4 gents were good power picks. My point is there are too many picks that don't throw hard and that lack power bats - almost all of those turn out to be filler.
ReplyDeleteSo, when a big dude like Lowe is sitting there in round 13, maybe he will turn into a real hitter with power, as opposed to a real hitter without power, like Kevin Kaczmarski has been to date.
I'd go with power.
The only lower power guys I would draft are guys with huge speed - so Champ Stuart did not make it, but to me, that was a good pick that just did not work out.
But if he sat there in Round 13, that means that EVERY team passed on him 12 times. Why pick on the Mets for that?
ReplyDeleteMost teams do pass on these guys. But Rhys Hoskins was snagged by the Phils in Round 5 as another example - 52 homers in 728 at bats. When you get lucky with a power guy, it can make a real difference. Kaczmarski (9th round) has hit .296 in the minors, but his 11 homers in 1500 minor league at bats puts him (as I see it) behind the 8 ball.
ReplyDelete