3/5/19

Tom Brennan - SPRING TRAINING THOUGHTS SO FAR


The early portion of spring training is nearly over in Palm Tree Land, the Mets having already played 12 games.  

What data-driven observations do I have about likely 25 man roster players and true contenders for the 25 man?

Hitting:

Robbie Cano is 6 for 15 (.400) - dontcha know that hitting .400 all season long works for me.

Amed Rosario is 6 for 13 with a .533 OBP.  I think this season will be a BIG leap forward for him.

Wilson Ramos is a HITTER - a scalding 7 for 13 so far, and has made me forget all about Jose Lobaton.

Dom Smith, had he done this last season, would have sent Adrian Gonzalez packing prior to opening day: The extremely fit Smith so far is an amazing 10 for 20 and 3 walks. Wow.  

I heard Smith say he has worked out this off season in the outfield, just to be prepared to be versatile. He is dead serious.

Pete Alonso is 7 for 17 with an .882 slug % - #'s that are self-explanatory, but I will explain nonetheless: BEAST.

Michael Conforto (Pete asks how long it will be before he just goes by MIKE) is 6 for 18 and wuz robbed of a homer yesterday - which makes me feel that All Star Mike is back.

J.D. Davis is 7 for 23 with 2 doubles, a homer, 6 ribbies and just 3 Ks...the extended plate time he is getting tells me the Mets are VERY serious about bringing him north - and no, he hasn't pitched yet.

Luis Guillorme is 6 for 14 with a walk, homer, and double.  He has to have people thinking a bit...

Juan Lagares started very slowly, but is now up to 5 for 22.  Rust is coming off...

Travis d'Arnaud has started at d'H 2 games and has nicely gone 3 for 6, and expects to catch soon.  Good.

Devin Mesoraco is 2 for 9 with a dinger, as he competes with d'Arnaud.

Keon Broxton is starting as per his recent seasons' M.O.: 2 for 11, 3 walks and 4 Ks.

Rahai Davis, one of Keon's competitors, is 4 for 14 with 2 doubles and a homer so far.

Jeff McNeil (0 for 7) and Brandon Nimmo (1 for 8) have been a bit waylaid early on, and should start percolating shortly.



Pitching:

Starters:

Jake (what else) superb over 4 innings, Thor almost as brilliant over 4.2 IP, but wild so far.

Zack and Matz shaky so far as they get out the kinks, but both are HEALTHY!

Jason and the Varganauts solid in his only (2 inning) outing.

Corey Oswalt fine over 4.1 innings so far.


Off to the pen:

Hector Santiago has brought his former All Star, A+ game: 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, EIGHT K's.

Jay Reese Familia a bit shaky in 3 outings, but it is early.  

Underpaid Edwin Diaz had one slightly un-sharp but successful outing so far.  Brought high 90s heat.

Luis Avilan has been outstanding, with 3 scoreless innings and just 2 hits allowed.

Seth Lugo a very strong 4 innings.

Tim Peterson a very strong 3 innings.

Tyler Bashlor and Joshua Torres have also been quite strong over 4 innings and 2.2 innings, respectively.  Joshua T was sent to minor league camp, but has garnered attention in 2018 and in camp this year.

Daniel Zamora has been OK in 3 outings, and Drew Smith has allowed a high 6 hits and 2 walks in 3.1 innings but is unscored on. 

Rob Gsellman has given up 4 hits, and walk, and 2 runs while fanning one.  He needs to perform to not jeopardize his 25 man spot, as others are shining so far, but I think we will see him as a Met on Opening Day...a guy who is 18-12, 4.38 with 13 saves in his career is a decent MLB caliber arm.


It will be interesting to see how this 25 man roster battle unfolds over the next few weeks.  

This just in: 

Yoenis Cespedes is teaching his dog to "heel".  

Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie remain MIA.

9 comments:

Mike Freire said...

Dom's surge, coupled with Frazier's injury and Pete's service time issue puts Dom in the driver's seat (at least for a few weeks).

If Pete follows up with a May arrival in NY, then what happens to Frazier?

Long term, I like Pete starting and perhaps Dom and JD Davis on the bench. No room for the overpaid Frazier in that scenario.

He picked a bad time to get hurt.

Tom Brennan said...

Mike, too bad neither Pete nor Smith can play 3rd base.

JD Davis is in the starting line up again today, at first base. Interesting.

McNeil still missing. He needs to start getting in there.

Hobie said...

Hoping for a NL DH soon.... NEVER thought I'd say that.

4-man rotation OF (Nimmo, Conforto, McNeil, Legares). Dom, JD (&TJR?) could fill in as OF5 as well as sharing 1B/3B with Pete (in May, Frazier in April).

2-9: Ramos, Pete*, Cano, Lowrie, Rosario, Conforto, Legares, Nimmo
4 UT's::McNeil, Dom, JD, & TJR* (+C2 & 12 P =25)

*Frazier if Pete is held back for a mnnth (I think that's the plan) and/or TJR is not ready..

DH would be nice (What's happening to me?)

Reese Kaplan said...

TJR is also MIA. His career with the Mets might be DOA. Managers don't like injuries because they can't control them.

Tom Brennan said...

Did I jinx Guillorme? I write something nice about him and in the afternoon's game, he comes in late, makes 2 errors. What the heck?

bill metsiac said...

TJR will need time to heal before he can play, then start upstate to be on the "will call" list. Barring serious injuries, there's no room for him on the OD 25, even if he were healthy.

Anonymous said...

Regarding Alzheimer's Disease/41

The use of Ultrasound may allow drug therapies to cross through and over into the very difficult to cross blood-brain barrier. Because of this, ultrasound used in combination with the prescribed drug therapy to cross through for treatment.

Off web...
Focused Ultrasound Foundation
Charlotesville, VA
434.220.4993

Things that may help slow down progression include COQ10 (an antioxidant), DHA - which is Docosahexaenoic acid - an Omega 3 supplement, exercise, breathing deep, diet (fruits like blueberries), nuts, fish and raw leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, romaine all of which have brain boosting Vitamin K in them.)



The boosting of Mitochondria (the cell energy power plant of cells) is also important to defend against the amyloid plaques which are slowing down brain functioning and its neurotransmitter processing in the brain.

May want to research online for the latest information, like maybe NeuroScienceNews.com/alzheimer's. There's a ton of applicable articles and sites to explore on this topic. As per usual, always talk with your doctor on whatever is bothering you or a loved one, because this Alzheimer's medical field is relatively new and constantly developing.

Anonymous said...

Is it too late to work another Mets trade?

Call me a "stubborn fat-head", damn I like the sound of that for some reason, but I might get one more veteran type starter in. Have a few players that could be moved, or a duplicate now to someone else already on the Mets. Might make sense.

Anonymous said...

Briefly on These...

Wim Hof Therapy

I was thinking about all the people with PTSD, anxiety and bipolar disorder, depression issues, sleep disorders, MS...Way too many now and very sad. Some people who have tried this breathing type therapy, claim it has worked for them. But if applicable to you, go dig in deep on this topic online, read all that you can find there and then decide for yourself. May sound a little kooky at first, as it did me.

And as always consult your best doctor for his/her own advice.