Mack – FWIW – Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Mack’s Mets, Sebastian Elizalde, Rene Rivera

  

Here is what Max Preps said about Brett Baty when they ranked him as one of the top 10 corner high school players in last year’s draft:

            Brett Baty, Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 6-3, 210

Baty is a first-round draft pick for his bat. He leads the nation this year in home runs with 18 and also is batting .625 with 60 runs scored and 48 RBI. He also has a great eye at the plate with 42 walks with just eight strikeouts. Baty has a good enough arm to play third base, but is being drafted for his bat.

Draft prospect: Look for either Baty or Tyler Callihan to be the first high school third baseman off the board near the end of the first round.

MLB broke out their top 10 projected shortstop prospects:

The Top 10 (ETA)

1.Wander Franco, Rays (2021)

2. Gavin Lux, Dodgers (2020)

3. Royce Lewis, Twins (2020)

4. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (2022)

5. Carter Kieboom, Nationals (2020)

6. CJ Abrams, Padres (2022)

7. Marco Luciano, Giants (2022)

8. Jeter Downs, Dodgers (2021)

9. Nico Hoerner, Cubs (2020)

10. Ronny Mauricio, Mets (2022)

They also accredited Mauricio as one of the top projected power producers:

            Power: Franco, Lux, Witt, Luciano, Mauricio (60)

It speaks to the changing nature of the game that half of our top 10 shortstops possess plus power. Luciano has more raw pop than any of them, generating it with outstanding bat speed, wiry strength and the loft in his right-handed stroke. He's just getting started but could hit 40 homers annually if he reaches his ceiling.

It amazes me how much Andres Gimenez is ignored by baseball.

I hope he has the last laugh here.

We need the help of one, or two, of you fantastic readers.

Simply put, we need additional writers on the site. The addition of ‘John From Albany’ has been a Godsend for the site, but we could use new blood to keep the site healthy and heading in the right direction.

We don’t bite here and have very few rules. Write what you want to say and say it when you want to say it. It can be weekly, monthly, or somewhere in between.

We also can supply you press credentials to most of the minor league teams if you happen to live in the area or are travelling there. A good example of this is John who will be very busy this season travelling to Brooklyn, Syracuse, and Binghamton.

Please email me at: macksmets@gmail com and we can discuss this.

Syracuse was short in the projected 2020 outfield for the longest time this off season. Not anymore. They not only have one too many with Quinn Brodey, Tim Tebow, Jarrett Parker, Braxton Lee, Ryon Cordell, and Johneshwy Fargas, but they now have added 28-year old Mexican League veteran Sebastian Elizaide.  Elizaide played 5 years in the Reds organization, rising to the AAA level in 2018 (Louisville: .254). The last two years he hit .33 for Monterrey in the AAA Mexican League and .313 in 2019. My guess is he, Brodey, Tebow, and Parker make the cut while the rest battle for the 5^th slot in camp.

I want you to watch something when the spring training games start.

Catching.

We all know that Wilson Ramos will start most games, but we also know that our SP2 doesn’t want him behind the plate when he pitches. On paper, Tomas Nido is the backup, but he has failed with a bat in his hands.

My guess is you will see more of Rene Rivera and less of Nido.

The 200-year old Rivera is Thor approved and just happened to lead Syracuse last year in home runs (25).

Watch for Rivera to get major innings in camp to see if he’s ready to come back to the majors.