Mack – Sunday Thoughts: Edgardo Alfonzo, The Outfield, A-Rod/J-Lo, Ike Davis, 5 Round Draft

Good morning.

MLB.com posted their top 6 Mets International Signings. Number two, behind Jose Reyes, was –

            2. Edgardo Alfonzo            Country: Venezuela

Career WAR: 28.8

Signed as a 17-year-old out of Venezuela in 1991, Alfonzo was never a chart-topping prospect during the early part of that decade, but he developed into one of the most accomplished players in franchise history. During eight seasons in New York, Alfonzo hit .292 with 120 home runs and an .812 OPS -- numbers he punctuated with four more homers and 17 RBIs in 24 postseason games. Alfonzo also hit a key home run in Game 163 to push the Mets into the playoffs in '99, demonstrating a knack for clutch hitting that continued into the 2000 postseason; overall, his .318 average with runners in scoring position remains the highest in franchise history.

After leaving the Mets following the 2002 season, Alfonzo played four more big league seasons, though he never replicated his success in New York.

Mack – I could have picked any one of the six highlighted Latin stars featured in this article, but I particularly chose the one that our Albany boy could get in one more rant.

            So… take it away John!

BA wrote a series of posts this week on the Draft Preview of each team. It included what they thought were the plus and minus of the team in question’s past actions.

Here was what they said was the Mets weakest position in the chain:

Outfield.

None of the Mets top 15 prospects are outfielders, and their No. 1 outfield prospect is a 16-year-old yet to play his first professional game. With Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis in tow, the Mets might not need any additional outfielders for a few years. That’s a good thing, because no one is coming from the farm system for a long time.

Mack – No one agrees more here than I do. For this reason alone, I still can’t believe they traded away a stud pick like Jarred Kelenic. There wasn’t a single Mets coach that wasn’t over the moon about this kid. 

This trade will always go down as our General Manager’s folly.

No one ever expected the Mets to sell themselves to A-Rod and J-Low. And anyone can try to raise money to buy anything.

I think we can agree now that the Wilpons will not let loose of the highly profitable SNY network. It will never be part of a deal to sell this team.

I shake my head when I think about decisions like this. The team is heavily bleeding cash and… look, make believe this is a house you want to sell. Do you try to sell it without the built-in pool outside? The pool is the sale enhancer. SNY is the sale enhancer for a bleeding Mets team.

None of this makes sense anymore. It seems to me that we are stuck with these guys until the MLB steps in someday.

an Ike Davis mention  –

If we didn’t know it was real, Joe Mauer’s career with the Minnesota Twins might strike us as being more like a fairy tale than an actual story. That is, until August 19, 2013. That was when Mets first baseman Ike Davis hit a foul tip that hit Mauer square in his helmet.

… the foul tip to his head ended up being the major turning point in his career. Placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list, Mauer didn’t play for the rest of the 2013 season. Until the last game of his career, Mauer didn’t play another game at catcher, as the Twins moved him permanently to first base to protect his health. Entering 2014 with a career wRC+ of 134, Mauer didn’t put up that number in a single season as a first baseman. And it wasn’t a coincidence; Mauer dealt with blurred vision for years. From a star to a league-average player at best after a single pitch, Mauer continued to play for Minnesota until his retirement after the 2018 season.

Lastly, so the 2020 draft will be limited to five rounds.

Houston will only get four picks. The Yanks… three.

It will be critical that the Mets get this right. All 30 teams will be scrambling once the five rounds are up, all trying to sign at least 10-15 more players with a very limited bonus check. Probably $20,000. Peanuts vs. past years.

My guess if most of the top high school players will go college this time if they are not picked in the first five rounds. This will be an intelligent plan to plan for a healthy bonus check three years from now.

My question to you…

Should a team still approach this kind of draft with a ‘best player available’ policy or should they target key positions that their chain shows weakness?