In honor of his birthday yesterday, here is a look at Mets Prospect, Jake Mangum.
CF/RF, Bats Both, Throws Left, DOB 3/8/1996, 4th round, 2019 Draft. According to FanGraphs, he will be Rule 5 Draft eligible in December 2022.
4th-rder Jake Mangum signs with @Mets for $20k (pick 118 value = $487,900). Mississippi State OF, all-time SEC hits leaders, one of top senior signs in @MLBDraft, contact hitter with well above-average speed, good defender with plus arm in CF.
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 25, 2019
I’m calling my shot.
— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) June 21, 2019
Jake Mangum will be the first #Mets 2019 draft pick to make it to the major leagues. And Mets fans are going to fall in love with the style of player he is and the type of person he is. If character was graded on the 20-80 scale he’d be an 80 easy. https://t.co/BHUm5elzgz
SNY.TV
recently had Jake as their #17 prospect saying “I believe Mangum is an
underappreciated prospect in this system, in part because he’s older (he will
be 25 in March). The all-time SEC hits leader at Mississippi State was drafted
by the Mets in the 4th round of the 2019 MLB Draft. He has filled out and hit
for some power at the instructional league. He can play center field and runs
the bases well. I look at Mangum as a guy who profiles as a fourth outfielder
with upside to be a bit more on the offensive side. He is a big-time gamer,
leave it all on the field type. MLB ETA: 2022”
Amazing Avenue recently said this about Jake: “He is aggressive at the plate, but like the stolen bases, has improved on working deeper counts and drawing walks. In the outfield, Mangum is an average-to-above-average defender in center. He possesses plenty of range in thanks to his excellent speed, and his routes have refined since his earlier college days. In addition, he possesses a strong arm as well, even pitching a few innings for Mississippi State in 2017."
For 2021, it would just be good to see Jake back on the field. Typically, after a year in Brooklyn, players would spend the next year in full season Low A or High A - this year Jake would have been ticketed for Binghamton. Missing the 2020 season may change that. My prediction is that he starts out in High A Brooklyn with a promotion to Binghamton later in the year.
Faster than a well hit line drive⚡️
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) September 5, 2019
Jake Mangum continues to play PLUS defense...winning the MiLB Play of the Month for this Amazin’ catch!#STATEtoTheShow | #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/FWGAf3nfml
Mic'd up with The Mayor! 🔊
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 20, 2019
Listen to #HailState star Jake Mangum live it up in Omaha.#CWS | @HailStateBB pic.twitter.com/cErXcHE58X
🚨 RECORD BROKEN! 🚨
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 21, 2019
Jake Mangum now holds the @HailStateBB single-season hits record! #CWS pic.twitter.com/rn2zFWVhp1
15 days until baseball is back 🐐 pic.twitter.com/OhjcjWqKKu
— Tru Maroon Nation (@TruMaroonNation) February 4, 2021
9 comments:
Very nice Mangum write up - keep them coming.
Mangum is not 25 - thru no fault of his own, 2020 vanished. He has to step on the accelerator.
He had almost no power in college, a big minus - I hope he added muscle like McNeil so successfully did in transforming himself from a skinny kid to a MLB average power hitter.
Mangum, knowing he most likely will always be a below-average power dude, should emulate Bunting Brett Butler. Bunting successfully will be Mangum's best friend. I see him as a Kevin Kaczmarski ceiling if he does not do those two things.
I disagree Tom. I’m not a fan of being in love with the bunt. It can be used here and there, but at most that. He needs to swing the bat and hopefully hurt a baseball. I agree with working out to put on some muscle, but also looking to hammer a pitch instead of just slapping it is very important. Your legs play a role as well as your loft.
I am trying to remember an old, first-round draft pick by the Mets who profiled as a leadoff batter, center fielder. He had NO POWER. I mean, zero. Believe he made it to the majors, briefly.
It was a classic mistake pick when they drafted for "need" rather than best available talent.
Man, I hated that pick.
Magnum's under .300 SLG in Brooklyn must be addressed or he has no future.
I feel for these guys who really needed a 2020 season.
Jimmy
Jason Tyner!
If he only hits singles, he won't make it but I think he can make it if he hits doubles and triples. The ability to hit with 2 outs and RISP is something we sorely need in Flushing. Interestingly, Fonzie often slotted Jake in the 6th or 7th position to give him RBI opportunities instead of hitting him 1st or 2nd.
One problem is that the walks really dry up if you are not a dangerous hitter. A pitcher would have to be really, really bad to walk a guy like Tyner, who can't hurt you.
Magnum slugged .297 in Brooklyn. He's going to need to pick that up, which will in turn help the OBA w/ additional walks.
I am not a big believer in RISP as a repeatable stat, more of a small sample size number that fluctuates wildly from year to year. In retrospect, it might explain some things, but as a predictive stat, I personally don't find it particularly meaningful.
Jimmy
Interesting Jimmy. What do you think of the ability of a player to consistently drive in runs on outs? Two prospects in the Mets system do that very well. Most players on the current Mets roster do not. It will be interesting to see if the ones that do it well in the minors continue to do it as they move up the line.
Mangum is listed at 6'1", 179. GOTTA get that weight up to a muscular 195-200. McNeil added 35 pounds. TJ Rivera beefed up a lot. Guillorme added muscle after his early very low power minors career. Gotta add muscle. This era's game puts a premium on power.
I think back to starting college. I was 5'10, 135. A friend of mine was into lifting weights, so we hit the universal machine. By Christmas break, I had more than doubled my bench press weigh and weighed 155. Felt so much stronger. Mangum hopefully has added 20 pounds of muscle.
Gus, I agree. Bunting as much as Butler would be crazy unless he was also a bunting genius, but a speedy guy like Mangum, until he taps into power, needs all the tricks to try to set himself apart.
As powerless as Jason Tyner was (a HR every 1350 career PAs), he hit .298 in the minors. He also was 6'1", just 170. But he was fast, and did get up pretty effectively in the majors over about 1500 PAs. Hard to do that.
You have to ask yourself: why is Crow in camp and Mangum is not. Mangum needs to ask himself the same question.
He wasn't even invited to camp.
His advanced age is really working against him.
Add no power and... well... there is always Japan.
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