The Mack Report - Monday, July 11th

There are a few players we need to start watching that play for either the FCL Mets, in the Florida Complex, or both DSL teams in the Dominican Republic. 

First up is a peek at second baseman, center fielder, and third baseman, Hector Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez is strong like bull at 5-8/185 and is currently 18 years old. He was added to the DSL-Mets roster in 2021 and hit .301 in 123-AB (3-HR, 13-BB). 

This year, for the GCL-Mets, Hector is leading the team, and one of the league leaders at .377 in 77-ABs (2-HR). 

 

Let’s talk about the upcoming Braves series… 

Falling behind the Braves in the standings, after this series, would be devastating in so many ways to both the fans and players. Additional, a defeatist attitude could begin to spread among the players, leading to the same kind of results we saw from this team last season. 

Atlanta is a team that was purposely built for power, which has led the way during their tremendous ascent in June. Couple that with might be the best producing rotation so far this season, and I can’t see how the Mets are going to stop this.

Oh yeah. 

Did I forget to mention that Starling Marte (injury), James McCann (injury), and Jeff McNeil (paternity leave) are going to miss this series? 

Gird your loins kiddies. 

 

Next up, the draft is this coming Sunday.

We continue our search for the Mets 90^th pick in the 3^rd round this year. Second up as one of the players that might still be on the board here: 

Carson Palmquist is a 6-3/185 LHP, out of Miami (FL). 

2022 Miami stat line - 16-startrs, 9-4, 2.89, 1.21, 84-IP, 118-K 

MLB.com says - 

Scouting grades:

Fastball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45 

Palmquist wasn’t a Draft prospect when he attended Riverdale High School in Fort Myers, Fla., and headed to the University of Miami without much fanfare after graduating in 2019. He established himself as a solid reliever in his shortened freshman year and then became one of the nation’s top closers in 2021, finishing third among Division I relievers with 14 saves while posting an otherworldly 9.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio. A highly anticipated move into the Hurricanes rotation this spring has largely been successful, but it’s unclear what his long-term role will be. 

With a loose arm and a funky, lower-slot delivery, Palmquist has a sneaky fastball that tops out at 96 mph, but sits in the low 90s, in shorter relief stints. As a starter, he’s topped out at 93 mph and averaged just over 90 mph, but it plays up because of the deception from his delivery and his excellent command of it. His upper-70s slider features some quick break, is extremely tough on lefties and misses bats consistently. He had mostly used those two pitches coming out of the pen, but has gone to his fading changeup a lot more frequently as a starter. 

While Palmquist’s willingness to use that third pitch perhaps gives him the chance to start, scouts are unsure if he has the overall command, especially of his secondary stuff, to do so long-term, particularly with his funky delivery. Teams considering taking him in the first few rounds can always send him out as a starter knowing they can put the southpaw in the bullpen and get him to the big leagues in a hurry. 

Draft Tweets - 

        Jim Callis @jimcallisMLB 

Texas HS SS Anthony Silva, one of the best prep shortstop defenders available, has withdrawn from the 2022 MLB Draft. He'll join TCU_Baseball & be draft-eligible in 2024. 

Previously, Indiana HS RHP Andrew Dutkanych & Georgia HS SS R.J. Austin withdrew to become Vandy Boys. 

 

Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB 

Kumar Rocker's draft "stock" remains hotly-debated. Team sources are calling the medicals he provided "probably better than most expected" but also "fairly limited" as one source put it and "incomplete" said another. Not a total picture provided. But not terribly alarming either. 

Consensus feeling I've gotten from folks I've spoken with is he'll go in the first round. 

 

Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB 

Been covering the draft for different outlets for 6 years. I'm not sure I've ever felt more confident of chaos as I do this year.

 

Saturday’s tweets - 

Mathew Brownstein @MBrownstein89 

Players with double-digit Gold Glove Awards and a career OPS+ of at least 125: 

Roberto Clemente

Willie Mays

Ken Griffey Jr.

Mike Schmidt

Johnny Bench

Al Kaline

Keith Hernandez 

 

Michael Mayer @mikemayer22 

The Mets released Chasen Shreve. 

 

Anthony DiComo @AnthonyDiComo 

Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso are the first pair of Major League teammates with 60 RBI apiece this season. They're the first pair of Mets teammates to accomplish that feat before the All-Star break since Carlos Beltrán and David Wright in 2008.

Minor League Press Releases for Yesterday's Games - 

Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets finished up a seven-game series in Buffalo in style, taking down the Buffalo Bisons, 4-2, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Western New York. The Mets grabbed five out of the seven games they played in Buffalo this week. Syracuse has won nine of its last 13 games and posted a 21-14 overall record since June 2nd, tied for the most wins and best record in the International League during that span.     

 Syracuse (37-47) found a way to score without a hit in the top of the first inning. Travis Jankowski led off the game with a walk and stole his way to second base as Nick Plummer struck out for the first out of the frame. Mark Vientos promptly grounded a ball to shortstop that was booted by Jordan Groshans, putting runners on first and third with one out. Daniel Palka then chopped a ball to first that plated Jankowski, giving Palka an RBI and Syracuse an early 1-0 lead.     

 Buffalo (43-41) tied the game up in the bottom of the third. Kellin Deglan led off with a single and moved up to second on a Spencer Horwitz walk. After Otto Lopez struck out, Groshans slapped a groundball into right-center field that scored Deglan and knotted up the game, 1-1. However, Syracuse starting pitcher Connor Grey managed to wiggle out of the first and third with one out jam for the Mets. Grey induced a groundball double play to the next batter, Danny Jansen, keeping the game knotted at one after three innings.    

 Grey, who grew up less than 90 minutes south of Buffalo in Frewsburg, New York, tossed five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and just three hits allowed. Grey also stranded four runners on base in his solid starting effort.     

 In the top of the fourth, Syracuse shot back in front when Palka launched a one-out solo shot over the right-center field. Palka now leads the Mets with 16 home runs this season and has added on 49 RBIs. The 30-year-old had not played since June 30th, as he was celebrating the birth of his child.     

 In the bottom of the sixth, the teeter-totter swung back to even when Danny Jansen lined a solo home run over the left-field fence with one out to tie the game again, 2-2. It was the first home run of the week for Jansen, who is rehabbing an injury and on a Major League rehab assignment from the Toronto Blue Jays.    

 In the top of the seventh, the Mets went ahead for good. After a leadoff walk by Nick Dini, Gosuke Katoh put the cherry on top of his swinging sundae of a week. Katoh pounded a pitch over the center-field wall, making it a 4-2 Syracuse lead that the Mets would never relinquish. Katoh finished the week 10-for-23 at the plate with four home runs, eight runs driven in, and four different multi-hit games.     

 The Mets bullpen shut the door from there. Rob Zastryzny stranded two runners on base in a scoreless seventh and Yoan López worked a masterful six-out save. The right-hander allowed just one baserunner in scoreless eighth and ninth innings, striking out five batters in the process. Syracuse’s bullpen has been a nearly impenetrable wall recently. In the last four games, Mets relievers have allowed just two earned runs in 17 innings pitched with an astounding 25 strikeouts.    

 

 BINGHAMTON, NY – Rumble Ponies starter Jose Chacin and Sea Dogs starter Brian Van Belle each pitched seven strong innings, but the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (3-9, 31-50) dropped their sixth straight game 3-1 against the Portland Sea Dogs (10-2, 40-41) on Sunday afternoon at Mirabito Stadium.

 Chacin (0-6) pitched seven innings giving up four hits and two runs while striking out nine and Van Belle (4-1) countered with seven scoreless innings giving up three hits and striking out five earning the win.

 Izzy Wilson put the Sea Dogs ahead 1-0 in the fourth with an RBI single scoring Christian Koss. Wilson then scored the final two Portland runs on a Stephen Scott fielder’s choice in the seventh and Scott’s RBI double in the ninth.

 The Ponies threatened in the ninth as Luke Ritter drove home Wyatt Young on an RBI double to right but Ryan Fernandez was able to lock down his second save of the season.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 10, 2022) – The St. Lucie Mets and Daytona Tortugas split their doubleheader on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Daytona blanked the Mets 4-0 in the first game and St. Lucie rallied to win the second game 2-1. 

In game 2, Warren Saunders hit a game-tying solo home run off Daytona starter Chase Petty (0-4) with two outs in the fourth inning. Eduardo Salazar followed with a triple and he scored on a Petty wild pitch to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

 Mets starter Jeffrey Colon (2-0) was excellent. He struck out six batters in the first two innings. Ilvin Fernandez led off the third inning with a home run to give the Tortugas a 1-0, but Colon rebounded by retiring the next nine hitters in a row to end his night. 

Colon’s final pitching line: five innings, one hit, one run, one walk and eight strikeouts on 75 pitches. 

Saul Gonzalez pitched the final two innings scoreless to earn his first save. 

In game 1, the Tortugas loaded the bases against Robert Colina in the second inning and Colina went on to throw three separate wild pitches that let all three runners come in and score for a 3-0 lead. 

The Mets offense was held in check by a trio of Daytona pitchers. Starter Jose Franco struck out nine batters in four innings. Luis Mey struck out a pair in a perfect fifth to get the win. Jayvien Sandridge pitched two hitless innings to close out the game. 

Daniel Johnson and Raul Beracierta were the only Mets to get a hit.