About Sunday’s game…
A much needed win. Special kudos go out to Cookie Carrasco for an excellent outing and Eduardo Escobar, who seems to be coming out of his long slump with a bang.
The cherry on top was a walk off my ex-Met Albert Almora against the surging Braves, which puts us back to 3 1/2 games up.
I'm sure Tom will have something to say about Jake.
Next up, in our look at expiring contracts on teams going nowhere this year, is the Colorado Rockies.
RHP Scott Oberg
Career stats - 4.6-WAR, 18-8, 3.85
Oberg is currently being paid $7mil for the 2022 season, with an opt out in 2023.
Mack - Oberg hasn’t played since the 2019 season and will most probably retire at the end of this season.
RHRP Daniel Bard
2022 stats - 1.5-WAR, 3-2, 2.12, 28-apps, 29.2-IP, 36-K, 13-BB
Bard is being paid $4.4mil this year.
Mack - Definitely worth pursuing.
RHRP Alex Colome
2022 stats - 0.6-WAR, 2-2, 2.45, 30-apps, 29.1-IP, 18-K
Colome is being paid $4.1mil this year.
Mack - Another right handed reliever on this team we should call about.
RHRP Carlos Estevez
2022 stats - -0.1-WAR, 1-4, 5.19
Estevez is being paid $3.025mil this year.
Mack - pass.
RHSP Chad Kuhl
2022 stats - 1.9-WAR, 5-5, 3.49, 14-starts, 77.1-IP, 57-K
Kuhl is being paid $3mil this season.
Mack - Kuhn should be checked on if either deGrom or Max don’t come back soon.
The Mets were awarded the 75th pick in the upcoming draft, as compensation for the loss of Noah Syndergaard.
Frankly, it couldn’t have happened in a better draft.
2022 is one of the deepest in the history of the draft and the 75th this year is like getting an early 2nd round pick in others.
We will target on some of the players that will be drafted in that range.
Bryce Hubbart is a 6-1/180, LHSP, out of Florida State.
MLB.com says this about Hubbart -
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50
Florida State has a pair of left-handers sure to get attention in the spring. Friday night starter Parker Messick is a high-floor pitchability-lefty type and he’ll be followed in the weekend rotation for the second straight year by Hubbart, who might have a little more upside than his rotation mate but has more need to improve in terms of command and consistency. He did raise his profile by being one of the better pitchers in the Cape Cod League, where he finished tied for the league lead in strikeouts and was effective behind Messick again in the Seminoles rotation this spring.
A solid athlete on the mound, Hubbart’s fastball typically sits in the low 90s, but has been up to as high as 97 and averaging 94-95 mph in shorter stints. Even at the lower velocities, his fastball plays up because of high spin rates and life to the pitch. He can miss bats with a sharp curveball and he worked on the Cape to add a distinct slider. He has a decent feel for his changeup as well.
Hubbart has gotten better in the strike-throwing department since he started at Florida State, but still needs to work to refine his control. He made strides on that front on the Cape and continued to find the zone consistently over the course of the ACC season, giving him the chance to go in the top couple of rounds.
2022 FSU stat line - 15-ST, 8-3, 3.32, 76-IP, 96-K, 21-BB
Mack - I really like Hubbart and has followed him all year. In any other draft, he would be a low to mid-2nd round pick.
Sunday tweets -
Mathew Brownstein @MBrownstein89
David Peterson's last three starts:
18.1 IP, 15 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 25 SO, 2.45 ERA
Mack - David went home after his last outing to be along side his wife at the birth of their new child. Best of health to her and continued success to Peterson.
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN
Braves' last 29 games
23-6
57 homers
.331 OBP
.830 OPS
84 walks/254 strikeouts hitting
5.8 runs per game scored
3.5 runs per game allowed
3.35 ERA
74 walks/306 strikeouts pitching
Mack - Yes, these 29 games came against a string of very soft teams, but a win is a win, and they are earning everyday their quest to pass us in the standings.
Kiley McDaniel @kileymcd
Former Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker underwent right shoulder surgery deemed a “minor scope” in September, sources tell me and Jeff Passan. Teams were informed recently. Now healthy and looking good, Rocker is moving up draft boards.
Mack - I will never understand why the Mets didn’t sign this guy. It’s not like they haven’t drafted someone that needed surgery in the off season before. He could be doing this right now for St. Lucie.
I’m telling you this is going to come back to haunt us big time.
Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN
There is a perception in some corners of the industry that if Jacob deGrom follows through with what he said in the spring and opts out of his Mets' contract, the Braves will be the favorites to land him.
Mack - And, if this happens, don’t ever argue with me that baseball is a business now, not a sport.
TOM'S SCATTERED THOUGHTS:
The Mets played vintage Mets baseball, winning the rubber match of the 3 gamer vs. the Rangers. The scalding Marte homered again in the first, and he may just be the Mets’ best offensive player. You are entitled to disagree.
Escobar heard that a HR a day keeps the boobirds away, so he hit his 3rd in 3 games today, a real bomb to right. Dude’s a firecracker.
After a swinging strike, Pete Alonso ended up at 2nd base (why bother to hit the ball if you can do that?), and McNeil doubled him in.
4-1 win, not bad for a day where Nimmo, Lindor, and Alonso went 0 for 12.
Cookie Carrasco was sharp (one run, pitched into the 6th), and the pen was "lockdown" of the good kind. Edwin save, with 2 more Ks. Sorry, Pete and Francisco, Edwin is my first half MVP. He has been a rock.
Braves lost, lead 3.5 games, so let's go on a WIN STREAK!
Next up for the Mets. The Small-to-Medium-Size Red Machine.
MINORS MENTIONINGS:
Alvarez gets his long overdue call up to AAA. Yippee. Not in the line up, though.
SYRACUSE: with Nate Fisher-on the mound (5 shutout innings), the S-Mets led 1-0 early on a Vientos double. It got tied up 1-1 in the 7th against Jody Reed, but Johnny Fargo doubled in 3 bottom 7 for a 4-1 lead. He scored to make it 5-1. Otanez a scoreless 8th with 2 Ks.
Eric Orze took over in the 9th. Pop out, ground out, then a Will Toffey infield single to Syracuse SS Kramer Robertson (?), then a lined single. 4 batters, 2outs, 2 on, 23 pitches in, up stepped dangerous, .340 hitting Donny Sands.
Donny promptly went deep, turning a 5-1 lead into a 5-4 nailbiter. Orze was either just off the plate or right over the center of the plate. On 2-2, he just missed on pitches 30 and 31 to walk the next batter. Joe Zanghi came in for Orze, looking to get the final out. Two pitches, ground out, Syracuse wins 5-4.
BINGHAMTON: Mauricio is saying, “hey, what about me??” 15th homer, a three run shot, and 53 RBIs. Wow. Baty 2 hits and a walk, McIlwain 2 walks and a hit, and Justin Lasko pitched a solid 5, followed by 3 hitless Parsons innings and a hitless 9th for Mitchell for the 7-1 win.
BROOKLYN: Jose Petrozavodsk broke up a no hitter in the 5th inning for low-offense Brooklyn, blasting his 4th HR of the season. Carson Seymour took the 6-2 loss, fanning 7 in 3.2 IP, but also allowing 7 hits (including 2 HRs). Learn and move on.
ST LUCIE: St Lucie tried out a new kid in his opener…named deGrom, did all right, too. 5 batters, 5 Ks. Actually a 6th batter, named Lewis got hit by a pitch and he can tell his grandkids about it someday. No doubt the opposition was glad he was on a pitch count.
William Lugo had 3 RBIs Saturday and enjoyed that so much, he drove in 4 in his first 2 ABs tonight. He had 2 hits, and HBP, and a sac fly. Remember the name, Lugo the Hitter.
The HOT Omar De Los Santos started off the game 1-1-1…1 hit, 1 walk, 1 steal (# 44). He later added one out and one HBP. He's # 1.
Dom Hamels (5-2) took over masterfully for the new kid Jake, and Dom went 6 innings of 3 hit, 2 run, 1 walk, 6 K ball, picking up the W in this 8-2 win. And no doubt impressing the new kid named Jake.
18 comments:
So much to say
We got the 75th pick but did we not receive anything for Conforto?
I like the expiring contract concept but I think this team should be looking for the bad contract that can be attached to a player we want. Like Hayward or moustakas (I am sure there are many more) who we could take back so we don’t have to trade any of our top prospects.
I would think by now Vientos needs to be here….
What could honestly be the justification? They cannot say he is not ready.or his defense is poor. There is a DH spot.
I read that the Mets could target a couple of SS bats at 11 and or 14
SS Zach Neto, Campbell And SS Jett Williams, Rockwall-Heath HS (Texas)
Are they really 11th and 14 th picks worth?
I am still on have to have Brock Porter And Lesko
As far as Max return he is schedule to face Cinn and the Marlins
How do we bring him back and he is not in line to face the Braves?? That’s just negligence
Eddie
Mets keep rolling along and pitching help is on the way. This team will be fine.
Nothing for Conforto. Didn't lose him to anybody
July 4th and the Mets are going for their 50th win! That's a lot more fireworks in the first half of the season than fans are used to. Would love to see Scherzer dominate on Tuesday to prove that he's back.
Meanwhile, the bats need to get going again. McNeil's clutch double yesterday was very important to regain momentum with RISP. As encouraging as Escobar's HRs were in the last few days I am still not convinced he is out of the slump. Let's see him go 7-14 in the Cincinnati series, then I will believe.
Eddie, do we really need more shortstops? Don't think so. Hopefully, our draft geniuses will come thru for us with the right picks.
Mack, the Rocker thing sure seems like a mistake - time tells the tale.
Draft is coming up really soon, Mack. Exciting times.
Eddie
I agree on Vientos
Re: SS draft picks. I don't normally say a team should draft by position, but I would stay away from short early on unless I thought that player could have a future at another position.
Eddie
On Max
Good point
I have an idea for the Braves series, Eddie.
Jake's next outing is presumably July 8. Get him to 40 pitches, preferably against AA hitters or AAA hitters, but it could be in Brooklyn.
July 13 is 5 days after that, and coincidentally is the Mets' last game with the Braves in that upcoming 3 game series.
Bring Jake up and let him go 3 innings, when he should be good for 50-55 pitches. Then boost him to 4 innings the next start and 5 the following start. Keep him at 5 innings maximum until Sept.
I REALLY look forward to this one
Could generate 5 RED prospects
On the draft for me it's pitching pitching and more pitching. We're paying 2 pitchers $76 MILLION to pitch for us this season and we're crossing our fingers they make it through to the post season. PITCHING has to be our top priority.
Mack what are your thoughts for those SS?
I mean would you think they are a reach based on draft position? Where do you have them ranked?
Gary
I agree but I would draft one of the quality bats in the 1st round. They will be gone after that round
I wouldn't draft shortstops early.
That being said, I rank Brooks Lee. Termarr Johnson., Jackson Holliday, and Zach Neto, in that order
Ok, let’s think it through… you sign Rocker at some stupid number and don’t have the #11 pick this year. What’s better, ani jured Rocker at #11 or Lesko or Porter? If Rocker is all that, let’s see someone take him before #11, after all did you see his last start against a team that was 2-40? 2 AND 40 ? Talk about scripted! Anyone of these kids would have done that and donot forget that Rocker has a lower arm slot now, often a sign of shoulder problems.
Now to step down from my milk crate, MLB says Susac and Jung to the Mets… interesting if I wasn’t so in love with Lesko. Conforto is not happy right now, and Nimmo should be seeing that. Nimmo is down to .269 as he continues to do his best Conforto impression of not relaxing and playing his game but trying too hard to impress. His .352 OBP and .766 OPS would be the worst since his rookie year, even worse than when he hit .221 for the year in 2019 when he hurt the disc in his neck running into the center field wall and tried to play through it. Too, for the first time in his career he has more ground balls than fly balls. Something is going on with this guy, and it’s not pointing up.
How about this scenario? In order to keep payroll flexibility, don’t re-sign Nimmo but use McNeil in LF and Guillorme at 2B next year. As for re-signing Jacob… I don’t know. Diaz will need signing as well. I like Nimmo, but I like the team player Nimmo, not the Boras client Nimmo that is aggressive early in the count and has career low numbers.
Gus
You know as much about the draft kids as I do.
My current thoughts:
Susac - it would be tough to pass on this beast if he was still around at 1.11
If he isn't my top bat would be the guy I have a man crush on. DeLauter.
Jung - I don't think he will be around
My top pitchers, in order are Porter, Lesko, Tidwell, Barrera, and Prielipp
Thank you Mack for the polite words, but I am learning by reading your articles. Without them, I haven’t a clue. I just have an opinion, like everyone, but the only prospect I have ever seen in my life live was Jarred Kelenic in AA Arkansas for the Mariners. I had written him up, took some video and proclaimed that he isn’t ready for MLB and couldn’t touch a curve ball.
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