The Mack Report - Ridings, Playoff Odds, Narvaez, Baez, Scott

Ridings, Playoff Odds, Narvaez, Baez, Scott

 

 

Yankees reliever who defected to Mets this offseason looks completely different -

Clearly, the Yankees were holding Stephen Ridings back from achieving his true destiny. 

Ridings was lost on a surprise waiver claim to the Mets back in mid-November, stunning only because it was bizarre to imagine the scope of his Yankees downfall. The flame-throwing ex-substitute teacher stepped in to help save the 2021 season and give hope that a talented wave was still on the way, only to suffer a shoulder impingement as quickly as he came. 

That issue pushed his throwing program back long enough to delay his 2023 season, and after a cavalcade of errors, he ended up never making a big-league appearance for the Yankees again. The Long Island native, who was dealing with a much worse injury than was ever reported, will now slow-play things again at Mets camp, carefully trying to traverse his own recovery. 

And he'll be doing so with a monstrous bushy red beard, which makes him look like a completely different person than the one who hit 97 on the radar gun in pinstripes. 

Mack - The 27-year old, 6-8 Ridings was originally drafted in the 8^th round of the 2018 draft (Haverford College) by the Cubs. 

2021 MLB stat line - 0.1-WAR, 0-0, 1,80, 5-G, 5-IP, 7-K, He has a lifetime AAA ERA of 2.45 in 9 appearances and a AA ERA of 0.45 in 15 appearances. From college through the MLB (6 seasons), he produces 298-K in 214-IP. 

He was lost for the 2022 season due to a right shoulder injury. 

Love this signing.

 

 Chances of making playoffs in 2023 (per FanGraphs):

ATL 92.4%

SD 87.9%

NYM 84.1%

NYY 83.0%

HOU 82.1%

STL 72.4%

TB 69.3%

LAD 68.7%

TOR 67.7%

MIL 57.0%

PHI 55.5%

CLE 54.1%

SEA 48.0%

MIN 46.4%

SF 40.7% 

Mack - I looked down the list and there was no Braves. I can’t believe that someone would leave… err… oh, they are on the top of the list. Shite. 

 

Top 45 MLB catchers -

28. Omar Narváez, Mets

Age: 30

B: L T: R HT: 5-11 WT: 220

WAR: 0.2

Slash line: .206/.292/.305 OPS+: 71

HR: 4 RBI: 23 SB: 0

FRM: 7.5 DRS: 2 CS: 22%

I’ve always viewed Narváez as either a platoon or backup catcher, which will probably be the case with the Mets as he’s expected to share time with Tomás Nido until Francisco Álvarez becomes the everyday catcher. 

Narváez has a career slash line of .258/.343/.386 and 162-game averages of 14 home runs and 52 RBIs. The metrics grade his pitch framing much better than the scouts do, and his pop time is well below average. 

Mack - This could be a very good pickup if Narvaez  matches his career slash line while producing Gold Glove defense and controlling the rotation.

 

Law's Top 20 Mets Prospects -

14. Jesus Baez, SS

Age: 18 | 5-10 | 180 pounds

Bats: Right | Throws: Right

International signing in 2022

Baez is a power-hitting shortstop who can run some and has a good chance to stay at the position, moving to second or third if he can’t. He has a pretty right-handed swing and easy power, with some extra movement in his lower half to calm down, and the ball comes off the bat really well. He’ll make his U.S. debut this year after a so-so line in the Dominican Summer League last year, with a low BABIP but good contact rates and solid-average power in games. 

Mack - There never are too many big home run hitters in the DSL leagues. Players are just too young. That being said, Baez had seven last year for the DSL Mets while hitting .242 with a .744-OPS. 

That’s tied for 14^th in the league for home runs.

 

Law's Top 20 Mets Prospects -

Notes about players that missed the Top 20 list:

Right-hander Christian Scott didn’t have a great year with some minor injuries that cost him the first five weeks of the season and then most of July, but was still 92-94 mph with an above-average changeup. He had a plus slider in college at the University of Florida but never had his feel for it last year, actually getting hit much harder by right-handed batters as a result. … 

Mack - I thought Scott was a great 5^th round pick. Followed him in Florida when he went 4-2, 3.33 in his junior year (26-appearances, 1-start). 

I loved it even more when the Mets converted him into a starter. He first stumbled, but finished last year in Brooklyn, going 0-0, 3.80, in 6-games, 5-starts. He also had 25-Ks in 21-IP. 

He had a horrible time this fall in the AFL (4-starts, 10.38, but I still think he has the potential to be a major league back-end starter,