Conforto (pictured in 2015) Used to Be a Young, Upcoming New York Met
I always have that fear that the Mets let guys move on and they all turn into, I dunno, Michael Wacha.
Wacha was 1-4, 6.62 as a Met.
Wacha in 2022 and 2023 as a post-Met has gone 22-5.
But that jump in success is usually an aberration. (Justin Turner, however, said he disagrees).
That fear resonated in me and others with the departures to SFG for Michael Conforto and JD Davis.
Would they go wild?
But here is where they were at thru Sept 7, combined:
807 at bats, 31 HR, 117 RBI, .250.
MC has 370 at bats, 15 HR, 55 RBI, .251.
JD has 437 at bats, 16 HR, 62 RBI, .249.
Pretty average, if you ask me. Of course, I would have kept JD, but that would have blocked the kids.
Dom Smith? Totally punchless since laving the Mets. 517 PAs in 2023, just 38 RBIs. Life begins at 40, Dom.
JARRED KELENIC?
Better this year, but slumped off to .251, 11 HRs thru Seattle’s game 95, then on the IL since. Seattle then was 47-48.
Since then, a sizzling Kelenic-free 32-13. Go figure. Lifeime .201 and beaucoups de strikeouts.
Of course, I almost forgot Nolan Ryan, Amos Otis, and Jeff Kent, My bad.
They did better as post-Mets. At least a little.
That’s baseball, folks.
LAST NIGHT:
Mets lose again due again to a crappy pen. Alonso smacks #43, with his sights Ser on 50.
Calvin Ziegler returned from season-long injury to fan the side in his one perfect inning for St Lucie.
Mr. Orellana fanned 8 in 4 innings of relief for him for the win, and 3rd rounder Nolan McLean tossed two scoreless innings. Dakota Hawkins tossed scoreless 1.2 innings, and has a 0.00 ERA in 8 pro innings.
Nolan McLean is the two way draftee, and as a batter, he is 1 for 12 with 6 walks, a high 9 Ks, a HR, and 3 RBIs, for the record.
Brooklyn won too. Jett homered and was on base 3 times, Stanley Consuegra hit yet another HR (22), and Saul Garcia pitched great for 5. Binghamton rained out. Syracuse, who cares?
Happy Sunday.
I'm not trying to set a comparison here, but Jett Williams reminds me of the excitement you get from a player who can beat you with his batting eye, his power and his baserunning speed. Folks who are one dimensional are not nearly as much fun to watch. I look forward to a few years from now when Williams gets his first major league cup of tea (I don't drink coffee).
ReplyDeleteYes, the Mets have certainly had their share of alumni that excel with other teams. I blame that on the prior organizations' inability to get the most out of their players skills. I still worry about that a bit, and so does Steve Cohen as he reworks the player development staff.
ReplyDeleteBut here's one I was worried about last night: Drew Smith. He has really hurt the Mets this year by giving up too many runs in situations where they can't afford it. His four-spot last night that preceded the Alonso and Stewart homers cost us another game.
Smith has some terrific stuff, but has not been able to harness it. He will be great someday when a coach helps him control what he has or introduces a pitch he can throw more consistently to get the focus off his fastball. I hope that is a Mets' coach and not another team's coach. But for now, you can't keep running him out there with a close score.
Even with his forgettable 2023 he still owns a 3.62 ERA for his entire major league career. I foresee him as a part of the 2024 pen without question but I also anticipate he will be on a shorter leash. I call into question what Jeremy Hefner has done to correct his performance but then this year has been pretty horrific for all pitchers not named Senga nor Quintana.
ReplyDeleteSenga and Quintana are established pitchers that don’t need teaching. However, the teaching part of the pitching side gets an F in my opinion. Not a single young pitcher has been improved. In fact, that would be a good research project as I believe the last true teacher they had was 83 years old and set to pasture for that reason alone.
DeleteDrew Smith is doing his darnest to get us that lottery pick. We could be dangerous with a BP. Tom lets not forget Kenny Singleton a hellava player 15 year career.
ReplyDeleteSingleton yes, but at least we got Staub.
ReplyDeletePitchers are underperforming. Hire someone who can get them to outperform.
I guess their also sending a message by not playing Vientos everyday and at some point Baty needs to gt his act together or there are some real possibilities on the farm for his position. Tex you referring to Phil Regan?
ReplyDeleteYes, who the Phillies picked up I think believe. It’s so stupid to let people go due to their age, and you cannot keep learning from them.
DeleteGuys, I am sure that other clubs have players get away that became better later, but hard to believe there are more than have left the Mets. Which therefore tells of the good fortune the team has thrown away over the years.
ReplyDeleteMorning
ReplyDeleteRegarding pitcher development
Every team in the chain develops their pitchers on their own. Ernest will back me on this
Problem is that can change team to team as someone is kicked up a team
Also...
There seems to be a new obsession with pitch count limits
In essence
A mess
The good news is I see 14 starters currently in the chain that are either RED or BLUE prospects
DeleteThe bad news is only one projects as a potential SP1
DeleteTIDWELL
There is no one currently on the AAA roster that projects to be the difference next season
DeletePast that tons of SP3-5 candidates for the remainder of the decade
Mack, that’s fine because those guys will allow you to buy aces rather than buying mid rotation guys. Then, you can use some of this depth in the bullpen like Atlanta, Cleveland, Tampa, and Los Angeles do. That’s how you win!
DeleteAgree
DeleteYou don't need yo develop SP1 or SP2 starters if you have a rich owner committed to winning
I see one big time purchase in this off season to compliment Senga and Q
Another the following off season
Mack,
ReplyDeleteAre we now at 1.6 for the 2004 draft lottery?
Yes
Delete1/2 game ahead of the other lovers
But they need to keep losing to insure this pick
Maybe even 1.5
*losers
Deletelovers sounded better… LOL
DeleteAck, maybe that one Ziegler inning is a minor indicator of a future SP1? Remember, Zack Wheeler was hurt seemingly forever and became really good -POST-METS, of course.
ReplyDeleteMack, are Garcia and Orellana in that group of 14? I definitely think Garcia should be.
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteNeither are
That’s good then, Mack. Always good to have two more.
ReplyDeleteAlvarez nailed on hand with that same damned boring-in fastball pitch.