HEY! WHO IS THAT FAST, LOW K AFL GUY? WHAT? HE'S A BRAVE?
In the Arizona Fall League, the Mets' 4 hitters have been underwhelming, by and large. For instance, just 6 HRs, while the rest of their team has clocked 32. Combined, the 4 are averaging .220 - .225, in a league where the average ERA is in the low 5's.
Strikeouts in the league and high, high, high.
So, I decided to look at which hitter might be low, low, low.
So, I hit upon a guy I never heard of, Caleb Durbin, a 5'6" SS for the Atlanta Braves, drafted in the 14th round in 2021.
Durbin had fanned just 7 times in 94 plate appearances in 21 Arizona games, and had gotten on base 44 times and stolen 20 of 23 bases. A .463 OBP.
In the regular season in the minors, in 69 games, he fanned just 18 times, stole 36 bases, and hit .304 with a .395 OBP.
So, if you combine his stats, you get a guy who rarely fans, stole 56 of 67 bases in 90 games, and has gotten on base nearly 42% of the time, and seems to be recently thriving against "the best".
The Braves picked him; Meaning the Mets passed on picking him 12 or 13 times.
Head scratcher, huh?
The Braves always draft terribly - just ask Michael Harris and Spencer Strider.
The Mets draft gurus, though, always hit the bullseye, don't they? This is one of those extremely rare misses for our Metsies.
Wait, not so rare, you say?
Come to think of it, you're right. They miss a lot. Too much, in fact.
I have not come to bury Durbin, but to praise him.
The Mets? You praise them if you want to, hand me my shovel, please.
What have you done for me lately? First to jump on,quick to jump off.
ReplyDeleteAll to make a point, Sir Anonymous, all to make a point. Yours was the wrong conclusion.
ReplyDeleteFor a guy that was picked in the 14th round, he was not only missed by the Mets 13 times, but also by all the other teams 13 times. So maybe it is not a scouting miss, but a development hit. The Braves advance so many players to the MLB level that excel when they get there. It is not luck, and I don't think it is clairvoyance. I think they just do a better job of teaching young prospects the fine skills that they need to succeed against much better pitching than they previously faced. The Mets have invested heavily in building that capability through both people and technology, but the third ingredient is time.
ReplyDeletePeterson just had surgery and will be out till May and he waited this long to have it because??????????
ReplyDeleteNot a big concern to me
DeleteI had him and Megill as 2024 pen candidates
Next group of starters to compete are Vasil, Lucchesi, and Butto
Why are we writing about the Braves ?
ReplyDeleteMack, because they turn out viable draft prospects, we generate question marks.
ReplyDeleteGary, that was my first thought…if his hip bothered him to the point of needing surgery that will impact an in-play season of 2024, why not get it checked out and operated on several weeks sooner, and being ready for 2024 OD?
ReplyDelete