BEFORE THE ARTICLE DU JOUR:
David Stearns signs oft-injured and now ex-Yank Luis Severino ($13 million) and 2021 All Star Joey Wendle ($2 million). Good to see the real off-season acquisitions starting to roll.
What think ye of those moves?
NOW, MY ARTICLE DU JOUR:
Mets fans remember Luis Castillo largely for his drop of an Alex Rodriguez pop up that put the final nail in the coffin of the Mets' season that year, in July as I recall. Swept and buried by a far superior Yankee team.
But little Luis was a heck of a MLB player. Called up at age 20, he was mediocre his first 3 seasons, in which he had 580 at bats and hit .236. In his last season, be was 58 for 247 (.235).
In the 11 seasons in between, though, he hit .315 in nearly 5,700 at bats. And in his entire career, he stole 370 bases and scored 1,001 runs. He managed, though, just 28 HRs.
Little Luisangel Acuna is 5'8" but a beefier, more powerful 180.
In 374 minor league games, he has stolen 158 bases, so in that respect, he and Castillo seem to have much in common.
He hit .294 in AA this year, with 9 HRs, and he is expected, unlike Castillo, to perhaps be a guy who can reach 20 HRs.
He likely will fall well short of Castillo in batting average, and the Mets prospect website projects Acuna as a future .270 hitter.
He had a fine 84 game stint in AA this year while in the Houston organization, hitting .315/.377/.453.
But, for whatever reason, unlike his fellow traded player, Drew Gilbert, who excelled post-trade in the final quarter of the season with Binghamton, Acuna's 37 post-trade games with Binghamton were tepid:
.243/.317/.304, with just 2 HRs (both in one game) and 3 doubles.
That .304 slugging # is a bit concerning to me. That is the stuff of Ruben Tejada. It probably, and hopefully, was an anomaly.
And just 2 singles in 14 post-season at bats.
Those Binghamton numbers suggest he needs a good chunk of further minor league fine-tuning at the dish.
In all, he ended the full regular season of 121 games with 52 walks and 106 Ks, decent enough numbers, but walking far less than his fellow star prospect Jett Williams, who I rank above Acuna.
Acuna did have an excellent 57 of 67 in steals. He combines good speed with apparently acute base stealing skills. His brother Ronald swiped 73, but it took him a lot more games (159) to do it, so Luisangel’s better steals per game give him family bragging rights.
(The two Acunas combined stole 130 base this year. The remarkable Rickey Henderson stole 130 all by himself in 1982.)
The Mets prospect page ranks Luisangel with 55 speed, 55 hit, 55 arm - and 50 power.
It had him at 50 power, but Drew Gilbert at just 45 power, which to me makes no sense, since Gilbert to me clearly should be the better power hitter of the two.
But they described Acuna as having an “explosive” bat. It just didn't explode during his 37 Binghamton games. It did, however, go “poof”! We'll see if and how it explodes in 2024.
He had just 8 errors in 92 games at SS, and 2 errors at 2nd, so he is already a stellar infielder. Perhaps a future MLB Gold Glove?
I surmise he will slot in at 2B for the Mets when his bat is ready.
And that the far more error-prone Mauricio will slot in elsewhere, perhaps at 3B and/or the outfield.
And, if Francisco Lindor missed time due to injury, Acuna could slot over while he is out and likely provide stellar SS defense.
In conclusion, the Acuna/Castillo comparison falters as Castillo will be a higher career batting average guy than Acuna, and Acuna will have far more power.
Whether the Mets keep Acuna may depend on whether they feel he gives them the best chance to compete with the Braves, who happen to have his superior brother Ronald.
Which is not an insult...Ronald is the best player in baseball.
I expect Luisangel will need most of 2024 in AAA to become MLB ready. He will only turn 22 during spring training, so he may still make his Mets debut in 2024 at age 22 if much goes right for him.
It would be nice if the better comp for Luisangel turned out to be...
the great Francisco Lindor.
His power will likely be less than Lindor, but his average and glove may be similar, and his stolen bases may exceed those of Lindor. I'd like that.
How about you?
On November 8, “David Stearns said that (Ronny) Mauricio will play some third base in the Dominican Winter League” (per Mike Puma of the New York Post report). Where else, maybe some second, maybe some outfield, your guess is as good as mine.
I don’t know how much Ronny Mauricio will actually play winter ball this year; he may be starting play this week, as I write this. Last fall and winter, he played there a whole lot, and played well, but a question:
How many plate appearances did he compile this year so far, and last year?
If you guessed 1,384 PAs, perhaps you ought to buy a lottery ticket.
That’s a whole lot of PAs.
And it appears there are more PAs to come.
Which is good.
After all, Ronald Acuna recently said:
“….with more time on the field, I think a ballplayer can develop his abilities and can get better results, improve his style of game.”
Mauricio demonstrates he buys into that play-a-ton philosophy. It worked for Pete Alonso in 2018, as he played 159 games in the minors and Arizona that year, followed by his massive 2019 rookie season. Too bad more Mets prospects don’t adopt that workaholic approach.
Boys, the baseball biological time clock is ticking. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
I wonder if Luisangel Acuna will play some winter league ball.
If not, why not?
THIS JUST IN:
METS SIGN FOUR HITTERS COMFORTABLE WITH NY
They look talented - whaddya think?
18 comments:
I’m running out for eggs and butter. Don’t wait for me. Can I pick up anything for you?
OK, I’m back. Hellman’s mayo was $4 off, so I picked that up, too. No lines. Life is good.
I kind of like the Acuna - Castillo comp. The few games I saw Acuna in Binghamton mirrored his 37 game results. I did not see the game he homered in. He did have a couple of loud outs, but I left rather underwhelmed.
My preference for him would be to use his power to muscle the line drives into the gaps for doubles and triples while hitting an occasional 'mistake' home run. Concentrate on getting a hit a little more than 3 of every 10 at bats and use his speed to make the singles into doubles and triples. Be a run-scorer instead of a concentrated run producer.
I would be surprised if he ever became the 40 HR threat like his brother, and if he tried, he would be throwing a lot of promise away.
As far as Mauricio (or any other hitter) gathering that many at-bats, the entire point is to learn and get better. While only having the stats and the eye-test to go on, I am not sure 1300 plate appearances did much for Mauricio's pitch selection issues. He needs to cut down the swing and miss and begin to walk more to push the OBP up. His '23 AAA K numbers were better - less than a 20% K rate, but his walk rate was still in the 6% range.
I like the Severino move and I particularly love its length
The light hitting Wendle move makes little sense to me, especially when you had the same guy like him in Guillorme at a lower cost. Plus he will take critical at-bats away from the Baby Mets that need to mature on second and third
R69, I watched an SNY(?) discussion of prospects the other day - can’t recall who - but he felt Acuna would be a utility player. Let’s hope he’s more. He should forget homers and drive the ball, as you say.
Mauricio needs to improve on his weaknesses while he plays. Otherwise, all the playing will not optimize his ceiling.
Mack, Wendle’s OBP in 2022 and 2023 was bad, and he will be 34. Puzzler. He can field. Wonder what Stearns was thinking. I think with a raise, he and Luis might be fairly close salary-wise in 2024.
I like the Severino signing but man, 13M after a lousy year?. Oh well, not my money.
The Mets in my opinion, would have been far better off signing Justin Turner instead of Wendle. Yes, he would have cost more but he can play 1B, 3B, DH, PH and not sure if he can still play 2B. My point is, Turner is a clutch hitter who can step into a lot of different positions and play it well or just be the everyday DH. He would have been a great backup if Vientos / Baty don't perform as expected.
So Wendle can catch the ball and little else. Big deal.
I think most of us are in the same boat on the Wendle signing.
As for Severino, I previously advocated picking up a low-risk, high-reward reclamation signing AFTER signing 2 top of the rotation starters. The ones I had in mind were Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito, but Severino actually is a better signing than either of them. The two at the top are still required tho.
I love the one year deal for Severino but thought the $ was high especially considering that the last season he made 20+ starts was 2018. However, I feel as if Hefner had a strong input on this and knows something we don’t about perhaps pulling a Rick Peterson and attempting to fix Severino in ten minutes.
I think Severino is a good gamble. 2024 is an iffy transition year, hoping for a Wild Card, so if Severino bounces back, he will be a good gamble. If not, we’ll see Vasil/Hamel sooner.
Did we really need a second Joey?
Votto, anyone?
Tom, one guy I would be all in on for the ‘pen is LHP Yuki Matsui. Free agent from Japan with no posting fee as he served ten years in NPB. Age 28. He has a 1.42 ERA over the last 3 years with a 36.4 K%. 2.43 ERA, 1.107 WHIP, 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings and 236 saves since making his professional debut in 2014. Fastest to 200 saves. These numbers probably won’t translate into MLB , but the stuff should mostly play.Matsui impressed with his Forkball, Slider but fastball sits at 91-93 MPH. Could fit in nicely as a setup. Haven’t heard much about him mostly due to Yamamoto, Imanaga market.
Your thoughts..
Lenny good eye. I haven’t heard about him either. Good numbers and pitch mix and also a Lefty. Sure it wouldn’t be an expensive 2 year deal to sign him. With as many holes that we have to fill in the Pen he’s worth a shot on a 2 year deal.
Thanks. Very intriguing arm. Need major relief help
Lenny P, a new name to me. Make sure to ask Reese Kaplan, our Asian correspondent, to give his assessment. Add that question if you can to his next article.
Thank you
I thought that too Mack. But, Wensleydale was a two time all star; Guillorme wasn’t. So, the upside isn’t the same. One thing the Wendell signing tells us: the Baby Mets are penciled in to start the year. Wendell is a band-aid in case they need a serviceable plan B.
Mauricio is playing. 4 for 8, including a double, a triple, and a walk.
But in 1 game at third base. THREE errors. Mack, you’re taking over at 3rd.
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