Yama-who? He is a mere Kramden footnote at the end of this article.
Now - on to my real article.
I thought it might be fun to again look back and see who got drafted by the Mets in rounds 1 thru 5, how they panned out, and which of them (and those from rounds beyond round 5) made it to the dance.
I thought I’d start arbitrarily at 2012 and work forward from there.
So? Today?
The Mets' 2012 Draft
A weak Mets draft it was, in 2012.
Round 1 - Gavin Cecchini - an ultimately unsuccessful 12th overall pick - he just did not hit or field enough.
He did hit .317 in AA in 2015 and .325 in AAA in 2016, and certainly seemed to me at the time to be on his way offense-wise, but his major league totals were limited to .217/.270/.301 in 83 ABs with the Mets.
Comp Round Pick - Kevin Plawecki - he will be 33 next spring and last played big league ball in 2022. He never hit as a Met, and as a back up Red Sox catcher, he hit much better, more as I thought he might, but his stolen base caught stealing rate in his career was just 19%. Drafted no doubt with the intention of grabbing a starting catcher, he turned out to be a decent back up catcher, 1,426 plate appearances, .235/.313/.341.
Round 2 - Matt Reynolds - similar player to Gavin Cecchini. Got a few MLB ABs - 226, to be precise, in which he hit .212. Not a sufficiently impactful pick for round 2. .229/.301/.326 as a big leaguer, with 528 plate appearances and a -0.1 WAR. One could say, “at least he made it.” Me, I say busted pick.
Round 2 - Teddy Stankiewicz - Stinky Stanky never quite made the majors - as such, a bad Round 2 pick.
Round 3 - Matt Koch - has pitched some in the majors, just not with the Mets. 9-8, 5.03, 170+ innings. To me, you got something with this 3rd round pick, so perhaps it was a decent pick for round 3. You might disagree.
Round 4 - Branden Kaupe - a minuscule 4 doubles, 6 triples and no homers in 600 minor league plate appearances. Short 5’6” guy. Wasted pick, clearly. By a show of hands, let me see how many of you think if you got 600 PAs in the lower minors, you could have had at least 4 doubles yourself. I see those hands. OK, you can put them down.
Round 5 - Brandon Welch - pitcher didn't make it. He went 4-2, 4.13 in 65 total minor league innings. Bad pick for round 5.
Seven picks in the first 5 rounds and not much, really, to show for it.
Two later-round guys who had been miserable Mets failures that turned into MLB sensations with Seattle in 2021 were:
10th rounder Paul Sewald and 14th rounder Chris Flexen.
The duo stunningly combined to go 23-9 a few years ago with Seattle.
With the Mets, they couldn't come close to 9-23. Sewald in particular has been close to outstanding since he left the Mets a beaten-down 1-14 reliever.
7th rounder Corey Oswalt had limited major league action and limited major league success. Too hittable. 4-5, 5.89, 95 innings. He was no Roy Oswalt.
8th rounder Tomas Nido is loved by the fundamental extremists among us. He catches a good game, but his hitting makes Kevin Plawecki look like Mike Piazza. He has a -0.8 career WAR. Yuk.
12th rounder Rob Whalen managed to compile 36 major league innings, going 1-3, 5.75. He was terrific in 2013-16 in the minors, and appeared to be on his way. It did not go well at all thereafter, though. He was part of the trade in which the Mets got Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe in 2015's exciting pennant run.
13th rounder Matt Bowman compiled a 7-13, 4.13 record in 186 MLB relief outings with the Cardinals and Cincy. Certainly a decent pick for round 13.
20th rounder Tim Peterson was 2-2, 5.91 in 35 MLB innings. He at least got to the Big Show.
So, 11 guys drafted by the Mets in 2012 have spent at least some time in the majors, but the Mets got nothing truly impactful for them overall to show for it. A few filler parts and those who made it cumulatively contributed virtually 0.0 career WAR.
Should have fixed and kept Sewald (what if, what if).
As such, for the Mets, it was in my opinion a failed draft.
Next article up?
2013's draft.
But first...
Ralph Kramden, you ask?
Die hard Mets fan.
The former bus driver and Honeymooner reportedly angrily confronted Yamamoto right after he used the Mets as pawns to drive up his salary, and then did what he always planned to, and signed with the Dodgers.
Ralph's nostrils were flaring...his veins and eyes bulging.
And boy, did he let Mr. Moto have it - pointed his finger in his face:
"YOU...ARE A BUM! A BUM!!!!!"
"BANG ZOOM!!!!"
I wholeheartedly agree with Ralphie Boy.
How about YOU?
Call Mr. Moto a BUM! GO AHEAD!
JUMP UP AND BELLOW THAT OUT, AND ADD A "BANG ZOOM!"
Scream it loudly. Feels good to vent, right?
Show him he is unworthy to be a New YorK Met.
I MAY BE A BLABBERMOUTH.
But Yamamoto?
He is..."A BUM!"
Mets made last minute decision that year and passed on Lucas Giolito over Cheech
ReplyDeleteAs for Moto...
ReplyDeleteI am obviously wrong thinking he and his agent came to NYC as a righteous move to both New York teams
Wrong
He came back to the city, asked for final offers, went back to LA with the biggest... Mets... offer, and agreed with LA when they matched the offer
Once again, Cohen was played like an out of tuned Martin D-45
In my book both he and his agent are two big pieces of shit
If he was a hitter I would give Thor a million to throw one pitch at him
If I was the first Mets batter I would charge the mound and go all Juan Marichal on him
As for Cohen, he's a hedge fund manager by trade and he might be getting sick of being beat like a drum
A sale could get him 700mil to a bil more for this team
Remember
Stocks don't have Tommy John surgeries or agents
I guess we will see how SC reacts to all this after all he is big league in his other business but for our sake he needs/must be big league with his baseball team. PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteMack, I am pissed, too, as you could tell. The ONLY silver lining is if the Dodgers had to shell out $25MM or $50MM more than they would have - less to spend elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets easily got Scherzer and Verlander - why? Money and age. The age really made them less than top tier, like Ohtani and Yamamoto.
This all started when they didn't re-sign Murphy - this team had a chance after 2015 of being a longer-term premier team. It coughed that up by not signing Daniel for what is now pocket change. This team is painful to follow. Teams that trade Crow Armstrong for Baez, a trade which still left them as a long shot in 2021 without other trades, was another example of idiocy. Sickening.
I'm starting to think Pete should be traded and a full 2025 reboot should begin
DeleteThe one question I have is if SC offered $350 for 9 years with opt outs would he have been a Met. From what I’ve read the Dodgers went from $300 to $325 to match SC’s offer. Would they have gone to $350? Big jump from $300 to $350 and over 9 years compared to the Dodgers 12. It’s obvious he preferred to be a Dodger but money talks.
ReplyDeleteThe one positive is I never want to offer a SP, especially a small built SP, more than a 6 year deal. With a 12 year deal Yama is going to get injured. He’s not built like Nolan Ryan. He’s not even built like Jordan Montgomery. Look at Ohtani. In his first 7 seasons, including next year he’s going to miss two entire seasons of pitching (also 2019). With two other years where he missed pitching time with injuries. I think minimum Yama misses 1-2 entire seasons and injuries in 2-3 if not more seasons. Best scenario he completes 8-9 seasons on a 12 year deal.
ReplyDeleteGive me Montgomery on a 5 year deal this year and Burnes next year on a 6 year deal and I can get over Yama real quick.
Amazin Z, my brother has really wanted Burnes, but he is absolutely set on going to free agency after 2024.
ReplyDeleteI agree on brittleness of pitchers. Think of small Pedro - he was other-worldly until he fell apart.
Mack, It was always going to be the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lot of money so at least it eliminates the Dodgers from any more big signings in the future.
If I am the Mets, I would trade Pete Alonso (been saying this for a while), sign Justin Turner, DJ Martinez, Robertson, Ottavino, Giolito. I would sign these players with a team option or 1M buyout if possible.
Why? because the Mets are not going anywhere in 2024 and possibly 2025. But if any of the above players is having a good year, they are all valuable trade options by the trade deadline. If a team option is attached to them, then they are even more valuable to the receiving team.
For the Mets it should be about getting cheaper so that they don't get penalized with the draft picks and identifying players that can be valuable trade chips.
Build an elite minor league system.
By 2025 the young and hungry players will start to coming up to the Mets.
How bout,Giolito and JD Martinez? Or do you give Vientos a shot at DH? He might do 230-244,15-18 HRs and maybe 60 rbi.
ReplyDeleteChapman?Or do you cross your fingers and hope Baty is a ML player?
ReplyDeleteVientos? Fangraphs has him for 2024 at 16 HRs, 40 RBIs, .244 in 81 games. Not bad, and JD Martinez in Fangraphs is 23 HRs, 67 RBIs and .249 in 128 games. Why not just let Vientos play 128 games, instead? At the Fangraphs rate shown for Vientos, he ought to his 25 HRs, drive in 65 and hit .244, essentially the same as JDM, who turns 37 in 2024.
ReplyDeleteGiolito? His fastball has slowed down. When that happened to Doc Gooden, he was no longer Doc Gooden. Not saying we shouldn't get Giolito, but I do not want a shadow of his former self.
Baty and Chapman? If you look at Fangraphs and equalize what Fangraphs shows as games played, Baty's numbers compare very favorably to Chapman's. So I'd save $$ for pitching and roll the dice with Baty.
ReplyDeleteI think the hitting is not the baest, but it is adequate enough. So, I would:
Use ALL the spendable money on quality relief pitching.
A pen of Diaz, Hader, Robertson, Ottavino, Raley and Smith would be exciting.