Mack - Sunday Morning Observations

 

Morning.

Same "my spin" post, just new name.

Now that ST has started, and it turn right into the regular season, I want to give my weekly Sunday report a new handle. 

So, this will be the first of many.

--- it has been a messy first week of spring traing for me. First there was a three day trip to Florida which caused me to miss the first two games, both of  which were included in my local Dish TV package. Then, I return while my daughter is being taken by ambulance to a local SC hospital.

Everybody is okay and everything is back to normal now (if that is possible in my life) so I can return to baseball.

--- A general statement. The spring version looks pretty good this season. And the output by the kids so far has mostly been promising. 

I particularly am impressed with the amount of one inning, 0.00 outings, but if I think back, I'm impressed with this every spring.

Guess the arms win against the bats early each year.

Injuries have begun, but none to major pieces other than Kodai Senga.

I'm particularly beginning to be concerned with the offensive output of one, Brett Baty. 

Right now, it's somewhere between Wayne Garrett and Wayne Newton. My guess right now is if "this keeps down" we will see a lot of Joey Wendle. 

---- I finally got to watch a game on Friday and I walked away with this...

      - Luis Severino looks like he will be a survivable member of the 2024 rotation.

      - Talking about green, did you catch Blade Tidwell's two innings? Wow. And I can't even begin to explain the deer in headlights approach to a ground ball to second. To me, he looks at least 1 1/2 years away.

       - fielding just didn't exist with team they put forward in the starting lineup. Talk about dropsies, rolling ball to first, kicking it around... whew.

       - lastly, I love the drag bunt and the throw to third that Starling Marte executed in the first. Don't let the old man in.

---- On Saturday we got a look at that hairy outing by Sean Manaea.

Wow.

And Brett Baty hit a home run. The string is still out on bat production.

--- I read an online story on Wednesday morning that caught my attention.

The Mets blogger speculated that Pete Alonso will be traded at the in-season deadline period, to the Toronto Bluejays, for top prospects.

Okay. Let's assume this is true and the definition of prospects is TWO.

Let's also assume the Mets will look for a return of a prospect pitcher for, at least, one of these players that would be sent to Queens.

Here are the top three prospect pitchers currently in their chain, accordingly to  Prospects1500 - 

1. (Tiedemann - 5 tier prospect. Untouchable, but I can dream.) 

        Prospects1500 - 

            1. Ricky Tiedemann, LHP, 21, Triple-A

Tiedemann is undoubtedly one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Easy Tier 1 choice here. He missed a couple of months with a biceps issue early last season following four starts at Double-A New Hampshire. His rehab went well and he made it back in July to pitch another 30+ innings from FCL, to Single-A, to another seven starts in Double-A, and even one start for Triple-A Buffalo in September. To get him some additional outings, Toronto sent him to Arizona and he threw another 18 innings across four AFL starts, garnering good results with 23 strikeouts and a 2.50 ERA. Seemingly 100% entering 2024, give Ricky some Triple-A games and he’ll likely be with the MLB club by the All-Star break. (@Scotty_Ballgame)

            6. Brandon Barriera, LHP, 19, Single-A

In Barriera, the Jays took a chance on a young, high-upside arm in the first round of the 2022 draft. The 6’2” southpaw dealt with injuries last year limiting him to just over 20 innings last year. He has a plus arsenal in his fastball, slider, and changeup that are all high spin offerings. If he can have a healthy season in 2024, he will be a fun one to watch. If his control/command improves there is #2 upside here. Patience will be key. (@JMahyfam)

            8. Landen Maroudis, RHP, 19, High School

Maroudis has a true starter’s pitch mix with four offerings, two versions of his fastball, a breaking ball, and a change, but a reliever’s delivery, plenty of short arm and effort. That said, he gets a lot of help from his legs with a really good leg drive, allowing him to hold his stuff deep into outings. That stuff includes a plus fastball, the four seam up to 96 while the two seam in the low 90s with plenty of sink. 

He also has a change that could become a plus offering, and a quality breaking ball. The breaking ball has some inconsistencies in it, sometimes a bit slower and bigger, others harder and sharper, and it really does work best as the higher velo/sharper version. How well the breaking ball develops will go a long way into determining the role long term. 

With the high effort and two pitches above average, he looks like a reliever, but with the ability to work deep into games and a breaking ball that develops into a true out pitch, he could develop into a mid-rotation starter. (@ShaunKernahan)