Tom Brennan: Mets Triumphant in Nail Biter…That’s The Long and Short of It

PROSPECTS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES

HEY! FIRST, TEHERAN COULD NOT CONTAIN THE BRAVES. DOWN 4-0.

THEN…

BRANDON NIMMO ERUPTED… 4 HITS, 2 HOME RUNS, 5 RIBBIES, AND A WALK…

AND THEY GAVE EDWIN DIAZ THE NIGHT OFF! AND HUNG ON TO WIN.

SOMEWHERE…I WAS SURE I HEARD BOB MURPHY EXCLAIM, “THE METS WIN…THE METS WIN THE DAMN THING!” 

On a night, 2-3-4 (Lindor, Alonso, and Alvarez) went 0 for 13 and they STILL BEAT THE JUGGERNAUT!

WINNERS OF 4 OF FIVE.

The season has been resuscitated. I imagine that JD Martinez watched it on TV and agrees.

Regular Article Topic Time:

Typically, you think of hitting prospects as tall, muscular, power-packed dudes.Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Shohei Ohtani, Pete Alonso.

Shorter guys sometimes excel, but it seems most hitting stars, especially those who bash annd drive in runs,  are above 6’.

With that in mind, I looked at the Mets’ recently published top 30 prospects list. 

The Mets have a whopping NINE hitters in their top 30 that range from 5’6” and 5’11”. 

I’m told most of them came in under the radar.

Three more top 30 hitters measured at 6’0”. 

Just 6 of the 18 top 30 ahitters are taller than 6’0”. 

My guess is that is the shortest group of prospect hitters for any team in quite some time.

How are our short hitting prospects doing so far?

5’9” Drew Gilbert is 6 for 25 with 10 Ks in his AAA debut. Hopefully only slightly injured after coming out with a leg injury.

5’7” L.A. Acuna is 5 for 38 in his AAA debut.

Photo by Richard Nelson

Down in AA…

5’6” Matt Rudick (center of photo above, alongside Alex Ramirez) is 2 for 7 and 2 walks, a .444 OBP which I expect him to sustain.

5’6” Jett Williams is 3 for 13 with 2 walks, after a brief AA debut in 2023.

5’10” Rhylan Thomas? 2 for 11 with 2 BBs. He torched it in his 2023 AA debut.

5’11” Kevin Parada is 2 for 5 with 3 walks, a promising start.

5’6” Wyatt Young is 1 for 7 (a 2 run rope) and 2 walks.

(Taller, > 6 feet prospects Stanley Consuegra, JT Schwarz, and especially Alex Ramirez are off to hot starts in the early going, FYI).

Milder weather awaits both teams in Erie, Pa, and Worchester this week, so prospect bats should heat UP!

On the pitching side, height it is a different story. Most MLB pitchers are tall, and these 12 Mets pitching prospects are no exception.

One pitcher is 6’9”, one is 6’5”, three are 6’4”, two are 6’3”, three are 6’2”, two are an even 6’0”, and NONE are under 6’0”. 

Sounds like the size of the Willis Reed and Clyde Frazier-led championship Knicks, one of whom was an 8 time All Star and NBA Hall of Famer, 6’6” power forward name Dave Debusschere. 

Dave, for those who did not know it, was 3-4, 2.90 in 102 innings pitching for the Chicago White Sox. He even had a shutout to his credit, against Cleveland. Remarkable. He was, however, just a 1 for 22 hitter in his career. He could really hit jump shots, though.

I used to see him a few times commuting into the city on the Hempstead line of the LIRR. Probably lived in upscale Garden City. He was dressed like a CEO, looked like a million bucks, obviously immersed in something business-related, and everyone respected his privacy. Different times.

Anyway, let’s see if our short hitting prospects can all become the next Jose Altuve or Mookie Betts.  Or Luke Appling.

5’10” LUKE APPLING

I saw a video where the Hall of Famer at age 75 in an Old Timers game hit a home run 6 rows back.  Smiles abounded.

As a player, decades earlier?

First, he had to beat out Ray Savage and Bill Metsiac for a major league position back then, which wasn’t easy. Ray and Bill had MAD SKILLS.

Appling was just 5’10” and first hit over .300, in the 1930s, not as a rookie or sophomore but in his third MLB year at the “advanced” age 26.

He only hit 45 homers in 10,254 MLB plate appearances. 

He knew homers weren’t everything. 

In 1936, he hit a robust .388 at age 29.

At ages 40-42, still humming along, he hit .306, .314, and .301. 

At age 41, in 1948, his OBP was a stunning .439. 

Remarkable. Height isn’t everything, says this 5’10” writer.

Ben Gamel agrees. 

5’10”, in Syracuse, Ben is a rip-roaring .474/.583/.895 in 7 games. 

Pete Alonso is hitting .184, and Ben has played some 1B, and so, for that matter, has Mark “Rocket Launcher” Vientos (.323/.400/.581), who is Pete’s tall height. 

Mark, in spring training and AAA, has hit .265 with 4 doubles,7 HRs and 19 RBIs in 87 at bats. Not shabby.

Patience is a needed virtue. 

Sometimes, guys start their careers slowly but then rev them up, like Mr. Appling did. Maybe the aforementioned shorter guys, and Mark Vientos, just need a little more patience.