Fans Heading To Ticket Booth On Syracuse Mets Opening Day
Actually Niagara Falls, Frozen Over, In 1911
But Pretty Much The Same Frigid Weather
My # 1 pre-season Mets prospect was Jett Williams.
The Golden Jett.
He played several games and got hurt with a TFCC wrist injury. (Never heard of it? Neither have I but you can google it). He's had at least one ineffective cortisone shot, and possibly could need surgery. If needed, I am not sure of the recovery time (google it).
He's Mets property, so that makes sense. Perfect sense. If he played for any other organization, he heals in 2 weeks. He’s entering the realm of Jed Lowry and all the other injured Mets greats.
Was it due to Jett’s recklessness, his aggressive style of play, or just happenstance? I don't know. But he is missing a boatload of time.
My # 2 pre-season Mets prospect was Drew Gilbert.
He started out ice cold in March (and why not?) and started to hit better in early April until he got hurt on April 6. How did he get hurt? Sounds reckless, not aggressive, to me.
Drafted by the Astros in the first round in 2022, his short season got shorter when he collided with a wall. I did not see the play, but it sounded reckless. I personally try not to run into walls. Gilbert missed a bunch of games.
This early April 2024 injury was described by Anothony DiComo as such:
"Mets No. 2 prospect Drew Gilbert landed on the Triple-A injured list this morning with a mild strain of his right hamstring. He pulled it running to first base during Game 2 of a doubleheader on Saturday."
But he actually did not come out after he reached first base - he stayed in the game, and hurt it worse, presumably, running to second on a subsequent wild pitch.
Sounds reckless. Has missed a bunch of games, and continues to do so. Evel Knievel missed a lot of time, too.
If not for bad luck, this organization wouldn't have no luck at all.
My guess is Lou and Cal (Gehrig and Ripken) played aggressively, but not recklessly.
Would it be reckless of me to say that players should play aggressively, but never recklessly? Or I am I being merely recklessly aggressive here?
WHAT IS GOING ON?
3-2 Mets win. a word only vaguely familiar to Mets fans, Christian Scott was strong for 5, and then newly found pen ace Adrian Houser, Young, and Garrett toss 4 scoreless, hitless relief innings. Recalled Danny Young grabs the win, and is 2-0.
Francisco Lindor went 4 for 4 with a HR in the lead off spot, and is up to .225, pulling even with Baty at .225. Mind you, on April 13, Lindor was hitting .103 and Batty 199 points higher at .302, so Lindor has made up a lot of ground there.
Lindor is one point ahead of Mystery Missing Man McNeil’s miserly .224.
Iron Man Pete Alonso did not start, but somehow got a key pinch hit double late. X-rays were negative. So, with his arm still attached, he played and contributed.
Speaking of “somehow”, somehow Francisco Alvarez STARTED AT CATCHER in AA and hit a 3 run bomb and drew a walk. Way ahead of schedule. Unless they have another catcher by that name in the organization.
Maybe this Mets team will fight their way out of its morass.
Jack Wenninger fanned 12 in 7 IP for St Lucie. 60 Ks in 44 IP for the 2023 6th rounder.
Nick Morabito 42 games, hitting .369, .486 OBP, 24 steals. I like him.
- Do you like him? “Well, do ya….punk?”, Clint Eastwood asked.
WHEN IS A DEMOTION A PROMOTION?
Mike Vasil has been a little better his last 2 AAA starts, but still not good. He is a rough 7.59/1.56 in 10 starts.
I'm not in AAA to watch why Vasil has struggled so much, but Justin Jarvis was getting pulverized, not to mention shellacked, in AAA, so they send him down to AA to regroup. AND HOW!
In 2 AA outings, a stunning 11.1 innings, just a few hits, no runs, no walks, 15 Ks for Jarvis. He clearly fixed something. So, I puzzle as to why Vasil is not similarly demoted, to see if a breather for a few games a league down would kick-start the rest of his 2024.
JORGE LOPEZ DFA….
We all know why. But…will he now end up pitching with a contender? Crazy like a fox?
Phil Bickford, who has been a better MLB pitcher in his last 3 years than Lopez, ended up with the Yankees' AAA team after the Mets cut him in spring training, and for that Yanks AAA team, he has been pitching well. But the Bombers have the best pitching in baseball in the Bronx, a stunning 2.77 ERA vs. the Mets' 4.09, so Phil stays stuck in AAA. Maybe he needs to throw his mitt in the stand to get back to the majors.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
I noticed meanwhile that Trevor Bauer is in a Mexican League and is 5-0, 1.50, with lots of Ks. Just mentioning it, that’s all, since his name came up in a comment in an article on this site yesterday. On his days off, he sits outside the ballpark holding a sign that says "Will pitch in MLB for minimum wage."
ELSEWHERE…
In the FCL, 17 yrs, 10 months old SS Jeremy Rodriguez had 2 hits, including a HR, and is hitting .362/.436/.536.
- Future MLB star? Major leaguer before he turns 20?
- If called up to Mets 2 years from today, 19 yr, 10 mo. old. Why not?
And AJ Ewing hit his 5th HR and leads the entire FCL in that category.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteOur prior trades, along with our past few drafts, have provided us with some interesting prospects that we can look forward to hopefully seeing in New York in 2025-2026. Gives us some hope to getting back to winning.
My guess is J Rod and Ewing will be moving their gear to the other side of the complex real soon
ReplyDeleteHi Tom. Great piece as always. Jeremy Rodriguez had a 2B in addition to his HR (and BB) yesterday. Hitting .364/.972 at 17? that might be higher than I could count at that age. Ewing’s HR yesterday marked his third consecutive day with a bomb. Ewing’s BA is a bit low in a small sample, but leading the FCL in HR while playing mostly CF? Sign me up. Mack, you say they’ll both be moving up soon, but especially with multiple SS prospects already in A-, I wonder if they’ll leave Rodriguez where he is at least until after the draft, when there’s likely to be a fair amount of shuffling? He certainly seems too advanced for FCL pitching already.
ReplyDeleteRodriguez can play second
DeleteIf he keeps hitting like this, he can play anywhere he wants as far as I’m concerned. 😊
DeleteShortstop is wide open up to Binghamton
DeleteHouck is a mess
Villavicecio is a non factor
Ditto Lugo
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood comments, gents. One rule of thumb...do not restrain the upward mobility of future stars. I'd give Jeremy 2 more weeks in FCL, then if he is still raking, move him over to the St Lucie Mets, a team that is losing quite a bit and could use help. Ewing, too. Probably finding his groove as a pro, time to rise HIGHER.
ReplyDeleteIf need be Houck can go to FCL, too. It may boost his numbers and his confidence. Houck is improving, as he was buried at .153 but 12 for his last 38, but still striking out a lot. 69 Ks in 184 times up. And, remarkably, Mack, has yet to hit his first pro home run.
See where he's at in two weeks and promote J Rod and demote Houck if it makes sense then. Maybe Houck gives us another 12 for 38 St Lucie stretch and he is on steadier ground and stays.
It is “too early to judge”, but Here is what happens with a 10 pick draft penalty. Mets would have picked 22nd last year. Instead, #32. They get Colin Houck, 19 now, and he slipped down to them. Beware the “slippers?” Up 184 times this year for St Lucie, hitting .194 (was .153 ten games ago) with 69 Ks and no homers.
ReplyDeleteThe guy picked at #22, Colt Emerson, by Seattle is a year younger and hitting .329 this year and last, so far.