Mets
scratch Griffin Canning. Does this open the door
for Brandon Sproat later this week?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6282280/2025/04/15/mets-rotation-brandon-sproat-debut-possibility/
That’s
the other uncertain aspect here. The Mets believe Canning should be able to
pitch no later than Friday, which would allow them to keep the rest of their
rotation in order. However, if Canning can’t go by then, New York will need to
bring up another starter (and perhaps place Canning on the 15-day IL).
That’s
where Sproat can come into the equation. He’s slated to start Thursday for
Syracuse, so he’d be on only one extra day of rest to go Friday. And especially
if Canning needs an IL stint, Sproat would stick in the rotation for more than
one start. Like last year with Christian Scott,
the Mets are more apt to call up a pitching prospect if there’s a longer runway
to give him multiple starts.
Even if
Sproat doesn’t make his debut this week, he’ll likely be needed in the majors
before long. After this week, the Mets will need a sixth starter again by the
first week of May. It would be a surprise if veteran Paul
Blackburn is ready for a return by then, so New York will likely be
sifting through the same candidates then as now, with the possible addition of
prospect Blade Tidwell.
Approach
to Juan Soto and Mets’ issues with runners on
base
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6282800/2025/04/15/mets-offense-juan-soto-approach/
Starting
with the topic du jour, Soto told the New York Post on Monday that not having
Aaron Judge behind him in the lineup has changed the way he’s been pitched to
this season. And as hot as Alonso has been all season, Soto is right.
In broad
terms, Soto is seeing fewer fastballs than ever before: less than half the time
for the first time in his career. (It was a career-low 50.8 percent of the time
last year.)
He’s also
seeing fewer pitches in the strike zone than ever before, at 43.2 percent, down
more than 3 percentage points from 2024. This year’s mark is the fifth lowest
in baseball.
And if
you narrow the zone to the “heart” of the plate, Soto is seeing just 21.6
percent of pitches there, again down about 3 percentage points from last year
and again the fifth-lowest mark in baseball.
“We’ve
faced a lot of righties lately, and they’re making a choice to pitch around him
a little bit more and try to get to Pete, and we’ve been fortunate that Pete is
Pete and has been doing a really good job,” Barnes said. “If they don’t throw
him a strike, he’s happy to take his walks, and that’s a positive thing for us.
Pete’s done a great job so far coming up with some really big hits.”
Now, to
be fair to Alonso, Soto was also pitched to more selectively in 2024 — with
Judge behind him — than he was earlier in his career. It’s basically a
career-long trend of teams pitching to him more and more carefully. In the end,
it doesn’t much matter why Soto is being pitched to differently. It matters
that he is, and it matters how he adapts to it. Given his home runs each of the
last two nights, it looks like he’s adjusting.
This Week
in Mets: Three early thoughts for the first 15 games
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6277444/2025/04/14/this-week-in-mets-three-early-thoughts/
Can the
duo of Soto and Alonso do something like this all year?
The Mets’
slugging stars have combined for an OPS of .944 through 15 games, nearly 250
points clear of the league average. Alonso, of course, has done the heavy
lifting, but even when he slows down, you can imagine Soto picking up his own
pace.
So it’s
not crazy to think that this is about what the Mets can get from their second
and third hitters.
(Read
this…)
Of
course, there is no free agency without exaggerated and fabricated reports.
Remember,
under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, no team is permitted to
publicly say that they offered, let alone if they have any interest in the
player. A player’s agent can fib, lie, fabricate, exaggerate, or do whatever he
or she wants to do, and a team has no recourse.
Mets Prospect Notes
https://sny.tv/articles/mets-prospect-notes-jett-williams-drew-gilbert-4-12-25?s=03
If you
don’t already know Eli Serrano III, you may want
to start getting familiar with him.
Serrano
landed with the organization in the fourth round of last year’s draft -- and he
was widely praised for the strong offensive skillset that he displayed during
his time at NC State.
The
21-year-old showcased that in a very small sample size towards the end of last
year, compiling seven extra base-hits in 17 games as he made his pro ball debut
with the St. Lucie Mets.
He was
bumped up to High-A Brooklyn to begin this year -- and he’s been able to
carry over that production on both sides of the ball thus far.
Serrano
has a double, two homers, three stolen bases, seven walks, eight hits, a .457
on-base percentage, and an incredible 1.013 OPS through six games. He also
gunned down a runner at the plate with a tremendous throw from center and made
a pair of leaping catches at the fence in left.
Tyler Zuber certainly looked the part of a big leaguer during spring training.
The
right-handed reliever walked four batters but he did well to limit the damage,
allowing just one run while striking out six across 7.2 innings of work.
Thus far, he’s been able to carry that success over to Triple-A Syracuse -- bringing his
ERA down to a strong mark of 2.08 ERA across four appearances after putting
together a scoreless frame on Thursday.
He’s
allowed just one run and two hits while walking one, striking out three, and
generating eight groundball outs.
The
29-year-old struggled in the minors following a trade deadline deal with the
Rays, but after spending a full offseason working with the Mets’ pitching lab,
he appears ready to contribute at the big-league level.
There
aren’t any openings in the Mets’ bullpen at the moment, but if Zuber can keep
this rolling, his opportunity may come before you know it.
Jim Koenigsberger @Jimfrombaseball
While
working as a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tommy
Lasorda, the legendary former Dodgers manager and baseball ambassador,
took a trip down to the University of
Southern California and scouted a young 20
year old pitcher on the Trojans staff.
The
Dodgers drafted Tom Seaver in the 10th round of
the 1965 draft. The Dodgers balked at Seaver’s asking price of $50,000 to sign.
Dodgers scout Tommy Lasorda countered with a $2000 signing bonus offer.
After
Seaver declined, Lasorda said to Seaver, who was studying pre-dentistry at USC,
“Good
luck with your dental career.”
Lasorda was a dental case. He also let Ryan be traded to his crosstown rival LA Angels. Tommy, can you hear me?
ReplyDeleteWeather is normalizing, so I would like to see Sproat pitch in a 60 degree plus game, and see how that goes. Time for him to dominate. Pitching in AAA is like pitching to the Mets’ 5 thru 9 hitters.
Wonder what Canning was so sick from that they knew yesterday that he’d miss his next start?
All’s well that Tidwell.
From the extensive category of meaningless stats: "The Mets’ slugging stars have combined for an OPS of .944 through 15 games, nearly 250 points clear of the league average."
ReplyDeleteThe reason OPS is such a big deal is that it measures the two measures that lead to runs - runners on base and extra base hits. You have to execute pretty poorly to be 18th in runs scored when your OPS leads the league by 250 points.
Kranick to AAA
ReplyDeleteHagerman to Mets
I don’t care how you slice it, saying Kranick won’t be gone long….but I’d be pissed. One of the best MLB pitchers since spring training started. I’d just send him to NY, and after Hagenman pitches, reverse that and reactivate Kranick.
ReplyDeleteOne day
Delete