MACK - Canning, Pirates Greed, Tyrone, Position Chain Analysis - RP (2 of 3) - other Mets news

 

Pitch Profiler                      @pitchprofiler

Every five to six days, Griffin Canning takes the mound—and we get another chance to remind you how elite Jeremy Hefner and David Stearns are. 

The vision. The development. The results. It’s all clicking.

 

Just Baseball                       @JustBB_Media

Griffin Canning was on his game yet again

6 IP    2 H    1 ER    1 BB    5 K

He’s allowed 1 or fewer runs in 6 of his 8 starts this year

 

Thomas Nestico                 @TJStats

Griffin Canning tossed another strong start today as he lowered his ERA to 2.36

 

Mets pitching lab go brrrrrr

            Mack – Another Canning masterpiece. Who does this? Who goes from the garbage heap to all-star considerations? In my book, hands down, the Comeback Player Of The Year.

 

Kevin Gorman                     @KevinGormanPGH

“The Pittsburgh Pirates, according to information received by the players union and confirmed by several owners, are one of the most profitable teams in all of baseball, stashing a huge chunk of their revenue sharing monies instead of investing in their team year after year.”

            -Mack – I am sure the Player’s Union is making sure every pending 2026 free agent reads this. Criminal what people do to make more money. Steve Cohen proves every day that you can spent money, give the fans the right product, and still make more money. I lived in Pittsburgh in 1980 through 1982. I was there through both the “We Are Family” and “One For The Thumb” days. Pittsburghers are good, hard working people that, first, don’t deserve what has happened to their primary industries, and now have a greedy old guy getting richer off their dime. Every effort much be made by the baseball agents out their to join forces with the Union and start demanding that the league force a sale here.

 

Mets Analytics                               @MetsAnalytics

With rumors of the Mets interested in center fielders, Tyrone Taylor appreciation post anyone?

 

A terror on the base paths and a highlight reel in center field, Taylor has been a lunch-pail type of player unafraid to play his role with the Mets. Taylor is the only Met with more

            Mack – Frankly, this looks a lot better than I thought it would.

Next up… the next four relievers making headlines so far this season…

 

Douglas Orellana – AA

23/years old    RHRP    6-1    200    7-13-21-IFA

Converted to the pen from being a starter last season

2024   -    Brooklyn:    13-G, 9-ST, 0-1, 1.86, 1.29, 38.2-IP, 19-BB, 49-K

     Began as a piggy-back pitcher with fellow prospect, Noah Hall. Converted to a starter when Hall was injured. Improved 4.4 BB/9, 11-BB in 24.1-IP,

Last outing –

    5-4  -  2-IP, 2-H, 0-R, 0-BB, 2-K, 0.73

Throws from a ¾ arm slot with short arm delivery. Modified in 2022 to reduce long back action. Delivery has some violence, with exaggerated follow-through. Does not help control problems.

Repertoire –

    Fastball  -  sits 91-95, with above average spin rates. Generating more swings and misses as he matures.

    Slider  -  primary strikeout pitch. Averages 84. Sharp 2-plane gyro movement,

    Curve  -  added in 2023. Uses this pitch intermittingly. But more last season than past seasons.

Historically has struggled with command which is primary reason you don’t see his name on Mets prospect lists or other writers than me tout this guy. Walk rate is declining… 6.0 in 2022… 5.0 in 2023… 4.4 in 2024. Huge drop so far this season.

Orellana’s strength is his slider. A definite wipeout pitch.

Transitioning to the pen has definitely helped his control issue. Shame. I really liked him as a potential starter chip.

 

Ryan Ammons – A+

24/years old   LHRP    6-0    205

10^th round pick in 2023 draft by the Red Sox, out of Clemson University

Traded to NYM on 12/6/2023 for RHP Justin Slaten.

2024 – A/A+:    32-APPS, 4-4, 2.18, 1.23, 45.1-IP, 32-BB, 60-K

So far in 2025 - 7-APPS, 1-0, 0.00, 0.50, 8-IP, 9-K

Last three outings –

      5-9  -   1.2-IP, 1-H, 0-R, 0-BB, 1-K

     5-6   -   1-IP, 0-H, 0-R, 1-BB, 1-K

    4-30  -  1-IP, 0-H, 0-R, 2-K, 0.00, 0.38

Last five outings –

   5.1-IP, 7-K, ZERO RUNS, 0.00, 0.38

Insiders describe Ammons as a promising minor league reliever. Had high 13.1 K/9 strikeout rate in college. Right now, you can’t do better than a 0.00-ERA. His advanced age could push him quickly to the AA level. For now, of you live near Coney, enjoy this guy.

 

Justin Lawson – A+

24/years old  -  RHRP    6-3    200   

15^TH round pick in 2023 draft by NYM, out of North Carolina State

2024 – A+/AA:   35-APPS, 1-ST, 3-4, 2.43, 1.09, 8-SV, 63-IP, 29-BB, 55-K

2025 -  Brooklyn:  6-APPS, 0-0, 3.68, 0.82, 7.1-IP, 7-K

Last outings –

    5-6   -   0.2-IP, 3-H, 2-ER, 0-BB, 1-K                

    4-30  -  2-IP, 2-H, 1-R, 0-BB, 3-K

Throws from a low ¾ arm slot with simple, repeatable mechanics which adds to his consistency as a reliever.

Repertoire –

    Fastball  -  low-to-mid 90s. Good movement, but not overpowering

    Slider  -  primary pitch. Low to mad 80s. Sharp, late bite. Generates large swings and misses. His out pitch.

Needs to refine fastball command to continue to be successful at higher levels. Could use a third pitch. Closing experience makes him a candidate for a future middle reliever in the Mets pen.

Had a bad outing on Tuesday. Shit happens. His still low WHIP shows he's better than this.

Lawson has done very little wrong so far as a pro. His big test begun the day he was promoted to the AA level. If this excellence continues, I give him a Mets ETA sometime next season.

 

Ryan Lambert – AA

22/years old -   RHRP    6-3    225

6^TH round pick in 2024 draft by NYM, out of the University of Oklahoma

2024 – Brooklyn:    2-APPS, 0-0, 0.00, 1.67, 3-IP, 1-BB, 4-K

    60% strikeout rate and a -0.02-FIP

2025 – 10-APPS, 1-0, 1.50, 0.92, 12-IP, 23-K

Known for his high velocity fastball. Can consistently throw 100+ mph pitches. Fastball clocked as high as 102. His secret of increasing velocity? Simple. Drinking 30 raw eggs daily for a month to bulk up.

Promoted to Binghamton last month.

Last outings –

    5-4  -  2.0-IP, 1-H, 0-R, 2-BB, 2-K, SV-1, 0.00

    5-9 -  1.0IP,  2-H, 1-ER, 0-BB, 2-K

Strengths – elite fastball velocity, High strikeout potential. Mentally suited for this role.

Areas of Improvement – walk rate remains a concern. Needs to develop a better strike-zone control.

Projected as a late inning reliever, especially either a set-up or closer role.

Lambert is dominating early in Binghamton, though his control issues have reared its ugly head. I am going to write this off as getting used to a new level of talent at the AA level. We’ll keep an eye on this.

A tribute to the incomparable Tony Gwynn, who would have turned 65 on Friday

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6342757/2025/05/09/tony-gwynn-tribute-derek-jeter-advice-sliders/

Tony Gwynn, the greatest pure hitter born in the last hundred years, would have turned 65 on Friday. He was the San Diego State baseball coach when he died of salivary gland cancer in 2014, and Zavala is one of three players from his final season who reached the major leagues, with Ty France of the Minnesota Twins and Greg Allen, an outfielder now in the minors with the Chicago Cubs.

“Those guys got to know him on a much closer basis than most,” Tony Gwynn Jr., now a Padres radio analyst, said at Yankee Stadium this week. “Even though he was sick when they were around him, they still got a piece of him that most people don’t get a chance to really experience.”

“He did such a great job of humanizing himself, making it seem like he was not ‘Mr. Padre’ or San Diego’s greatest baseball player,” France said. “He was just Coach Gwynn, and to this day, I still refer to him as Coach Gwynn.”

Gwynn won eight batting titles in 20 seasons while collecting 3,141 hits. He could have gone 0-for-1,000 after he retired and still hit .305 — higher than the hit king, Pete Rose. Gwynn’s .338 career average is the best of anyone who spent his entire career in the integrated major leagues. Wade Boggs and Rod Carew are tied for second, 10 points behind the master.

“He just had a magic bat,” said Ron Darling, the former Mets righty who held Gwynn to a mere .441. “I gave up two hits to him that bounced, like cricket. Two bullets on balls that bounced.” 

Gwynn hit .397 (50-for-126) off Greg Maddux and Pedro Martínez, with no strikeouts. John Smoltz fanned him once while giving up a .462 average (30-for-65). Gwynn owned almost everybody: forkballers (Hideo Nomo, .560), knuckleballers (Tom Candiotti, .422), Cy Young Award winners (Doug Drabek, .469), World Series MVPs (Curt Schilling, .390), Leiter brothers (Al and Mark, .452) — on and on and on.

Late in his life, Gwynn Jr. said, his father could see where the sport was going. Velocity was rising and hitters were increasingly incentivized to choose power over artistry. Today’s bat-to-ball specialists, like Luis Arraez and Jacob Wilson, would have warmed his heart.

Yet while Gwynn famously served singles the opposite way — “There’s hits all over the field,” France said, repeating a mantra — he was far more than a slap hitter. In the last nine years of his career (1993 to 2001), Gwynn had his typical .356 average and .400 on-base percentage, but also a .500 slugging percentage. He averaged 13 homers a season, almost double his previous rate.

“You can learn so much just from talking to people,” said Gwynn, who lived by that credo and passed it on.

The best of Gwynn, on the field and off, was about as special as anything we’ve ever seen. Happy birthday, Mr. Padre. And thank you.

The future of the Mets offense is at Coney Island

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6340622/2025/05/08/mets-prospects-brooklyn-cyclones-2/

After Marco Vargas walks and a wild pitch advances the runners, A.J. Ewing’s single to center scores both of them. Whereas Reimer played his first game for the Cyclones 21 months ago, Ewing played his first three days earlier. The Mets promoted the 2023 fourth-round pick after he posted a .400/.500/.600 slash line at St. Lucie for a month.

“I had a talk with some of the higher-ups right when spring training ended, and they told me I was going to repeat St. Lucie,” Ewing said. “I told them, ‘I’m going to make your life hard to keep me there.’ So yeah, it feels good.”

For Ewing, a switch flipped last summer toward the end of July. Having been promoted to Single-A St. Lucie in June, he spent the first 40 games hitting below .200. But over the final six weeks of the season, he hit .275 with a .410 on-base percentage.

“I had a few rough months and I was like, ‘You know, screw it. I’m doing my thing, I know I’m a good player,’” Ewing said of the time. “It was me realizing I’m good at baseball and I should be here and trusting my plan and process.”

Ewing’s growth hinged on the two things the Mets emphasize avoiding as a hitter: miss and chase. Swing in the zone, and make contact when you do. The Mets could see the trendlines improving for Ewing before the results last season.

“You’ve got the right idea and you’re on the right track,” Albert said about a conversation with Ewing. “This is going to come together for you.”

Albert brings up the way Ewing took that approach into his offseason work. If avoiding miss and chase is the key for Mets hitters, the focus for Mets hitting coaches is on two other pillars: Make it actionable and transfer ownership.

When you see something that a hitter can improve, develop and communicate the steps to do so. And do it in a way that makes the hitter care enough about it to embrace it, to make it his own mission.

“Meet them where they are,” Albert said, “but also help them get where they want to go.”

Ronny Mauricio

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6336179/2025/05/06/mets-luisangel-acuna-prospects/

What are the chances that Ronny Mauricio gets some reps at center field as he works his way back up through the minors? — D.R.

WS: Mauricio will stay on the infield until he’s up to full speed. Mauricio’s rehab assignment with St. Lucie started last week. He has played five innings each at second base, shortstop and third base. The Mets view him as an infielder. But a necessity in the outfield could cause Mauricio to spend some time there.

 

Jonah Tong

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6336179/2025/05/06/mets-luisangel-acuna-prospects/

Thirty-eight strikeouts in 21 innings? How long until Jonah Tong gets promoted to Triple A? — Chris T.

WS: The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Tong as the Mets’ eighth-best prospect. In Double A, he has a 3.38 ERA with — yes — 38 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. But he also has 14 walks. He needs to throw strikes more consistently. Sometimes, he gets on a good stretch and piles up strikes only to quickly lose that flow. Also, he’s 21 and lacks pitching experience compared to someone like Sproat or Nolan McLean, who recently earned a promotion to Triple A.

Jim Koenigsberger             @Jimfrombaseball

Is There Baseball In Heaven?

Two old men had been best friends for years, and they both live to their early 90s, when one of them suddenly falls deathly ill. His friend comes to visit him on his deathbed, and they're reminiscing about their long friendship, when the dying man's friend asks,

"Listen, when you die, do me a favour. I want to know if there's baseball in heaven."

The dying man said, "We've been friends for years, this I'll do for you." And then he dies.

A couple days later, his surviving friend is sleeping when he hears his friend's voice. The voice says, "I've got some good news and some  bad news. The good news is that there's baseball in heaven."

"What's the bad news?"

"You're pitching next Wednesday."

 

After 17 year old Johnny Antonelli graduated from Jefferson High School, his Dad rented the Rochester Red Wings ballpark, 'Silver Stadium', and had his son, in front of scouts from several Major League teams, pitch to a semipro baseball team. Antonelli, who had thrown five no-hitters in his high school senior year, mowed down 17 batters, no-hit the team, and was awarded the largest signing bonus in baseball history, when he signed with the Braves for $52,000 in 1948.

Braves Johnny Sain, the team’s gentlemanly, mild-mannered ace, made $21,000 that year, considerably less than Antonelli’s bonus, and was so upset about the discrepancy between himself, a 20-game winner and Antonelli without a big league appearance, that Sain threatened to walk out on his contract.

“I meant it,” Sain said later on, “I was going to walk away from the whole thing.

Antonelli`s own teammates chose NOT to award him a share of of the World Series gate receipts that season

Antonelli later became a six-time National League All-Star, a two-time 20-game-winner, and an important member of the 1954 World Series champion Giants' pitching staff.

"Dodger legend Maury Wills first reported to Vero Beach as a pitching prospect, in 1951. For Wills, it would be eight long seasons in the minor leagues.

‘I first came to Dodgertown more than 50 years ago. When I walk around the camp, I can still feel the presence of those great Dodgers of the past and what it was like for a young baseball player to dream of life in the major leagues. I remember living in the minor league barracks for such a long time. You knew you had it made as a player if you were assigned to the major league barracks, with carpets and drapes and a private bath. But the memories come alive every trip to Dodgertown. Jackie Robinson, Roy  Campanella, Duke Snider, Don Newcombe. As long as there is a Dodgertown, they will never be forgotten."

Mark Langill

"Dodgertown"