Who Can Hit the Unhittable Tong? Nobody.
First, Mets win 4 straight. Then lost to Max Fried Sunday, but not without a fight, losing 6-4 with a depleted staff.
Second, Kodai Senga didn’t pitch to good results, but threw 68 pitches in rehab for Binghamton on Saturday. He’s ready, if healthy after his start, to be called up ASAP.
MLB just released it ps mid season prospect rankings.
Top 5 Mets? Jett, Tong (the pitching freak), Benge (hot), McLean (10 Ks in 5 innings in his last start), and Sproat (last 2 outings, 11 IP, 14 Ks, 4 hits, no runs).
Nice top 5, I’d say. VERY NICE.
Elian Peña, hot as a torch 15 for 41 + 14 walks) after his 0-28 season start, is highly ranked as 8th best at age 17, while successful somewhat older speedsters Nick Morabito and AJ Ewing are just 16th and 26th. That must say a lot about Peña’s ceiling.
My guy, lefty Jonathan Santucci, was the Mets’ 2nd rounder and 46th overall. In his debut pro season, the lefty struggled early for Brooklyn, but has been flat-out masterful and, yes, Superb, since.
Santucci is ranked 11th Mets prospect. Another outstanding outing for Santucci on Friday - 6 scoreless, 9 Ks.
Promoted to AA halfway through his first pro season. A future Max Fried?
And Ryan Clifford (.242 in AA) is highly ranked at 6th, so I demand a huge second half from him. He seems to be revving up. You can walk - you’ve proved that - now ATTACK.
Jeremy Rodriguez, meanwhile, is ranked 10th, but hitting just .217 at age 19 in St Lucie. (You can’t see me, but I am scratching my head).
Other rankings I find a little puzzling, like Boston Baro (struggling) being ranked 12th, while AJ Ewing is flat-out killing it, but ranked 26th.
No, despite Kevin Parada’s 100 point batting average climb since early May, he is still not to be found in the top 30. Maybe he will get there again. Keep climbing.
Find the full new list here: MLB.COM METS’ TOP 30 PROSPECTS
Hot players (and a few cool ones)? Here are some, starting three much-needed relievers:
1) Anthony Nunez - the former infielder turned pitcher remains outstanding in his first full pitching year - 33 innings, 53 Ks, 1.38 ERA, 0.77 WHIP. Wow.
2) Dylan Ross - first full season, already in AAA, 3 outings in July so far. 3.1 IP, no walks, 7 Ks. Wow. This season, 52 Ks in 28 IP, a great rate.
3) Ryan Lambert’s walk rate in AA is up quite a bit, but he is still pitching well in relief and fanning many there.
Nunez, Ross and Lambert could be ready for Sept. call ups, if not sooner.
Drew Gilbert has been cold most of the year, but his recent 13 for 40 stretch jumped him to .241. Keep jumping.
Carson Benge has a fine .375 OBP AND a very low K rate since his AA promotion. The latter, to me, screams “Benge is the REAL DEAL!”
Jett Williams was red hot, but has (4 for 29) slumped of late. Baseball has its ups and downs. His 32 Ks in his last 29 games douse the notion that he might be MLB ready. He is not, until that improves.
LA Acuna hitting .300 (12 for 40) since being demoted. He has a few too many Mets ABs to technically be a prospect, but he is doing well.
Jacob Reimer - 314/.405/.629 in his first 11 AA games. Wow. And 20 doubles, 4 triples, 11 HRs, and 48 RBIs in 264 at bats this year. Even 11 steals. Impressive. Numbers remind me of David Wright.
Jack Wenninger - in his last start, 6 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 11Ks. WHAT!!
- Super impressive season so far. 8-5, 2.76, 100 Ks in 82 IP.
AJ Ewing? .320, 52 steals. He has 2 gears: scorching, and potent. Wow.
Others are hot and cool, too. Coolest of all?
The entire FCL Mets team, hovering around .200 as a team.
DSL hot hitters? That deserves its own article in, say, two weeks.
But Yunior Amparo in 63 PAs? .429/.524/.694, 18 runs, 11 RBIs. Wow.
Josmir Reyes? Cooled a bit to .356, but fanned just 3 X in 74 PAs. Wow.
ALUMNI NOTE:
Ex-Met Paul Gervase recently made his MLB debut.
- Though Saturday, 4.1 IP, 1 run. Congratulations.
The Mets on Saturday designated Tyler Zuber for assignment.
Coincidentally, Gervase was traded for Zuber.
ANOTHER POINT TO MAKE ABOUT THE CITI FENCE DIMENSIONS
Yeah, that topic again.
“Stingy Field” on HRs.
Some say, what about the increase in homers surrendered by Mets pitchers if the Mets move those ornery fences in?
Well, through Saturday, the Mets had hit 118 HRs, but were first in fewest HRs allowed by pitchers, with 77.
My counterargument to the “leave the fences where they are” proponent cohort is that hitting is harder than pitching, and good pitchers adjust more easily than hitters do to things like field dimension changes.
That huge 41 HR positive differential this year supports that logic.
Simply, Mets hitters have banged many shots which have been caught deep on warning tracks or bang off outfield walls.
Pete hit 2 HRs Saturday in Citi. Whoopee.
Before that game, though, he had 12 on the road vs. an incredibly low 6 at home. He’d probably have 16 HRs at Citi, not 8, though, if the fences were my suggested 5-7 feet shorter, and 8 feet shorter in dead center.
Career, Pounding Pete has 135 road HRs, but just 111 Citi HRs.
Obvious to me. That’s a criminal differential.
Solve the crime: Move the walls in.
Even “little” guys, like low hitting Luis Torrens, are adversely impacted. I have not seen a lot of his ABs. I have, however (in the ones I saw) noticed 3 balls caught half way back on the track.
With shorter fences? 3 HRs. Switch 3 very long outs into 3 HRs, and his season stats suddenly look a whole lot better.
Yeah, I know, we’re tired of hearing it.
VIENTOS VS. MANGUM
One is a current Met, one is a former Met prospect I liked.
One was always taken seriously, the other always was not.
One is now hitting .212, the other one is hitting .309.
One is not fast and strong defensively, the other definitely is.
My conclusion?
One the Mets should have traded, one the Mets should have kept.
The Mets, naturally, did not keep the .309 guy with glove and speed.
CRISP PRO BASEBALL
The FCL Mets on Monday were held to 8 hits.
But they won 14-2, while still leaving 11 men on base.
How so?
13 walks and 5 HBPs. Hard to fathom, huh?
C Julio Zayas had a “Triple Double” - 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 HBPs.
Slugger Randy Guzman hit his 7th HR and drove in 6 runs (28).
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Jesse Winker returns today.
Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga return this weekend.
Who then leaves? 3 guys who don’t deserve to stay.
7 comments:
May a sensationally happy Tuesday. I will be busy - discuss article as you wish.
Your last topic addressed a very difficult subject. Three guys go down to make room for returning injured players. On the pitching side, I would expect them to send down the long guys Hagenrman and Waddell to make room for Senga and Manaea but those two have pitched better than Pop and Garcia. On the position player side, when Winker returns there are not many replacement targets - it has to be Mauricio, Vientos, or Jankowski. Since you want speed and late inning defense, that brings it down to a choice between Mauricio and Vientos. Someone will be sorely disappointed.
My guess is they will keep the Baby Mets in Queens so they can showcase them
I believe Vientos has zero options left
Agree with you on pitcher choices
My bat guess would be Janky
Unfortunately, Paul Vientos is out of options. You send him down, you lose him. If Marte is hurt, then That solves the problem for now. But it would seem Jankowski would be the odd man out.
On the pitching side Pop should go. That was a big swing and miss. If he he has no options than just eat the money.
Had a second to check in. A “Pop Out” is called for.
If Jankowski goes, I think Gilbert is at this point as capable (or at least equally incapable, but with upside). So Jankowski must go.
Might as well make Gilbert sink or swim at this point.
Unfortunately Vientos is also out of confidence. It doesn't make sense to DFA him, so he is going to have to ride some pine.
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