MACK - The Sunday Report - Jules L, Jun-Seok Shim, Nolan McLean, Mets WAR Lindor Trade, Updated 40 man Salaries, Wandy Asigen, Cleiner Ramirez

The top news this morning is going to all be about Mets infielder, Luisangel Acuna, who hit… wait for it… FOUR HOME RUNS last night in winter ball play. An accomplishment like this does three things. One, it increases his trade value during this off-season. Two, it solidifies his position as remaining a member of the 2026 Mets. And three, it makes one wonder who really should be the starting second baseman in 2026, Acuna or that expensive guy that can barely hit .230.

Mack’s Mets is both proud and excited to announce the addition of “Jules L” to the 2026 Mack’s Mets team of writers. Jules has been our most prolific comment maker on every single post anyone writes around here and he will begin his writing this coming Tuesday. As Paul said, we’re starting to look like a lineup that the Blue Jays would be proud to put on the field.

 

The Mets have signed RHP Jun-Seok Shim to a minor league deal.

RHRP    6-4    195    21/yr. old    Seongnam, South Korea    $750K bonus IFA 2023

2025 – FCL Marlins:   13-apps, 0-3. 10.80, 2.40, 13.1-IP, 23-BB, 16-K

He gained attention as one of the top international prospects in the 2023 class, often hailed as the best pitching talent from Korea at the time.

Attended Duksoo High School in Seoul.

He opted out of the KBO draft (where he was projected as a high pick) to pursue MLB.

In January 2023, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him for a $750,000 bonus.

His pro debut came in 2023 in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL Pirates), where he posted a 3.38 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 8 innings (small sample).

Injuries limited him severely: He missed most of 2023 and all of 2024 (shoulder issue).

In July 2024, the Pirates traded him to the Miami Marlins (along with another prospect) for outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.

In 2025, he appeared in 13 games for the FCL Marlins, struggling with a 10.80 ERA, velocity loss (averaging low-90s, down from his peak), and ongoing injury concerns. The Marlins released him in August 2025.

The New York Mets signed him to a minor league deal, giving him another shot to rebuild his prospect status.

His career has been heavily impacted by injuries (elbow, toe, back, shoulder) dating back to high school, which have sapped his velocity and consistency. Once viewed as a potential mid-rotation starter (or high-leverage reliever) with big upside, he's now a high-risk reclamation project.

Repertoire

Shim's stuff was electric pre-injuries, earning comparisons to pitchers like Gerrit Cole (his idol) or even Chan-ho Park.

Fastball — His signature pitch: Sits 94-96 mph, touches 100 mph with excellent ride/hop due to high spin rates → Creates the illusion of rising.

Curveball — Sharp-breaking 12-6 type, often graded as plus (50-60 on the scouting scale).

Slider — Solid breaking ball, sometimes blended with the curve.

Changeup/Splitter — Developing off-speed pitches; the splitter shows promise as a swing-and-miss offering, while the changeup needs consistency.

Scouting reports (e.g., from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline) typically graded his fastball 60, curve 50-60, slider/splitter 45-55, with control around 50 when healthy.

Post-injury, his velocity dipped significantly (topping out mid-90s at best in limited 2024-2025 data), hurting the effectiveness of his secondaries.

If he regains health and velocity with the Mets, he could still have MLB potential—plenty of upside left at his age.

    MACK –

    Ah, what the hell… let him live in the lab pre pre-season.

 

Jon Anderson                      @JonPgh

Nolan McLean - Overrated

His 21.2% called strike rate was tenth highest in baseball among 478 pitchers who threw at least 500 pitches

His 12% SwStr% would predict a 22-23% K%, nowhere near the 30% he put up

Against righties: 10.6% SwStr%, 48% Strike% (not good)

He's one of the best at getting ground balls (60%), and that matters, but he's being drafted in the top 30 SPs, it's way too high

      MACK –

      Interesting… hope Jon is wrong here and he goes back and plays with his band, YES.

 

Hagen Snell                           @HagenSnellBB

Trade value after 5 years:

NYM:

Francisco Lindor: 29.8 WAR | $157M

Carlos Carrasco: 2.3 WAR | $38M

TOTAL: 32.1 WAR | $195M

CLE:

Andrés Giménez: 13.4 WAR | $8.3M

Amed Rosario: 5.9 WAR | $12.4M

Josh Wolf: 0 WAR | $ N/A

Isaiah Greene: 0 WAR | $ N/A

TOTAL: 19.3 WAR | $20.7M

5 years ago today the Mets acquired Francisco Lindor. fWAR leaders since then:

Aaron Judge — 42.8

Shohei Ohtani — 31.6

Juan Soto — 30.7

Francisco Lindor — 29.8

One of the best superstars in the game, and still under appreciated

 

Post arbitration - 

  

MLB – 2016 IFA Prospects – By Rank

#2    Wandy Asigen

SS

AGE  16

BATS  L

DOB  08/21/2009

THROWS  R

HT  6' 0"

WT  175

Scouting grades: Hit: 65 | Power: 60 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 55 | Overall: 65

Major League All-Stars Nelson Cruz and Tony Batista are some of the biggest names to call Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, home. Asigen, despite being one of the youngest players in the 2026 international signing class, already has the look of potentially being next in that lineage. A standout performer during game action despite consistently playing against some of the Dominican’s top talent from a young age, Asigen has been heralded as having arguably the most advanced offensive profile among his class. He trains with Jaime Ramos in the D.R., a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program.

The excitement around Asigen’s prospect profile stems primarily from his special left-handed swing. He has ripped off 110+ mph exit velocities and is repeatedly able to find the barrel during in-game action. Asigen has a knack for creating loft from his frame, something that should allow him to continue to tap into his above-average power as he continues to fill out. The quickness of his hands has evaluators excited about the future potential impact he can have with the bat.

Defensively, many of those same actions work in his favor. While his arm is merely average at this stage, he performs many of the quick-twitch movements that evaluators look for when projecting a young player’s ability to stick at shortstop. Asigen has a nose for the ball and his wheels – which have been clocked at 6.5 seconds on 60-yard dash times – allow him to cover tons of ground laterally. 

 

#23    Cleiner Ramirez

OF

AGE    17

BATS    R

DOB    12/01/2008

THROWS    R

HT    5' 9"

WT    175

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 45 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

Venezuela’s representatives among the Top 50 international prospects in 2026 is arguably the most impressive crop the country has produced since the list began in 2012. Ramirez is one of those players helping the nation’s stock as he displays a balanced skill set with tons of upside, a la fellow countryman Luisangel Acuña. One evaluator compared Ramirez’s build by the time he’s done filling out to something mirroring Kirby Puckett. He trains with ABC Baseball in his native Venezuela.

At just 5-foot-9, Ramirez uses his shorter stature to his advantage in the box. His right-handed swing has tons of bat speed as he displays a repeatable bat path and ability to square up a variety of pitches. During his time in the Caracas Prospect League, he hit .419 (13-for-31) and racked up 21 total bases in 10 games. His power is still blossoming, but he has shown an advanced eye at the dish with 14 walks to just eight strikeouts in that same sample size.

Ramirez has experience playing around the infield as an amateur but many scouts see his future on the grass. While he recorded a pair of outfield assists and went 3-for-3 on stolen-base attempts during his time in the Prospect League, he’s something of an unconventional runner with choppy strides. He could likely handle shortstop or center field, but with such a focus on the premium positions at the lower levels of the Minors, his ceiling will likely best be maximized by moving around the diamond and letting his loud offensive tools do the talking.