Mack's Mets

Baseball Prospect Rankings for 2012

2012-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Matt Harvey - RHP - Currently 42 - The seventh overall pick in the 2010 draft, Matt Harvey is a tall righthander from Mystic, Connecticut who pitched his college ball at UNC, where a few tweaks to his high-school delivery paid off with extra cheese on his...

More Scouting Book Info on Matt Harvey

SB 42BA SC 52BP SN ES ML 38

Zack Wheeler - RHP - Currently - 77 - - It's always nice when you can trade away a fading veteran for a team's top prospect, and that's what the Mets did in acquiring Zack Wheeler from the Giants. A flame-throwing righthander from Georgia, Wheeler mixes his...

More Scouting Book Info on Zack Wheeler

SB 77BA SC 53BP SN ES ML 28

Jenrry Mejia - RHP - Currently - 123 - Yes, he's still a prospect. The Mets may not have handled him in the best way possible, yanking him around between the bullpen and rotation as well as up and down the development ladder, but righthander Jenrry ('Henry')...

More Scouting Book Info on Jenrry Mejia

SB 123BA SC BP SN ES ML

Reese Havens - SS - Currently - 145 - A successful shortstop in college whose range is a bit of a question in pro ball, South Carolina graduate David (Reese) Havens could make a heck of a second baseman for a future Mets infield that already includes the...

More Scouting Book Info on Reese Havens

SB 145BA SC BP SN ES ML

Brandon Nimmo - OF - Currently - 168 - The Mets first round pick (13th overall) in 2011, outfielder Brandon Nimmo didn't get much pro time on the field last season, but should spend most of this year in rookie ball where the teenager will be under close...

Full Scouting Report for Brandon Nimmo

SB 168BA SC BP SN ES ML

Kirk Nieuwenhuis - OF - Currently - 177 - An impressive outfield prospect in the Mets system, Kirk Nieuwenhuis is probably the organization's best true centerfielder. He needs a bit more work to polish his all-around game, but he's got the bat, glove and arm to...

More Scouting Book Info on Kirk Nieuwenhuis

SB 177BA SC BP SN ES ML

Jeurys Familia - RHP - Currently - 186 - A big, durable looking righty, Mets pitcher Jeurys Familia signed as an IFA from Dominica in 2007, and since then has been to visit every development guru on the East Coast, as scouts and coaches all tinker with his...

More Scouting Book Info on Jeurys Familia

SB 186BA SC BP SN ES ML 90

Cesar Puello - OF - Currently - 200 - A fast, lanky outfielder who signed as an international free agent, Mets prospect Cesar Puello is one of the most promising offensive prospects in the system, and one of the fastest rising. Already finished with rookie...

Full Scouting Report for Cesar Puello

SB 200BA SC BP SN ES ML

Wilmer Flores - SS - Currently 245 - It was once very frustrating to be a shortstop prospect in the Mets system, but now that the Jose Reyes era is over, Wilmer Flores is probably having trouble holding in his glee. Flores's 2011 was a full-season grind of...

More Scouting Book Info on Wilmer Flores

SB 245BA SC BP SN ES ML

http://www.scoutingbook.com/prospects/1-10

The Keepers: - #8 - OF - Gilbert Gomez

2012-02-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

8. Gilbert Gomez OF

Gomezis an undrafted international free agent that comes out of the DSL system.Batted .268 in 2009 for the DSL Mets as a 17-year old.

2001 stats (18-year old) for the GCL Mets:.229/.289/.344/.633.

7-7-11:- Mets outfield prospect Gilbert Gomez is beginning to make his markprofessionally. The 19-year old went 3-4, 1-double, 2-RBI in yesterday’ssuspended GCL game and has now raided his 2011 BA to .308. He was signed in2008 as a heralded 16-year old, out of the Dominican Republic, and has so fartaken baby steps through the organization… 2009: DSL - .268, 2010: GCL - .229. Pop is stillprojected here, though he has five doubles this year and is sporting his highest(.422) slugging percentage in his career.

8-12-11:- Stock Up – OF Gilbert Gomez – OF Cesar Puello was placed on the 7-day DLtoday by St. Lucie and it’s easier just calling up someone from the back fieldGCL team, than shipping someone out of Savannah. Gomez got the call and, yeah,he debuted with an 0-4 line, but did you expect?

8-22-11:- #16 – OF Gilbert Gomez – Gomez is a long way off, but he’s currentlybenefiting from the same kind of promotion Ruben Tejada had a few years ago.The GCL and St. Lucie Mets teams share a complex and it’s much easier to asksomeone to take a walk down the block rather than pay airfare from someone inSavannah, especially when there is an injury. Gomez, who was basicallyfloundering with GCL is now holding his own with Lucy, so it will beinteresting to watch his stat line for the rest of the season. Either way, I’vegot the 19-year old sticking with Lucy for the 2012 season, though I reservethe option of moving him down as this process continues. ETA: 2015

8-28-11– Stock Up: - OF Gilbert Gomez – This is weird. I had a working title on mynotes page entitled “Is Gilbert Gomez the new Cory Vaughn’? It was going to bea post that was pro-Gilbert, but, at the same time, designed to light a fireunder a player I like and is going through his second slump of the year. So,what do BOTH of them do today? They both hit two home runs in the same game.Weird.

12-28-11- http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/12/mmo-2012-mets-top-prospects-s-21-30.html = 24. Gilbert Gomez (RF) The Metssigned Gomez as an IFA in 2009 out of the Dominican Republic. At 6’3″ the19-year-old righty-hitting, right-fielder is a very talented and athleticoutfielder. He played at the rookie level in 2009 and 2010, and put up fairlymodest numbers, but word started to circulate anyway, about this fast, strong,lanky kid playing in the GCL for the Mets. The 2011 season started slowly forGomez under the hot sun of the Gulf Coast League. Then on August 12th, the Metswere forced to place RF Cesar Puello, who was playing at St. Lucie in theAdvanced-A Florida State League, on the disabled list. They needed a fill-inoutfielder fast, so they called Gomez over from the rookie league field. He notonly “filled in” he became an integral part of the Division Champions for thestretch run and the playoffs, manning RF and batting in the two-hole, where hehit .307 in 75 AB’s with 4 HR’s and 4 SB’s. He played so well for stretches,including hitting two homers in the Aug. 28th game, that the “buzz” about himreturned. Gomez played at such a high level at high-A that I would start himthere again. At his young age, the Mets can afford to be patient with him, andif they are they will surely reap the rewards one day.

1-20-12-http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/01/prospect-pulse-the-2012-st-lucie-mets.html Gilbert Gomez (RF) - This guy needs to play.At the end of last season he showed that the Florida State League would be avery satisfactory playground for him in 2012. He plays very well with the otherkids. If you haven’t heard of Gilbert Gomez, remember the name, he is going toexplode onto the scene this year. RF will be his at St. Lucie as we get to seewhat he is capable of doing over a full season.

1-23-12-http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/23/2693134/2012-amazin-avenue-top-50-mets-prospects #47) OF Gilbert Gomez - Gomez is a 19-yr oldphysical specimen who stepped into the prospect spotlight in 2011 thanks inlarge part to one heck of a seized opportunity. Gomez has always beeninteresting thanks to his excellent athleticism, but as of late July of this summerhe was still just another teenager in Rookie-ball with good tools and not a tonto show for them. That's when he was called up to Hi-A. The St. Lucie Mets --who share the same complex with the GCL club -- came looking for an outfielderand Gomez was called across the complex with the intent of getting a fewinnings of fill-in work while some outfielders were on the mend. The funnything is that he raked. In 70 ab's he hit .307 with four homers and four stolenbases, while playing good defense -- though d-isappointingly mostly in thecorner OF. Gomez was already worth watching thanks to his long, athletic framebut much more so now thanks to his surprising performance in Hi-A.

Mets: Darin Gorski, Rafael Montero, Matt Tuiasosopo, Edgardo Alfonzo

2012-02-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

1-27-12: -http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6509 10. LHP Darin Gorski - Baseball-Reference player profile -While top prospects Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Jeurys Familia will get allthe attention by likely starting the season together in the AA Binghamtonrotation, a probable fourth member of that rotation should get some notice aswell. Gorski has been flying under the radar since being an upper-80s finessepitcher out of Kutztown State in Pennsylvania, where the Mets picked him in theseventh round in 2009. After twoundistinguished years in the minors, Gorski blossomed last year in the FloridaState League, 11-3, 2.08 in 138 innings, allowing only 29 walks against 140strikeouts. Most importantly, his velocity moved up from finesse/soft tosscategory to “firm low-90s” at times, which made his very good change and workabledowner curveball all that more effective. Gorski sounds very similar toanother finesse left hander out of a small Northeast school who went on topitch in the big leagues for nine years, John Halama.

1-23-12 -http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/23/2693134/2012-amazin-avenue-top-50-mets-prospects #46) RHP RafaelMontero - Like Mateo, the 21-yr old Rafael Montero signed a little lateto pro ball but he certainly made up for lost time. Montero used a pinpoint low90's heater to carve up DSL hitters early in the year (see, 0 walks vs. 20 K's)and for whatever reason, he was promoted forward while Mateo was not. Monterowent on to post more gaudy totals -- including a combined .208 opp. average --as he rocketed up four levels, right into the Cyclones 'pen in the heart of aplayoff run. Pretty incredible, even before you realize that this was allduring his pro debut. While he had age on his side, his combination of stuffand command are very impressive. I'd LOVE to see what he could do alongsideMateo in the Gnats rotation in 2012.

Make a lot of jokes about the guys the Mets havesigned this off-season but Matt Tuiasosopo (Idare you to pronounce that properly) is simply so bad that no joke is funnyenough to make this ok. I totally understand depth signings and I know guyslike this get moved around all the time but I literally cant find a singlereason the Mets have signed this guy. His stats are truly atrocious, in the three seasonswhere he played Major League Ball he played in 71 games and in only of thosethree seasons did he crack the Mendoza line, in 2009 when he hit .227. Hiscareer slash line is: .176/.234/.306, that is just so bad. I believe his bigselling point is that he can play almost any position, having seen time at1B,2B,SS,3B and LF. The only problem being, he is bad at all of them, havingnever posted a positive or even zero UZR at any of these positions.Finally. hiscareer WAR is -1.1, in three years his presence has lost his teams a littleover a game. Why are we signing him? He is worse than any decent triple Aplayer we could bring up. http://www.metsrospectus.com/2012/01/gettin-to-know-matt-tuiasosopo.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

As I looked over thetwenty categories listed in the Mets media guide in the all-time leaderssection, the name Edgardo Alfonzo popped up onfifteen of the twenty categories, that put Alfonzo second just behind DarrylStrawberry for most top ten categories. (Straw is top ten in seventeen of thetwenty failing to crack the top ten in batting average, pinch hits and pinch hit home runs. I think we shouldbe clamoring for number 18 to be retire don’t you think?) http://www.kranepoolsociety.com/2012/01/29/how-is-edgardo-alfonzo-not-in-the-ny-mets-hall-of-fame/

Mets: Wilfredo Tovar, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Vinny Rottino, Scott Hairston

2012-02-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

1-30-12 - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/30/2757346/2012-amazin-avenue-top-50-mets-prospects-21-30 - SS WilfredoTovar - Tovar actually dropped one spot from last year's list, thoughdue to no fault of his own. This was another case of the previously mentionedinflux of talent into the organization. Otherwise, Tovar was perfectly fine in2011, heading back to Savannah and once again showing off the skills that puthim on the map last season. Specifically the plus defensive abilities atshortstop, the excellent contact skills as well as an improving eye at theplate. Now he didn't make huge strides in any one area and he's still nothitting for any power, but he was solid across the board in 2011. His averagedipped a bit compared to his .281 mark in 44 games with Savannah last season,but it was mostly due to a slight drop in BABIP (.271). As an added bonus,Tovar made a surprise appearance in the AFL and shined, showing off the kind ofpower in about 100 at bats that we've never seen from him before. In fact, heranked second in the entire league in doubles, trailing only league MVP andRockies top prospect Nolan Arenado. Yes, the AFL is an offense-friendlyenvironment but that's exactly the kind of gap-power you want to see Tovardevelop in the coming years. I'm always a big fan of Tovar as one of only ahandful of prospects in this system with a true major league plus skill at hisdisposal right this minute (defense). And in my view there's no reason why hecan't become a player very much like Ruben Tejada, just a little slower/lessaggressive on the development curve.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis wasrewarded for his torrid campaign by jumping into the top ten Mets prospect listin 2011, as well as earning a Spring Training invite. He was on pace to jointhe big league club in September, but surgery to repair a shoulder injuryprevented him from coming up. The question is, does he have a chance torecapture his form in 2012? Apparently Minor League Ball believes so. Havingascended four spots from last year, its obvious that the Mets have faith in himand hope he'll either crack the Opening Day roster, or be promoted early. Giventhe success of the Mets last outfield prospect, Lucas Duda—who has developedinto somewhat of a power hitter, albeit with some defensive quirks—it would benice to see Nieuwenhuis provide the contact that we have desired from Jason Baysince he signed a four year, $66 million deal, as well as the glove we need. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1044894-baseball-prospect-profile-and-2012-outlook-mets-outfielder-kirk-nieuwenhuis

•Nov 17: C Vinny Rottino -Like most of the guys on this list, the 31-yr old hasn't done much at the majorleague level, batting just .194 in 39 major league pa's. However, at the minorleague level he has a more impressive .294/.363/.421 career triple-slash. In2007, he ranked in the top 20 of John Sickels' Brewers Top Prospects list andin 2009 he was the starting catcher for Team Italy in the WBC under thetutelage of hitting coach Mike Piazza. This spring he'll contend with numerousother righty backstops for the role of Thole's understudy. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/31/2753903/taking-inventory-of-the-mets-minor-league-free-agents

In 2008, Scott Hairston struggled to get on base but mostdefinitely hit for power, belting 17 home runs in only 362 plate appearances.Through the first half of 2009, he was getting on base at a much better clipwhile improving upon his power numbers, and the Padres traded him to theOakland A’s in July. In his brief time with Oakland, Hairston was pretty awfulwith the bat, and after the 2009 season, the A’s traded him back to the Padres.His 2010 season was mediocre at the plate at best, but the one thing Hairstonmaintained was his ability to hit home runs. When he finally hit free agency atthe end of the year, the Mets signed him to be a fourth-outfielder type for the2011 season. Although Hairston had always been a part-time player in the bigleagues, the Mets only used him for 145 plate appearances last year. Despitethe limited playing time, Hairston managed to hit 7 home runs – one home runapproximately every 21 plate appearances. One quirky thing about the season wasthe Hairston raked against right-handed pitching and didn’t do so well againstleft-handed pitchers, the opposite of his career splits, but that can bechalked up to the tiny amount of data on the year. On top of producing with thebat, Hairston appeared in all three outfield positions, and he looked like acapable if unspectacular defender at all of them. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/31/2761508/2012-mets-player-profile-scott-hairston

Mets: Matt Tuiasosopo, Phillip Evans, Josh Edgin, Cam Maron

2012-02-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

• Jan 27: Matt Tuiasosopo -Going back to our theme of former top prospects, the Mets signed the '04 thirdrounder and longtime Mariners prospect just last week. Puget Sound's favoriteson signed with his hometown team out of high school and ranked very highly onprospect lists for his outstanding athleticism alone. However, unfortunatelyhis amazing raw tools just didn't translate as he was never able to develop thekind of offensive game to profile as major leaguer. In parts of three seasonswith Seattle between '08 and '10, he batted just .176 with 5 homers. Even as aminor leaguer he only managed a .263/.359/.405 triple-slash, while playingso-so defense at third. He's pretty much a sure-bet to play most of his 2011with Buffalo as he's already a few slots down on the organization's third basepecking order. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/31/2753903/taking-inventory-of-the-mets-minor-league-free-agents

1-27-12: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6509 7. SS PhillipEvans - Baseball-Reference player profile - The Mets went way out ofslot to sign Evans, giving him $650,000 in the 15th round, the third highestbonus they paid to any player, and over $200,000 more than second round pickRHP Cory Mazzoni. The 5-10/185 Evans is a prototypical Southern Californiamiddle infielder in many ways and a right handed hitting version of TonyWolters, the Indians third round pick in 2010 who received a $1.35M signingbonus. A 2010 PG/Aflac All-American, Evans doesn’t have a true plus run orthrow tool, as he’s a 6.9 to 7.0 runner with arm strength that is playable forshortstop and very good for second base. But he is an exceptionally polishedand instinctive player both offensively and defensively, although his defenseis what will likely get him to the big leagues. Evans also has the type of makeup that will make him an extra coach on teams with younger players. Althoughwhether he ever ends up with younger players is doubtful, as the Mets moved himthrough all three of their short season teams despite his signing close to thedeadline.

1-30-12 - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/30/2757346/2012-amazin-avenue-top-50-mets-prospects-21-30 LHP Josh Edgin -Another lefty reliever, Edgin put his name on the map in 2011 with a definitebreakout campaign. After reeling off an incredible run at Lo-A Savannah wherehe didn't allow a run seemingly for the entire first half, the 2010 30th roundselection would go on to post an impressive 9.00 K/9 with a .184 opp. averageagainst lefties at Hi-A St. Lucie. Edgin did slow a bit down the stretch --including an August where he gave up more runs than the rest of his seasoncombined. Though that's not entirely surprising considering he doubled his proinning count from 2010. At 25, he's also a bit old for A-ball though that'sprobably due more to wasted time thanks to a collegiate transfer. At 6'1",225 lbs if Leathersich is sturdy, then Edgin is downright stocky. Ultimately,Edgin's strong low 90's fastball and excellent low 80's slider as well as hissolid command are what give him a chance to move fast. Paul DePodesta evenhinted that we could potentially see Edgin in Queens in 2012 if things breakright. He'll break the season in Bingo and we should know relatively quicklywhether or not we're looking at a potential power LOOGY.

1-31-12 – http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/ - Cam Maron islike Josh Thole Jr. Like Thole in theminors, Maron’s been darn consistent about it. Maron has a shortcontact-oriented swing to go along with his strong plate eye. He’ll never hit for much power, and evenduring batting practice does not look to drive the ball much. Still, he’s acatcher and a chance for plus OBP from the position is really nice. Maron moveswell behind the plate, and believes that his blocking is the strongest part ofhis defensive game, while he still needs to continue to improve his throwing.Also, he gets bonus points for growing up a Mets fan. 2011: At 20 this pastyear in the Appalachian League, Maron walked more than he struck out. Afterhitting .318/.434/.413 in 58 games in the Appalachian League, Maron played oneregular season game for the Sand Gnats.

I May Be Wrong, But… Ex-Mets, Rustich Update, Favorite Met poll,

2012-02-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

I May Be Wrong, But… Ex-Mets,Rustich Update, Favorite Met poll,

· Some ex-Mets signed elsewhere…

o OF Cory Aldridge wassigned by Baltimore

o OF Willie Harris wassigned by the Cincinnati Reds

· I talked with P Brant Rustich today, who just returned home home after hisfirst mini-camp since he was shut down last season. “It went very well,” saidRustich. “My arm is actually surprising me at the moment. This week better thanlast and only improving. It's looking very promising at this point.”

Myguess for a best case scenario would be a warm weather April in St. Lucie (orrehabbing in extended camp), then on to Binghamton in May. Brant has theexperience and talent to make it to Queens this year if everything goes ashoped for

· The current “who is the favorite Met”poll came to an end and the results were interesting. RA Dickey was way out in front until MetsBlog linked one of my posts andthe kiddies clicked their way over for ten seconds. David Wright won going awaywhich figures. I think the poll would have had different results if I left Daniel Murphy off of it and added Lucas Duda. Im happy that Davidstill is the favorite going into his last year as a Met. Oh… I didn’t… that’s adifferent post.

The Lords Of Baseball - WS Predictions

2012-02-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Mack - I have designated you as one of the"Lords of Baseball". Well, at least you're one of mine. The question... what two teams will play in the 2012 WorldSeries?

Jason Parks -Baseball Prospectus - Boston Red Sox vs. SanFrancisco Giants

Joe D. - Mets MerizedOnline - Hi Mack, I always wantedto be a lord someday. I would say the Rangers vs Cardinals. Despite the Cardslosing their MVP and the Rangers losing their Ace, I think both teams made upfor their losses in significant ways and will play very motivated in 2012. Isee a repeat of 2011 in October.

Kevin Burkhardt -SNY - I can't even begin to make a prediction yet. Give me a couple weeks of springtraining!

Jay Horwitz –New York Mets - Thanks for the honor, the Metsand Angels.

Joshua Sussman - Bullpen Banter - I'll take the Raysand Diamondbacks.

Vinny Cartiglio –MetsBlog - Detroit Tigers vs Phillies

Brian Joura –Mets360 - I think we should wait for Oswalt andJackson to sign and for MLB to determine how many Wild Card teams there will bebefore we give our Wild-A@@-Guess on who makes the World Series. That said, putme down for Angels-Cardinals

Matt Grabusky - MLB Draft Guide - Good question. I haven't put a lotof thought into it yet, but I'll go with the Phillies and Rays. I saw your posttoday, I appreciate the support. The"Lords of Baseball" title is kind of nice too.

Eric Simon –SB Nation - Yankees-Phillies.

Mack Ade - "A Really Good Kid. A Very Good Player. Not a Superstar."

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mack Ade

"AReally Good Kid. A Very Good Player. Not a Superstar."

These were the infamous 11 words that Fred Wilpon told Sports Illustrated[i]about DavidWright.

What many Mets fans don’t realize is that, accordingto people I talk to, Mr. Wright hasn’t spoken one single word with Mr. Wilponsince that article came out.

Everyone keeps writing that Sandy and Company have ahard decision to make regarding the possible trading of Wright in 2012. Theassumption is that David would gleefully put his name next to Fred on a newcontract.

Once more… David Wright has not shared one word withFred Wilpon since the above mentioned story came out in SI.

Wright has been carrying for years what character isleft in this organization. I’ve stood in the Mets clubhouse. I’ve been therethrough all the Wilpon-Omar-Jerry bullshit, including flame outs at reporters[ii],signings of injured re-treads[iii], and I haven’t even mentioned anyone with a name that rhymes with MoliverMerez.

Wright has had this team’s back on every interviewwith every reporter that approached his locker. He has never been reluctant toanswering a question and always took the high road when a reporter was lookingto go low.

Did you understand what I just said?

David Wright will talk to anyone… except FredWilpon.

I approachedDavid three years ago when the Mets played their annual intra-squad springtraining game the day before the Grapefruit League started. The Mets always dedicate this game to Brian Cole,a prospect outfielder that was killed returning home from the 2001 ST season.

I was working on a story about Cole and asked Davidif he could give me a couple of sentences. I assumed they both knew each other,but researched later that night from my hotel room that Wright didn’t sign withthe Mets until he was drafted by the Mets three months AFTER Cole had died.

Still, David didn’t take the easy road. I was someminor league old dude that didn’t do his due diligence. He could have dismissedme with letting me know that he had never met Cole. Instead, he gave me fiveminutes on tape that I could transcribe and write a Mets story no one elsewrote that week.

That’s the class act that David is, both on and offthe field.

Do you honestly think he’s going to resign acontract with a man that he won’t even talk to?

I’ve been a fan of this team for 50 years. They haveone member of the HOF and he was traded. Could someone tell me one great NewYork Met that started and ended with this team?

David Wright will take what he does elsewhere andall fans can do now is hope that Sandy Alderson cannegotiate two good prospects for his services. He will then work for someone hetalks to which, in the real world, has always been a condition of employment onthe first day you go to work.

[i] http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/285713-wilpon-blasts-reyes-believes-mets-should-go-162-0

[ii] http://www.amazinavenue.com/2009/7/27/964808/omar-minaya-attacks-adam-rubin-of

[iii] http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=mlb/news/newstest.aspx?id=4205807

Grading The Largest Signings of 2012... a Bit Early...

2012-02-01T07:00:00.001-08:00

Albert Pujols - $254,000,000.00 over 10 Years: Pujols deserves to be making over $25 Mil per year but the bigger question is what he'll deserve when he's 41 and still making more than 90% of the Pittsburgh Pirate major league team? In the short term it's a great move for the Angels who not only have great hitting, but also great pitching. Add to this that they'll be able to trade either or both of Trumbo and Morales. Pretty Sweet!... for now.

Prince Fielder - $214,000,000.00 over 9 Years: Fielder found a good team to land on for his numbers but a bad team in terms of his future options. He's going to become a DH and stay a DH for all of the next 9 years. The biggest concern for the Tigers is Fielder's weight which could balloon if he's not worried about maintaining any semblance of range in the field. Overall, this signing looks better, right now, than the Pujols signing.

C.C. Sabathia - $122,000,000.00 over 5 Years: We all knew that C.C. and the Yankees would HAVE to work out something. The Yankees NEEDED C.C. and still need him even after getting Pineida and Kuroda. The contract which takes him a year beyond his prime is a lot of money but a smart amount of time for a team already loaded down with players signed into their golden years. C.C. has weight issues too but I've yet to see them slow him down... on the mound.

Jose Reyes - $106,000,000.00 over 6 Years: STOP BRINGING IT UP! Okay, so we Met fans are tired of hearing Jose's name as he's left town and we ALREADY miss him. If you look at the contract it isn't a great one for Miami. Backloading is great... but have they stopped to think what happens if Reyes breaks down before they inevitably try to break the team appart and sell off the pieces for prospect? Banking on speed for 6 more years is a VERY risky venture.

C.J. Wilson - $ 77,500,000.00 over 5 Years: Alone, this is a really risky deal. Compared to Darvish and Buehrle... this deal is actually the safest of the bunch. Now... the Angels look pretty loaded and if they don't make the playoffs their going to look pretty foolish. At this point the Yankees and Boston are not looking like they can bank on a Wild Card should they lose the division. A rotation with Weaver, Haren and Wilson is pretty spiffy.

Mark Buehrle - $58,000,000.00 over 4 Years: How much is a nice guy who is consistent worth to a baseball team? 14.5 per year? WOW! That's a whole lot more than I would have guessed. Okay... so Ozzie Guillen likes Mark and Mark is joining Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez... but REALLY?!? $58 Mil. I'm sorry Mark but I can't see a world in which the Marlins don't end up regretting this.

Jonathon Papelbon - $50,000,000.00 over 4 Years: Okay, so as not to fall shy of the Marlins for making splashes the Phillies nabbed the #1 RP that was available. Now... $12.5 Mil per year isn't outrageous. The Mets got K-Rod for only slightly less and I would say that Papelbon is currently better than K-Rod WAS. Yet... I can't help but feel that the Phillies over-payed when almost every other closer went for so much less.

Jimmy Rollins - $38,000,000.00 over 3 Years: Is Rollins old? Yeah... by baseball standards. Is this a bad signing? Not at all. I'll give the Phillies credit for doing their fans the service of holding together the soul of their franchise for the 3 more seasons that I think the Phillies can vie for the top in the NL East. Do I think after those 3 years they'll be too old and will need to start a rebuild? Sure, but the run they've had has been worth it. I still don't like the team or the team's fans though.

Aramis Ramirez - $36,000,000.00 over 3 Years: Milwaukee had just lost their best player for 50 games and knew that they'd be losing their next best player to free agency. Aramis Ramirez is coming to Milwaukee for a bit too much money but also in a time where Milwaukee absolutely NEEDED him. I value Aramis at the same level as Berkman. He's still a solid hitter but how many years you get is pretty wishy-washy. For 2012... until Braun returns from his hiatus... he's the face of Beer and Cheese.

Michael Cuddyer - $31,500,000.00 over 3 Years: How much would you pay for Michael Cuddyer? I wouldn't pay over $10 Mil a year... but... I don't think he's worth less than that. The real answer is, that he's worth what he got but he's not a player I would go after. He's just... well... vanilla. It's like, what does Cuddyer do REALLY well? Don't know? Well... What does he do REALLY poorly? No? Yeah... that's probably worth $10 Mil or more.

Heath Bell - $27,000,000.00 over 3 Years: Alright, Papelbon for $12.5 Mil or Bell for $9 Mil? I'm going with Bell who is less explosive and safer in general. Adding the cheaper quality and the fact that the second best closer went off the board for the same money (pretty much) as the next couple guys makes this one of the best free agent signings of the off season and probably the only financially responsible on that the Marlins made.

Carlos Beltran - $26,000,000.00 over 2 Years: So... you just lost the face of your franchise. You do still have David Freese, Matt Holiday and Lance Berkman but your hitting just took a MAJOR nose dive. Well... Beltran sorta makes sense as a consolation prize. He's good enough that you can still compete in the NL Central. Also you've only committed to his iffy knees for two seasons and at that point you hope to have a new franchise face.

New Met - P - Jeff Stevens

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

Jeff Stevens

Jeffrey Allen Stevens
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 2", Weight: 205 lb.

Born: September 5, 1983 in Berkeley, CA (Age 28)
High School: Campolindo (Moraga, CA)
School: Loyola Marymount University
Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 6th round of the 2005 amateur draft.
Signed June 9, 2005. (All Transactions)
Debut: July 10, 2009 vs. STL 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Team: Cubs 2009-2011
2012 Contract Status: Pre-Arb Eligible (details)
Service Time (01/2012): 0.124, Arb Eligible: 2015, Free Agent: 2018 , http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/steveje01.shtml

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2005	21	CIN-min	Rk	4	4	.500	2.98	13	8	1	0	54.1	44	20	18	4	15	0	58	5	1	222		1.086	7.3	0.7	2.5	9.6	3.87
2006	22	CLE-CIN-min	A	9	7	.563	4.42	30	21	1	0	116.0	107	62	57	10	39	1	103	13	8	498		1.259	8.3	0.8	3.0	8.0	2.64
2007	23	CLE-min	AA,A+	6	3	.667	2.81	49	0	8	2	83.1	58	30	26	6	25	1	102	5	6	336		0.996	6.3	0.6	2.7	11.0	4.08
2008	24	CLE-min	AAA,AA	5	4	.556	3.24	36	0	14	6	58.1	38	22	21	5	27	0	81	2	1	237		1.114	5.9	0.8	4.2	12.5	3.00
2009	25	CHC-min	AAA	1	3	.250	2.03	42	0	10	2	57.2	35	15	13	1	25	4	61	2	5	232		1.040	5.5	0.2	3.9	9.5	2.44
2009	25	CHC	NL	1	0	1.000	7.11	11	0	2	0	12.2	14	10	10	2	8	1	9	1	0	59	64	1.737	9.9	1.4	5.7	6.4	1.13
2010	26	CHC-min	AAA	0	2	.000	3.16	36	0	21	10	42.2	31	16	15	3	26	0	43	0	3	186		1.336	6.5	0.6	5.5	9.1	1.65
2010	26	CHC	NL	0	0		6.11	18	0	3	0	17.2	21	15	12	4	10	0	15	0	3	84	71	1.755	10.7	2.0	5.1	7.6	1.50
2011	27	CHC-min	AA,AAA	3	0	1.000	5.26	42	0	15	2	65.0	74	38	38	6	28	2	67	2	12	290		1.569	10.2	0.8	3.9	9.3	2.39
2011	27	CHC	NL	0	0		5.14	4	0	1	0	7.0	4	4	4	1	7	0	4	1	0	31	80	1.571	5.1	1.3	9.0	5.1	0.57
3 Seasons				1	0	1.000	6.27	33	0	6	0	37.1	39	29	26	7	25	1	28	2	3	174	70	1.714	9.4	1.7	6.0	6.8	1.12
162 Game Avg.				2	0	1.000	6.27	68	0	12	0	77	80	60	54	14	52	2	58	4	6	359	70	1.714	9.4	1.7	6.0	6.8	1.12

Stevens made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs in 2005, going 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA.

Stevens started 2006 with the Single-A Dayton Dragons. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians as the player to be named later in the Brandon Phillips trade. He was assigned to Single-A Lake County Captains where he spent the remainder of the 2006 season.

In 2007, Stevens was moved to the bullpen and began the year with the Kinston Indians. He was 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA, with 37 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched for Kinston. He was promoted to Double-A Akron Aeros where he was 3-1 with a 3.17 ERA and 2 saves in 34 games.

Stevens began the 2008 campaign with the Aeros. After going 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA, he earned a promotion to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He was 0-2 with a 4.00 ERA when his season ended as a result of being named to the US Olympic Baseball Team to play in Beijing.

In December 2008, Stevens was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Chica
go Cubs in a deal for Mark DeRosa.

On July 10, 2009 Stevens made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs. Stevens had a 1-2-3 MLB debut, getting Joe Thurston, Chris Duncan and Brendan Ryan in order in the 9th inning of a 8-3 loss to the Cardinals. He was optioned back to the minor leagues on August 5, 2009 when Aaron Miles was activated from the 15-day disabled list.

He was designated for assignment by the Cubs on May 30, 2011.

Stevens signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on January 4, 2012.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Stevens

2009 Scouting Report on Jeff Stevens

Of the three prospects the Cubs got in return for DeRosa, 25 year old 6′2 205lb righty reliever Jeff Stevens is by far the most equipped and ready to make an impact on the ballclub now (he was ranked #15-20 prospect in the Padres organization). Stevens is an alum of Loyola Maramount, where after three years as mainly a starting pitcher, he was taken in the 6th round of the 2005 draft by the Cincinnati Reds.

Stevens didn’t stick long as he was traded for Brandon Phillips in April of 2006 but didn’t officially become traded til halfway through the 2006 season (since he was just drafted the year prior) as a Player to be Named Later (PTBNL). Stevens has spent his last two seasons as a reliever and has really come into his own in the role switch, becoming one of the better relief prospects in baseball. After his breakout 2007 season, Stevens was sent to the Arizona Fall League and was also selected to Team USA’s World Championship team where he was filthy. To back it up, Stevens was also selected to Team USA’s Olympic squad that earned him a bronze medal; it also cost him a MLB callup as he left his ballclub in August. Jeff’s line over the past two seasons as a reliever (High A, AA, AAA) is in 85 G, he’s gone 142 1/3 IP, giving up 96 H, 11HR, 52 BB, 183 K, 2.99 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .190 BAA.

Onto Stevens’ stuff, there is no question that his four seam fastball is his best pitch as it has great life to it with regular velocity around 91-94 mph but did hit 96-98 mph this season. Stevens also throws a good change and a decent dropball to mix it up with hitters but his new developing slider is almost a staple needed to mimic his four-seam fastball. As a reliever, Stevens has absolutely no problem challenging hitters or throwing his fastball up and in. His MLB comparison is ex-Cub Bob Howry. Stevens could challenge for a MLB pen spot this season but odds are that he’ll start the year in Iowa working on developing that slider into a MLB pitch that will only make him better down the road and he could see a midseason or injury callup as he was added to the 40 man roster. Jeff profiles as a solid setup man with the potential to become a closer down the road.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?86128-Scouting-Report-on-Jeff-Steven

The Keeper - 7 - CF - Kirk Nieuwenhuis

2012-01-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

7. Kirk Nieuwenhuis

4-28-10:- Kirk Nieuwenhuis – OF – AA – Binghamton – Kirk is off to another of his typicalproductive years: .313.360/.475/.835. I happen to think that he’s the top Metsoutfield prospect and will get to Queens ahead of Fernando “Day-To-Day”Martinez, who I understand is once again dinged up.

5-22-10:- OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Most of the outfield prospect press has fallen onFernando Martinez; however, Nieuwenhuis has very quietly become the top Metsprospect for that position. Kirk hit 16-HR and 71-RBI for St. Lucie last yearand is hitting .301/.337/.470/.807 so far this season for Binghamton. He needsto learn some plate discipline (only 8-BB this season), but as of right now,he’s on top of the list to become a future Mets center fielder. Keep an eye onthis kid. Big trade bait.

5-27-10- Stock up: Nieuwenhuis has quietly been putting together a decent year in AA,but there just wasn’t that home run pop we got used to last season at St.Lucie. Well, that’s not true anymore. Kirk hit #7 of the young year last night,which is his third in the past five games. His slugging percentage is up to .500and his OPS is .837. It will be interesting to see what the Mets do with himnext season. They gave him a taste over Fernando Martinez at ST and I can speakfirsthand about how much he enjoyed being part of the Mets locker room with theQueens boys. Martinez will obviously not be ready to play centerfield at CitiField, but Nieuwenhuis is earning playing CF in Buffalo, over F-Mart. As Isaid, interesting decision coming up for the Mets.

6-11-10:- CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his 9th home run of the season in the opening game ofa twin bill Thursday. Don’t look for him to be heading to Buffalo any timesoon. Pedro Feliciano will be returning there as soon as Carlos Beltran isactivated. Still, Captain Kirk is on pace for a 20+ HR season at AA.

7-3-10:- Nieuwenhuis continues to strengthen up after his short stint on the disabledlist. He hit his 11th home run of the season in the first game of a Fridaynight doubleheader and it’s interesting that the team management continues tohave him lead off. Right now, he is the top Mets’ outfield prospect in thesystem.

7-7-10:- Binghamton’s Kirk Nieuwenhuis is on fire… he led off Wednesday’s game with adouble for the third game in a row and followed that with another double in hissecond at bat. At that point in the game he had nine doubles, a home run, andfour singles in his last 20 at-bats.

3-19-11:- Down: - Kirk Nieuwenhuis - Look, the Captain is having a horrible spring,batting only .097 (3-31). He's obviously not ready for the big show, which isfine, but I wish the Mets would just return him to the minor league portion ofthe complex and let him get his confidence back. How many times have we had towatch some kid have a bad spring, or a bad first time in the majors, and thengo down and funk out for a month or two. Remember Anderson Hernandez? How aboutNick Evans? Nieuwenhuis is only getting innings now because of split scheduledays.

Up:- OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 4-19-11 – Kirk has hit .355 in the past ten games,raising his seasonal AAA batting average to .325. I expect the Mets to leavehim alone this season and let his bat mature at Buffalo. Can he start next yearfor New York? Hell, if Happy Hairston can…

4-21-11:- Captain Kirk’s biggest obstacle is pitch selection, which keeps his strikeouts high. Last year: 132 in 514 atbats. So far this season: 12 in 47 at bats. By the way, he made another killercatch in centerfield in this game. As much as I have told you that he doesn’thave what it takes to star in the majors, he is making a case of proving me wrongso far this season.

4-23-11- UP – OF Kirk Nieuwenhius – I go hotand cold on the Captain, but he’s off to a great start this spring. He’s cutdown on his strikeouts, increased his walks, and is playing all-star defense.Through 4-23, he’s hitting .333/.421/.588/.985, but only four RBIs. Still theincreased OBP and 16-BB/57-AB is encouraging.

4-25-11:- CF Kirk Nieuwenhis continues to hit well, but his defense in centerfieldseems to become under question. He played two balls very badly yesterday, resultingin runs scored. Neither was accredited to an error,but both, let’s say, wouldhave been run down by either Angel Pagan or the 2009 version of Carlos Beltran.He still projects out as a liability in CitiField centerfield.

8-11-11:- http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/baseball-americas-mets-top-10-list-prior-to-2011-where-are-they-now.html- OF – Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Kirk was enjoying a fine season in Buffalo beforefalling to injury. He may have lost a huge opportunity to play every day on themajor league roster with the recent trade of Beltran, and injury to Murphy thathas moved Duda to first base. Started 2011: Triple-A Currently: out for season, shoulder surgery

8-21-11:- http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/prospect-pulse-left-handed-hitters.html - Kirk Nieuwenhuis - Captain Kirk, as he isaffectionately known to Mets fans, was one of the “fast risers” in the Metssystem before he injured the labrum of his non-throwing shoulder while making adiving catch in June. Before that he was considered the Mets best outfieldprospect, and a borderline 5-tool guy. Some wondered whether his speed would beadequate for CF, and if he did have to move to a corner OF spot in the bigleagues, would his power warrant playing in a power position such as RF? In 1500lifetime minor league AB’s over four seasons, Captain Kirk has a slash line of.280/.354/.465. The key to his further development, once he recovers fromsurgery, is to cut down on his strikeouts. His lifetime K/BB ratio of 388/159indicates just how far he needs to go. Chances are, a strong start to 2012, andhe could be called up to the big club by mid-season.

8-23-11:- #24: - OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis – DavidRubin continues to bust my banana over the lack of respect I give Captain Kirk.Look, I gave the same amount of skepticism to Lucas Duda because I just didn’tsee either of these guys projected as a starting outfield in the majors. I loveKirk’s bat almost as much as I love Duda’s swing, but he simply needs more timeto cut down on his strikeouts and work on his defense. Now, with injury, andright field being given to Lucas, you have to wonder if Nieuwenhuis will everbe given that chance. He’ll play Buffalo again in 2012 with a definiteSeptember call-up. ETA: 4th outfielder in 2013.

9-3-11:- http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html - Kirk Nieuwenhuis - Captain Kirkreturns from labrum surgery on his left shoulder, hopefully doesn’t miss abeat, and picks up right where he left off before his injury last May. The hopeis that since the injury was to his non-throwing shoulder that his return willbe sooner rather than later. At the time he went down he was the best player onthe Buffalo squad, hitting .298, with a .908 OPS. His task at the time was tocut down on his strikeouts, and as soon as he makes progress in that regard hewill be ready for prime time.

9-17-11:- Kirk Nieuwenhuis (Mets third-round pick in 2008): Nieuwenhuis was tearingthrough the International League for Triple-A Buffalo this spring when he waslost for the second half of the season with a shoulder injury. Like Havens,expect the center fielder to be kept, and possibly have a shot at winning astarting job for the Mets next season. Read more:http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/yankees_mets_must_make_key_decisions_5aKoxsOfZQzXf4dhd226oK#ixzz1YEsKcto8

10-10-11:- https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/132edccbf718965f - Top five Metprospects - Sunday, October 9, 2011 -The Record - 5. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, CF, 24 (.908 OPS in 53 games for Class AAABuffalo): Likely would have gotten a good look in September, but a shoulderinjury limited him to just 53 games and ended his season in June. Projectionsput him in a corner spot rather than center field.

1-3-12-http://mets360.com/?p=8885&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29 - 5. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF, Triple-A,.298/.403/.505 in 221 PA - The only thing that held back Nieuwenhuis last yearwas an injured shoulder. Otherwise, he would have made his major league debutand would be a front runner for a backup outfield position in the majors in2012. Now, Nieuwenhuis will likely return to Triple-A to prove he is healthy.The strikeouts are a concern and he’ll obviously never post a .407 BABIP in afull season in the majors. But all he’s done in his professional career isproduce. Several years ago I compared him to Nate McLouth and I still thinkthat holds. A .250/.350/.450 line seems attainable and that’s pretty valuablefor a CF. Of course, Nieuwenhuis is probably better suited for a corner, whichmakes the McLouth comparison even better.

1-10-12- http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-new-york-mets/ 9. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF

BORN: Aug. 7, 1987

EXPERIENCE: 4 seasons

ACQUIRED: 2008 3rd round, Azusa PacificUniversity

2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: 2nd

SCOUTINGREPORT: Nieuwenhuis has done nothing but hit since being discovered and draftedby the Mets out of a small college. The same concerns continue to follow him,though, as he ascends through the minor league system: He lacks the range toplay center field everyday and he lacks the power profile expected from acorner outfielder.

YEARIN REVIEW: It was expected that Nieuwenhuis would make his MLB debut in 2011and he got off to a fast start to the season by posting a .908 OPS in triple-Athrough the beginning of June but shoulder surgery wiped out the remainder ofhis season.

YEARAHEAD: The young outfielder may not be fully recovered from his shouldersurgery when spring training roles around so he could get a late start to theseason. With the organization lacking outfield depth, though, Nieuwenhuis couldsee significant playing time in New York as soon as he’s deemed healthy and ingame shape.

CAREEROUTLOOK: Because Nieuwenhuis hits right-handed pitching much better thansouthpaws, he’s probably ticketed for a career as a platoon or bench player.With that said, and with some further development, he could spend a few yearsplaying regularly for a second-division club.

1-8-11:- http://nybaseballdigest.com/2012/01/07/most-intriguing-mets-prospects-in-2012/ 3) Kirk Nieuwenhuis (OF) Another guy that, if not for injury,would likely be penciled in to start in center field for the Mets to open 2012.Had shoulder surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. Average tools across theboard. Could be a 15HR/15SB type talent. If healthy, should be in Queens aroundmid-season.

Mack Ade - Revised Keepers - #11-20

2012-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

Revised Keepers -#11-20

I continue my update.

#11 – RHSP Akeel Morris– I’m really a ‘ceilings’ guy when it comes to prospects and that’s about allMorris has at this point, but, boy does he have it. It’s going to take a fewseasons for him to control what God gave him, but he’s one of the few potentialSP1/2’s in the system.

#12 – RHSP DomingoTapia – Tapia impressed a lot of people when he pitched six shutout innings onthe last game of the Brooklyn Cyclones season. He also made the radar gun hitthree numbers. Similar to Morris, he will begin to learn how to control hisheat in 2012, probably in Savannah.

#13 – LHRP Josh Edgin –Forget ceiling when you talk about this guy. He has it right now and could makeQueens by the end of the 2012 season. A big-time lefty pen dude who was just about perfect last season.

#14 – RHSP MichaelFulmer – another all-ceiling pitcher drafted out of high school Already hits95, and has an impressive curve. Look for him to head up the Cyclones rotation.

#15 – OF Cesar Puello - Puello did not have a great season in 2011, but scouts will tell you that he still projects as the top Mets outfield prospects. He has lived so far on his 5-tool reputation, but it's going to take plate discipline for him to make it someday to Queens. The good news is his projected pop started to show last season.

#16 – SS JordanyValdespin – "Spin" hit is first speed bump late last season when he was promoted to AAA. He will return there to get his bat working again and wait for that phone call that always comes from Queens. Yes, that will be the call saying either a shortstop or second baseman has been injured. Only then, will the world be "spun".

#17 – 3B Wilmer Flores– Flores will move over to third base this season in hopes of finding aposition he can stick at. He continues to fall down on the prospect rankinglists and it’s not because of his defense. His projected power just isn’tdeveloping and this could be a critical year for his Mets experience.

#18 – OF Matt denDekker – den Dekker is the obvious best candidate to someday become the Mets centerfielder, but his age is working against him. He's potentially a Golden Glover with great speed, and his power did start to develop in AA last year. 2012 is a critical year for Matt, who could easily be bypassed by younger guys if he stumbles.

#19 – LHRP JackLeathersich – It's easy to say that the reason I ranked him this high was the 26 strikeouts he had last year for the Mets in 12.1-IP. The fact is that's exactly whey I have him ranked here. He a lefty that sits at 95. Enough said.

#20 – RHSP LoganVerrett - Verrett signed late last season, so the third-rounder never put on a Mets uniform. He's a low-90's guy, with three plus pitches. A Sunday starter at Baylor.

Q and A with Mack and Company and… MetsBlog’s Michael G. Baron

2012-01-31T11:00:00.001-08:00

I recently posted myinterview with Mike from last year and it was still pretty spot on. He’s agreedto take some questions from the “team” over here at Mack’s Mets, so guys, fireaway:

"Hey Mike this is Stephen Guilbert from Mack's Mets. There is some sense that Harvey, Wheeler, Familia, Mejia etc. will be slowed down and made to use 2012 to get the proper seasoning and experience against quality hitters. Is this still the word around the organization and if not, who do you think will see time in Flushing? Outside of the big four, which prospect has the best shot at making the team out of spring training?"

MB: I don't know what the official word is on Harvey, Wheeler and Familia, but I think it's logical to assume that neither of the three will be on the Opening Day roster, even if they have dominating Springs in big league camp. All of them need more seasoning; Wheeler has never played a game above Single-A, Harvey wasn't consistent at Double-A, and it doesn't seem like Familia has an identity yet, as good as he was last year.

Of the three, the pitcher wit the best chance of getting a cup of coffee is Harvey only because he is the most advanced of the three. I don't think there are any guarantees for him in 2012, but certainly 2013 is a realistic target for him to be on the big league roster out of camp.

In regards to Mejia, Sandy Alderson has already said he will not be ready for Opening Day. Assuming he is back at Triple-A in May or June, he will need to build his innings count up, build stamina, etc. It's not unrealistic to think Mejia can't be making an impact at the big league level in August or September, but, like Familia, it remains to be seen whether he will be a starter or a reliever going forward.

I don't know if any of their prospects will make the team out of camp mostly because all of them need to play consistently this year, and starting roles aren't currently up for grabs on the big league roster.

---------

Hello Mike, this is Charles Thompson. My question is about Brandon Nimmo. When he was first drafted, there were a lot of people who thought the Mets decided to go cheap and pick na easily signed player as opposed to one of the top college arms available. Now, that feeling seems to have changed a bit and there’s more folks who believe Nimmo is a truly special talent. What was your opinion on draft day and has that changed at all in the past 6+ months? Thanks Mike.

MB: When the Mets drafted Nimmo last June, Paul DePodesta basically said they went after the best player available to them, regardless of the position. They felt that player was Nimmo. In August, they signed him to a reported $2.1 million signing bonus. The recommended bonus for Nimmo's slot (13th overall) was $1.65 million. So, I don't know if it's fair to say the Mets took the cheapest route in their first pick.

I was generally impressed with the Mets draft strategy last June. Outside of Nimmo, they largely emphasized pitching, which has always been a signature of this organization. I liked how they took who they felt was the best overall player available to them as well. While there are no guarantees with any of their picks, that strategy going forward is encouraging.

-------

Mike, this is Frank Gray. Who was your favorite player to take a photo of , the most approachable person to photograph, and the least approachable person to photograph?

MB: By far, my favorite player to photograph is Jose Reyes. He, along with Angel Pagan are very approachable and easy to talk to. I developed a good rapport with both of those players over the last two years, and I'm looking forward to seeing them professionally with their new teams (although, as a fan, I am sad that Reyes has gone).

-----

It’s Conrad Youngren … A lot of talk about the need for a LHB 4th/5th OF. With a potential starting lineup of 4 LHB's, a SH (Torres) & 3 RHB's (Wright, Bay, Tejada), what's the fuss? Does this mean: (A) Capt. Kirk will really not be ready sometime in 2012? and (B) Juan Legares coming off a productive 2011 and AFL has no shot at the 5th OF slot?

MB: I don't think the problem is so much in their lineup as it is on their bench, and I think the problem is independent of Kirk Nieuwenhuis potential arrival this season. Currently, they have five players who hit left-handed on their 25-man roster: Andres Torres (switch-hitter), Josh Thole, Lucas Duda, Ike Davis, and Daniel Murphy - all of which are projected as starters right now. They do not have a left-handed answer on the bench, and that leaves Terry Collins in a difficult position late in games.

I don't think they're looking for someone who would start - as I said, they have 4-5 lefties already in their projected starting lineup and adding another lefty to the starting lineup would make it unbalanced. They are presumably looking for a part time, utility outfielder who hits left-handed.

------

Hey Mike, Chris Soto here... It was announced a while ago that Harvey and Den Dekker have received Spring Training invites to the club. In Harvey's case I see it as just a preview for Mets fans, however what about Den Dekker? Is there a SLIM outside shot that if he produces in ST that he'll skip AAA and head north with the club?

MB: I don't think so, for the same reasons I mentioned about the Mets pitching prospects before. Den Dekker is probably already a major league outfielder, but he struggled offensively in Double-A last year, striking out a ton in a relatively small number of at-bats. He needs to play, and he needs to continue to develop his discipline at the plate. He is an exciting young player with quick hands, good power, and speed. He just needs a little more time.

Frank Gray - Mets Fans: A Nation in Crisis...Again

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

Mets Fans: A Nation in Crisis...Again

The New York Mets fans are a proud people. They have to be. Their team has only won two World Series titles in 50 years and they only have one player inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. They don't have as much to hold on to as fans of other franchises. As a Mets fan I can completely understand this logic; Be proud of what you have.

They have had a long history of bad moments. A few years ago they lived the ultimate fan nightmare. Their biggest division rival played their biggest inter-league rival in the World Series. They had a tough choice to make. Support the Phillies? Support the Yankees? Don't watch TV at all for the next three weeks? These fans are acquainted with grief.

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David Groveman - Under A Microscope: Should the Mets Sign Rick Ankiel?

2012-01-31T07:00:00.002-08:00

Raise your hand if you remember Rick Ankiel as a pitcher? Yeah... that was a while ago. In 2000 Rick Ankiel actually looked poised to join the upper ranks of young pitchers. He had over 10 wins an era around 3.50 and he had 194 Ks on the year. Then reality came crashing down and St. Louis began the process of turning their 21 year old SP into an OF. The results are intriguing.

Ankiel to again have one single season that hinted at greatness. In 2008 he hit .264 with 25 HRs and looked like a budding power CF with an arm that made people say, "Vlad who?" Since 2008 he's come back to earth but his bat does still have power and his cannon of an arm in center is a definite boon to the team he plays for.

DOES RICK ANKIEL PROVIDE ANYTHING?

Lefty Bat
Good Defense
Great Arm
Some Power
Slight Speed
OPS around .700

WHAT DOES ANDRES TORRES PROVIDE?

Switch Hitter
Sound Defense
Good Speed
Some Power
Leadership
Lead-Off Potential

At the very least a guy like Ankiel provides the Mets with options defensively and offensively. For one the Mets would have a lefty bat to platoon with Bay should he struggle, a defensive replacement for Duda in late innings and potentially a better starting player in CF than Andres Torres. Frankly, without Fernando Martinez and with Captain Kirk needing some rehab in the minors, getting Ankiel makes sense on a 1 year/minor league deal.

Now... the bigger question is... Should the Mets sign Rick Ankiel when they already have Adam Loewen who might provide the SAME thing? Again... while it wouldn't hurt the Mets to make the signing... it's not money that they need to spend and it wouldn't make up for the rest of the money they HAVEN'T spent.

New Met - P - Chuck James

2012-01-31T04:57:00.000-08:00

Chuck James

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 190 lb.

Born: November 9, 1981 in Atlanta, GA (Age 30)
High School: Mableton Christian Academy (Mableton, GA)
Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 20th round of the 2002 amateur draft.
Signed July 29, 2002. (All Transactions)
Debut: September 28, 2005
Teams (by GP): Braves/Twins 2005-2011
2012 Contract Status: Pre-Arb Eligible (details)
Service Time (01/2012): 2.132 ,
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jamesch03.shtml

Year	Age	Tm		W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	BK	WP	BF	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2003	21	ATL-min	Rk	2	1	.667	1.25	11	11	0	0	0	0	50.1	26	9	7	1	19	0	68	0	0	2	193		0.894	4.6	0.2	3.4	12.2	3.58
2004	22	ATL-min	A	10	5	.667	2.24	26	22	2	1	0	0	132.2	92	41	33	6	48	1	156	7	0	3	527		1.055	6.2	0.4	3.3	10.6	3.25
2005	23	ATL-min	AA,A+,AAA	13	7	.650	2.12	29	29	0	0	0	0	161.1	103	44	38	9	36	0	193	3	0	8	621		0.862	5.7	0.5	2.0	10.8	5.36
2005	23	ATL	NL	0	0		1.59	2	0	0	0	0	0	5.2	4	1	1	0	3	0	5	0	0	1	23	283	1.235	6.4	0.0	4.8	7.9	1.67
2006	24	ATL-min	AAA,A	1	0	1.000	2.60	8	7	0	0	0	0	34.2	30	10	10	3	6	0	26	0	0	1	138		1.038	7.8	0.8	1.6	6.8	4.33
2006	24	ATL	NL	11	4	.733	3.78	25	18	0	0	0	0	119.0	101	54	50	20	47	2	91	6	0	2	504	118	1.244	7.6	1.5	3.6	6.9	1.94
2007	25	ATL	NL	11	10	.524	4.24	30	30	0	0	0	0	161.1	164	77	76	32	58	5	116	1	1	1	691	103	1.376	9.1	1.8	3.2	6.5	2.00
2008	26	ATL-min	AAA	5	5	.500	2.92	16	15	1	0	0	0	86.1	76	34	28	5	39	0	74	3	0	3	373		1.332	7.9	0.5	4.1	7.7	1.90
2008	26	ATL	NL	2	5	.286	9.10	7	7	0	0	0	0	29.2	36	30	30	10	20	2	22	3	1	1	146	47	1.888	10.9	3.0	6.1	6.7	1.10

2011	29	MIN-min	AAA	3	2	.600	2.30	38	0	14	0	0	1	62.2	49	16	16	4	27	1	67	1	0	6	261		1.213	7.0	0.6	3.9	9.6	2.48
2011	29	MIN	AL	0	0		6.10	8	0	3	0	0	0	10.1	12	7	7	1	4	0	8	0	2	0	46	68	1.548	10.5	0.9	3.5	7.0	2.00
5 Seasons				24	19	.558	4.53	72	55	3	0	0	0	326.0	317	169	164	63	132	9	242	10	4	5	1410	97	1.377	8.8	1.7	3.6	6.7	1.83
162 Game Avg.				13	10	.558	4.53	39	29	2	0	0	0	175	170	90	88	34	71	5	130	5	2	3	755	97	1.377	8.8	1.7	3.6	6.7	1.83

ATL (4 yrs)				24	19	.558	4.48	64	55	0	0	0	0	315.2	305	162	157	62	128	9	234	10	2	5	1364	98	1.372	8.7	1.8	3.6	6.7	1.83
MIN (1 yr)				0	0		6.10	8	0	3	0	0	0	10.1	12	7	7	1	4	0	8	0	2	0	46	68	1.548	10.5	0.9	3.5	7.0	2.00

NL (4 yrs)			NL	24	19	.558	4.48	64	55	0	0	0	0	315.2	305	162	157	62	128	9	234	10	2	5	1364	98	1.372	8.7	1.8	3.6	6.7	1.83
AL (1 yr)			AL	0	0		6.10	8	0	3	0	0	0	10.1	12	7	7	1	4	0	8	0	2	0	46	68	1.548	10.5	0.9	3.5	7.0	2.00

Atlanta Braves

He was signed by the Braves on July 29, 2002, after he was selected in the 20th Round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. In 2003, he was named the Danville Braves' Pitcher of the Year, with a 1.25 earned run average and 68 strikeouts.

In 2004, he was named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year, while playing for the Rome Braves, and was also named the April Player of the Month. He led the Braves minor league organization in wins. James also had the lowest ERA in his league. During May of 2004, opponents only hit .109 against him.

James began the 2005 season with the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Later in the season, he went 9-1 with a 2.01 ERA with the AA Mississippi Braves. On September 28, 2005, he was called up to the majors and made his debut against the Colorado Rockies.

He started the 2006 season in the Atlanta bullpen, and also spent some time playing for the AAA Richmond Braves.

On June 25, 2006 James made his debut as a starter for the Atlanta Braves against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays going eight innings and allowing only one run with eight strike outs. He proceeded to win eleven of his eighteen starts with a 3.78 ERA.

James went a disappointing 11-10 while leading the league in home runs allowed with 32 in the 2007 season which also included his first disabled list stint.

As of May 18, 2008, James has spent the season up and down from Triple-A and has had 5 major league starts going 2-3 with an ERA of 8.22.He was again optioned down to Triple-A Richmond on May 16, 2008, following a rocky start against Philadelphia.
James was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves on December 12, 2008, making him a free agent.

Washington Nationals

On January 25, 2010, James signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.

Minnesota Twins

On December 20, 2010, James signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins. He had his contract purchased on May 28, 2011.^[2]

New York Mets

On December 15, 2011, James signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_James

The Keepers - #2 - RHSP - Matt Harvey

2012-01-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

2. SP Matt Harvey

NorthCarolina – 6-4, 230 - … was 3^rd round pick by the Angels out of highschool and turned down a $1mil offer. Low-90s fastball that touches 95.Excellent curveball… average changeup… comes from ¾ arm slot… changeup 78-81…breaking ball 76-79… works quickly from stretch… 2009: 7-2, 5.35, 78K, 70.2 IP…BA ranks him as the #1 sophomore of the 2009 season…

10.Matt Harvey – North Carolina – 6-4, 230 - … was 3rd round pick by the Angelsout of high school and turned down a $1mil offer. Low-90s fastball that touches95. Excellent curveball… average changeup… comes from ¾ arm slot… changeup78-81… breaking ball 76-79… works quickly from stretch… 2009: 7-2, 5.35, 78K,70.2 IP… BA ranks him as the #1 sophomore of the 2009 season…

7/07fr. www.projectprospect.com : - Afirst round talent out of high school in 2007, Harvey slipped to the fourthround due to bonus demands. While his time at North Carolina has been a bitrocky, Harvey still has good stuff and struck out 81 batters in 75 innings lastspring. Harvey’s fastball sits in the low 90’s with some sink, and iscomplimented by a potentially plus breaking ball and changeup. If Harvey canshow some improved command this spring, he walked 11.9% of batters last spring,he still has as much upside as any pitcher in this class.

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8-1:from http://perfectgame.atinfopop.com: put on some weight this year and armangle dropped a bit, most fb were very straight during CWS, velocity stillsolid abv ave range 89-94 will touch 95-96 on occasion. Must work with fingerpressure and get more movement on his fb for 2010. Solid slide piece when ontop. Control is solid as well.

8-2:from 6-16 article www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com: Harvey turned down $1 million from the Angels as a third-round pick out ofhigh school, and the Connecticut product is pitching in his second straight CWSwith the Tar Heels. He'll become the undisputed staff ace next year when Whiteand senior Adam Warren (a fourth-round pick of the Yankees this year) move on,using a low-90s fastball that reaches 95 at times and a true hammer curveballthat is his best pitch. Harvey can lose control of the strike zone due to along arm action and some effort in his delivery, so he's not a finishedproduct. But he was the best pitching prospect in the Cape last summer and maybe again in 2009.

9-24:From: http://mlbresource.blogspot.com: Mock Draft Version 1.0 – 8th pickoverall - 8. Matt Harvey, RHP - North Carolina

9-28:From http://mlbresource.blogspot.com: - Mock Draft Version 2 - #15 pick overall- Matt Harvey, RHP - North Carolina - North Carolina seems to breed first roundpitching and out comes another. Harvey has been higher on other boards and evenmy previous one but a shaky 5.40 ERA last year will need to be improved on.Stats do not tell the whole story as this is a polished righty with a chance tobe a quality big league starter.

10-5from http://baseballdraftreport.com: - top 50 prospects in 2010 draft – #18 –Matt Harvey (11th RHP on list)

11-2from www.perfectgame.com : - FutureScout Sully said: Here is my list of the Top 50 in the class. I have seenalmost every one of these players. Went out to AFLAC for the week, saw team usaplay, and went to many cape games: - 8- RHP Matt Harvey (5th RHP on list)

11-3from www.mlbresource.com : 3rd Mockdraft – #16 - Matt Harvey, RHP - North Carolina - Harvey gives the Cubs anexperienced big game pitcher that comes from a school known for developingquality pitchers. Harvey could go even higher than this. (8th RHP on list)

11-17from www.mlbdraft.blogspot.com :- 13. Chicago White Sox- Matt Harvey, RHP, UNC - Harvey was viewed as a top 5pick, if not the top pick in the draft for quite some time. That was beforeHarper entered the draft, and before Harvey has a disapointing season at UNC.If Harvey bounces back to form, he could find himself near the top of the draftagain. (6th RHP picked)

11-18from www.macksmets.blogspot.com: - 8. RHP Matt Harvey – a weak draft means lots of right hand pitchers takenearly and Harvey will be one of the first ones grabbed. (4th RHP on list)

11-23from www.deepleagues.com : - #19 -Detroit Tigers Matt Harvey (P, North Carolina) (8th RHP on list)

2010MLB DRAFT MOCK DRAFT- 12/31/09 – www.jjscouting.com - 13. Chicago White Sox- Matt Harvey,RHP, UNC - Harvey was viewed as a top 5 pick, if not the top pick in the draftfor quite some time. That was before Harper entered the draft, and beforeHarvey has a disappointing season at UNC. If Harvey bounces back to form, hecould find himself near the top of the draft again.

1-1-9from www.draftsite.com : - mock draft: -#55 NY Mets Matt Harvey RHP University of North Carolina 6'4" 225 R,R

1-15-9from http://baseballdraftreport.com: - #28 Los Angeles Dodgers: RHSP Matt Harvey – North Carolina - After Harvey’shot start last season, I wrote the following on March 1, 2009:

[W]hatis the likelihood, if it exists at all, that Matt Harvey reaches the same levelof hype other elite college pitchers (Strasburg, Price, and Prior, to name afew) had heading into his draft year? Uhh, I’m going to have to go out on alimb here and say that the likelihood isn’t all that good. Controversialanswer, I know. It’s probably weird having Matt Harvey in the first round atthis point, but, if anything, I actually feel weird about having him this low.A really, really good rule to follow when tracking draft prospects is toremember that once a player shows you a skill, it is his to own. There areobvious exceptions to this, major injuries being the most obvious, but goodplayers just don’t plain forget how to do good things on the field. Eliteprospects who don’t sign out of high school tend not to drop too far afterthree years of college, even if those three years are so-so. The most recentreports on Harvey have been largely positive: 90-93 sitting velocity withfastball, 94-95 peak velocity, plus 77-80 CB, and a solid sinking low-80schange. The biggest problem with Harvey’s game seems to be his bizarre velocityinconsistency with his fastball. One day you’ll see him pitching in themid-90s, the next he’ll be down to maxing out at 86 (86!), and then he’ll beback up to sitting 88-90, but still not hitting 96 like before…until the nexttime out when he suddenly has regained those lost 10 MPH on the fastball. Whatthe heck is that? It’s not even a start-to-start phenomenom, either; Harvey hasexperienced sudden velocities dips and gains in-game as well. I have no ideawhat to make of Harvey. If the right scouting director sees him on the rightday, he’ll go high. If not, he’ll be lumped in with the rest of the collegeguys who project as relievers hoping to get a spot in the first five rounds. Ilike the idea of the Dodgers taking Harvey one pick before the Angels, the teamthat couldn’t get him signed back in 2007. I wonder what Harvey’s career wouldhave looked like so far if he would have signed out of high school. He’s aprime candidate for an Alternate Reality Crystal Ball…

3-10from XMLBScout/perfectgame.com: - Also in regards to Matt Harvey, his deliveryis cleaner than last summer yes and last spring, yes, but still the same kidwith a much better breaking ball. He might be best suited as a closer in thebig leagues also John Smoltz or Steve Bedrosian, I don't think he has 5 plusinning in him every 4 days and be consistent, but who knows once he's in proball. Top 50 guy for sure.

3-16from http://www.prospectjunkies.com: -

MattHarvey - RHP - UNC. 5IP 7H 3ER 4BB 3K (W). Line looks closer to the 09 Harveyin a NC win v. Duke.:

3-24from: http://pnrscouting.com/articles_stockwatch_2010class_10onthrerise_03232010.html - Stock Watch: Ten on the Rise (2010Draft Class) - Matt Harvey, RHP, Univ. of North Carolina (#56 on PnR PreseasonTop 300): After strong reports came out of fall practice in Chapel Hill, PnRwas comfortable placing Harvey comfortably in the second round for ourpreseason rankings -- his pure stuff is special and easily worthy of 1st roundconsideration if he's performing at his best. Consistency has been the issuethroughout Harvey's time at UNC, but if the first month of the 2010 is anyindication of things to come he may have finally shaken that monkey off of his back.Harvey has posted a fine line of 5 GS, 32 IP, 20 H, 7 ER, 14 BB and 37 SO whileshowing potential front-end stuff, including a low- to mid-90s fastball, apotential plus breaking ball and a change-up he has been throwing withincreasing success. Harvey can continue to win over supporters the moreconsistency he shows, and could be a 1st round -- maybe early 1st round --selection come June.

4-7from: http://www.baseballrumormill.com/2010/04/2010-draft-preview-matt-harvey-rising-kyle-blair-falling/#more - Matt Harvey, UNC, RHP: The NorthCarolina product has improved his deliver which has resulted in high velocityin his fastball, up to 97 so far this season. Although he continues to strugglewith his command, he continues to induce almost 80% of balls put in play on theground. He seems likely to be a first round draft pick.

4-13from: - http://perfectgame.atinfopop.com/4/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=114295945&f=6174069131&m=4361060202 - Also in regards to Matt Harvey, hisdelivery is cleaner than last summer yes and last spring, yes, but still thesame kid with a much better breaking ball. He might be best suited as a closerin the big leagues also John Smoltz or Steve Bedrosian, I don't think he has 5plus inning in him every 4 days and be consistent, but who knows once he's inpro ball. Top 50 guy for sure.

4-19from: - http://www.baseballrumormill.com - Harvey has bounced back from two awfulyears in college to reestablish himself as a prospect for this year's draft,with a significant and unexpected increase in velocity this spring and animproved delivery. One major change in Harvey's performance this year is in hisability to get groundballs, as he's getting on top of his fastball and drivingmany of them down at or below the bottom of the zone.

4-19from: - http://www.pnrscouting.com/rankings_2010_midseason_pitcher.html - Matt Harvey, Junior, Univ. of NorthCarolina and Brandon Workman, Junior, Univ. of Texas jumped into the back-endof the Top 10, Harvey all the way from a preseason ranking of #27. Each hasstruggled some with his command (Harvey to a greater extent than Workman), buthave enjoyed a successful first half to the year and project as legit 1st Roundtalents.

4-20from: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/4/20/1433135/interesting-college-pitchers-for - RHP, University of North Carolina - Anunsigned third round pick in the 2007 draft, Harvey has been erratic incollege, outstanding at times but hampered by command issues. At his best, the6-4, 225 pounder features a mid-90s fastball, a nasty curve, and a solidchangeup. However, problems with his mechanics were an issue last summer in theCape Cod League, costing him velocity and control. He's been much better thisspring, with a 2.59 ERA and a 60/26 K/BB in 59 innings, with 44 hits allowed,showing a more consistent delivery and better stuff (96-98), though his controlstill wobbles on occasion. Harvey is a definite wild card on draft day.Depending on his bonus demands and late May performance, he could go anywherefrom 15 to 40.

4-24from: - http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/baseball/news;_ylt=AjpEcNS8dq_g39RRWsAapfgMwLYF?slug=kr-friday042410 - He also was one of the biggestquestion marks before the season. Harvey, who turned down big-time money out ofhigh school to attend North Carolina, had a fabulous freshman campaign thatended with a 2.79 ERA. But as a sophomore last season, the right-handercertainly left something to be desired with a 5.40 ERA. Numerous meltdowns lastseason led to a plethora of question marks about Harvey’s ability to be the TarHeels’ staff ace this spring. Consider those questions answered, though. Harveyis having a sensational campaign for the Tar Heels. And after striking out 15batters and allowing just three runs on six hits in a complete game performanceagainst Clemson on Friday, his numbers became even more impressive. Harvey hasa 2.65 ERA in 68 innings of work. He also has struck out 75 and walked 27 andis limiting opposing teams to a .202 batting average in 10 starts.

4-26from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/26/acc-baseball-weekly-honors - North Carolina’s Matt Harvey receivedACC Pitcher of the Week honors. Harvey (5-2) threw his first careercomplete-game with a six hitter with a career-best 15 strikeouts to lead NorthCarolina over No. 20 Clemson 5-3 Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Harveystruck out the side three times, including six punch-outs in a row in the sixthand seventh innings, and now has fanned the side nine different times thisseason. The junior caught nine Clemson batters looking at a called third strikeand fell just four strikeouts shy of the single-game school record of 19.Harvey eclipsed his previous career-high of 13 strikeouts and now has postedfour double-digit strikeout games this season. Harvey, a junior from Mystic,Conn., was also named a National Pitcher of the Week by Collegiate Baseball.

4-28from: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/04/28/lincolns-2010-draft-board - Matt Harvey has been known todraftniks for a long time. Heralded as neck-and-neck with Rick Porcello out ofhigh school by some, Harvey has been up-and-down during his time at theUniversity of North Carolina. Fortunately for Harvey, this spring has mostlybeen up. Control has been a problem at times during his collegiate career butthis spring he’s walked 9.8% of the batters, a number that will need to comedown as a professional but it’s not a terrible figure. Harvey’s mediocrecontrol is offset by a lot of strikeouts, 28.3% of batters this springincluding 15 in his last outing versus a very good Clemson squad. Harvey’sfastball has shown impressive velocity, touching 96-97 MPH late in starts andexcellent sink, 69% of his batted ball outs have come on the ground. In highschool, Harvey’s main breaking ball was a plus curveball; in college he’s spentmore time toying with a slider that flashes plus but is still inconsistent.While he may not go as high as some though he deserved out of high school,Harvey still looks like a solid first round pick.

5-1from: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/04/28/lincolns-2010-draft-board - Matt Harvey has been known todraftniks for a long time. Heralded as neck-and-neck with Rick Porcello out ofhigh school by some, Harvey has been up-and-down during his time at theUniversity of North Carolina. Fortunately for Harvey, this spring has mostlybeen up. Control has been a problem at times during his collegiate career butthis spring he’s walked 9.8% of the batters, a number that will need to comedown as a professional but it’s not a terrible figure. Harvey’s mediocrecontrol is offset by a lot of strikeouts, 28.3% of batters this springincluding 15 in his last outing versus a very good Clemson squad. Harvey’sfastball has shown impressive velocity, touching 96-97 MPH late in starts andexcellent sink, 69% of his batted ball outs have come on the ground. In highschool, Harvey’s main breaking ball was a plus curveball; in college he’s spentmore time toying with a slider that flashes plus but is still inconsistent.While he may not go as high as some though he deserved out of high school,Harvey still looks like a solid first round pick.

5-17from: - http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/MLB_Draft/entry/view/66255/stock_watch_harvey_up,_colon_down#page_break - On the season, Harvey is 6-3 with a 2.72 ERA, striking out 86 in 82 inningspitched. The 30 walks is still a concern, and some scouts believe Harvey mightfind more success as a power reliever, with velocity that sits easily in the96-97 mph range. His slider has progressed from a hard curve he used to throwand is considered above average. Those two pitches alone, along with a cleandelivery and strong arm have people thinking Harvey could pitch fast if he weredrafted as late-inning reliever, eventually moving into a closer's role. At 6-4and 225 pounds, he fits the bill.

From:- http://www.scoutingbook.com/players/p2682 - The seventh overall pick in the 2010draft, Matt Harvey is a tall righthander from Mystic, Connecticut who pitchedhis college ball at UNC, where a few tweaks to his high-school delivery paidoff with extra cheese on his fastball. He can dial that smooth, easy heat up to98mph and has a propensity for throwing ground balls. His command is spotty,but nothing out of the norm for such a young, high-upside arm. He should movequickly through a pitching-poor Mets system.

From:http://www.baseballrumormill.com/ : - "With a good arm, nice and easy delivery, projectable frame and thepossibility to have a three-pitch mix (right now, the changeup lags behind theother two). He'll need some refinement with his delivery, but has a very highceiling."

FromKeith Law: - Harvey has bounced back from two awful years in college toreestablish himself as a prospect for this year's draft, with a significant andunexpected increase in velocity this spring and an improved delivery. He'stouched 97 in several starts and will hold 95-96 for 30-40 pitches at the startof a game, then working at 91-94 through the 100 pitch mark. His best off speedpitch is a 79-84 mph changeup with some downward fade, but his curveball, hisbest off speed pitch in high school, is below average now and veryinconsistent. Harvey drives his fastball down in the zone, getting groundballsat an impressive rate, but overall doesn't command the ball, and in many wayshe's the same pitcher he was the last two years, but with more velocity. Hisarm is looser and much cleaner in the back than it had been prior to this year,although he still lands awkwardly and stiffly and the way he drifts off therubber isn't helping him land consistently. Ultimately, his best role may be inthe pen, where he won't have to deal with losing velocity (and could easily sit95-97), he can work with just two pitches, and the lack of command could bemitigated by the quality of his stuff. If he's drafted as a starter, someplayer development staff will have a fair amount of work to do to get him toreach his potential in that role.

FromJohn Manuel: - The Mets get more talent one spot behind the Diamondbacks,taking North Carolina right-hander Matt Harvey. The Nutmeg State product fitsthe Mets profile. Rudy Terrasas, the Mets' scouting director, likes hispitchers big, physical and throwing hard, and that's what Harvey does. He alsohas the power slider and improved control to be a front-of-the-rotation starterif it all comes together. Harvey's the best pitcher the Mets have drafted sinceMike Pelfrey in 2005.

From:http://www.rotoworld.com / : -"Harvey probably would have been a first-round pick in 2007 if not forsome big-time bonus demands. He rejected an offer from the Angels and went toNorth Carolina, where he struggled for two years before pushing his stock backup this season. Harvey can throw in the mid-90s, but his curveball comes andgoes. The Mets figure to keep him in the rotation, but he’s more likely to makeit in the majors as a short reliever than as a starter."

From:- http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/6/7/15 ... harvey-rhp - Matt Harvey is a top-level right-handedstarting pitcher from the University of North Carolina. Harvey attended highschool at Fitch High School in Groton, Connecticut, near the Rhode Islandborder. He was teammates with fellow 2010 draft prospect Jesse Hahn, thoughHarvey has been on the national stage far longer. He was known as one of thetop arms for the 2007 draft for quite awhile before the draft even rolledaround, and it was surprising when he fell all the way to the third round,where the Angels made a run at signing him, only to fail at doing so. He headedto North Carolina thanks to adviser Scott Boras, and after a rocky couple ofyears to start there, he’s really started fulfilling his potential this spring.Scouts still point to his awful mechanics last year, but he’s improved so muchthat it seems to be a dead issue, and he projects as a number two starter ifthings come together exactly right. His fastball is an easy plus pitch, gettingsome plus-plus grades, as he sits 92-95 most nights and can pump it up to 97,and he holds velocity deep into games, even when asked to throw absurd numbersof pitches. His breaking ball is a potential plus slider, which is distinctlydifferent from the curveball he threw as a prep, which has gone by the wayside.His changeup is only a fringe-average pitch, but he gets by with his two pluspitches with ease. Even with Scott Boras still as his adviser, he’s expected togo in the top twenty picks, and he should command something around $2 million.

3-5-11:- Up: - Harvey finally pitched for the Mets, on Saturday, against the Italianteam that is being coached by Mike Piazza. Word from the camp was he sat in the92-93 range and pitched a scoreless inning. Welcome to the team, Matt.

3-22-11:- Up: - SP Matt Harvey – pitched Tuesday in minor league game, throwing76-curve, 86-mph slider and fastball up to 98… this is why you draft a quality pitcher with your first round pick,regardless of what the bonus has to be. There are only some many of these studsavailable every draft and you just know the Mets already have plans for himhitting Queens by all-star weekend 2012.

4-7-11- Matt Harvey started a little rocky… walking two and giving up a single in thefirst. Saved his own ass with terrific pickoff throw to Flores to take downrunner at second. An even stranger second inning… three singles, no runs, and three strikeouts.He moved his strikeout total to six after three innings. He left after five… noruns and nine strikeouts. What more can I say?

5-4-11:- Matt Harvey had given up only four earned runs all season and all of themcame in his last outing against the same team he pitched again tonight. Theorganization needed a boost and Harvey game through. 9-Ks in 6.1-IP and ERA loweredto 1.10.

5-10-11:- Well, it looks like those of you that wanted Matt Harvey to pitch inBinghamton are going to have to wait for some more turns. Nothing seemed towork… batter hit by pitch, two homers, one a grand slam, and a fastball thatonly hit 93. It just was a bad outing from a very good pitcher. 3.2-IP, 7-H,8-ER.

5-27-11:- Okay, Friday night was Harvey’s 10th start in A+ and the league has seenenough. He put up seven more shutout innings while striking out ten and it’stime for him to join his pitching bud, Jeurys Familia, in Binghamton. These twoguys, plus a fully healed Jenrry Mejia, represent the future of the Metsbeginning in 2013. Some still have their doubts, while others think they couldsee Queens next year. I really believe at this point that both these guys arefor real, but neither should be rushed in 2012. Let them finish 2011 inBinghamton. Bring them to camp with the big boys in 2012, and start them off inBuffalo on opening day. Mejia should be pitching there by June and theBinghamton staff will feature Greg Peavey, Matt Barnes, and Josh Osich. Familiadidn’t have as great a night as Harvey (3-ER in 5.0-IP, 7-K), but thestrikeouts are still there, and his AA ERA is still 2.25. That comes to 10starts in A+/AA, 60.1-IP, 12-ER, and 57-K while only 17-BB. I have no problemwith these numbers.

6-3-11:- http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/2611874.htmlHarvey threw seven scoreless innings against Dunedin on Friday while allowingjust three hits and establishing a career high with 10 strikeouts. He followedthat with nine-strikeout effort against Clearwater. That's all in a week's workfor Harvey, who in 59 innings has struck out 71 batters to rank third in theFlorida State League. His sparkling 3.6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio hasdispelled concerns (at least initially) about spotty command that dogged him incollege. Harvey's performance, along with that of Double-A flame-thrower JeurysFamilia, has been a boon to a Mets system that lost top prospect Jenrry Mejiato Tommy John surgery in May

6-26-11:- I can’t begin to remember how many times we have written about the difficultyof going from A+ to AA. There are very few bad baseball players at this leveland, in order for a pitcher to excel here, he must pitch, not throw. MattHarvey got his first lesson yesterday: 4.2-IP, 9-H, 4-ER, 4-K, 2-BB, 7.71. Hey,it’s only one game and, frankly, every future start needs a couple of these tokeep them honest.

6-27-11:- http://www.metstoday.com/6605/mets-minors/all-about-matt-harvey - Sandy Alderson has already stated that hisadministration will try not to rush prospects through the minor league systeminto the majors after seeing the failed cases of Scott Kazmir and FernandoMartinez, for example. Regardless, since Harvey was a high 1st-round pick, weshouldn’t be surprised to see him in a Mets uniform and in the startingrotation by July of 2012. This kid is a real keeper and he is going to be asuccessful MLB pitcher hopefully with the Mets. He has top-of-the-rotationstuff and will be up there in the Mets rotation with Johan Santana when the Metace returns from injury. (editor: I do not agree with this).

6-29-11:- http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=law_keith&id=6711904&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fblog%3fname%3dlaw_keith%26id%3d6711904 - Harvey was the seventh pick in last year’sdraft and came into pro ball boasting a plus fastball with good downhill planeand a solid average-or-better changeup but struggled with both breaking balls.Reports this year have the breaking balls improving but the changeup regressing— which would still leave him a three-pitch guy, plenty to be a front-linestarter given the strength of his fastball.

7-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/07/best-mets-minor-league-surprises-mid-season-edition.html - Matt Harvey – Binghamton, the 6’4″right hander, who was the 2010 first rounddraft pick, made his professional debut this season, starting the year in St.Lucie, and earning a recent promotion to AA. His first start at Bingo wasshaky, his second was much better as he begins to settle into the EasternLeague. Here are the St Lucie stats that got him called up to the next level:in 14 starts he went 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA. 76 IP, 67 H, 92 K, 24 BB, .238 BAagainst. Yes that is correct, 92 K’s in 76 IP.

7-7-11: - We’ve seen thishappen before. Your slam dunk A+ pitcher hit the wall in AA. Harvey gave upseven runs in three pitched last night and his AA ERA is now 9.24. Thestrikeouts were still there (5 in 3.0), but this was his second bad AA outingout of three. I’m far from worried, andhopefully, this is all a learning process, but just how many of these guys werewe so excited about until they hit the wall in Binghamton?

7-13-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/765098-new-york-mets-dillon-gee-and-the-mets-top-10-young-pitching-prospects#/articles/765098-new-york-mets-dillon-gee-and-the-mets-top-10-young-pitching-prospects/page/2- The 6’4”, 210-pound right-handed pitcher was 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA this seasonfor St. Lucie before getting called up to AA. His 92 strikeouts and 10.2 SO/9were leading the team before he was called up. He has a mean repertoire thatincludes a fastball in the upper-90s, a wicked curveball, a sinker, a sliderand is developing a changeup. Harvey’s desire to dominate has been compared toRoy Halladay, and the New York Post reports that he once threw 157 pitches in agame in college to defeat Clemson. The last pitch was clocked at 96 mph. Hisarm was not sore the next day. Harvey is beyond gifted. BaseballAmerica callshim the fourth-best prospect for the New York Mets, and there is a lot ofpromise behind this young arm. Two days ago, he was named the 30th-bestprospect in the game. No other Mets player cracked the top 50

7-26-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/26/2287253/mets-mid-term-farm-system-review-2011-binghamton#storyjump- RHP Matt Harvey - STOCK UP - The first rounder from New London had quite abit of hype surrounding him coming into his pro debut and he had no problemliving up to every bit of it. He didn't allow an earned run through his first22 IP and soon after he won the FSL's Pitcher of the Week award and it wasclear to all that Harvey was the goods. Though he eventually did allow a run,Harvey looked dominant throughout his stay in Hi-A to the tune of a 10.89 K/9and a .238 average against. However -- not surprisingly -- Double-A has a muchtougher test for Harvey. Suddenly we are seeing first-hand evidence of the rawsecondary stuff and sometimes shaky command that we heard about back when hewas drafted. Though he's actually striking out more batters than before, hisbiggest problem has been consistently falling behind batters. As a result he'sserving up more meatballs (.338 AVG against) as well as racking up big pitchcounts early. Despite the struggles, this isn't alarming or uncommon for aDouble-A debut. Really all it tells us is that perhaps Harvey is not theGooden-esque phenom people hoped when he first busted out of the gates...but hecan still be very good.

7-29-11: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110728&content_id=22453088&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&tcid=tw_share- Binghamton's Matt Harvey still doesn't have a victory six starts into hisfirst Double-A career, but he took something else home Thursday night. Harveystruck out 10 and allowed four hits over seven strong innings, but gave up agame-tying run in the Mets' eventual 2-1 defeat in 14 frames to the hostHarrisburg Senators. The 22-year-old right-hander -- New York's No. 3 prospect-- struggled to control the running game. The Harvey-Kai Gronauer batteryallowed three stolen bases, and the the last was the most significant: DerekNorris walked on four pitches, swiped second base and scored three batterslater on Chris Rahl's liner into left, tying the score, 1-1.

8-11-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/baseball-americas-mets-top-10-list-prior-to-2011-where-are-they-now.html- SP – Matt Harvey: Hes pitched like a potential top of the rotation starterthat some project him to be. He dominated the low minors and forced hispromotion to Double-A. After initially struggling at the next level, he hasreturned to dominance his last few starts. Harvey is showing more and more whyhe is the crown jewel of the system right now. Started 2011: Single-A Currently: Double-A

8-14-11: - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904006104576504653753002880.html- Harvey, a 22-year-old pitcher, hasn't even finished his first minor-leagueseason. He was promoted to Double-A Binghamton less than two months ago. Butwith the Mets effectively out of playoff contention, fans are looking to thefuture. And they want that future, in the form of Harvey, to arrive soon.Preferably, tomorrow or the next day. The question was premature, but notentirely outlandish. Harvey, whom the Mets selected seventh overall in thefirst round draft of the 2010 draft, was recently ranked by Baseball America asthe 30th best prospect in the game. In 14 starts with Class-A St. Lucie, he wasdominant. He posted a 2.37 earned run average and averaged 10.9 strikeouts,only 2.8 walks and 0.6 home runs allowed per nine innings.

8-14-11: - http://nybaseballdigest.com/?p=38578 - Harvey did show a very hard fastball,but it was mostly over the middle and appeared very hittable. The Thunderstrung together three straight hits to lead off the second inning, scoring tworuns. The toolsy Melky Mesa (more on him later) led off with a hard single upthe middle on a 3-2 pitch, and advanced to second on a bullet line drive byZoilo Almonte which struck Harvey and caromed over to the third baseman. DamonSublett followed with a deep double to left center. Although Harvey did notwalk anyone, he ran the count deep several times and had to come in with ameaty fastball to get the ball across.

9-3-11: -http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html-

SP1: Matt Harvey - I can’t believe I’m projectingHarvey to be the “ace” at AAA already, after only one year of pro ball, but hisperformance at AA this year has been gaining momentum and he seems up for thechallenge. After completely dominating the Florida State League in the firsthalf, he was promoted to AA Bingo at the end of June. It was then that he raninto his first adversity as a professional, losing his first three EasternLeague decisions, and getting knocked around pretty good. But being theperfectionist that he is, Harvey was quick to adjust to the league, and turneda corner with his start on July 28th. Since that night, in his last six starts,he is 5-0 with a 2.65 ERA. In 34 IP, he has given up 25 hits, and only 1 HR,and his K/BB ratio is 34/11. Harvey will get one more start this season, whichwill bring his innings total to nearly 140, about 65 of which were at AA. Withhis advanced pitching capability, and ability to make quick adjustments, Idon’t think it’s a stretch to see him opening the season with Buffalo.Considering how far Harvey has progressed in his first year, his first start atCiti can’t be that far off.

10-10-11: - https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/132edccbf718965f- Top five Met prospects - Sunday,October 9, 2011 - The Record - 1. Matt Harvey, RHP, 22 (13-5 with a 3.32 ERA atClass A St. Lucie and AA Binghamton): Minor-league pitchers are tough to counton, but he’s as close to a sure thing as the Mets have. Power, command and apresence led to a solid – and sensational at times – first year in pro ball.Mets project him as a late 2012 call-up.

10-17-11: - http://baseballinstinct.com/2011/10/17/prospect-instinct-matt-harvey-rhp-new-york-mets- Matt Harvey has a plus curveball with a borderline plus fastball. The slideris average. His changeup should be an average or better pitch as well, so hehas a four pitch mix that makes me confident to call him a future big leaguestarter. His command has come along as well, so while he was a #2-#3 startergoing into the season, the command has put him in the elite level of pitchingprospects and he has a chance to be a frontline starter. His frame says thatthere is a workhorse 200 inning eater here as well. The only thing that canhold him back from reaching a successful #2 starter or better will be hismechanics. The changes that have been made are a step in the right directionand he’ll need to hold that upgrade going forward while maturing as a starter. Weshould see Harvey some time in 2012. He could start the season in Triple-A andbe with the Mets by the All Star break.

10-25-11: - http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2011/10/25/2011-top-20-new-york-mets-prospects - 2011 Top 20 New York Mets Prospects- 3.Matt Harvey, RHP (High Class A, AA):Most importantly for the righty, he continued to throw strikes all year long(2.84 bb/9 IP at A+, 3.47 at AA). Harvey showed good command of a strongfastball and quality curve, with the strikeout numbers to match (10.89/9 IP atA+, 9.65 at AA). A solid ground ball rate makes him that much more valuable. Itwas a welcome sight to see such good command after a shaky end to his collegecareer. He still has room for improvement in needing to stay around the strikezone a bit more, but a 2.66 FIP in 76 High A innings and 3.23 FIP through 59.2AA innings is fantastic for a first year pro.

11-23-11: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111110&content_id=25949502&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&partnerId=rss_nym- Right-handed starting pitcher -- Matt Harvey, St. Lucie (14 games),Binghamton (12 games): In his first pro season, the seventh overall pick in2010 led the organization in wins. His 2.37 ERA at St. Lucie ballooned to 4.53in Binghamton, but his strikeout-to-walk ratio never wavered. The Futures Gameselection fanned 156 and issued 47 free passes over 135 2/3 frames. "We were tremendously pleased,"DePodesta said. "Matt obviously came with high expectations. Our goals forhim were for him to get established on a five-day schedule.

"There's no doubt in our mind he could goto St. Lucie and dominate without using his changeup. He went to Binghamton andcontinued to work on his pitches. There were times when I'm sure it would havebeen easier to throw a fastball by a guy and get out of an inning, but he knewit was more important to work on his craft." The University of North Carolina productshowed improvement at Double-A in August, going 5-0 with a 2.67 ERA in fiveoutings.

Backman, who calls Harvey "intense,"is impressed with his repertoire.

"I comparehim to [Jeurys] Familia, but he's got more stuff than Familia," he said."They're both power fastball, power breaking ball guys [while their]changeup is a work-in-progress. When I graded [Harvey] out, I had him as a No.2 starter on a championship-level, big league team." Familia won half of his 10 decisions andrecorded a 2.90 ERA in 23 starts, 17 for Backman at Binghamton. The native ofthe Dominican Republic fanned 132 over 124 innings.

Lopez said Harvey "has all the making ofa great starter" but cautioned that he should be more aggressive earlierin counts, innings and outings.

"The way hewent about his business of getting guys out -- in college, you don't have apitch count, but in the pros you do," Lopez said. "You have to manageyour pitch count to be able to pitch deeper into games. His first coupleballgames, he was coming out early."

1-3-12- http://mets360.com/?p=8885&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29 - 1. Matt Harvey, SP, Hi-A/Double-A,8-2, 2.37 ERA, 92 Ks in 76 IP - This is his line in Hi-A. Harvey made hisprofessional debut in St. Lucie and posted this line over 14 starts beforebeing promoted to Double-A. His ERA took a big hit with the jump to Binghamton,but his peripherals were much better than the 4.53 ERA he posted the secondhalf of the year in 59.2 IP. Harvey had a 3.23 FIP in Double-A. He had a 9.65K/9 in his stint in Binghamton but was hurt by a 66.3 LOB%. Harvey struggledinitially but during the month of August, he was 5-0 with a 2.67 ERA and had 9BB and 24 Ks in 27 IP.

1-10-12- http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-new-york-mets/ 2. Matt Harvey, RHP

BORN: March 27, 1989

EXPERIENCE: 1 season

ACQUIRED: 2010 1st round (7th overall), U ofNorth Carolina

2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: 3rd

SCOUTINGREPORT: Harvey, like Wheeler, features a good, hard fastball that sits in the92-96 mph range. He also features a very good slider and seldom-used changeup.Harvey has a big, strong pitcher’s frame but struggles with his command attimes when he fights his delivery. He’s been on the prospect landscape for along time and was a potential top pick in the ’07 draft before bonus demandsslid him to the third round. The Angels organization came close to signing himbut he ultimately chose to attend UNC.

YEARIN REVIEW: Harvey made his official pro debut in 2011, beginning the year inhigh-A ball where he posted a 2.66 FIP (2.37 ERA) in 76 innings. TheConnecticut native missed a lot of bats (10.89 K/9) and generally over-poweredthe young hitters. Moved up to double-A, he struggled with his control as hiswalk rate rose from 2.84 to 3.47 BB/9. His FIP, though, still remained solid at3.23 (4.53 ERA).

YEARAHEAD: The right-hander may return briefly to double-A with a few things towork on, although he did get better as the season wound down. The developmentof Harvey’s changeup will be huge in 2012 as he hasn’t thrown it much at all.If all goes well, and he shows significant improvement with his third offering,Harvey could surface in Queens at some point during the season half of thebaseball season.

CAREEROUTLOOK: Harvey entered pro ball with serious question marks about his abilityto work out of a big league starting rotation. There are fewer voicesexpressing concern that he’ll top out as a high leverage reliever but he’llneed that third pitch to help erase that concern. If everything breaks rightfor Harvey, he could develop into a durable No. 2 starter.

A Year Ago Today - Role Of Ownership

2012-01-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Role of Ownership

We’re less than two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting and the only thing we seem to all be reading about is the possibility of the Mets taking on a new minority owner.

I counted 147 posts on my twitter account yesterday about the Mets, and 101 were on the ownership topic.

As some of you know, I was a 20% minority owner in a company. I also was the President, until my “partners” wanted to expand on the company in the troublesome 1980’s and I voted against it due to our already large debt owed to the banks. They met without me (their right), voted me out as President, and told me to take a hike while still retaining a personal guarantee against the debt. A year later, they sold the company for seven figures less than we owed and I got stuck with my portion of the bill. Trust me, it ain’t that special.

Is ownership that important to you, the fan?

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. How many names do you know that own either a team in the MLB, NBA, NFL, or NHL?

2. How many of them meddle in the day-to-day operation of their teams?

3. And, regarding those that meddle, how many times have they won a championship in their respective league?

Companies run best when ownership hires an excellent leader, and then let’s that person build the company with excellent divisional managers, who then… you get the picture.

The best example I worked for in this category was The Hearst Corporation. William Randolph Hearst actually set up a Board of Directors that had no family members. Each division head reported to him and the board and that divisional head had 100% say in the day-to-day operation of that division. I worked one floor below the President of Hearst Broadcasting as the General Sales Manager of their Pittsburgh radio stations. I met the President on my interview, each year’s Christmas lunch, and a five-minute exit-interview a few years later. My boss, the General Manager of the radio stations, met with him daily. I met with the GM daily. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

Some businesses have family problems. The New York Giants were a perfect example of this. Fifty per cent of the team was owned by the late Wellington Mara, while the other half was owned by his nephew, Tim Mara. They hated each other. In fact, they didn’t even talk to each other. But, both were smart enough to hire a competent General Manager, George Young, and then let him do their job. Young hired Bill Parcells and the rest is history.

I really don’t care who owns the rest, I care who runs it.

The fans own the Green Bay Packers, but they don’t pick the players. A Japanese company owns the Seattle Mariners, but they don’t serve goiza in the dugout.

A company takes on a minority partner because they either need additional operating monies, or a competent operator that demands a piece of the action. The company that hired me was operating into the grave. I got my piece to run their company and they never told me how to that. We became highly profitable, sold part of the company off to retire all the old debt, and then began to buy new additions into the company. We were then hit with the recession, and went south. Their solution was to buy more and run up more debt, while, at the same time, refinance the debt we then had over our head. I didn’t like the idea. So goes my ownership days.

Let the Wilpons work out their own problems. None directly relate to field operations. New money will come in, old contracts will run out at the end of 2011, and 2012 will begin a new chapter in New York baseball.

Just root for the team. They need your support.