2-18-13 – Week schedule, Rafael Montero, Johan Santana, Jose Valverde

Today is the first full team workout. Week schedule:

          Monday: First full-squad workout, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Tuesday-Thursday: Regular workouts, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Friday: Possible intrasquad scrimmage, TBD

Saturday: Grapefruit League opener vs. Nationals, 12:10 p.m.

Mets manager Terry Collins confirmed on Saturday that Zack Wheeler will begin the 2013 season at Triple-A

Rammy Yogendra  is one of our loyal readers and is currently down in Port St. Lucie. He’s reporting back some of his thoughts on various members of the team:

Got a chance to check out the facility today.   John Buck and Frank Francisco were really friendly guys to chat with.  What stood out for me was Rafael Montero's arm.  Like your blog has mentioned over and over again, that guy has a cannon of an arm.  He is a little guy compared to Jeurys Familia but man, that guy does look like a younger Pedro.

We hope to hear more from him tonight.

Johan Santana

The 33-year-old Santana’s work will be scrutinized all spring as the Mets try to get the left-hander through a full season for the first time since 2008. Manager Terry Collins wants Santana on the mound for Opening Day, on April 1 against the Padres at Citi Field, and another 30-35 subsequent starts.

We’ve said it time again. All we want I around an 8-4, 3.85 record at the all-star break. This gets us a trade for a top prospects, hopefully someone that can play in the Mets outfield in 2014..

Folks, stay with me here and this is not an exercise in rushing anyone.

Rafael Montero will pitch 2013 as a 23-year old and will start the season in Binghamton.

Jenrry Meia will pitch 2013 as a 24-year old and will begin the 2013 season in the AAA rotation.

          And Noah Syndergaard will pitch A+ ball as a 21-year old.

And combination of two out of three of these guys coud finish the 2013 season ready to make the jump to Queens. The long shot here would be Syndergaard, but it’s being done all over the league so don’t tell me he can’t go lights out in St. Lucie the first half of the season, lights out in Binghamton the second half, an invite up in September, and a real chance in camp in 2014.

The dream rotation we have been writing about and waiting for may be upon as soon as April 2014.

But first… we need a decent year from Johan so we can go out and get ourselves someone in the George Springer-class of prospects.

The Mets continue to play down ant rumors that they are interested in signing relief pitcher Jose Valverde. Both Adam Rubin/ESPN  and Mark Craig/Newsday play it down at this point in the camp. There seems to be plenty of veteran presence in camp now and the recent addition of Brandon Lyon should close the door for the season.

Frankly, it wouldn’t shock me me if Frank Francisco knocked on the door and found no one was home when he gets around to getting in shape. Sandy Alderson and Fred Wilpon have proven before they aren’t afraid to eat a bad contract (and, for those of you still out there that wonder why they didn’t want to give Michael Bourn a 5^th year, do the homework over the past five years and add up the eaten money on bad, long term deals by this team).

Baseball: Edwin Jackson, Jeff Francis, Jose Valverde, Emilio Bonifacio

Edwin Jackson, SP. He reportedly has two three-year offers, and the Red Sox, who are in on many players, are there with a bid, as well. Has remarkable record of durability for a young (still only 28) pitcher, but one bad early year in Tampa skews his career stats. A clubhouse plus who always answers the bell, but hurt himself with an uneven postseason. One of three active pitchers 28 or younger with less than a 4.50 ERA, at least 199 innings and more than 140 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons. The other three are Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez. http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/33714192/34639146

Jeff Francis – SP – signed with Reds - In an offseason where Jason Marquis nets a somewhat lucrative one-year deal, it’s simply stunning to me that Francis, who for all his faults was a 2.6-win pitcher last season, had to settle for a minor league deal. Sure, there’s more red flags than a Chinese embassy here, but projection-wise you have to believe Francis has matured greatly as a pitcher to be a nearly 3-win hurler despite an 84.7 mph average heater. Can you even call that a heater? Maybe it’s a warmer. Joking aside, Francis hasn’t landed in an ideal place with the Great American Ballpark (120-133 home run park factors via StatCorner), but if he gains velocity back in his ongoing rehabilitation efforts, as a lefty he could carve out a nice, long career in the back of a number of rotations. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/notable-recent-minor-league-pacts/

Jose Valverde may be affected more than the rest of the group. Converting 49 saves in as many opportunities will have Valverde’s draft value at an all-time high, with Mock Draft Central drafts currently averaging Valverde as the seventh reliever taken. If Cabrera is being drafted due to his likely third and first base eligibility, it is being assumed that he actually will appear at third base at least semi-regularly. While he only needs a bit more than a handful of games to qualify at third, Leyland’s comments give confidence in constructing drafts around the thought that Cabrera will play third base often. This means other players should be drafted under that same assumption, such as Valverde. There is at least some risk that Cabrera is the Tiger’s third baseman, which adds additional risk to Tiger pitchers. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/downgrade-valverde/

T.S. Eliot evidently was not a baseball fan, and even if he had been, he likely wouldn't have played fantasy. But if he had, and he ceased writing long enough to construct a time machine, and it worked, and he travelled to 2012, and his travel through time didn't thereby create the prototypical parallel universe which nullified the entire process, he would be just as high as me this year on Emilio Bonifacio! Yes, Eliot fans, Emilio Bonifacio is the secret to your 2012 fantasy baseball success. Or, he was. Or, he will be unless you play in leagues that include managers influenced by RotoAuthority.com, which, is, like, every league, so you're screwed. Go skittishly "like" the picture that girl you've been stalking for the past year just posted to her Wall. But, but, BUT, if, somehow, not everyone is heavily influenced by my opinion of Emilio! Bonifacio!, draft him. And draft him late! Why, you ask, insubordinately? Prepare to be bullet-pointed: http://www.rotoauthority.com/