Jacob deGrom Ranked Third on MLB Network's Countdown "Top 10 Starting Pitchers

JACOB DEGROM RANKED THIRD ON MLB NETWORK’S COUNTDOWNTOP 10 STARTING PITCHERS RIGHT NOW!

February 2, 2019 – New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom was ranked third on MLB Network’s annual Top 10 Starting Pitchers Right Now! program earlier tonight. deGrom, who makes his debut on the countdown, finished one spot ahead of the Cleveland Indians’ Corey Kluberand one spot behind the Boston Red Sox’s Chris Sale. In addition to deGrom, the Mets’ Michael Conforto ranked eighth on Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now! last week, while Brandon Nimmo ranked sixth on Top 10 Right Fielders Right Now! and Wilson Ramos ranked eighth on Top 10 Catchers Right Now! two weeks ago, and Jed Lowrie ranked second and Robinson Canó ranked fourth on Top 10 Second Basemen Right Now! in the series’ first week.

Hosted by MLB Network’s Brian Kenny alongside MLB Network analysts, each Top 10 Right Now! ranking considers player performance over the last two seasons, offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced Statcast data and traditional numbers, and expert analysis by the MLB Network research team.

On tonight’s countdown, MLB Network analyst and Mets World Series champion Ron Darling said, “The thing about deGrom which was remarkable - I know we care not for the win and the 10 he got last year, but I was so surprised that he didn’t lose 20 games last year. That’s how tough he had to be and how tough he pitched. He has been great his entire career, since the day he came up and pitched the second game of a doubleheader against the Yankees, and he’s only gotten better. He pitches great in the Postseason when he’s been there. He just honestly had a historical, remarkable season with only those 10 wins.”

The complete ranking for MLB Network’s top-10 starting pitchers is listed below and available at mlb.com/top10rightnow. An embeddable recap on deGrom can be seen here:

Top 10 Starting Pitchers Right Now!

1.            Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

2.            Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

3.            Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

4.            Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians

5.            Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

6.            Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

7.            Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

8.            Luis Severino, New York Yankees

9.            Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians

10.          Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays

2019 Draft – Top Five Outfielders in the Draft

          Riley Greene                Hagerty HS (FL)

                   6-2  190  L/L

                   Perfect Game - Riley Greene is a 2019 OF/LHP with a 6-2 190 lb. frame from Oviedo, FL who attends Hagerty HS. Outstanding athletic body, long and strong with plenty of room to continue to fill out. Left handed hitter, has a very fluid and easy swing with outstanding present bat speed, advanced balance and ability to square up the baseball, shows power to all fields, looks effortless doing it, sees the ball extremely well and will put up big walk totals in the future. 6.62 runner, has advanced base running instincts. Clean actions through the ball in the outfield, fields out front and makes accurate throws with mature footwork. Bat is his tool and it could be the best in the class.

2080 Baseball - Built with a thick 6’2’’ and 190-pound frame, he’s fairly physically mature and only fits a corner profile defensively. Even though that puts more pressure on the bat, Greene shows enough offensive tools that it might not matter. There’s plus batspeed for a teenage hitter, and paired with the natural strength in his frame, Greene has significant power potential from the left-hand side. The ball explodes off his bat, and his plate appearances were disciplined and composed. He can put his pitch out of most parts of the ballpark, but stayed within himself during his game at-bats and showed he can work the count and use both fields. He only projects as a left fielder if he does remain in the outfield, though 40-grade range and a fringy arm had me wondering if Greene ultimately is going be landlocked at first base as a pro. One of the top bats in this high school class, he will have every chance to prove he hits enough to lessen concerns about the long-term defensive profile. He will go into Jupiter this fall with Day 1 helium, checking all the boxes of an early-round pick.

          Mall Wallner                 Southern Miss

Jonathan Mayo - 9. Mets (27-32, .458): Matt Wallner, OF, Southern Miss A product of the Minnesota high school ranks, Wallner has been a run producer and closer at Southen Miss. While he's mid-to-upper 90s off the mound, his power potential as an outfielder is what should drive his Draft stock. The 6-foot-5 outfielder has plus pop from the left side and is quite athletic for his size.

         

          Mike Toglia                  UCLA

UCLA – 2018: All-Pac-12 selection … earned All-Regional Team honors at the NCAA Minneapolis Regional … only Bruin to start and play in all 59 games … hit .336 with 51 runs scored and team-best 58 RBIs … led team in RBIs, doubles and walks and also top-three in batting average, slugging, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, home runs and total bases … recorded three multi-home runs games, including two from either side of the plate … fifth Bruin since 2001 with 50-plus RBIs and 10-plus home runs in a season … second Bruin since 2012 to record double-digit home runs and second UCLA player since 2015 with 50 RBIs … named the winner of the Gold Standard Performance of the Week by the Golden Spikes Award on April 25 … totaled 35 extra-base hits including 11 home runs and 24 doubles … ended season with .588 slugging percentage and a .449 on-base percentage … drew team-high 48 walks and three hit by pitches … registered 26 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games … recorded five stolen bases … ended season ranked top-10 in the Pac-12 in on-base percentage, runs scored, RBIs, doubles, home runs, total bases and walks … finished top-100 in the NCAA in doubles (10th), doubles per game (14th), walks (37th), sacrifice flies (51st), RBIs (61st), total bases (79th), slugging percentage (96th), on-base percentage (98th) … hit .277 in 30 Pac-12 games with 20 runs scored and team-best 35 RBIs … tallied seven home runs and nine doubles in conference play … ended conference season with a .529 slugging percentage and a .371 on-base percentage … finished Pac-12 play second in RBIs and top-10 in home runs and total bases … recorded career-high seven RBIs going 3-for-4 with two home runs vs. USC on April 21 … drove in six runs and hit two home runs against No. 2 Stanford on April 7 … hit pair of home runs at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27 … collected career-best four hits with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scores vs. Portland on Feb. 18.

          Jerrion Ealy                 Jackson Prep (MS)

Perfect Game - Jerrion Ealy is a 2019 OF with a 5-10 192 lb. frame from Carthage, MS who attends Jackson Prep. Compact very strong and very athletic build. Outstanding runner, 6.13 in the sixty, has a sub 6.0 in him, ultra athletic and quick twitch. Dynamic raw bat speed, raw swing mechanics but unmistakable elite ability to drive the ball, big power potential from foul pole to foul pole, will benefit from more and more hitting repetitions. Very strong arm from the outfield that plays well in games, very accurate on line throws, centerfield speed and range with premium right field arm strength. Has all the tools to be an All-Star type player.

          JJ Bledsay                   Vanderbilt

                    Anchor Of Gold - For those who watched Vanderbilt baseball last year, it should be no surprise that outfielder JJ Bleday is regarded as a top pro prospect for the 2019 draft. Simply put, his impact on the lineup was staggering. In his 39 games played, Bleday slashed .368/.494/.511 (yes, you read that right, Moneyball Bleday was on base in nearly half of his plate appearances). Further, in the five and a half weeks Bleday missed due to injury, Vanderbilt slipped to 8-14 (losing the first five games of Bleday’s absence, to boot). When he returned, the boys immediately picked it up, going 10-5 and were an eyelash short of a trip to Omaha. Overall, the team played at an impressive .675 clip (27-13) with him, but were a .364 team without him.

From The Desk – Simeon Woods Richardson, Frank Robinson, Tim Tebow, Christian Montgomery, Luis Avilan

Good morning.

Fangraphs   Top 25 Mets Prospects –

7. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Video

         Drafted: 2nd Round, 2018 from Kempner HS (TX) (NYM)

          Age     18.3    Height 6′ 3″    Weight            210     Bat / Thr         R / R    FV       45

          Tool Grades (Present/Future)

         Fastball          Curveball       Changeup      Command      Sits/Tops

         55/60                   50/60                45/55             40/55           92-94 / 97

An athletic, outwardly competitive two-way high schooler, Woods Richardson would also have been a prospect as a power-hitting third baseman were he not so good on the mound. His vertically oriented release point makes it hard for him to work his fastball east and west, and several teams had him evaluated as a future reliever before the draft because they saw a lack of fastball command. But this vertical release also enables him to effectively change hitters’ eye level by pairing fastballs up with breaking balls down, and he has a plus breaking ball. Woods Richardson works so quickly that it often makes hitters uncomfortable, though scouts love it. He’s also shown some nascent changeup feel, but it will be hard to turn the cambio over consistently from his arm slot. 

           Though he was one of the 2018 draft’s youngest prospects, his frame is pretty mature, so we’re not rounding up on the fastball even though he’s still a teenager. His reasonable floor is that of a high-leverage or multi-inning reliever (a role that would seem to suit his fiery on-mound presence), but if a third impact pitch develops he could be a mid-rotation starter.

Anthony DiComo - @AnthonyDiComo

Mets prospect ranks:

@MLBPipeline: - No. 55: Andres Gimenez  No. 58: Peter Alonso

@BaseballAmerica: - No. 30: Gimenez  No. 48: Alonso  No. 98: Ronny Mauricio

@baseballpro: - No. 38: Gimenez  No. 40: Alonso

@keithlaw:  No. 60: Mark Vientos  No. 90: Alonso  No. 97: Gimenez  No. 99: Mauricio

Orioles legend Frank Robinson is in failing health –

         

   Frank Robinson, who led the Orioles to their first World Series title in 1966, is in the late stages of a long illness, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Robinson, 83, was the first African-American manager in both the American and National Leagues. He also managed the Orioles for parts of four seasons (1988-1991) and worked in the club’s front office during a long post-playing career that most recently has been spent as an executive in MLB’s central office.

Tim Tebow's https://www.jacksonville.com/article/20120107/NEWS/801259737   birth story –

         

PC - Ed Delany

  Tebow’s parents, Pam and Bob Tebow, met as University of Florida students in the late 1960s, according to a 2007 article in The Gainesville Sun. A year later, they went on their first date - to the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville - and married in 1971, Pam skipping graduation to tie the knot.

In 1985, the Tebows moved to the Philippines with their four children to serve as missionaries. Pam Tebow became ill with amoebic dysentery, which is usually transmitted from contaminated drinking water. She fell into a temporary coma and received strong drugs to combat the infection, the Sun reported. 

Former Mets Minor Leaguer    On The Run After Beating His Girlfriend –

        

    This is my friend Maddy. Her boyfriend, Christian Montgomery did this to her out side of Brothers on Friday night. They have not been able to locate him. If you know this man or have seen him, please contact IMPD. Please RT

                        Mack – Go to this site and check what this thug did to his girlfriend.

                        He’s still on the run.

Fangraphs – Luis Avilan –

         

   Edwin Diaz is a significant addition, and it’s surprising how cheaply they were able to add Diaz and Cano to the roster, both in terms of money and prospects. Of all the ZiPS teams to go up on FanGraphs so far, Diaz has the highest projected WAR of any relief pitcher and the lowest ERA, by three-tenths of a run. And that’s not just because I’ve run bad teams; Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen, Andrew Miller, and Brad Hand have already gone live. Signing Luis Avilan to just a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training may go down as one of the best low-key deals of the winter, and the back end of the bullpen is better than many think.

Reese Kaplan -- An Early Look at Lineup Construction

Well, it’s February and although it’s still possible personnel moves will be made, more likely what you see is what you’re going to get barring injuries, scorching hot Spring performances or players who simply don’t adjust to whatever role they’re asked to play.  So put on your thinking cap and let’s speculate how best Mickey Callaway can deploy the resources he has available to him.

Projected Lineup

CF           Brandon Nimmo

3B           Jed Lowrie

2B           Robinson Cano

C             Wilson Ramos

LF            Michael Conforto

1B           Todd Frazier

RF           Jeff McNeil

SS           Amed Rosario

My Logic

Nimmo leading off is a no-brainer as he sports the highest OBP of anyone on the team.  Also, in a lefty-heavy lineup it’s good to lead off with a lefty if you’re going to construct a batting order designed to alternate between the lefties and the righties.

Although Lowrie typically hit 3^rd in Oakland, he profiles more as a classic number 2 hitter in that he exhibits great bat control and makes the pitcher work. His OBP is second only to Nimmo. You could advocate for Amed Rosario in this spot, but I think a great many of us skeptics want to see him pick up where he left off the last 6 weeks of 2018 before we’re ready to anoint him mature enough for that slot.  Add in the fact that Lowrie is a switch hitter and it makes him even more valuable.

Robinson Cano typically hit in the 3^rd spot in the batting order and there’s no reason to take the left slugger out of where he’s both comfortable and productive.  With Nimmo and Lowrie in front of him, he should get plenty of RBI opportunities.

The next one might come as something of a surprise.  Wilson Ramos is a very good hitter but probably not the high power r run production you think about for a prototypical cleanup hitter.  While he has hit as many as 22 HRs and driven in as many as 80, he did so from other positions in the order.  That being said, he has served the cleanup role at times for both the Nationals and the Rays, so it’s not entirely new.  Sandwiched between a couple of formidable lefty hitters like Cano and Michael Conforto who follows, he may be in for the season of his career.

Michael Conforto is indeed a run producer with excellent power.  What people want to see is first and foremost health, followed by an uptick in his batting average.  He protects Ramos from righties who may not want to face Conforto and some pressure is taken off of him as he’s faced almost since his arrival to be “The Man” to produce runs.

Todd Frazier (at least until Pete Alonso arrives) provides the right-handed balance should a southpaw want to pitch around Conforto.  Assuming you get more of the .213 hitter with decent power that we’ve seen for the past few years, he doesn’t deserve to hit any higher in the lineup. 

Jeff McNeil may hail from California but he might want to check his birth certificate to ensure he’s not really from Missouri since everyone this side of Tom Brennan want him to “show me” he can do it again.  Since there is some uncertainty regarding his offensive sustainability and the fact that his power that was on display in the minors in 2018 didn’t translate once he arrived to The Show, 7^th is about as high as I can justify (for now). 

Finally, Amed Rosario in his customary 8-hole helps provide in effect a second leadoff hitter type with great speed who could theoretically turn an on-base opportunity into man-on-third with one out between a stolen base and a sacrifice from the pitcher. 

Bear in mind that the lineup is organic and does not yet account for the CitiField effect on various hitters’ numbers.  My objective was to go lefty/righty as much as possible.  What’s your take?

From The Desk – David Peterson, Andres Gimenez, Nike, Justine Siegal, Dillon Gee

Good morning.

Fangraphs  Top 25 Mets Prospects –

  

PC - Ed Delany

         6. David Peterson, LHP Video

         Drafted: 1st Round, 2017 from Oregon (NYM)

       Age     23.3    Height 6′ 6″    Weight            240     Bat / Thr         L / L     FV       45

       Tool Grades (Present/Future)

Fastball          Slider  Curveball       Changeup      Command      Sits/Tops

50/50                50/55    45/45                50/55              45/55           89-91 / 93

Peterson was a known prep prospect as an underclassman in Colorado due to his 6-foot-6 frame and ability to touch 90 mph from the left side at an early age. The limitation here is that Peterson has essentially never had a plus pitch and doesn’t project to have one, working downhill from a steep plane and great extension with a low-90’s sinker and an above-average four pitch mix. He doesn’t have high spin rates on his breaking stuff and pitches more to weak contact, looking like a steady, durable, roughly league-average starter even as a college player. His feel to pitch and mix offerings in different locations is advanced, so the expectation here is for Peterson to save the Mets some money on that No. 3 or 4 starter that so many teams overpay for in free agency.


Mets average velocity for rotation...

        Syndergaard:    97.4

         deGrom:           95.9

         Wheeler:           95.9

          Matz:                93.4

          Vargas:            86.4

The Top 100 Prospects For 2019   — Prospects Live-

        

   

PC - Ed Delany

        24. Andres Gimenez, SS

Age: 20 (9/4/98)

Highest Level: AA

.281/.347/.409, 6 HR, .128 ISO, 116 wRC+, 6.2 BB%, 18.3 K%, 38 SB

SFV: 60 | Risk: High | #1 Mets Top 30

Nike Enters 10-Year Partnership With Major League Baseball –

           Beginning in 2020, Nike will become the the exclusive provider of Major League Baseball’s on-field uniforms (which will feature a Nike Swoosh), including baselayers, game-day outerwear and training apparel.

Justine Siegal:  a playing and coaching pioneer in baseball -

         

PC - Associated Press

  "Baseball for All" works to empower girls who want to play the game and follow their dreams. Its founder, Justine Siegal, serves as a pioneer and ideal role model for them. She has played baseball at the high school level and beyond. She has coached at the college and professional levels. She has thrown batting practice to big leaguers and coached them in the Arizona Instructional League. She is, in other words, a true ambassador of the game, and a pioneer on behalf of women who want to be part of it.

Siegal's message - that girls and women deserve a chance to play on the big diamond - will come through loud and clear Thursday night, when she serves as keynote speaker at the Western Mass. Baseball Hall of Fame's sixth annual induction banquet. She also happens to be a member of its Class of 2019 - its first female electee.

           I saw that Dillon Gee announced his retirement on Twitter and Instagram:

            “Thank you to this great game! I gave it everything I had and now it’s time to move on. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity for my career! Thank you to everyone who has supported…”

          I met Dillon in 2009 at Picture Day during spring training at Port St. Lucie. Every Met that was in attendance was in line to go down the line where each photographer opened their lenses to them… and here was the 21^st round pick in the 2007 draft sitting on a wood chair, trying to stay out of the way.

            I felt as out of place as he was, so it was natural for me to introduce myself and ask  if I could take his picture (check the number out). That was probably a first for him that day, and, who knows, could have been a last as well.

I wished him well in his career and asked him to check out the web site where I would be loading his picture to. A short while later he begun being a long standing follower of the site.

I don’t know what Dillon will chose to do with the rest of his young life. I hope it is teaching young pitchers the art of the game. He was quite the find late in the draft out of the University of Texas-Arlington and I’ve love to see him return to his alma mater to work with the team there.

Thank you Dillon for your hard work as a New York Met.

Reese Kaplan -- New Mets Players' Walk-Up Music

Long gone are the days of Jane Jarvis and her live keyboard stylings to greet hometown and visiting players as they strode to the mound or the batter’s box.  That’s been replaced with the soundtracks of popular music which players get to choose for themselves.  The Mets have quite a few additions to the roster this year and I think if we put our collective heads together we can come up with some suggestions for musical walk-up celebrations of the newcomers.

Utilityman extraordinaire Jed Lowrie has one obvious choice which, if you are of a certain age, will bring you back to your youth:

Speedy and flashy outfielder Keon Broxton was a fan favorite in Milwaukee despite never posting the eye-popping numbers expressed by his athleticism and potential.  He does have 20 HR power and 30 SB speed to go along with frequent highlight reel defense in the outfield.  For the latter two I would nominate:

Robinson Cano has done a lot of things during his career, including eight All Star Game appearances, five Silver Slugger awards, a pair of Gold Gloves (and an 80-game PED suspension).  As he approaches the twilight of his career where his energy might begin to wane and his much publicized entanglement last season, I can’t help thinking about Huey Lewis:

Wilson Ramos has been a terrific hitter and professional catcher when he’s been fortunate enough to stay on the field.  Signing Ramos was considered a coup for the Mets who previously had been rumored to have shown interest in both J.T. Realmuto and Yasmani Grandal.  Ramos came at a reasonable price for a short term due mostly to concerns about his fragility.  Consequently this old Ray Charles number should be played loudly and proudly every time Ramos steps to the plate:

An alternative would be:

Although he hails from Anaheim, California, new lefty relief pitcher Justin Wilson happens to share the name of a more famous Cajun counterpart who was a famous chef who brought Lousiana cuisine to the forefront of many people’s palates.  Consequently I would nominate the old Hank Williams song as covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival:

Edwin Diaz is coming off an amazing 57 saves season that the Mets are banking on him duplicating for the next several years.  Pitbull may have the anthem you want in your closer:

Although he’s slated to do a setup role this year, Jeurys Familia proved he can pitch under the New York spotlights and no one can deny it’s good having him right back where he started from.

A player who is not really too well known to Mets fans or the league in general is two-way performer J.D. Davis who has played both corner infield and outfield positions as well as serving as a reliever.  The Mets don’t really know what they’ve got with the PCL batting champion, but whether it’s a home run or a strike out, they’ll likely be reaching out for him often to do whatever it takes: