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Mets Prospect Guru, Ernest Dove, talks about the recent Mets Mini Minor League Roster announcements
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Pitch
Profiler @pitchprofiler
KRANICK
MAXING
Mack –
Not many words out of PP for s great outing. They must have been
eating.
He threw the slider 50% of the time, generating absolutely no
barrel%.
Next came the 4-seemer… 27% of the time… still no barrel%;
That’s 77% of his pitches produced duds from the bats.
(note to Max: start away from the curve)
For the night: 3-IP,
0-H, 0-R, 1-K, 22/17
For the season: 2-APPS,
0-0, 0.00, 1.20, 5-IP. 4-K
Max, you’re a good boy-eeeee.
Thomas
Nestico @TJStats
Kodak Senga made his 2025 debut
The
Japanese ace struck out 8 across 5.0 IP as he spoon fed batters his forkball.
They couldn’t keep up and it returned a fantastic 57.1 Whiff%
Pitch
Profiler @pitchprofiler
Kodai Senga had one of the more intriguing outings of the season — striking out eight
over five innings while allowing four runs, two of them earned.
He
showcased all seven pitches in his arsenal, and the splitter was nasty — but it
still wasn’t enough to avoid some damage.
Mack –
Senga fought two enemies last night. The Marlins and Lindor.
Simply put, Lindor’s rare two errors cost Kodai a chance for a victory
and eventually doomed a team that returned to unproductive bats.
Another negative was his oft thrown 4-seemer that was a dud all
night, producing 100% barreling and absolute zero whiff%.
Now, for the good news. The fork was forking incredible and
virtually unhittable. It even produced a three batter strikeout inning, all off
which succumbed to this deadly pitch.
I was pleasantly surprised here. Didn’t expect it to go well,
especially after a choppy start.
In spring training 2024, Lindor hit a horrible .145, then hit .103 in the first 14 regular season games. Roughly .120 in that span.
In spring training 2025, Lindor hit a powerless .200, and after the 3 game opening Houston series, he was 0-11 with no walks. He missed game 4 due to paternity, but went 1 for 4 (soaring to .067) with TWO errors, one of which led to 2 game-deciding unearned runs scoring.
Aaron Judge hit 3 HRs on Sunday. He sure set his alarm early, and is “fully woke” from season day one.
Lindor is a career .280 hitter from May on.
But in March and April, just .241.
Some guys, like Aaron Judge, can just turn it on. Judge this spring was a ghastly 4 for 33 with 18 Ks. First 3 games this season, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs, and on base nine times. Lindor seems to not be one of those guys with the flip-on switch.
My advice?
Rather than slowly ramping up in his pre-season prep, Lindor needs to focus on being “Month of May-caliber-ready” from Regular Season Day One in March and April, by working harder in pre-season, even if it means taking a few games off during the season. That "I'm a veteran, I'll ease into the season and then stomp on the gas pedal" stuff is not working for Francisco. The results say so.
Half of the team’s hitters also need that wake up call. Including Mark Vientos, who was nipped on a bobbled grounder, only caught at first base because he slowed down to “Vogelbach speed” over the last half dozen strides.
Fortunately, the Braves have started 0-5, and are hitting(?) .144.
Unfortunately, in 4 of the first 5 games, the Mets’ hitting has been grossly substandard, leaving them at 2-3, with a .179 team BA. Heck, even Syracuse Mets hitters were raking at a ferocious-by-comparison .204 through Tuesday night. I know, it is a long season. Be patient.
Unless you answer the following question in the affirmative.
ARE TORPEDO BATS THE ANSWER?
Yankee hitters have switched to these novel bats, redesigned for each hitter to maximize bat girth and hence bat impact where each hitter makes the most contact with the ball over time.
Result? An astonishing 18 HRs in 4 games. Not to mention 42 runs.
OK, they had 9 HRs in that one game, so let's back out that anomalous game - they still had 9 HRs in the other 3 games!!
WHAT??!! So I ask...
Is it time for the Mets to switch to torpedo bats, before their lousy hitters torpedo their season?
This issue arose recently elsewhere when someone on the Chicago Cubs media payroll wrote an article extolling the superstar virtues of one Pete Crow-Armstrong, former New York Mets first round draft pick, who was sent packing to the Windy City in exchange for a few nobodies named Javier Baez and Trevor Williams. To hear many Mets fans tell the story, the team was absolutely robbed in this deal and their vitriol matches the high praise piled onto the center fielder.
Dig a little deeper, however, and realize you have to give to get. Yes, Crow-Armstrong was indeed highly regarded and during his entire minor league stretch in the Mets and Cubs organizations he has been valuable. In an aggregate of about two full seasons of play when you add up the various minor league stints he was good for 41 HRs, 161 RBIs and 81 SBs while hitting .296. Yeah, those numbers are indeed hard to ignore. Consequently when the Cubs were asking in that summer of 2022 trade, the Mets had a tough decision to make.
On the other side of the coin came the puzzling Javier Baez whose mouth is sometimes more prominent than his bat. Still, you can’t ignore what he’s done in the major leagues. He’s been a 2-time All Star, won a Gold Glove and finished 2nd in the MVP voting during one season. He averages 24 HRs, 83 RBIs and 15 SBs per season while hitting .251. You can see why giving up such a player would require the Cubs to get back someone who might put up similar numbers in the future.
Then there is the forgotten man of the deal, reliever/starter Trevor Williams. While he’s been converted now to full time starter, for the Mets he served both roles and during the 2022 and 2023 seasons he combined to go 3-5 with a 3.17 ERA over 40 games that included a dozen starts.
Since neither Baez nor Williams are here anymore, it must be true about Crow-Armstrong having been highway robbery, righht? Well, if you look at the numbers it would appear he’s still a work in progress. In 408 major league at-bats he has 10 HRs, 49 RBIs and a .221 average to go along with a highly respectable 30 SBs. No one is questioning his glove, his arm nor his legs. His bat, however, may still have some holes in it that need to be plugged.
The point here isn’t to bash Crow-Armstrong nor praise Billy Eppler for the trade that worked out better for the Mets than it did for the Cubs. The issue is the value we place on prospects and whether or not we sometimes inflate in our own minds what a minor leaguer will become. That issue is front and center for the New York Mets with the game in Miami with import Kodai Senga facing off against one Sandy Alcantara.
Now comes the tough part. Which players in the organization would be an attractive and equitable package to land the still just 29 year old Alcantara? Obviously you would want to start off with players who don’t have a clear path to the big club in New York like Ronny Mauricio or middle infielder Luisangel Acuna. Then there is pitching. Jonah Tong moved up a lot of charts but not quite to the level of Brandon Sproat.
The Marlins might want to look at the rest of the returns gained in the salary dump deals for Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. The names not yet mentioned include Drew Gilbert, Jett Williams and Ryan Clifford.
I can hear everyone right now and sense the apoplectic blood pressure some of these names would cause if the Mets included them in deals. Do remember that they are what the Mets got for their two pitchers a few years back. The Marlins won’t simply give Alcantara away, so some combination of perhaps Mauricio, Tong, Gilbert and Acuna might be enough while preserving Williams, Clifford and Sproat. Or it might not.
The question you have to ask is what you think Alcantara’s sure value would be to the Mets vs. the prospective future value of the next Pete Crow-Armstrong?
St. Lucie Mets @stluciemets
Meet the 2025 St. Lucie Mets! Our preliminary roster is here
Binghamton Rumble Ponies @RumblePoniesBB
No need to worry, cause the Boys are BAAAAAACK
Daniel Wexler (@WexlerRules)
Thomas
Nestico @TJStats
David Peterson struck out 9 in his 2025 debut over 6.0 IP
Pitch
Profiler @pitchprofiler
David Peterson was nasty today in Miami.
6
innings, 9 strikeouts, and 29% whiff rate — pure dominance.
Peterson isn’t overpowering, but his pitch mix, movement, and command?
Surgical
Mack
-
Two bad pitches.
Two home runs dished out.
Other than that, six innings producing
nine strikeouts.
David continues his dominance on the
mound. I mean, how many great outings is this now in a row?
Maybe our SP2 going forward.
The Mets are back in Florida, taking on the Marlins after a brief stop in Houston. The opening series was a hard-fought one, pitting two playoff hopefuls against each other to start the season. While losing the series two games to one can be a disappointment, the bright side is that the Mets fought hard. Juan Soto came as advertised and even hit his first homer of the season on Friday.
The social media buzz was the Mets offense looked pitiful in
Houston. I can agree to the extent that there were way too many spurts of not
getting runners home. In game one, they faced one of the best pitchers on the
planet, Framber Valdez. Not getting many runs against Houston’s ace is a pain
that many opposing teams feel. Francisco Lindor is off to a slow start, which
is not a surprise. However, after having his son born, I would say to look for
Lindor to get hot quicker than in seasons past.
Speaking of offense, the media went from the sky falling to the Mets becoming an offensive juggernaut in just one game. " Homers Galore" should be the theme for Game 1 against the Marlins, as the Mets flexed their offensive firepower, led by a grand slam from the Polar Bear himself, Pete Alonso. In a game where David Peterson didn’t seem to have his command in check, the Mets' offense picked up their pitching and turned the game into a slugfest.
Food for thought here is that when you look at the Marlins' roster,
are there any names you recognize besides Alcantara? The entire roster is an
episode of 'Who Are These Guys,' which makes the Marlins' opening series win
against the Pirates a little surprising.
Here's a random paragraph to show appreciation for the greatness that is the Mets' broadcast booth. Gary, Keith, and Ron are hands down the best announcers in all of MLB when it comes to the TV side. I say this because after watching a random Texas Rangers broadcast the other night, it just deepened my appreciation for the broadcasts on SNY.
It's tough to blend
your knowledge about the game and what's happening on the field with some humor
in the broadcast. As Mets fans, we are spoiled, and let’s not forget to show
some love to the broadcast booth from time to time; after all, we invite them
into our homes each spring through fall.
The big question for this week is whether Monday’s offensive output will be the norm for the rest of the week. My prediction is that Monday's slugfest will be the start of the offense clicking, which it should be against a team like the Marlins.
You need to pick up your early-season wins now
because everyone knows how priceless they become in September. Kodai Senga will
take the mound today in his season debut for the Mets, and here’s to him
locking down the Marlins' offense and for the Mets to start another slugfest
down in Miami. LGM
SAVAGE VIEWS – OPENING WEEKEND OBSERVATIONS
Last week my
wife and I were in Venice Florida visiting friends. After a long and dreadful winter, it’s nice to
have baseball back. Here are a few things that caught my eye this opening
weekend.
WE
ARE NUMBER 22
That’s
right. The Met’s starting staff is ranked # 22 behind the Brewers at #21 per
Bleacher Report. The Yankees are at #13. The trio of Megill, Holmes and Canning
have all put together solid outings with our projected two best starters facing
the Marlins over the next couple of days. The Yankees behind Max Fried, Carlos
Rodan and Marcus Stroman, et al. better hope that their monstrous hitting start
continues. Their staff is mediocre at best.
MANAGERIAL
DECISIONS
I’m
convinced that the Mets are in a good place with Mendoza leading the pack.
However, I question a couple of calls made. The decision to have Winker pitch
hit for Torrens in the top of the seventh to lead off the inning was a curious
one. In the ninth with the Mets mounting a possible comeback, Senger’s first
major league at bat came against Hader with predictable results.
In other games, the Dodgers pulled Roki Sasaki in the second inning since he did not have his best stuff. On the other hand, Pat Murphy who was named Manager of the Year last season may be asked to return the trophy.
I fail to understand how
after allowing four home runs in the first inning, three on consecutive
pitches, Nester Cortes was permitted to pitch the second. And then after giving
up a three-run shot in the second inning he was allowed to come out for inning
three. That’s got to rank among the worst decisions of all time. Murphy
followed Cortes with a lefty making his first MLB appearance and the Yankees teed
off.
OLD
FRIENDS
It’s nice to
see Jacob de Grom and Luis Severino off to solid starts. Between the two of
them, they produced eleven innings of shutout ball. It’ll be great if Jake can
resume his path to Cooperstown.
THE
LINEUP
Our improved lineup, including Soto has produced a grand total of 12 hits over the first few days. I have issues with the construction of the lineup. Nimmo has been slotted in the cleanup spot which does not play to his strengths. In my opinion, he should be batting either at the top of the order or at the bottom.
I think his optimum
spot would be in front of Soto with Alonso in the cleanup role. And batting Baty
number 8 is malfeasance. I see that tonight with Lindor out, Marte is leading
off. Kind of makes you wonder.
BACK
TO NUMBER 22
I never realized
the significance of Arron Judge batting behind Soto. Judge is such a feared
hitter that it forced pitchers to throw to Soto. The Mets can employ Soto in a
similar fashion and have either Nimmo or Vientos bat in front of him.
That’s all
for now.
Ray
April 1,
2025
