In Focus - Max Kranick/Yesterday

 

Pitch Profiler                      @pitchprofiler

Max Kranick slammed the door on a shutout for the Mets today, flashing the filthiest fastball/sweeper combo on the entire East Coast

Mack  -

Saving the best for last.

Another WOW outing from Kranick.

He threw 30 pitches over two innings and had a collective 0.0% barrel% (what?).

Speed range of his four pitches ranged from 77-94 and the whiff rate on his sweeper was 40%.

2025 so far – 0.2-WAR, 2-APPS, 0-0, 0.00, 0.00, 3.2-IP, 0-H, 0-R, K

BEST IN BASEBALL so far.

YESTERDAY - 

Ernest Dove        @ernestdove

Mets C prospect Chris Suero was 2 for 4 with a HR last night in High A Brooklyn.

C prospect Daiverson Gutierrez 1 for 3 with a walk in Low A.

The year of catching prospects has begun !!!!! 

 

Mets News and Links         @JohnFromAlbany

First Game in AA, First win for Jack Wenninger, 5 scoreless, 2 hits, 2 walks, 7 Ks., 76 pitches, 50 strikes

In Focus - Reed Garrett

 

Pitch Profiler                      @pitchprofiler

REED GARRETT IS TOUGH AS NAILS

Mack –

Reed Garrett pitched only 0.2-innings, but he gets back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the 6^th.

Both the splitter and the sweeper had a 100% whiff% (what?).

Fastest pitch was the cutter that averaged 92.2.

You couldn’t ask for more here to help Megill end the inning and preserve the shutout.

Let me tell you... go get me one more productive lefty and all this pen should be playing come all-star day.

In Focus - Tylor Megill

 

Thomas Nestico                 @TJStats

Tylor Megill tossed another solid start today as he shut down the Jays over 5.1 IP

Megill continues to lean on a trio of offerings in his fastball, sinker, and slider. The stuff looks excellent and his results have been great!

 

Pitch Profiler                      @pitchprofiler

Two words: CYLOR. MEGILL

Mack  -

71 of Megill’s pitches on Friday were either 4-seamers, sliders, or sinkers. And the next pitch, the curve, had a 50% whiff rate. Velo averaged 95.3 for the fastball and 94.3 for the sinker (what?).

Frankly, there wasn’t any bad in this outing. Cy Young winners averaged worse outings than this.

First two starts - 10.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 0.87

Keep this up and there will be no all-star break for Trevor.

YESTERDAY - 

Ernest Dove                         @ernestdove

108.6 MPH single for Mets prospect Jeremy Rodriguez in Low A.

Could be a fascinating season to watch him           

 

Mike Mayer        @mikemayer22

Mets 2024 first rounder Carson Benge was on base four times in his High-A Brooklyn Cyclones debut.

He went 1-for-2 with three walks, two runs scored and a double 

        Justin Rocke        @JustinRocke

        Incredibly impressive debut for Benge in Brooklyn. Had tremendous plate discipline and showed the ability to go the other way with a double off the base of the left-field fence. 

       Benge is one of the few Mets minor leaguers that I would currently protect in future trades, especially to the Fish for that certain pitcher I’m always yacking about.

 

Reese Kaplan -- Good and Bad Things Out of Houston and Miami

It’s Friday morning here in Malaysia so the freshest news on a Mets fan’s mind is the come-from-behind effort the club put through to win the final game of the series against the Marlins.  Obviously the game tying home run by Polar Bear Pete Alonso was what stands out more than anything.  Then the extra innings struggle to score a go-ahead run put everything on the line.  When the Mets scored not one but two into the eleventh inning allowed people to breathe a bit easier having mentally put it in the book as a big W.  Then came the bottom of the inning when Danny Young had to give way to Huascar Brazoban to do what he’s done thus far this season — lock the door and put the game away.  Yes, the club was outhit 13 to 9 and Carlos Mendoza summoned eight pitchers to take the hill, but somehow the Mets did emerge victorious by the score of 6-5. 

Now a lot of folks jumped all over starting pitcher Clay Holmes for having “another” (to use a Keith Hernandez description of the hitting) a piss-poor pitching effort but they must have been watching something other than what I saw.  Look at the bottom line and it appears that Holmes gave up one earned run and one unearned run over his 4.2 inning start.  For the early year over two games he has a 2.89 ERA.  That is not a typo.  Even in this game he fanned 6 in less than 5 innings.  Ummm...was Keith Hernandez right about the key to the Mets’ difficulties?  Perhaps so.  Bad pitching has not been the issue leaving the team at .500 over 6 games.  In fact, if you took a poll of Mets fans and media when they were watching Holmes dominate in Florida as he transitions from reliever to starter, if you offered up a bet that he would have a sub 3.00 ERA everyone would have taken that wager unless they felt it was all smoke and mirrors awaiting catastrophe. 

Now the club is enjoying another day off before returning home to open the 2025 season in front of their own fans.  Does a 3-3 record make people happy?  No, obviously it does not.  However, flash all the way back to 2024 and that season they started off 0-5.  Yes, they failed to make the World Series but got within two games of it in October.  I think we can all take a deep breath and relax a bit while the Hernandez labeled piss poor hitting starts to come to life.  The big sticks thus far have been Pete Alonso and Luis Torrens.  They did not include Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Jose Siri/Tyrone Taylor nor even Juan Soto.  There’s nowhere to go but up.

Somehow lost in the glory of the big victory was the less than stellar effort from big name free agent reliever A.J. Minter.  There was some discussion about whether he would come north with the club or perhaps stay in Florida for extended spring training as he worked himself back into playing condition.  They decided not to do that and thus far Minter has looked hittable.  Now it could be that he’s still not 100% in terms of stamina and sharpness.  Or it could simply be a bad game.  That happens to everyone once in awhile.  For now, however, the club must be happy to have the stellar bullpen with its 1.64 ERA as support when someone doesn’t get it done.  

Clay Gregory===Homecoming has arrived

 

Today, the Mets are finally home. The Mets have left the fish tank after taking the series in Miami two games to one. Pete Alonso’s bat seems to be heating up, as he hit two home runs during the series, with the first one a homer to right field, which is a good sign considering last year it seemed he was unable to hit anything profound other than to the pull side. The three-run homer kept the Mets alive and enabled them to take the game into extra innings, ultimately resulting in a victory on Wednesday evening.

 

The biggest rumbling I heard during the series was about Francisco Lindor making two errors in a game, as well as his slow start to the season at the plate. Slow starts have become the norm for Lindor, but the errors are strictly rare when it comes to the Mets shortstop. He is a premium defender who has helped and will continue to help his pitchers get out of innings with his excellent defense. Lindor is human, after all, and errors happen to the best of players, but as for his plate appearances, I am willing to bet that during this homestand, his bat starts to heat up, and he reminds everyone of just how good he is. I'm a massive fan of Lindor, and I'm proud that he wears blue and orange.

 

Sitting with a record of 3-3 to start the season, some may be disappointed with that start, while others will be happy to head home with a .500 record. The fact that this year's start is better than last year’s is a reason for optimism. The fun fact in all of this is that the hitting is nowhere to the level that it will become later in the season and while the pitching has been pretty good I do believe that the pitching will get even better as the season progresses and match that with the hitting and the Amazin’s are going to be a dangerous team to play. Speaking of Wednesday’s game, did anybody catch Keith Hernandez’s hot mic moment when he said “piss poor hitting”? It was a pretty comical moment, yet a true one, that I am sure many fans felt during the game. Some may call it luck that they escaped Miami with the series win. I am going to look at the positives and think of it as clutch hitting that saved the day.

 

Hopefully, the weather will cooperate this weekend, allowing the Mets and their faithful to enjoy all the pomp and circumstance that the first homestand of the season always seems to bring. Whether you go to see your favorite players take the field, enjoy a nice outing with friends and family, or just a foodie who loves the ballpark food, which, by the way, on a side note, Citi Field is rated as the best ballpark in the majors for their food items, the opening homestand should be a fun and exciting time. This will be the first time we will get to see Juan Soto take the field at Citi Field as part of the hometown team. It will be fun to watch how the pitching handles the mighty Blue Jays lineup, and we might even be in store for some slugfest action. After the off day, let's hope the home team comes out raring to go in front of the home faithful.

 LGM

Tom Brennan -Thoughts on Mets to Date….Home Opener…and Taking a Hiatus

HOW DO THESE METSIES THRILL US - OR CHILL US? 

In spring training, the Mets hit poorly (.227, dead last among all MLB teams) and pitched mightily.

That continued in the opening series with Houston.

Lost 2 of 3, when they should have won all three. Hit .136.

How? By scoring 5 while their pitchers excellently allowed just 6 runs in 3 games, only to win just one.

Soto was fine in “series one” where,  in 3 games, he was 3-9 with 4 walks.

The rest of the Mets?  9 for 79…utterly absurd and unacceptable….

….while the crosstown rival Yanks hit FIFTEEN HRs in their first 3 games, while scoring 36 runs, as they shrugged off the loss of Soto like an elephant shrugging off a flea. Judge had 4 HRs, 11 RBIs in his first 3 games, after a horrific spring. Go figure.

Mack’s Mets writers and readers love to follow the minors prospects, but it loses its luster for me when the big club’s hitters fall flat on their collective faces.

But Monday brought another 3 game series. Time for redemption?

Well, Monday vs. a weak Marlins starter (Quantrill) provided a Mets breakthrough, with a 10-4 win backed by a Pete Alonso grand slam as part of a 7 run inning, and HRs by Marte and Torrens. Marte was plunked twice and, admirably, Huascar Brazaban nailed one of their guys in return.

David Peterson, the team’s ace, was strong in the win, allowing 2 runs over 6. Brazaban fashioned 2 great relief innings, and Danny Young surrendered 2 runs and 3 hits in the 9th. Lindor was not in the line up to as he and his wife were enjoying the birth of a new son.  

The only flaw was being held hitless over the final 3 innings. Record for the Mets rose to 2-2, 2 games ahead of last year’s 4 straight opening losses.

On Tuesday, Senga was decent, allowing 4 runs (2 earned), but was outpitched by Alcantara. Trailing 4-2 in the 9th, Soto walked, but was forced at 2B. Nimmo ripped a single up the middle. With 2 on and one out, Mark Vientos brought his 2 for 18 bat to the plate. And left the at bat a wilting 2 for 19. Winker quickly grounded out to first. And that was that.

Wednesday was not a disaster because they were playing the Marlins, who fielded 6 rookies.  Still they trailed 4-1 in the 8th. Alonso was locked in on his first 3 plate appearances, with 2 doubles and a lightning bolt line out. In the 8th, he ratcheted up the trajectory and slammed a 3 run no-doubter to dead center, the culmination of a tough 9 pitch at bat. 

Great Alonso season start. His 4 shots (2 doubles, HR, and a vicious line out) averaged a stunning 112 MPH in velocity.

In the 11th, the Mets scored 2 runs to take a 6-4 lead, as Alonso and Winker walks forced in one run, and a misplay of a Vientos chopper plated another. Could have had more. Wish they had more. Why? In the bottom of the 11th, shaky-again Danny Young allowed a hit to make it 6-5, and then a walk, and a K. The Marlins had 2 on, a run down and one out

Throats tightening. Gulp.

But Huascar Brazaban easily got the final two outs, including a game-ending K, for a huge win….and a huge save. 

Bravo, Huascar. No tariffs on Huascar.

Baty and Vientos are very badly sputtering. A combined 3 for 37 thru Wednesday. Choking?  Can’t quite rule that out. 

Worse still, Baty, Mark, Lindor, Taylor, and Siri are 8 for 81 with 4 RBIs. Jerry Koosman told me he could do that with his eyes closed.

Vientos made two terrible plays in the field, too.  

Too bad that the hot Joey Meneses is not a 3rd baseman. 

Additionally, Soto and Lindor both look to be off in their hitting timing.

Thursday was a travel day. Mets left town hitting .188.

The Mets have 22 RBIs. The Yanks have 22 HRs. Pretty even, I’d say.

Home cooking starts Friday, on a weekend with forecasts of intermittent rain. That will match their intermittent hitting.

HOME OPENER FRIDAY:  

METS V. JAYS: 3 PM.  Gausman vs. Megill. Weather looks 60+ degrees and dry. Time for a winning streak.

(Lots of rainy and/or chilly weather for rest of the home stand, naturally.)

BRAVES BLUES 

7 games in, the chop chop chop has been much more like flop flop flop.

Last in hitting at .144. 

Kelenic is 3-20 with no walks and 8 Ks, and made me think that I hope Baty and Vientos aren’t Kelenic clones. Maybe all 3 need a colonic.

Ozuna and Olsen are just 7 for 38, with no HRs and 4 RBIs. Why? They are getting drastically pitched around, with Ozuna walking 13 times and Olsen 7. Considering that the Braves have seven straight losses to start the season, that walking strategy sure has worked for the opposition.

SIX INJURY UPDATES

(Source: Mets website)

MANAEA - “I AM GONE SEAN) was just shut down from throwing for two weeks after experiencing oblique discomfort. His timeline for a return will be significantly pushed back.  Hopefully not to 2027.

 DO NOT SIGN AGING GUYS.  WAY…TOO…INJURY…PRONE.

MCNEIL - mid-to-late April (yes, 2025)

BLACKBURN - mid-to-late April

ALVAREZ - late April (Dr Seuss ate ham after he removed the hamate)

MAURICIO - “early 2025”, whatever that means. At least it is 2025.

MONTAS - who really knows?  Beyond April. 

Let’s hope it is not beyond June. Beyond frustrating. Beyond belief.

I WILL SAY FAREWELL FOR NOW, MOSTLY

I have decided to bow out of writing articles for personal reasons at that this time. I will continue to read and comment on the articles of the other great writers on this site. 

Thank you, Mack, Reese, Ray, Paul, et al, and all the great commenters. 

Perhaps I will write again here at some point in the future. Maybe it is just a hiatus.  Maybe the tariffs are just temporary, too.

I frankly need the break. Which could be a good thing…maybe my picking on Mets players as much as I do isn’t helping them (nah, they deserve it).

Ciao for now.

Tom's Last Post

 

Tom’s last post follows this at 11am.

Yeah, I know, he says he will be back after a short breather, but, like many in the past from other great writers, short breathers became long goodbyes.

I have witnessed a lot of great people leave this site over the past 20 years that it has existed. In particular, David Rubin, Ernest Dove, and John From Albany come to mind. Tom is now added to that list.

He’s not going to tell you this, so I will. Tom retired recently and has passed the magical age of 70. “60 may be the new 40”, but 70 is the new nothing. Trust me. I know. I passed it eight years ago. His hobbies were writing here and Christian standup. I used to joke with him, asking how long that set was. Five jokes? (Trust me, it’s a lot more than Israeli comics have these days).

Let me tell you a secret.

Tom is now embarking on a series of Christian music events in which he plays his ax, sings songs, and interjects his humor. Lately he has been getting standing ovations, though they still need to be tempered since they took place in Jersey.

Tom has chosen to follow his musical dream and expand on that in the future. I fully understand this because we both share the love of being a sidebar singer-songwriter. I have had the pleasure of standing on the stage, singing a song I wrote, and listening to people clap when I was done. It wasn’t the Ryman, but this is all any singer-songwriter wants.

Tom now has the bug. Good for him. Go for the Christian Ryman, wherever that is.

The site has survived past exits, but this one particularly hurts. Who am I going to argue with about fences? Who is going to tout Wyatt Young? And don’t even get me started on Danny Muno.

Happily, this is not goodbye for Tom and me. We text daily and talk on the telly around once every change of season. But this is your loss and I am sad for you for that.

Will he come back? Will he keep commenting or will that fade off too? Will Ronny Mauricio ever play another game in a Mets uniform? Is this the last time we hear about his brother?

Only time…

In Focus - Blade Tidwell

 

Mack  -

Not really Blade's night.

54 pitches, 31 strikes

Through 3 innings... 

4-ER, 3-K, 2-BB... we got walks here, doubles, a homer, and even a hit by pitch. Just your average everyday bad outing.

The nightmare ended after 3.1 innings when Tidwell loaded the bases after 70 pitches.

3.1-IP, 4-H, 4-ER, 4-R, 70/41, 5.40-ERA

You can imagine how bummed I am over this outing, what with me being the President of the Hardeeville, S.C. chapter of his fanclub. Still, four outings, he's one for two so we will give him a push for at least three more starts, Then, we will take a deep dive and make strong suggestions how the Mets should use this guy for the rest of the season.

Oh... almost forgot. There was some good news. Though wild, Tidwell did clock multiple times at 99.

I still think he is a future pen candidate.

Reese Kaplan -- Sometimes You Have Too Much of a Good Thing

In the recent comments an in some article profiles the topic has arisen more than once about the Mets’ plethora of infielders and how they will likely use them as trade chips moving forward.  Let’s take a brief look at who is here and how that person could be a fit in a trade.

Jeff McNeil is the most obvious name on the list for the Mets to try to parlay into something else.  He is earning $15.75 million in 2025, again in 2026 and has a team option for the same salary in 2027 vs. a $2 million buyout.  He’s currently age 32, turning 33 next week.  A lifetime .289 hitter despite two down seasons in succession, he’s going to be a bit of a tough sell given his age, lack of power and current health status.  Still, for a team looking to move money of their own, McNeil’s positional versatility and career accomplishments make the lefty hitter moderately appealing (particularly if instead the Mets pay down his salary a bit).

Already called out by Francisco Lindor for his less than stellar effort, the young speedster Luisangel Acuna who usually displays sharp defense is one of those roll the dice type of candidates.  Which Acuna will you get?  He’s nowhere near what his Atlanta brother is, but at the same time others feel he is at best a spare infielder.  The truth likely resides somewhere between these two extremes.  Given his biological pedigree, his minor league accomplishments and his blazing baserunning he is sure to be of interest to most clubs, particularly ones who do not often spend a lot on player salaries (ahem, Miami).

Mark Vientos was quite the story in 2024 but appears to be on that Lindor slow start treadmill for the beginning of 2025.  It’s not like there would be any difficulty in finding a taker for the young man with the big bat and slowly improving defense.  The problem is whether or not the Mets would consider moving him unless the return involved was so significant that it might make sense to do so.  Arguably he would be the highest valued infielder of this collective of a half dozen candidates. 

After a scorching spring training Brett Baty played himself onto the roster which coincidentally happened as it turned out Jeff McNeil would be one of several beginning the year on the IL.  Some felt it was well earned while more cynical types suggested that he’s a AAAA player who can flash his bat now and then but has too long and too often failed to take it to the next level when given the opportunity.  Like Vientos in the first week he’s under .100 in batting and his defense is not exactly what he’d offered in the past at third base. Still, given his high draft position and with the 2025 spring stats on his side he would not be a difficult player to move.

Ronny Mauricio needs to play himself back into the conversation.  Having missed now more than a year of on the field action due to his slow healing from injury, he’s pretty much the forgotten man.  Let’s not forget that he was very much on the brink of breaking through at the end of 2023 and many had him penciled in to play at Citifield in 2024 before he got hurt.  His combination of power and speed is quite appealing but right now his value is nil until he can demonstrate the ability to play 3-5 games per week as he works himself back into establishing athletic condition.  Given that obstacle, he’s likely the lowest valued player on this list right now.

Interestingly the Mets are already experimenting more and more with Jett Williams as a center fielder rather than continuing down the infield path.  Given his strong eye, outstanding baserunning and occasional power he’s making himself into a most attractive commodity.  Still only turning 21, he has thus far had over parts of three minor league seasons 563 ABs which is about a single major league campaign.  In that period he’s hit 14 HRs, driven in 65, stolen 56 and walked 130 times.  The only blemishes on his record are his high number of strikeouts (159) and his minor league career batting average of .252.  Still, he has time to grow and continually gets rave reviews for his play.

So what have we got here if you were in the POBO’s seat? Obviously Jeff McNeil and Brett Baty are open for trades.  Luisangel Acuna might also be in that category due to his on again/off again enthusiasm for the game.  Mauricio appears to be the spare part for the infield as he plays back into full time strength.  Williams is about as off limits as prospects can be given his age and accomplishments.  Vientos is the wildcard as he was on a 40 HR pace given his number of major league and post season at bats last year, but he needs to demonstrate it was not a one-year wonder kind of accomplishment.  Personally I could see him as a young and career DH but I’m not married to well over 30 year old platoon players in that role.