Mack On: Brandon Moore, Daniel Murphy, Kai Gronauer, and Alex Gregory

First, let’s talk about Brandon Moore. This is a kid that has done very little wrong so far in his professional career. I tend not to judge minor league pitchers on their win-loss record, because, in many cases, their best outing was cut short due to pitch count. ERA is okay, but WHIP and K/IP are much better. Moore was a 14th rounder in 2008 and has been successful at four levels in three years. His combined WHIP in 2008/2009, for 27-G, 15-starts, for Kingsport and Brooklyn, was 1.04. He also had 104-K in 109.0-IP. He started this season (14-G, 12-St) for Savannah and posted a 0.92 WHIP and 98-K in 79-2-IP… currently, he’s pitching for St. Lucie and has put up a 1.43 WHIP, 49-K in 56.0-IP in 10 starts. Every pitcher goes through at least one level hiccup and if a 1.43 WHIP is his, all is fine with the world. Wednesday night, Moore got back on the horse, tossing 6.0-IP, 2-H, 1-ER, 9-K, and 3-BB.


Okay, here’s the rub. There is considerable chatter on the net about his lack of speed. I’ve watched the kid pitch and read a numerous amount of people that have seen him pitch and I estimate his fastball is sitting around 88-89, with a top speed of 92. Is this good enough to make a major league rotation?


That’s not the problem. The problem is pitchers that only hits 92 are a dime a dozen, so you better have serious control on that pitch, with movement, coupled by nasty secondary stuff.

We've talked for two years about the logjam that always seems to develop at the A and A+ level. Mike Antonini looks like the leader of the 2008 A-ball class to possibly make it Queens (probably in the pen), while Jenrry Mejia is the odds on favorite for the 2009 crew.  Right now, Moore looks to leading this year's race and we’ll keep an eye on his A+ WHIP as the season comes to an end. My guess is it will be coming down.  

By the way, I read on http://www.mets.blog.com/  that Daniel Murphy is working out at second base in St. Lucie (God, I wish I lived there with a year round pass to the back fields…). I’ve mentioned a number of times that Murphy is the odds on favorite in 2011 for the first utility position. He plays the outfield, can hold down third and first, and wouldn’t it be nice if he could hold his own on second. Let’s remember… he led the Mets last year in home runs.

We’ve also written a number of times about the lack of Mets’ catching prospects and the fact that German-born Kai Gronauer has impressed us these past few seasons in Savannah. He has since moved on to St. Lucie and, after 84-AB, he’s hitting .310/.370/.369/.739. No pop, but you have to love a Mets catcher hitting .300. And he’s right-handed. Would make an interesting platoon with a left-handed hitting catcher if the Mets had one hitting .300.

The Savannah Sand Gnats released OF Alex Gregory, a hell of a nice kid and decent player. Here’s what I had on him up to last night:


Gregory was drafted in the 17th round of the 2009 draft.


From http://www.roanoke.com/ : - Gregory is batting .419, tops on the team and among the leaders in the Big South Conference. With a strong final month, Gregory could become the first three-time batting champion in the conference's history. He's a well-built player -- 6-foot-2, 210 pounds -- but one of Gregory's greatest strengths this year has been plate discipline. He's walked 20 times against only 12 strikeouts, a stark improvement from his first two seasons with the Highlanders. Credit his swingless routine, a drill he developed on his own. "I think pitch recognition is one of the toughest things to do," Gregory said. "But you can pick it up early and say that slider's going to be out of the zone, just from repetition over and over and over." Gregory has seen fewer pitches to hit as his profile has grown. He was named the Big South preseason player of the year, and rivals know only he and North Carolina's Dustin Ackey have gone over .400 in each of the past two years.


From: http://www.ruhighlanders.com/ : : Gregory earned all-conference honors for the third time in his career, and is bidding to become the first player in Big South history to hit better than .400 in three straight seasons. A .405 hitter with nine homers, 38 RBIs and a .514 on-base clip entering the tournament, Gregory leads the conference in on-base percentage and fielding percentage (1.000). He’s in the league’s top five in batting average (2nd), slugging percentage (2nd – .649) and walks (4th – 34).


Gregory played the 2009 season for Brooklyn: .278/.349/.417/.766 in 144/Ab.


1-1-10 Forecast: Gregory was known for his power in college, though very little came out in 2009. Brooklyn had six outfielders in 2009 and my guess is Gregory goes to Savannah.


God-speed Alex and stay strong…