Let’s continue with the
Class of 2012… Sandy and Company’s called out the name Matt
Bowman when they got to the 13th round of the 2012 draft.
Bowman pitched three years at Princeton and compiled a stat line of
.293/.341/.347/.689, with 2HRs in a total of 426-AB. Good stat line for a
pitcher, huh? Bowman finished up his college days tossing nine starts, posting
a stat line of: 4-2, 4.66, 56.0-IP, 58-K, 17-BB. Like others the Mets drafted,
he found the rotational talent in Brooklyn a little deep, so he went down to
the pen and stat lined: 12-G, 1-start, 2-2, 2.45, 0.95, 29.1-IP, 30-K 2-BB
(what I loved about these Brooklyn guys is they don’t like to walk people). It seems to me that the sure bet is he will
start the season in Savannah, but the 22-year old has a chance of making St.
Lucie as well.
I truly appreciate all
the articles lately that the Mets intend on developing a winning team similar
to the plan San Francisco used: lots of pitching and talented hitters developed
inside the system. I have no problem with this, as long as you draft and sign
more than starting pitchers. The Mets had the opportunity in 2012 to draft
heavily promoted OF prospect Courtney Hawkins but
passed. Instead, they went for another
middle infielder, an area that the team already had good organizational depth.
I know everyone says you go into a draft and always pick the best player
available regardless of position. Well, if you’re going to try and operate a
team with a limited budget in an inflated market, then you have to begin to
make decisions based on weaknesses by position. Right now, the Mets top two outfield
prospects are Vincente Lupo and Wuilmer Becerra, both of which haven’t played one
baseball game in America. What’s the ETA’s here? 2016? 2017? Is there anyone
else in the system that could help us here?
We spoke of Latin OF
prospects Lupo and Becerra. Lupo will play 2013 as a 20-year old. Becerra even
younger at 18, but Eudy Pina has already hit
.261 in Brookyn as a 21-year old. His .749 OPS shows potential and he should
hook up with Brandon Nimmo and Steven Sabol in the Savannah outfield. Could be interesting.
I’m sorry, but I don’t see much past this. IMO, you’re going to very
disappointed with what comes out of the St. Lucie, Binghamton, and Savannah
outfield over the next two years. Just real bad planning an execution by two
administrations.
Lastly, you have to like the logic of signing Pedro Feliciano to a minor league contract. This guy never pitched bad. He simply became injured and he's put up impressive stats this winter. This is exactly the kind of pitcher the Mets need to solidify their bullpen. Who knows how much of a workhorse he can be anymore, but why not find out? Yeah, I like it and I called for it early. Good move, Sandy.
9 comments:
Any chance Nimmo starts in Lucie?
Re: Bowman - We have an embarrassment of riches, preventing some quality arms from cracking a rotation anywhere. Bowman relly looks like a solid pitcher, and if he has the stamina, he should start somewhere. If he stays in Brooklyn he could start for them. After posting a sub 1.00 WHIP, 9.2 K/9 and 0.6 BB/9 (K/BB ratio of 15? WOW) he deserves a rotation spot. Could wind up a valuable trade chip, if not able to crack the MLB rotation with the Mets in 2016.
While Lupo and Becerra seem to have very high ceilings, they are not our only hope. Nieuwenhuis, Duda, Den Dekker, Lagares, Vaughn, Taijeron, Ceciliani, Nimmo, and maybe even Puello are all ahead of the two babies and could develop into major league caliber outfielders to help the team while we await their arrival.
Justin:
My understanding, from Michael Baron, is that Nimmo will play Savannah
Herb:
Re: Bowman... yes, he deserves a shot but I can't see him getting one in 2013 unless on of the Brooklyn Latin kids from last year blow up in Savannah
Re: your list of OF prospects.
This is where you and I differ. I don't consider ANY of them potential starting outfielders in major league baseball. NONE of them.
Mack i think your being a bit harsh on the OF's.
If Nieuwenheis cuts down on his K's he can absolutely be a starting OF on low caliber MLB teams. Especially since he can hold his own in CF a position that has lost some offensive prowess.
Duda isn't an OF period. Den Dekker is the same as Kirk but if Den Dekker can cut his K's down he's a starting CF on a playoff caliber team. His defense is that good.
Lagares and Vaughn are 4th OF'ers IMO. Taijeron could surprise if he handles the upper levels but I dont see him being more than a AAAA player.
Not sure if you meant to include Nimmo in your list of crappy non MLB OF'ers and Puello still has the potential to be at least a 4 tool player if he can stay healthy.
All in all most of these guys are one tool away from being legit prospects...unfortunately for most of them it's the batting eye/patience tool that is soo highly coveted by Alderson and his group
Chris, you pretty much confirmed everything I said.
These are NOT starting outfielders in my opinion.
Yea i guess i did huh....hahaha
Mack, by now you must be able to tell that I am a perpetual optimist, looking at the world through rose colored magnification glasses. And my glasses get much rosier in the beautiful green expanses of a ball field. So . .
In your post you didn't specify starting outfielders. You merely said "Is there anyone else in the system that could help us here?"
I replied with a list of those I think may help. We may disagree as to whether any of them might blossom into a starter, but we probably agree that NONE of them project as a major league starter without making certain adjustments to their game.
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