I really don't have a problem with how the Mets have played
April so far. They have been either in 2nd or 3rd place basically with two
decent starters, Matt Harvey and Jonathan Niese. Timely hitting, like Jordany Valdespin's grand slam have offset some of the
games lost defensively, but I would like to see a little more consistency with
the bats. Holding a team to three runs is a good thing, but it isn't if you
only score two (overall, the Mets lead all of baseball with 5.5 runs per game).
Let's remember it's only April and there has only been around 20 games played.
We really didn't expect much here so, frankly, I'm sort of thrilled that they
have been in most of the games they have played. Offensively, John Buck carried the team early and Lucas Duda's stats so far have been a real bonus. David Wright is David Wright, and Daniel Murphy has put up all-star numbers. Now, if we
could just get Ike Davis to get on some kind of streak.
The bad news has been the pen. There's nothing wrong with
Bobby Parnell and, hopefully, Frank Francisco
and Pedro Feliciano will resurface before the
month is out. Past that, it's Tim Byrdak somewhere
down the line and the waiver wire. Don't look for anyone in the system to help
right now. The pen remains a work in progress and it might be a long year
because of them.
I saw the stat line on Zack Wheeler (I'm
typing this in the guard gate on my job around 5am). I don't have access to the
Twitter chatter but I'm sure critics there are all over him. Notice the
strikeouts. They haven't gone away, so the talent is there.Wheeler needs to
work on pounding the zone and letting the eight guys behind him take it from
there. He will be fine. So far, in a bad year, he's still striking out 27% of the batters he is facing. He will be fine.
I know Juan Lagares was just
promoted, but keep an eye on Andrew Brown in Las
Vegas. He's up to .351/.432/.527/.959 and he may be the next outfielder that
gets a shot.
And then there is Josh Satin:
.362/.457/.638/1.094... playing first base... I'm just saying.
I don't see much movement in the next 2/3 weeks. It's just
too early. All the stats I keep quoting are far less than 100 at-bats and in
the range of 3-5 starts. Teams don't move players this early, no matter how
good they seem to playing. Last week, Brandon Nimmo was
leading the Sally with a .440+ BA. Now he's .367. Shit happens and players go
up and down. Trust me, players like Wheeler and Nimmo will always win out in
the end because they are talented, not because of the results of early games.
The B-Mets Rafael Montero now has 35-K in 27.2-IP (5 starts).
The B-Mets Rafael Montero now has 35-K in 27.2-IP (5 starts).
I spent some time with an unnamed scout the other night and
his thoughts were interesting:
-scouts can get a
lot of good info by watching side sessions and BP. You know it's not real game
conditions, but you can learn alot about the players approach to the game, be
him a pitcher or a hitter.
-I mentioned the name of Wilmer
Flores and he waved back at me like "forget about it". A lot of
scouts got burned about him 3-4 years ago and the word out on him is he's an
incomplete player that has no position in this game.
-he didn't know who Brandon Nimmo was, which told me he was there to
probably scout the team Savannah was playing.
-he said “every single member of
the current St. Lucie rotation will be a major league pitcher”
-and... he, like most of the other scouts, still project Zack Wheeler with more talent than Matt Harvey.
-and... he, like most of the other scouts, still project Zack Wheeler with more talent than Matt Harvey.
7 comments:
More talent than Harvey? Maybe, I could see that. But more heart and determination? No F$@$iing way! And that ultimately, will be why Harvey becomes the Mets' ace and fan favorite.
So is nimmo better then what you expected ? I figured he had the goods when I saw him in Brooklyn
EVERY scout has always said that about Wheeler vs. Harvey
Anthony -
Yes he is, but, he's young and still have to turn some of the baby fat into muscle.
Also, pitching in A-Ball is all about trying to figure out if you drafted correctly.
Accuracy and pounding the zone comes later.
Check back with me at the All-star break in 2015 :)
Thor, Fulmer, Tapia, Montero, deGrom, Mateo, and Robles all have the rep of future starters? The front office needs to let the rest of MLB know the store is open for business.
Harvey will always be the ace. Even if Wheeler and any other pitcher is "better". Harvey is tge leader and the bulldog.
Harvey has established himself as the leader and SP1 and, it really doesn't matter how talented Wheeler is in the future.
He will never take away the SP1 from Harvey
This ^
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