Mets
Cuts
Steven Matz, Erik Goeddel, Adam Kolarek, Josh Edgin, Wilfredo Tovar, Logan Verrett, Chasen
Bradford, Kevin Plawecki,Danny Muno,
Dustin Lawley, Brandon Nimmo, John Church, Jack Leathersich, and Cory Vaughn.
-the
obvious talk of the camp was Matz… scouts were lining up to get a look at
someone they are never going to get their hands on… even Sandy Alderson and Fred Wilpon
were seen rushing to the back mounds when they found out he was going
through one of his pen drills. I know Alderson never drafts by position, but I
really thought he might go LHSP with the 10th pick, until Matz
picked up this spring where he left off last year in Savannah… don’t get me
wrong, he was great in 2013, but Grayson Stadium is a pitcher park and A-ball
is, well… A-ball. We’ve seen A-ballers flame out before… (there’s no reason to embarrass
anyone and list the names)… but Matz has even kicked it up a gear in camp this
month. We got another one folks.
-We
sent some hitter down that have produced this spring, though, as I have
repeatedly pointed out, most of their hits were in the late innings against the
opponent’s AAA/AA camp invitees. Still, second place in impressing everyone in
came was Cesar Puello. First of all, he just looks like one bad ass baseball
player. I knew him well in Savannah, but he’s added a lot of bulk to his speedy
self (no PED jokes please). The most impressive thing is the swing. Only very special baseball
players have this kind of swing and, like Matz, I truly think we’ve got someone
that, when he’s done playing here, we’ll get a first round draft pick from the
team that signs him. IMO, he’s going to eat up Las Vegas and wind up in Queens
around the same time Chris Young is traded for a
chip (all-star break… Colon… 70 win team… you know, we’ve been here before). This will be a home grown successful talent.
-In
addition, Adam Kolarek, Brandon
Nimmo, and Dustin Lawley brought to the
table more than expected. Kolarek looks to be the closest to be ready, but I
expect he’ll be left alone in Vegas for most or all of 2014. Lawley turned some
heads, but Nimmo came in third in the
impressing race. He simply wasn’t supposed to be able to do all of this yet at
his tender, young age. The problem is, most of the people in camp never saw him
play before. I have and he plays much older than he is. My
guess he’ll play Binghamton after the all-star break. And don’t worry about the
weather there. Remember where this kid came from.
-On
the flip side, Bradford’s injuries prevented him from ever getting out of the
gate, and inviting Leathersich to camp was just a simple mistake. He hasn’t
masters control and, after last year’s partial in Vegas, he should have stayed
with the coaches working on aiming rather than throwing.
13 comments:
Flores isn't looking so good at SS so far in today's game. Muffed a DP opportunity and couldn't throw out a speedy runner on a dribbler to Short.
Lagares just made a tough diving catch in CF.
Look, the Mets can screw around all they want playing Flores at short, but it will not work...
You're probably right about Flores, but you'd think with Murphy and Wright entrenched at their positions you would have picked ONE position for Flores and had him play it starting on February 18th.
@Reese,
Unless Flores is the one being shopped to Seattle o.O
Just for the record, Lagares has made numerous excellent plays today.....idk how the team can afford to take him out of the line-up.
Re: Lagares -
frankly... defensively... I would build the starting lineup around him
Mack, I totally agree on Lagares. You've got a park with a big OF, let's start with a gold-glove CF. I have absolute faith that if they leave him out there, he'll hit more than enough to earn his keep. On Flores, I'm starting to think that maybe they should just put us out of our Davis/Duda misery, stick him at 1B and not worry about it until Dom Smith is ready. The kid looks for all the world like he'll be able to hit .300/20/85. That's not good enough for 1B? Remember, you don't need him to do that until 2015. Give him 600 ML ab's this year. Also, I've never really been a Josh Edgin fan, the cut that surprised me the most was Tovar. The kid is almost definitely the closest thing to a starting ML SS on our roster.
Adam, if I'm building the 2014 version of this team, I'm first going to put my defensive chess pieces on the mat...
C Travis d'Arnaud
3B David Wright
CF Juan Lagares
LF Curtis Granderson
That's all I do today. Now, I step back and think...
I think Lagares will get a heck of alot of starts at Citifield..but at a hitters ballpark, show me some more of CY, EY and even Duda in LF vs righties, sorry folks. I like the early demotion of Edgin, let him refocus maybe find his edge(gin) again someday. They dont need to bring up Lannan until June i see one lefty opening day in pen..unless Niese isnt ready and need 15 days on the DL i imagine Lannan could get SP5---anyone else feel like April isnt shaping up very well ?? 1b and SS in turmoil, Niese and Colon not quite there, Parnell might not be either, DiceK and Lannan in rotation..i dont know..
Very good write up Mack . Interesting notes.
Wish Niese was healthy and we had another option as a LHP. He does not do it for me. Inconsistent and a bit soft over his career if you ask me. How bout this.. C'mon guys we're going to opening day for the Mets. Someone asks who's pitching. "Jon Niese"
Room gets quiet.
Niese was a great 'second lefty' when Santana was healthy. Yes, he's been disappointing, but it could be far worse.
Nobody trades left handed starters so he's the boy until FA 2015 or Steven Matz in 2017
Yes on Puello by midseason...he does need to start to reduce his HBPs. He gets nailed about once every 20 times up. I hope to see Matz mid-2016...I just feel he will blow away competition this year, accelerating his arrival. Juan not only is exceptional defensively. He will hit .270 to .290 this year. With more doubles and triples.
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