Morning Report – June 14th – Phil Jackson, Dom Smith, Michael Conforto, Travis d’Arnaud

                                                                                             

Coming Later Today –                    

                                         

        9 30 am – Herb G – Minor League Report

        11 00 am – Reese Kaplan - Should They Stay or Should They Go?

         1 30 pm – Round 24 - RHP Tyler Badamo - Dowling College (NY)

         3 00 pm – Pick #25 – RHP Nicco Blank - Central Arizona College

         6 00 pm - 2015 Draft Profile  - RHP  - James Kaprielian – UCLA

This is a difficult time for Mets fans. It's also worn out a fair amount of Mack's Mets writers. 

I just want to let you know that the site isn't going anywhere. I'll continue to feature my Morning Report which is full of both fact and opinion.

I want to thank Thomas Brennan for stepping in and writing the Sunday morning reports.  Herb G. starts us off with his Minor League Report,   Wally Murphy posts up Sand Gnats recaps every home game, Reese Kaplan continues his twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday) posting and Craig Mitchell has added a Monday morning post as well wrapping up each Mets game at night.

Coming up next week, Christopher Soto will begin to update the Mets Top 25 Prospects.

For now, we continue to post information on the draft picks. That runs out next week and we'll do what we can to find some more original material to post to the site.

Lastly, we're always looking for some help around here so if you'd like to become a Mack's Mets writer, please email me at macksmets@gmail.com. 




Jack Leathersich has struck out at least two hitters in 16 of his last 22 games.

I’ve read an awful lot of Twitter messages recently about Phil Jackson, his supposed assistant coaches, and the general regard of what the other players in the league think. All of a sudden, everybody thinks being a Knick is a good thing. It’s amazing how quick things can change with the right leadership and an owner stepping out of the picture while still allowing the correct money to be spent.

Klaw-Chat –

        Jay (NJ) - I know that you aren't worried about Dominic Smith as he's been given a tough assignment for his age and playing in a poor hitter's ballpark. Do you see him moving to High Class A next year despite his average #s?

        Keith Law - Yes, I do. Nimmo didn't appear to hit that well there last year either.

        Mack – It’s going to be interesting to see where the Mets assign all these first basemen they drafted this year. Trust me, if you see one on Savannah, and none assigned to St. Lucie, then there is probably a good chance that Smith could be bumped up there this year.

        Frank (NY) - So Conforto ahead of Thor. Thor slipped a bit or is Conforto Top 25ish overall? I understand you leaning hitting over pitching when breaking a tie, but that's higher than I would have thought you'd have him. Good news as a Met fan if he is really that good.

        Klaw  - Thor has slipped a bit, in part because he's had minor injury issues this year. I think he's a .400 OBP guy with 20 HR who can play average defense in left.

        Mack – I never know if Law is being serious when he writes about the Mets. That being said, ranking him as the #1 prospect in the system is quite aggressive and impressive at the same time.

        If we assume Law is right… and all the other people that are writing such good stuff about this guy are also correct… we have ourselves a future LFer with a decent arm, adequate defense, and a killer bat.

        This will probably be your future #5 hitter come 2016, which again projects that outfield as being him, Brandon Nimmo, and Curtis Granderson.

        This could be ample reason not to invest anymore long term money into the outfield right now.

        Bryan (Montclair, NJ) - d'Arnaud has had a good couple of days since being sent down to Vegas, but I'm still worried about his long term development considering that he has missed so much playing time with various injuries. Do you still think he'll hit in the bigs?

        Klaw  (2:00 PM) - I'm far more concerned about his ability to stay healthy than whether he'll hit. He's had at least 3 concussions, multiple knee issues, a broken finger, and I think one back problem - and that's just what we know.

                Mack – Sounds grim.

        You can’t hit at this level if you’re not at 100%. And professional athletes are well known for not crying out loud about their boo-boos.

        Law reduces the history of d’Arnaud’s career to long range concerns as a battery mate. It’s tough to kneel all night behind the plate on a good night. Try to imagine all the bumps and grinds listed above and then being asked to hit .300 to boot.

        Here’s another problem. All those injuries are no big secret around the league. Right now, I would venture to guess that he is close to impossible to move in a trade.

        We all know that Kevin Plawecki is waiting in the wings. He should get a call to Las Vegas as soon as d’Arnaud is called back to Queens (probably not until mid-July).

        My thoughts… very few teams have two great catching prospects, even if one should have already progressed into a major factor in the majors. This is a team that has to shape from within and I just don’t see a future problem at this position. Give d’Arnaud the rest of this season to turn the year around and let the two of them come to camp next year and compete for the staring position.