6/5/14

Morning Report – June 5th – Arizona Diamondbacks, WGN, Writers Poll on 10th Pick


                                                                                             
Coming Later Today –       
                                                      
        9 00 am – Herb G – Minor League Report

        10 00 am - Stephen Guilbert - Full 1st Round Mock Draft

       11 00 am - D Whit - A Tale of Two Righties

        12 00 pm - MLB Draft - 6-5-14 - Mack's Last Mock

        12 30 pm – FINAL - Top 13 RHP in 2014 MLB Draft

         1 00 pm – FINAL - Top 11 LHP in 2014 MLB Draft 

        1 30 pm – FINAL - Top 14 C in 2014 MLB Draft

        2 00 pm – FINAL - Top 13 1B in 2014 MLB Draft

        2 30 pm – FINAL - Top 11 SS in 2014 MLB Draft

        3 00 pm - FINAL - Top 12 3B in 2014 MLB Draft

        3 30 pm - FINAL - Top 13 OF in 2014 MLB Draft

         5 00 pm - LIVE THREAD - Draft Coverage



The Mets released OF Charley Thurber. He was trying a comeback as a pitcher but I guess it didn’t work out. Best to you, Charley.


Remember… getting that ‘player to be named later’ from the Pirates soon will make up the loss of the second round pick in the draft.


I did want to point out a couple of things about two of our younger pitching prospects that have struggled this year.

St. Lucie’s Michael Fulmer couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, giving up 15 earned runs in two of his first three outings; however, since then, he’s only given up 11-ER in 45.0-IP, for a 2.20 ERA

Savannah’s Chris Flexen had a similar miserable start, giving up 27 earned runs in his first seven games; however, he is showing signs of straightening out his game and finding the zone he lived in last season. His last two outings: 14.0-IP, 3-ER, 1.93.



Our next look at a team that is destined to miss the 2014 playoffs is the Arizona Diamondbacks.

       General Manager Kevin Towers would be the first one to tell you that his primary job on draft day is to replenish their system with young talent. They will have four of the first 70 picks.

       That being said, we need to be objective when we analyze teams like this. Sandy Alderson is not going to take on large contracts. He wants team controlled players and has the young pitchers to deal for someone that is being blocked.

       Regarding shortstop, we’re back to the Chris Owings/Didi Gregorius (just recalled) (AAA-Reno: .310) debate. It looks like Owings has won the job in Arizona while Gregorius is playing the middle infield in Reno next to Nick Ahmed (.301). No one is going to totally excite you here, but the best fielder is Ahmed.

       Frankly, the best contract on this team is 1B Paul Goldschmidt ($32mil through 2018). I’d deal off Duda and a young pitcher.

       I don’t see any excess of talented outfielders here.


I’m not sure if you noticed it, but one of the SS ‘prospects’ we talked about a lot here was Seattle’s Nick Franklin. Well, it turns out he’s now been sent back down to AAA-Tacoma (PCL) after hitting only .128 in the majors.

       Folks… I’m getting sick of saying this.

       Producing decent stats in the minors, especially leagues like the PCL, do not mean Jack. 

       In fact, they just may confuse the shit out a team (and fans as well as some of our readers) that’s trying to come up with the right answer.

       There’s only one sure fire way to find out what you have in the system… call him up and give him 150 at-bats in the first two months he’s with your team.

       You may find another Juan Lagares.


Robert Smiley - Mack, last night is 3 plus hours of my life I'll never get back. I don't know what's worse watching a putrid offense that can't score with the bases loaded and no outs or watching a bad manager like Terry Collins. How could Collins run Edgin back out in the 8th inning with Black and Mejia set up to finish the game?

       Mack – keeping Edgin in the game had it’s risk, but it wasn’t what lost this game. You only get so many chances your weak offense has bases loaded and no outs. One single would have brought in two runs and you wouldn’t have emailed me.

       Robert, don’t hang on every game this team plays. It will give you a heart attack. If you think this is bad, try being a Tampa Bay fan where there is a decent amount of talent.


It’s very hard to believe that after 90 years the Chicago Cubs are leaving WGN radio. There will be a formal announcement later on this week by the Cubs to announce a new seven-year deal with rival WBBM-radio.

       And, it was the radio station that cancelled the deal after finding a loophole in the current contract based on declining ratings.

       All of this was orchestrated by an old radio colleague of mine, Jimmy de Castro,

       Takes a set of balls to do something like this in Chi-town.

       Look for WGN-TV to possibly follow next season



.


18 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Hi Mack

As you discuss the Arizona SS situation, and also state that minor stats don't mean Jack as you come through those pearly gates to the majors, may I nonetheless throw into the discussion someone whom I have not seen. Matt Reynolds, who was a 2nd round Met pick just 2 years ago, playing SS and in about 50 games, hitting .365. .445 on base. No power this year (8 of his 60+ hits are for extra bases), but a guy 6'1" 200 should start to show some power, and likely not more than an average SS in the field.

Does he have a shot for starting SS with Mets next year? Last guy I recall hitting .365 in AA for Mets (with a lot more power) was David Wright. Reynolds at SS, Flores at 2nd in 2015?

Unknown said...

My 2 cents on the draft, I want Bradley Zimmer!!! Hopefully he falls that low?

Mack Ade said...

Thomas, I think you and i have a chance to play SS for the Mets next year... or, at least a couple of games in the TC rotation system.

The Mets do operate in a certain way. I can't remember the last time a player joined the 25-man directly from AA. I'm sure there were some, at last subs, but starters? I don't remember any.

There are a lot of Mets minor leaguers that have played every well this first couple of months and deserves to be considered to be promoted,

Actually, three shortstops (Reynolds, Evans, Cecchini) should be considered for a bump up.

Steve from Norfolk said...

I'd like to see Reynolds get a chance myself. You're right, he needs to go to Vegas for a little while and let Wally put some polish on him. Maybe a Sept. callup? You'd think he would have been moved up by now, considering the SS situation.

Ernest Dove said...

Its amazing how many analysts/commentators, like the cubs broadcast team, can't fully understand that mets hitting philosophy of taking pitches. ......as they watched player after player watch fastballs travel across the middle of the plate, over and over again.

Ernest Dove said...

Yay....mets wonderful strategy led to the oppposing pitcher lasting only 5 innings......but they also couldn't score again anyway, so what's the point of it all?????? Ok, I'll stop before I get more frustrated.

bgreg98180 said...

Sometimes I really wonder if this team understands how to communicate at all.
From what I have read and what I assume (yes, I know the danger in assuming)
the "hitting strategy" really should just boil down to a simple strategy good hitters have used since little league.

1) with no strikes: look for "your pitch", whether you like to look at your HOT ZONE (up, down, in, out) or look for your pitch (fastball, curve, whatever you want to sit on)

2) with 1 strike: broaden what you are looking for a little bit, but remember, you still have one more strike to play with so dont feel like you have to swing at anything out of fear of striking out

3) with 2 strikes: cover the strike zone. Don't strike out!

Unfortunately, the "great communicators" involved with this team seem to have made the players confused and hearing something else entirely. The confused message seems to be, try to get as many balls in the count as you can and then more hittable pitches will appear.

Mack Ade said...

The Mets are just not famous for promotions before the ASB of each league... once in awhile, just before it it but that's all

Mack Ade said...

Ernest -

It didn't sound like the Cubs announcers did their homework on our team at all.

Michael S. said...

That's great news about Fulmer, any chance he gets to AA?

Mack Ade said...

I erased my post on hitting with 2 strikes... and I erased all the related posts. My post wasn't designed to piss anyone off.

Let's move on please.

Mack Ade said...

Michael re Fulmer:

I don't know.

Technically he's healthy, just not consistent this year.

Michael S. said...

Ok, thanks Mack.

Bill Metsiac said...

Someone posted here yesterday that the Padres (I think) traded their #39 pick in tonight's draft to Pittsburgh. I thought MLB didn't allow that, but Joel Sherman wrote the same thing in today's NY Post. I know that the Mets won't find out who the PTBNL in the Ike deal is until a full year after he signed, so how could the reported deal be possible?

Mack Ade said...

Bill - it was a supp pick which can be traded

Robb said...

2 things about the draft.

1. I want a pitcher, the reason being, so we can trade pitching for hitting

2. any chance of picking up one of the tradable slots (like pittsburgh did, maybe thats the PTBNL)

on joc or any minor league outfileder, he/they aint done anythng in the majors yet and he was less of a prospect then bradley at the begining of the year, you dont trade established mlb players for prospects, you trade prospects for mlb players. also if you want one go get the other one from st. Louis.

Ernest Dove said...

All these years later, I still don't understand y plAyers don't have to actually declare for mlb draft, and, even if drafted in first round, or even be the number one pick, they can still say "no thank you", and the team gets nobody, and waits for comp pick the next year.

Mack Ade said...

the new rules do allow a team to contact a player and ask a couple of very carefully words questions that, in the end, will let you know if this player is signable and at what money range.