Good morning.
I do this every season though, in the
past, I did it pre-season. I decided to wait until early May this time so we
can all get an idea what kind of cards we have in the game.
First Base –
MLB: Lucas Duda is
supposed to be playing here, but he’s back in the training room again. In his absence,
T.J. Rivera has sort of settled in as the
temporary replacement here. T.J. is doing an admirable job in this role and
could wind up splitting time with Duda all season, but neither of these guys
represent the future for the Mets at this position. Once again, we’ll limp
through the season at this position. Rating: C+
Prospects:
There are three here, Peter Alonso, Patrick Mazeika, and Dominic
Smith. Our ‘sure fire’ is supposed to be Smith, but I still haven’t
signed off on that. Prospects don’t only hit .307/.362/.441 in the PCL but that
is what Smith is hitting through Monday night. And, his results are highly
dependent on whether the opponent pitcher is a lefty (.241) or righty (.327).
Yes, Smith is going to be handed the baton in 2018, but don’t be surprised he
isn’t platooned with T.J. if his lack of production against lefties continues.
There is nothing special going on in Binghamton, but there sure is in St.
Lucie. Prospect Alonso broke his hand so someone had to step in here. Actually
two have. Mazeika took the catching equipment off and he’s been doing a
wonderful job at first. He’s also hitting .364/.420/.616 with another catcher
that is also helping out at first, Anthony Dimino.
Dimino’s numbers are impressive also: .356/.443/.373. Mazeika hs the prospect
chops here so I expect him to move to Binghamton first. Past this, there’s no
one in Columbia to write home about and the first basemen back in extended camp
(Jeremy Wolf, Carlos Sanchez, Victor Moscote, Kevin Hall, Luis Montero) are
organizational at best.
Overall
Analysis: It sure would be nice if Smith turns out to be the kind of first
baseman we need in Queens. I give up on waiting for his power to develop, but
his Golden Glove coupled with excellent gap hitting could make him the second coming
of John Olerud or Keith Hernandez. Me? I go to the stat sheets every day to see
what Mazeila is doing.You can’t find anything done wrong by this 23-year old.
Three year BA’s: 2015: .353, 2016: .305, so far in 2017: .364. This year’s
splits… against lefties: .355… against righties: .368.
Rating:
On projection: A+… in actuality: Incomplete. My prediction is Alonzo is going
to come back strong and turn in excellent results that would put him in line
for a promotion to Queens in 2019. I then see Mazeika putting the catching
equipment back on and he could become the home grown catcher we’ve been looking
for, for so many years. Lastly, I see Dimino becoming the next T.J. and would
be the second string catcher plus backup first baseman.
5 comments:
Mazeika is great, makes a lot of contact with pop. Future major league catcher or 1B, or a split. I can see him being the # 1 catcher by mid-2018, and Nido being # 2 by then. I can also see him being the 1B in 2019.
For 2018, Smith and TJ should split 1B. Smith is mediocre vs. minor league lefties. TJ would crush lefties.
Question: I went to a mostly empty Ducks game in Islip last nite. Why exactly can't the Mets' AAA team move there? It is 45-50 miles from Citifield. Great park, easily accessible, easy to call up a guy from AAA there.
I know everyone loves Tj, but you have flores who already rushes lefties and is also 3 years younger. Flores really does crush lefties, and defensively he might be best at 1b in a platoon.
Robb -
One more time...
Flores will NEVER be able to field, at any position, to warrant playing in a starting position in major league baseball.
NEVER
Last night's game... one run loss... one unearned run... one Mets error... error on Flores throw
Flores needs a team he can primarily DH on
And the Mets need a manager who is cognizant of a player's shortcomings and makes adjustments when necessary -- such as putting Matt Reynolds into the game in the 9th with a 1-run lead.
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