Who is this mystery Met prospect pictured in 2010?
Here's one for you, that shows how tough it can be to even get to the major leagues at all.
ESPECIALLY FOR HITTERS, GIVEN THAT TEAMS NEED SO MANY PITCHERS NOWADAYS.
This particular hitter (named below) is now 29, and this year and in 2019 in AAA, combined, he has played 138 games.
In 498 at bats over that span, he's produced huge numbers - 41 doubles, 36 HRs and 112 RBIs, and has a .318/.375/.627 split, and "just" 116 Ks.
These days, that rate of Ks for a power hitter warrants a "just".
Pretty impressive.
Just one thing...he's never had a single at bat in the majors.
His name?
Aderlin Rodriguez (the other A Rod), who was in the Mets' minors as a slugging 1B/3B from 2009 through 2015.
So his minors career has spanned 12 years PLUS a one year COVID interruption in 2020. Wow, that's a long time.
I feel so badly for guys like this.
Those are darned good numbers.
I have said it before and will say it again:
In Tom Seaver's time, teams carried 15 position players.
Now it is roughly 13. Sometimes 12. I looked at the Mets' roster just now and it lists 14 pitchers and 13 hitters (likely an extra guy for tonight's DH).
Some guys get squeezed out due to fewer big league hitter slots. He's got to be one of them.
There ought to be some sort of exception to existing roster rules.
A guy like this (say, hitting the way he is and with at least 8 minor league seasons) should get at least one September in the major leagues, even if it is to occasionally pinch hit, or get into blow out games.
Make some sort of roster exception, above the 28 man limit, for guys like these, who are so dedicated, productive - yet unrewarded. Get them to the majors at least briefly.
Or permanently expand the roster to 27 or 28, even if you have to designate the 27th and 28th man and pay them, say, 2/3 of the MLB minimum to save some $$. But which would still be multiple times more $$ than a most likely financially struggling guy like A Rod is now making in AAA.
So...
Before you doze off tonight, say a prayer for guys like Aderlin Rodriguez, that one day, their dreams will come true. And pray that owners wouldn't be such skin flints.
Eickhoff Alert:
Those weren't UFOs sailing through the Flushing night. No, those were long balls and other assorted shots off of some BP pitcher named Eickhoff. His walk on song is most likely the Star Spangled Banner, with the all-too-appropriate line, "Bombs Bursting in Air." He allows far too many bombs to be launched.
He has allowed 20 HRs in 66 innings in AAA and the minors this season. Including an absurd 9 in 19.2 MLB innings this year. Which is frankly pathetic.
The rest of the Mets staff has allowed 93 HRs in 812 innings. Had Eickhoff thrown 812 innings, he'd have allowed nearly 400 HRs by now.
The idea is to win. Losers need not apply. Nor stay.
He does not deserve to be pitching here. May he leave quickly.
6 comments:
Eikhoff will be a bad memory but the end of the day.
I so believed in A-Rod.
Mack, Eickhoff needs to be banished for good. I'd rather see JT Ginn jumped up for a few games if needed. One can pitch, one cannot.
Aderlin was fairly mediocre hitting-wise as a Mets prospect, and I kept hoping he'd do better - but while 2012 was pretty good, the rest was mediocre - but he is hitting so much better now. He deserves someone to give him at least a brief shot.
Part Uno: The Jerad Eickhoff Dilemma
Quite simply put here, it should not be.
I said over two weeks ago what I thought on Jerad. He just needs to go down to AAA Syracuse and add one more out pitch to his arsenal. Retool. It obviously did not happen for him, and now he has nearly a 9.00 ERA.
Giving the store away later on in the season is never good because it demoralizes a team, and prevents it from getting to the dance.
So What's Maybe A Better Way
Look, you got a guy currently on your pitching staff who has looked very good and posts a sub 2.70 ERA. He's pitched 59 games in three seasons as a NY Met homegrown. His stats speak of success this season, 3-1, 2.70 ERA, 58 K's in 68 innings, and a 1.08 WHIP. He is only 27 years old and appears to have regrouped with a refined cutter. He looks ready for the test and even just 3-4 innings starting could make a difference over what the Mets have been doing by going with Eickhoff. This pitchers name by the way is Drew Smith.
You have in the rotation here now: Rich Hill, Marcus Stroman, Tylor Megill, and very soon it looks like Carlos Carrasco. Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker (possibly with a lat strain) are kind of day by day. So you will obviously need one more starter.
My recent suggestion was to get lefty Josh Walker into some games. He pitched for the first time starting down at AAA Syracuse and got hit kind of hard. My advice here might be to get him another start and see if he adjusts. I think he will. His statsheet was impressive and I think this last start may have been to the new assignment.
Do We Have To Steve
I suggested yesterday here (mad bad) that the Mets should inquire about Braves starter Charlie Morton, the old pro, for a trade. I did not realize that the Braves were so close in the standings now to these NY Mets. Obviously they wouldn't want to trade Charlie.
My point is this one.
Do the Mets absolutely have to be just looking at final season contract starters for trades or can they open the door a little bit to trying to get a younger and even more relevant starter that could possibly be even hung onto beyond just the remainder of this 2021 season?
Also
Playing Brandon Drury some games lately isn't such a bad idea along these lines as well. I liked Drury earlier on when he first got to the Yankees. I felt then that he could be a starter there. Then they got Gio Urshela and Round Odor. However, there could be a team out there that needs a pretty steady third baseman and this could be the Mets trade chip for a package to acquire another starter like maybe 57 year old "The Big Unit". They say his fastball is down to just 100 mph now though.
It's too bad that Arizona Diamondback starter Madison Bumgarner is so beat up now because he would have been that perfect lefty starter addition for here. Or Barry Zito.
There has to be someone out there that would be perfect for here. But I cannot find him.
GT Ginn
Some (but not a lot) quick videos on youtube currently. Scouts rate his fastball 60 and his slider a 70. Not bad.
Jeurys to the rescue
How about having Jeurys Familia pitches three innings, Drew Smith four. Then go to the bullpen?
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