CITI FIELD HITTING DOLDRUMS: RINSE AND REPEAT
Most ignore this factor. I do not…
In the battle of crosstown rivals, first of all, we are LOSING BADLY.
TOP 2 OPS IN MLB? Judge (1.115) and Soto (1.024).
Top Met is Marte (# 49 at .769). Pete .763, Nimmo .718, Lindor .705, McNeil .599. Lindor is not in the top 100.
Is Citi Field the culprit?
Well, absolutely a main contributor, but you decide:
Mets are 28th in batting average at home. .215. Worst team is .213. So they are THISCLOSE to having the worst home team batting average.
On the road, the Mets are hitting 56 points HIGHER at .271, incredibly the second best road average in baseball. The Mets are 7 games under .500 at home (16-23), one game over .500 on the road (15-14).
Back to my short highlights:
Brett Baty is hitting .519 in AAA. Not a typo. 14 for 27, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs. He played 3rd base last night. Get him to 2nd. Get him back to Queens.
AAA teammate Luke Ritter smacked two HRs last night.
The prospect that no one, except me, talks about...
In 583 at bats in 2023 and 2024, Luke has hit (wait for it) 41 HRs and driven in 112. Wow.
Jose Butto 5 2/3 IP, 1 run for the S-Mets.
Slugging Ryan Clifford in AA, was 2 for 2, 2 walks and a HBP and 4 RBIs, including the game deciding late 2 run shot. He is having a great June, getting on base 23 of 47 times, with just 8 Ks, the latter point of which is really noteworthy. He turns 21 in 5 weeks. He could just be in the mix at some point in 2025. He played 1B last night, with Schwartz over at 3rd.
Brandon Sproat, the Magnificent, allowed a run on 2 hits in 3.2 IP and fanned 8. I think the low innings was weather-related, but I am not sure. Lots of rain in spots in the northeast last night.
He is flat out dominating AA. Last 2 games, 10.2 IP, 5 hits, 18 Ks. It may just be a chant of one, from me, but I am chanting "Bring him up!" Personally, I think he could outpitch Jose Quintana right now.
He’s ready for…(Syracuse? Queens? You fill in the answer).
FUTURE CATCHER HELP?
20 year old Ronald Hernandez hit a HR last night for St Lucie.
He started off slow for St Lucie in April, with just 13 for 67, BUT....17 walks.
May and June, he is 38 for 110, with 14 more walks, and 16 RBIs. He seems the antithesis of Francisco Alvarez; his power is perhaps more modest, but he generates lots of hits and walks - a .430 combined OBP in 2023 and 2024 in 439 plate appearances.
On May 30, on his page, is a video where he smoked a HR probably about 430 feet to right, so the pop is there. Watch this kid - he's good.
Meanwhile, 18 year old Julio Zayas was on twice yesterday in the FCL, and in his last 9 games, the catcher has gone 10 for 27, a few walks, just 5 Ks. He is adapting stateside just fine after tearing up the DSL last year.
And...
The Mets win again, 2-1, with Sean Manaea (4-3) and 4 relief pitchers. A mere 4 hits got it done, an oddly low number, considering they fanned only twice. Manaea the win, Edwin the "looking good" save, and JD Martinez both Mets RBIs.
A nice night.
As the song Stormy Monday goes, so will go the weekend…
The eagle flies on FridaySaturday I go out to playThe eagle flies on FridaySaturday I go out to playSunday I go to church, yeahGet down on my knees and pray
Let's not just go out to play today. Let's win.
25 comments:
This is the time of the year that many starters are limited to 50-70 pitches during their starts
Arm maintenance
Maybe so, Mack. But there were rolling thunderstorms thru the northeast last night. The Mets were delayed for a while.
Starters need to be more efficient. We need our guys to make it to the seventh inning otherwise our pen will collapse.
Ray, can’t argue with that. The Mets are 22nd in starter innings pitched. Meanwhile, Phillies are 2nd, Yanks are 3rd. 50 fewer starter innings than Yanks, which is about 3/4 of an inning per game.
Someone on the Mets said a few days ago that Sproat is on a tight pitch count. He threw 70 last night and came out.
They're doing the same for Scott and others.
I'd like to see the Mets use the approach that the Cardinals have used successfully for years--use young SPs who have innings limits in the pen.
Remember Wainwright vs Beltran in '07?
Speaking of Scott, the Mets are back in the states and on regular rotation. Why is Scott not back with the team? He is better than some of the current starters. He is key to the six man rotation that they will have to establish for Senga's return. Do it now. Let someone else work on their game in the minors!
I can confirm that
Tom, wasn’t it Jose Hernandez that HR’d last night. Ronald was off but had a great game a Thursday night.
Tom, let me share with you a theory, because it’s been marinating in my mind:
We all know pitching is hard and expensive. Parks like Citifield make mediocre starters better. What if the Mets had a team built like the 1985 Cardinals, with Acuna, Morabito, Jett, and one other guy (Vargas/Rodriguez) running like crazy and starting trouble. Then, Lindor, Vientos, Alvarez, Nimmo and Baty/Alonso/whoever can get fastballs to hit and start learning to use the whole field. You think that would give them a home field advantage?
When the Padres built Petro park, they immediately went and signed losers like Eric Hosmer (I don’t care that he go $144MM and I still don’t come close to even one, I still think he sucks), and a bunch of other guys to hit homeruns instead of building to their park. What if the Mets did that, however?
Current rotation given June to prove value going forward
Gus,interesting counterpoints. It doesn’t seem, though like the speeders, because of their taking a taking a pounding and stealing bases, tend to get hurt more. That sort of inconsistency in and out of lineup hurts teams. Are the reason that Morabito is only in Brooklyn this year that he was hurt for a while last year, but I don’t know the reason for that injury. This year we have Jett and Gilbert, and I don’t know if the speed game had anything to do with those.
Mack, not to beat a dead horse, but if Sproat has a 3 more fine starts this month, I would consider promoting him to the Mets if they sell off. I did look back and Sproat had 106 innings in college last year, so it seems like he should be able to get up close to 150 this year. He is at 55 now.
They aren't going to rush him
Tom, the Mets do not have to throw in the towel and can still sell Severino, Alonso or Martinez, and Manaea. Butto, Scott, Senga, and Sproat are all next in line, plus Baty and Ritter are ready. The reason I wouldn’t sell Alonso is the fan reaction, but if someone gives me a good return, I’d do it in a heart beat. However, if Alonso agrees to a realistic deal, he would be an asset. After Abreu’s release and downhill run, I’d love to know how Alonso will be different. That is very delicate. I’m glad I’m not making that decision.
Plus, I haven’t given up on Hamel and that strange strike zone in AAA or Tidwell. I would sell Severino and Manaea for sure.
Nor should they
Scott, and even Butto, is ahead of him.
Why is everyone so down on Sevy? To me, he and Senga provide the veteran balance for the kids fue to be here by next year.
Sevy is only 30, and a proven NY pitcher. Not only would I keep him, but if he keeps up the good pitching for another month, I'd extend him for up to 3 years.
He is the primary trade bait in July
Who has the higher ceiling, Scott or Sproat? Two future aces. I think Brandon fell to the Mets in the draft because his control was spotty in his last year in college. It’s excellent now. I seem to remember a guy named Randy Johnson, who had spotty control, until he didn’t. I have high hopes for this kid, and Scott.
Bill, Butto is ahead of Sproat, for now, but Sproat is coming up from the rear like a bullet train.
I agree. But let's let the fruit ripen before we pick and eat it. It wasn't long ago that Hamel and Vasil were the future stars.
Tidwell
Darkest day in Mets history: June 15, 1977 - The Mets trade the 'Franchise', Tom Seaver, to the Reds for pitcher Pat Zachary, second baseman Doug Flynn, and minor leaguers Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. Dave Kingman is also traded by New York to the Angels for Bobby Valentine and a minor league player.
Tidwell to me is 3rd best of an exceptional trio. I got Sproat # 1, Scott 1A, Tidwell # 2.
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