MACK - MY Sunday Observations

 Good morning.

 The Mets signed 2B/3B Nick Madrigal to a one-year contract

$1.35M with a chance at $500K in performance bonuses

9.4% career K rate

One MiLB option year remaining                    

8-DRS (defensive runs saved) and an OAA of +7 at 3B in his career. Possible late inning replacement for Mark Vientos

    I wasn’t sure I was even going to report this one. The last thing I expected the Mets to be spending late money on is another utility infielder. This screams to me that Ronny Mauricio will probably not be ready, and Jeff McNeil may be reassigned to left during the period that Brandon Nimmo still needs to speed up. Just guessing, but at least one of these is probably a good guess.

The fan thingy happened on 1-25 and the comments and videos of Mets players were all over X.

I walked away with two distinct points:

      SNY Mets      @SNY_Mets

      Carlos Mendoza says Luisangel Acuña will have a "huge role" on the       

      2025 Mets

 

      Keane      @kranepool

      David Stearns mentioned that Kodai Senga is healthy and ready to go, in fact Jeremy Heffner is in Japan working with him

 

First of all, you would never say either of these things if they weren’t true.

Acuna playing a “huge role” means he will not be sent back to Syracuse. Because of roster restrictions, this pretty much puts a lid on a Candelita return this spring. Does he start at second? Will he be the super infield utility guy? Details to follow, but he will be around.

As for Senga, again, you don’t say somebody is healthy only to find that person coming to camp on crutches. I still believe he has a lot to prove before we should all call him the Mets ace, but a healthy Senga is going to make it a lot easier to put together a winning rotation.

 

My predictions as to which team will open up with the Mets top prospects:

AAA – Syracuse:  Brandon Sproat. Ryan Clifford, Jett Williams, Brett Baty, Drew Gilbert

AA – Binghamton:  Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, Douglas Orellana, Christopher Suero, Jesus Baez, Nick Morabito

A+ - Brooklyn:  Jack Wenninger, Eli Alkeney, Ronald Hernandez, Boston Baro, Carson Benge

A – St. Lucie:  Daiverson Guiterrez, Nick Roselli, Jeremy Rodriguez, Yonstan Henriquez, Simon Juan, Willy Fanas, Jeffry Rosa

Rookie – FCL Mets:  Yovanny Rodriguez, Christopher Larez, Edward Lantigua

Rookie – DSL Mets:  Elian Pena

 

Mets Relief Pen 

The return of Ryne Stanick may have put the lid on the 2025 pen staff. The Mets will be paying him $4.5mil for one season.

Complete 2024:  -0.6-WAR, 7-3, 4.88

Mets 2024:           -0.2-WAR, 1-0, 6.06

2024 Playoffs:     3.38-ERA, 7-apps,

Final 12 2024 apps:  2.92-ERA 

        Thomas Nestico      @TJStats

        Ryne Stanek (signed by NYM) is a stuff monster with an electric fastball and    wicked splitter. He is extremely productive at generating whiffs in the zone but his effectiveness is hampered by his command issues 

Stanek, Edwin Diaz, A.J. Minter, Dedniel Nunez, and Jose Butto are keepers in my 2025 pen. That’s five. Need eight.

Reed Garrett, Sean Reid-Foley, Huascar Brazoban, Tyler Zuber and Max Kranick will compete this spring for the two opening day slots in the pen.

Is this now a great pen? I wouldn’t say that. What it will say it is now one of the top 15 pens in the game. Great accomplishment by David Stearns after starting off this off-season so naked out there.

 

1-28-25 –

Keith Law’s Three Top Mets Prospects –

            RHP Brandon Sproat

            “He works heavily off a four-seamer that’s been up to 99-100 and sits 96-97, while his best pitch is a slider that’s above-average to plus depending on the day; he’ll throw a decent change, a curve and a two-seamer as well,” Law wrote. “It’ll always be control over command, as he’s so aggressive that it’s hard to foresee him ever toning it down enough to be precise with his locations.

“He’ll have to do a little bit of refinement to make the last leap to the majors, as hitters will hit your stuff, no matter how good it is, if you put it on a tee for them. He has some similarities to Edwin Jackson, a huge stuff guy who was more of a No. 4 starter for most of his career, although I think Sproat has better control than Jackson did at the same age.”

 

            IF/OF Jett Williams

            “It’s a compact swing combined with very good ball/strike awareness, and he could be a high-average/high-OBP second baseman with 55-60 defense, which would make him a solid or better regular,” Law wrote. “His 2024 season was just a lost year, and while he can’t get those at-bats back, it’s also possible that we’ll have to just disregard what he did do when he played because he wasn’t 100 percent.”

 

            IF Ronny Mauricio

            “He’s just way too aggressive at the plate, chasing off-speed stuff out of the zone at a rate that’s not going to be sustainable for a major-league regular – which is why the loss of a year-plus of plate appearances was so damaging for him, as he needs to work on ball/strike and pitch recognition, and the best way to do that is by playing,” Law wrote.

“I’ve said before he reminds me a ton of Alfonso Soriano, who had similarly electric wrists, never figured out shortstop, and wasn’t anything close to ‘patient’ at the plate, but improved his approach enough to hit 412 homers and play 16 years in the majors. That’s a best-case scenario for Mauricio, and probably more unlikely after the injury.”

 

1-29-25 –

Just Baseball - Top 10 Third Basemen in Major League Baseball for 2025

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/top-10-third-basemen-in-major-league-baseball-for-2025/

9. Mark Vientos, New York Mets

2024 Stats: 111 G, .266/.322/.516, 27 HR, 71 RBI, 133 wRC+, 2.9 fWAR

Staying on the topic of projectable young talent, Mark Vientos may just he the third baseman the Mets have been looking for for years now.

After a 68 wRC+ season in 233 plate appearances in 2023, followed by a start to the 2024 season in Triple-A Syracuse, Vientos defied all expectations when he got the call in 2024 and became one of New York’s best offensive pieces.

Of all Mets hitters with at least 400 plate appearances last year, Vientos’ 2.9 fWAR, 133 wRC+ and .837 OPS were second to only NL MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor, while his 27 HR were the third best tally, trailing Lindor and Pete Alonso.

Among MLB third baseman (under the same 400 PA parameter), he ranked third in wRC+ and OPS and showed off the power abilities with a second ranked SLG.

He’ll look to complete his first full season in 2025 and build of a stellar 2024 regular season and an unbelievably clutch postseason, where he belted five homers in 13 games and posted a 178 wRC+.

And you want to make this guy a first baseman now?

 

1-29-25 –

Daniel Wexler          @WexlerRules

Baseball America names Jonathan Santucci as Mets sleeper prospect for 2025. 

A sleeper prospect is one that didn’t make an organization’s top 10 and was not one of their “breakout” prospect picks for a team

 

4 Mets make ESPN’s top 100 prospects

#34 Jett Williams

#62 Brandon Sproat

#67 Ronny Mauricio

#84 Drew Gilbert

 

1-28-25 –

Will Francisco Alvarez Become the Slugger the Mets Dreamed Of?

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/francisco-alvarez-breakout-become-great-hitter-mets-imagined-2025/

According to FanGraphs WAR, New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez has been a top-10 backstop in the sport over the past two seasons. He has produced 4.9 fWAR in 223 games. Yet, he has barely scratched the surface of his monstrous potential.

Alvarez has provided the majority of his value behind the plate. Specifically, he has demonstrated an aptitude for stealing strikes. The metrics at FanGraphs, Baseball Savant, and Baseball Prospectus all agree he’s been one of the more valuable pitch framers in the league.

Framing is one of the most valuable (and most overlooked) skills in the modern game. Just look at Giants catcher Patrick Bailey.

Just Baseball recently ranked Bailey number five on our list of the top 10 catchers in baseball despite his career .640 OPS and 79 wRC+. Why? Because he’s miles ahead of every other backstop when it comes to earning extra strikes.

Alvarez isn’t quite on Bailey’s level, but thanks to his excellent framing, FanGraphs ranks him as the 12th most valuable defensive player at any position over the past two years. That’s remarkable progress for a young player who wasn’t often considered a plus defender during his prospect days.

Boy… everybody seems to be getting on the Alvy train.

 

1-25-25 –

Ben Weaver     @weaver_cards

Jonah Tong, 21 y/o, NYM, RHP, #17 in system

Split time between A, A+, AA

K% - 34.2%

BB% - 10%

GB% - 45.2%

IP - 113

++ FB and CB

Seems Jonah continues to impress this spring in camp. I’m tellin’ ya… watch for this kid to move fast through the chain this season

 

Jim Koenigsberger          @Jimfrombaseball

 “Barry Bonds? I’ll tell you what, if Bonds hit a home run off Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale and stood and admired it, they’d knock that earring out of his ear the next time up.”

National League Umpire Doug Harvey

 

Billy Wagner was just voted to the Hall. He pitched in 903 innings in his career,  over 16 big league seasons.

      And Billy Wagner was a right hander until he injured his arm, severely. So, he taught himself to pitch left handed and became a Hall of Famer.