BASHING, SWISHING BILLY AMICK IS OK IN TODAY’S BASEBALL
Billy Amick!
A recently acquired minor league uber power hitter, strikes out a lot.
Some are concerned that his high K rate is a disqualifier to MLB success.
But, first consider the sluggers of the Chicago White Sox.
They have Colton Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami. Smash & Swish.
In 266 combined games thru Saturday, they crushed 63 HRs, drove in 156 runs.
Impressive, right, but…
In those 266 games, they had fanned a stunning 403 times (1.52 Ks per game) and hit just .203.
Unimaginable K rates, if it was still the 1950s.
Half that many would have concerned, if not alarmed, 1950’s baseball decision makers.
I think Belting Billy can do what the Chisox duo does, or better, by 2028.
Once he gets 300-500 more minors ABs to improve on his upward journey.
So…Billy is not “disqualified.”
Maybe Mashing Mark Vientos, who has fanned “just” 66 times in 277 PAs this year, needs to adopt the all-or-nothing approach of Montgomery and Murakami - would we be all that upset if Mark, over a similar 133 games, had 32 homers and 78 RBIs, while fanning 200 times and batting .203?
Because the White Sox seemingly wouldn’t be - distraught - they are rolling with those results from their duo. Just a smidge out of first place.
P.S.
Blasting Billy obliterated AA pitchers in Binghamton, post-trade; after that, promoted to Syracuse, he hit just .198 but with 8 homers in 91 at bats.
So, watch Billy in 2027, indeed. Why?
Watching Billy should be a real “blast”.
METS MINORS SEASONS ARE OVER, ROVER
Syracuse’s season ended Sunday, barely missing the playoffs with a 5-4 extra frame loss. You win some, you lose some.
I’ll do an “out of the ordinary” Syracuse Mets season recap this weekend.
The NY Mets are the only Mets organization team still standing.
And that, only until this Sunday. Monday, they golf.
You see, 12 teams will make the playoffs.
18 won’t.
The Mets won’t. Again.
The Braves will, again, though…
From a MLB.com article excerpt:
“This is the eighth time in nine years that the Braves have reached the postseason. Their greatest run during that stretch occurred in 2021, when they celebrated a World Series title with a Game 6 win here in Houston.
“You want to win the World Series and you can't get there without making the playoffs,” Braves center fielder Michael Harris II said.”
Harris said the obvious - and we know that the Mets miss the playoffs with extreme regularity, so they can want to win the World Series all they want, but the Mets must MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FIRST!
P.S.
Did you know that Gavin Cecchini is younger than Jorge Polanco?
Healthier, too.
THE GREEN NEW DEAL
Andy Green, well-liked in the clubhouse, and relatively successful so far with a trade-gored team, inking him to a 3 year deal.
Green is a great color. He seems like a great choice.
Andy Green is well-liked by Bo and other Mets vets. What’s not to like?
Carlos Mendoza always made me think of the Mendoza Line, by word association. That Line is a measure of substandard performance. I am glad the Mets have moved on from substandard and gone Green.
Other teams have to be GREEN with envy.
ALVAREZ IMPROVING…OR GOING IN REVERSE?
Before 2026, ALVY had fanned 273 times in 1056 PAs (a K every 3.86 PAs).
This year, 125 times in 408 PAs (a K every 3.26 PAs).
That’s a big regression. Improving? Better with age and experience? Nah.
16 comments:
Andy Green needs to learn one important thing: lose when you are supposed to (right now) and win when you are supposed to (2027).
Other teams are Green with envy that we have a manager that everyone in the organization wants.
Alvarez fans on every at-bat after he barrels one up. He is a power-holic. Can't lay off the juice.
He is not hitting enough HRs to justify doing that. He should ask himself, “what would Piazza do at the plate.” That is his path to success. Their power is similar. Their contact is not.
Quote on Green by Keith H in NY Post article:
“… baseball’s in his blood. It’s hard to get it out, and he has a love of the game,” Hernandez said. “He managed four years in San Diego, not a very good ball club. This is a second chance — second opportunity for him, not chance — with a young team that he’s very familiar with.
“Reminds me of Davey Johnson when he was managing down in Tidewater with that young ’80s bunch. It’s very important when you have young players that you have a manager that knows their abilities…I loved the fact that he pushed these players, pitchers as well as the everyday players. And I just think he’s the right guy for the job, and I’m absolutely thrilled.”
If he’s thrilled, I’m thrilled, too.
I will respond to all this pro-Green shite on Thursday 6am
Is there a lot to like about Billy Amick's game?
There is a LOT of swing and miss in his game. Some feel that "in-zone contract rate'. is a better measure of a better than strike out rate. Per FanGraphs, his "in-zone contract rate" has been in the high 66s before rising to around 70 percent. Anything under 80 percent is considered not good. Reference - Alverez and Vientos are in the high 70s; Soto, Lindor, Benge and Ewing are in the low to mid 80s.
The Mets do have a first baseman that has a higher "in-zone contract rate" than Amick that many are dismissing. One Ryan Clifford. Amick swings and misses a lot like Clifford.
I believe that when he does make contact, he has the power to hit the home runs (and drive the chicks crazy). He turns 24 this November. Therefore, 2027 will be a hugh year for him.
Steve, reasonable to consider that, but compare the career plate appearances of Amick vs. Clifford. Amick relatively is still very low in PAs. He was pushed up very aggressively. I see ample room for improvement. Just needs more reps. Hard for me to think good things about Clifford after this gosh-awful season.
Go for it!
Jeez... "swing and miss"...
there was a lot of that shite in Babe Ruth's game too
Steve, you have a problem with 108 ribbys?
I can not understand all the hate towards Alvarez on here almost daily. He currently is nowhere near the ball player we all thought he was going to be yet. Realize he is only 24, the same age most ballplayers have just made it to the big leagues, we shoud be in no rush to get rid of him yet. He currently, even with all his shortcomings is probably a top 10 cather in MLB, look up the stats. Yes, Torrens has had a great year, is a great defensive cather and has hit decent thid=s year but realize this is a career year for him. If we dump Alvarez who are you replacing him with while Alvarez goes onto become a star for someone else.
I love the 38 HRs and the 108 RBIs.
Granted, Clifford had a terrible 2026. But comparing 2025 Clifford to 2026 Amick, differences but not too much.
Tom - Clifford was drafted out of HS and Amick out of Tennessee. Think that accounts for the more MiLB ABs at a younger age.
I just think that, currently, Amick needs to a lot of improvement (contact rate / strikeouts) before I jump on the bus. Same applies to Clifford. I believe that both are very similar and need a lot of improvement before I would start projecting either player for 2028 Citi Field.
Mack - I see what you are pointing out but I do not totally believe it yet.
Clifford’s 2026 wasn’t terrible. It was mind blowingly bad.
Amick had 15 HRs in 36 AA/AAA games with the Mets. Incredible. I am hoping he can replicate Kyle Schwarber. 217 Ks in 151 games, stunningly high, but 45 HRs.
And he probably would leave and become a star by, say, replacing Realmuto in Philly.
Clifford never came close to these HR/RBI numbers. And his K/AB were far, far worse.
Please don't compare Clifford to Amick.
I am compelled to join in on a couple of posts here, starting with Alvarez. I will own up to being first on the no-Alvarez club. Here's why. Lots of reasons. 1. He has terrible hitting mechanics. Literally terrible. I showed this through several videos. He doesn't use the ground, has a poor kinetic sequence and as a result of both has poor plate coverage. I say this as someone who coaches body movement patterns in two sports. Second, he has been told more than once by people in the game how to change this, but has done nothing about it. Not true really. He does what all who are not mature enough to be disciplined does> He reverts to his comfort zone approach. Have you seen him hit well on a consistent basis against better pitchers? I haven't. He is the classic strikeout victim of up and in down and away. Want to know the reason. His kinematics are so bad he has to generate all his speed through his arms which he has to start early in his swing. Just watch him in action.
Two: his power has dropped off considerable. Three, he does not take strategic at bats. And his offense is the better part of his game. On the defensive side, as I have also pointed out, the team wins 33% of the games he catches; Torrens around 50%. In baseball the catcher is the brains of the team. Calling the game is the game. He is not good at this.
I would trade him. But if not, I would send him to a movement pattern specialist. If it takes that would be great and I would hold out hope for him offensively, though not defensively.
He is the best trade asset on the major league roster who does not figure in the long term future of the team. Other teams will believe they can fix him. There are genuine baseball voices within the Mets family/organization who share my views. I am more optimistic about him than they are because I know from experience that moving patterns can be changed with discipline and commitment and in his case, what he is working with is raw natural power that is plus and a movement pattern that is a disaster. So the day the season ends, I send him not to a hitting coach, the vast majority of whom are not movement pattern specialists, and get him over to movement specialists
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