Mack's Mets

2/3/23

NEW INFO - 2023 Draft Prospect - SS - Colin Houck

Colin Houck

SS Parkview HS (GA)

2-1-23 - MaxiPreps - High school baseball: Top 10 MLB Draft prospects entering the 2023 season -

10. Colin Houck, Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), IF

The No. 10 spot could easily go to Roch Cholowsky of Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) or Bryce Eldridge of James Madison (Vienna, Va.), but we will go with Houck – one of the top two-way athletes in the nation. As a quarterback, Houck threw for over 2,000 yards in leading Parkview to an 8-4 record. Last year he was among the national leaders in home runs with 15.

12-28-22 - 2023 MLB Draft – Top 50 High School Prospects

https://www.prospects1500.com/general/2023-mlb-draft-top-50-high-school-prospects/

14. Colin Houck, SS, Parkview HS (GA) – Houck might be one of the tougher signings come next July as he is committed to Mississippi State to play baseball and quarterback on their football team, but he has plenty of upside on the diamond. The swing is incredibly quiet and balanced, but he has good bat speed and the ball really jumps off his bat. The quiet swing allows him to make plenty of contact which gives him a plus hit tool, and I am confident the power manifests as above average power when all is said and done given how well it does jump currently. There are little doubts he sticks at short, so he is a true shortstop with a plus hit tool and potential for power, not many teams will frown on that.

https://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/PBR/2023-National-Rankings-Updated-2768549031?s=03

COLIN HOUCK SS / 3B / PARKVIEW, GA / 2023

Rankings STATERANK: 1 / POS: 1 OVERALLRANK: 13 / POS: 4

Houck, a Mississippi State recruit, has long been a favorite in this class, and culminates a steady rise in being ranked at the top of Georgia's 2023 class. The QB1 prospect is still throwing up big numbers on the gridiron, but it is the powerful outputs on the diamond that have the scouting community buzzing. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder produces effortless power, and combined with obvious athleticism, is easy to dream with regards to the upside that the bat still holds.

11-4-22 - Perfect Game 2023 MLB Mock Draft 1.0 -

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=21422&src=hmrep&s=03

23. Seattle Mariners | Colin Houck, SS, Parkview HS (Ga.)

The Mariners tend to lean college when it comes to their first round pick, but they’ve gone back-to-back preps with Harry Ford in 2021 and Cole Young in 2022. Houck would fit the mold of a high schooler the Mariners like with excellent athleticism and big summer performance. Houck also plays quarterback for his high school team, but his finish the last couple months on the circuit puts him firmly in the first round range. -VC

10-19-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/1/15/2023-mlb-draft-prospects-fx4td?s=03 -

44 SS

Colin Houck

Parkview

A decorated two-sport athlete, Houck has plenty of opportunities to play quarterback at the D1 level should he elect to go that direction. On the diamond, he's a twitchy, athletic shortstop with a strong arm and hittability that evaluators believe could really surge if he gives up the gridiron. Houck is quiet and compact at the plate with average bat speed, though his willingness to spray the ball deep gap-to-gap is what has scouts excited. There's some questions as to whether power will ever be a huge part of his game, but who knows what can happen once he dedicates to his craft. The floor here is a true shortstop with a solid hit tool.

9-9-22 - 2023 OVERALL RANKINGS UPDATE

https://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/PBR/2023-Overall-Rankings-Update-7531924608?s=03

COLIN HOUCK SS / 3B / PARKVIEW, GA / 2023

Rankings STATERANK: 2 / POS: 2 OVERALLRANK: 14 / POS: 4

Houck’s status as a 3-star quarterback made him a high profile dual-sport target for many schools, but his stellar showing this summer might ultimately steer him towards focussing all of his attention on the diamond in the future. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound shortstop checks plenty of boxes on the diamond thanks to his elite athleticism (6.6-runner, 90 mph across). His ability to impact the baseball from the right side with effortless power is what is sure to excite MLB scouts along with a poised demeanor and innate ability to slow the game down while playing fast. Houck committed to Mississippi State at the end of the summer.

9-12-22 - Prep Baseball Report @prepbaseball

SS/3B Colin Houck has elite athleticism and the ability to impact the baseball with effortless power.

@colin_houck

7-26-22 - 2023 MLB DRAFT - TOP 100 HIGH SCHOOL PROSPECTS -

https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/1/15/2023-mlb-draft-prospects-38awn

46 SS

Colin Houck

Parkview, Lilburn, GA

All the 2023 Draft Prospects in the Mack’s Mets database can be viewed by going to www.macksmets.blogspot.com and clicking on 2023 DRAFT PROSPECT DATABASE found on the top, left of the front page of the site.

2/2/23

UPDATED RESEARCH - 2023 Draft Prospect - 3B - Tre Phelps

Tre Phelps

3B Georgia Premier Academy (GA)

1-31-23 - Ian Smith @FlaSmitty

2023 3B Tre Phelps has an improved frame this Spring and showed an advanced approach throughout the evening.

Keeps his hands inside here on the for the RBI oppo knock. Plenty of present bat and hand speed. Georgia commit. https://t.co/nkBJ1BgHBJ

12-28-22 - 2023 MLB Draft – Top 50 High School Prospects

https://www.prospects1500.com/general/2023-mlb-draft-top-50-high-school-prospects/

42. Tre Phelps, 3B, Georgia Premier Academy (GA) – His proper name is Edward Phelps III, but naturally goes by the name Tre, Phelps is an athletic and strong third baseman. He can get up the line and beat out the occasional grounder, but the line drive swing with healthy hacks is the primary driver in his game. The ball really jumps although he can pull off the ball with less than two strikes, he goes from a mild step swing to a no step swing with two strikes and really battles. He has also shown a loud and fun personality, suggesting he would be a quality clubhouse guy on top of his ability on the field.

NEW INFO - 2023 Draft Prospect - RHP - Cade Kuehler

Cade Kuehler

RHP Campbell

2022 Campbell stat line - 16-G, 15-ST, 4-6, 4.07, 84-IP, 111-K

1-5-23 - Burke Granger @burkegranger

Gearing up for the '23 season by revisiting live looks from last year. Put eyes on Kade Kuehler as he shoved against Ohio State in midweek action last May. The compact righty got 17 s/m in the game, 13 of which came off his fastball.

6IP, 4H, 1R, 2BB, 10K. https://t.co/TgtNlXstlW

1-5-23 - Greg Zumach @IvyFutures

Great look at Cade Kuehler here by Burke Granger (great follow BTW). Kuehler is in the running to be my SP2 to enter the season (Dollander SP1 followed by Waldrep/Kuehler).

12-9-22 - 2023 MLB MOCK DRAFT 1.0

https://throughthefencebaseball.com/2023-mlb-mock-draft-1-0-pirates-taking-who/

17. Baltimore Orioles: Cade Kuehler, RHP, Campbell

My dude has a 99 heater. Need I say more? His slider is sick, his changeup he’s used as a nice finisher at times and he’s always getting ahead of his hitters in the count. That’s important for a young arm. He’s on my list of high-risers in future mocks.

10-19-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/1/15/2023-mlb-draft-prospects-fx4td?s=03 -

17. Cade Kuehler

Right-Handed Pitcher, Campbell

Kuehler developed extremely quickly upon arriving to Campbell. He's got a super-quick arm and natural deception that's been hell on the opposition. The fastball is already up into the upper-90s with top of the scale ride. He's really dialed in a slider/cutter that flash plus when he's got feel for it. Kuehler will need to continue throwing more strikes and ironing down the effort in his delivery as he develops and gets more college innings under his belt, but there's definitive day one upside here if the track record and production continue to impress.

9-7-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022-mlb-mock-draft-n78w7-st9r4-wa35p-2n5ls-8addg -

24. Tampa Bay Rays

Cade Kuehler, RHP, Campbell

Kuehler has tremendous arm talent, up to 99 with significant hop on his heater. He features a nasty slider and a changeup that both have proven to induce swing-and-miss. His ability to throw more strikes and get ahead of hitters will be important in his development as a starter, but at worst this is a high-leverage arm that the Rays can lean on in the future.

7-28-22 -

2023 MLB DRAFT - TOP 150 PROSPECTS -

https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/1/15/2023-mlb-draft-prospects -

11. Cade Kuehler

Right-Handed Pitcher, Campbell

8-3-2022 -

Ranking the Top 30 2023 MLB Draft Prospects -

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/insight/baseball/mlb/20220803-2023-mlb-mock-draft-ranking-the-top-30-2023-mlb-draft-prospects -

14. Cade Kuehler, RHP, Campbell

Mack -

It's all about control here.

Cade has the 100mph fastball and nasty slider combo to be a big star. All he needs to do now is throw more strikes or make batters miss on his slider.

SAVAGE VIEWS – IN THE BEGINNING

February 2, 2023

I was 17 when “Dem Bums” abandoned Brooklyn for the greener pastures of Chavez Ravine. I don’t remember not being a Dodgers fan. I was probably around 6 years old when I started following the team. During the entirety of my fandom, the core team of Robinson, Reese, Snyder, Campanella, Hodges and Furillo stayed intact. For a twelve year period, my favorite team was made up of five future Hall-of-Famers plus Furillo who boasted a lifetime BA of .299. Left field and third base were the only two positions not fielded by home grown talent, although Junior Gilliam came up in ’53 and was the semi-regular second baseman moving Robinson to LF and 3^rd base. What’s remarkable about these seven players is that as a team they walked much more often as they struck out. Only Hodges and Snyder had careers where they struck out more than they walked.

What’s also remarkable is that over the twelve-year period, this team, one of the best ever, only won six pennants and a solitary World Series. I can only imagine what the payroll would be for this historic team including Newcombe and Erskine in today’s climate.

In 1958 I switched my allegiance to the Pittsburgh Pirates and I pretended to follow them for the next few years. It was an entertaining team made up of such luminaries as Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, Dick Stuart, Bill Virdon, Vern Law and Bob Friend. They were actually a pretty good team and in 1960 beat the Yankees in the World Series. Unfortunately, after losing the WS, the Yanks fired Casey Stengel.

In 1960, MLB proposed expanding the American and National leagues by two teams. The Angels and Washington Senators were added to the American League and Houston and the Mets were added to the National league. It was Bill Shea who was instrumental to getting MLB to act when he set wheels in motion for a new Continental League. Joan Whitney Payson, a former minority owner of the Giants, became the owner of the new franchise with M. Donald Grant as Chairman of the Board. George Weiss was named GM, after a Hall of Fame career with the Yankees. Incredibly, it was under Weiss that the Mets drafted Steve Chilcott over Reggie Jackson.

One of the first moves by Weiss was hiring Casey Stengel as Manager. This set the tone for the next seven years of ineptitude. Starting with Casey at the helm, the Mets brought on board a number of familiar names well past their prime. The list included Duke Snyder, Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Gus Bell, Don Zimmer, Clem Labine and a host of others. Of course, all this was done under the guidance of M. Donald Grant – one of the most despised men ever to run a franchise.

The decision to hire the over the hill gang of ex Dodgers, Giants and Yanks made watching a game a painful experience. But we had Casey to entertain the media by acting the clown. Then again, having Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner in the booth made things easier to swallow.

Ray

Paul Articulates – The Minor League System

If you are a regular reader of Mack’s Mets, you have seen a plethora of posts on the shaping of the MLB roster for the New York Mets. There have been high profile signings, contract extensions, pre-arbitration salary agreements, and minor trades. Steve Cohen is clearly motivated to win now, while not compromising the player development system that he knows is key to building a sustainable winner.

The Mets were particularly stingy with their minor league prospects at the mid-season trading deadline in 2022, choosing to keep their studs even if it meant losing leverage on top trade targets. There is great logic behind this, as it is much less expensive to bring talent up through your system and control their salaries for the first several years rather than have to constantly re-load with high priced free agents. Organizations like the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros have followed this model for years and they are perennial playoff teams with lower salaries than many other teams.

The whole player development cycle is a very complex process. It begins with scouting talent in every corner of the globe – from local high schools to colleges to international leagues. Unlike the past where a few knowledgeable “baseball guys” would make subjective decisions on players they personally watched, today’s game is filled with analysis of tens of thousands of records contributed by many sources. The current Mets Baseball Operations arm includes a Vice President of Amateur & International Scouting, and Assistant General Manager of Professional Scouting, and a Senior Advisor of Player Development & Scouting. Below that is a 17 member organization for professional scouting, a 25 member organization for amateur scouting, and an 18 member organization for international scouting. There are 28 more people in the Research & Development organization that writes software, manages databases, and does analysis on the data that is collected.

The analytical tools get better and better every year, as technology makes it cheaper to measure performance, catalog it, and compare the results in a multi-variable equation to identify the best candidates. It is not all numbers of course – baseball is both a mental and physical game. A player’s mental approach can make or break their success as competition becomes tougher and pressure builds. For every player that gets considered for the draft, there are interviews, psychological profiles, and character recommendations to be considered.

Once the analysis is done and the lists are made, the drafts are completed, and the players are signed the organization takes them in and development begins. Players are allocated to teams at various levels according to their experience and performance. The low-A team is located in Port St. Lucie at the home base of player development in the Mets’ spring training complex. Next is high-A ball with the Brooklyn Cyclones; then AA ball with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies; and AAA ball with the Syracuse Mets. The player development organization includes all of the coaching staffs for each of the teams plus the MLB coaches. Player development also includes instructors and coordinators throughout the system to help with skills training. A performance department includes dieticians, physical trainers, rehab coordinators, and sports scientists. Need more serious medical attention? There are 20 doctors on the medical staff.

Most people don’t think very much about all the moving parts behind the scenes when they come to enjoy a baseball game. They come to watch the finished product that has been honed by many experienced people and years of development and training. They agonize over a swing and a miss by a player more capable than thousands behind him in the log of performance evaluations. This is true of every major professional baseball team, but I am pleased to report that the Mets are among the most improved in the player development area. Major investment and sweeping changes have brought some of the best in the business into the process of developing future Mets stars.

You don’t have to understand everything that is going on in player development to enjoy a ballgame. But if you are a Mets fan and are interested in how good they are going to be next year and the years after that, you should get to know the Minor League system. All the newly drafted domestic talent, international signings, and acquired players are coming up through the system, playing some good baseball in small town USA. If you are near any of the minor league affiliates, come see a game or two (or more). Admission is very inexpensive, the players are accessible, and the entertainment is worth every penny. Maybe one day you will see a player get a big hit at a big moment to seal a big win for the Mets and you can say, “I saw him when he was just a kid”.

Enjoy the season, Mets’ fans!

Tom Brennan - Things You May Not Know About Jeff McNeil (and Tyler Pill)

The Binghamton hat he wore in 2018 when it became clear McNeil was on his way.

$50 million contract - and a MLB batting title.

Amazing how far Jeff McNeil has come. Consider this:

In high school, he averaged a sweet 17 PPG as a senior in hoops, went to the U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship, and hit .446 as a senior. Fortunately for the Mets, that golf tournament did not go as well as he hoped, so he thankfully focused on - you guessed it - baseball.

As a 19 year old in 2011, 1st year college player, he hit no HRs in 53 games and batted .271. Meh.

As a 20 year old 2nd year college player in 2012, he hit no HRs in 55 games and batted .258. Meh.

No one would be looking at that and thinking, "yep, future major league star."

As a 20 year old in the Cape Cod League, he hit no HRs in 40 games and batted .302.

As a 21 year old college junior in 2013, he hit no HRs in 56 games but batted .348 with less than a K every 20 plate appearances, then skipped his senior season.

Why? I'm guessing he saw his age creeping up and figured it was time to go pro - another year and he would have been overly ripe, as he was 21.4 years old when he debuted in the Mets minors.

BUT WAIT!! WHAT?? No HRs in 204 college and Cape Cod games?

With that unimpressive power record, the Mets draft him as a 2nd baseman in the 12th round, no doubt finally picking him due to his higher and climbing batting average as a junior (note: he also played a lot of outfield before being drafted. Despite that, the Mets used him for just 61 innings in the outfield in his entire 430+ games in the minors, probably after he cajoled his skippers to allow him to).

In Kingsport in the the summer of 2013 after he got drafted, he hit a nifty .329 with no HRs in 47 games.

In 2014, he hits .292 with 3 HRs. THREE! Pop the champagne.

But in 2015, disappointingly back down to 1 HR, even while hitting .309.

OK, so the batting average was not bad at all, excellent actually, but by this time, in college and pro games, he has just 4 HRs in 491 games! The stuff of Bud Harrelson.

My guess here, too, is none of the 4 HRs were tape measure jobs.

At the end of 2015, I wrote that if skinny 6'1" 165 Jeff wanted success, bulking up would help - one such 2015 blurb is repeated here:

"MCNEIL: I thought he should have been co-MVP of the FSL with Smith. McNeil played 119 games for St Lucie, .312/.373/.382 with 80 runs scored and 16 of 21 steals. Only 59 Ks. A whole lot to like. Solid D. Add some pop and his value will be indisputable."

So bulk up he did, as I wrote a while later:

"He is smart - 'what do I need to do to make a weakness a strength?' So he bulked up about 30 pounds from where he started as a pro, and I believe the power will move from low to moderate."

And he did add the beef - but he ended up with hernia and hip injuries, both of which required surgery and those together, along with other injuries, pretty much wiped out his 2016 and 2017 minor league seasons, playing just 51 games in 2 seasons...

BUT popping 5 HRs. The extra strength was indeed showing results.

(Interestingly, his hitting style was impacted by a switch to a different bat. Wikipedia noted that "in 2016, McNeil began using an unorthodox knobless bat given to him by Mets minor league hitting coordinator Lamar Johnson; he thenceforth began using knobless bats exclusively.")

In 2018 in Binghamton and Vegas, he went on a power tear, hitting .342 with 19 HRs and 71 RBIs. The transformation from "Little Bud" to "Big Thud" had fully taken hold.

The rest is history - the most recent history being a MLB batting title and a $50 million, 4 year deal (I know, don't forget the 5th year option).

What a great story.

Shows what one can accomplish with a laser focus on lofty goals and sheer drive and dogged determination.

Of course, he could have held out for free agency, but he would have been 33, and 2 years further along into one's early 30s can be a declining period for many hitters and pitchers - if one studied that time period, one could come up with dozens of names where the age 31 and 32 seasons began gradual or sharp declines...he realized there was that downside risk, and grabbed this still-huge chunk of dough. I'd have done 100% exactly the same. That would have been my advice.

Consider Matt Harvey at the end of 2015 and two years later...steep decline, and he got paid a fraction of what he would have earned had he negotiated an extension at the end of 2015.

If and when the baseball thing ends someday for Jeff, there is always pro golf, I'm guessing. McNeil once shot a 59 which, for me, would be a good 9 hole score. He shot 59 in 18 holes. Who does that? Had he decided on golf rather than baseball as a pro, though, maybe that venture would have failed and we'd have never seen Jeff McNeil as a pro sports success.

Anyway...

Simply put, glad he's still on our side.

As what I think is an interesting point of comparison, former Mets pitcher Tyler Pill was quite the hitter, too, but for some reason, once he gave up pitching, couldn't emulate Jeff McNeil's hitting success.

Pill in college (they actually probably played against one another in 2011 as they were in the same west coast college division in California that season - maybe McNeil even faced pitcher Pill) hit .323/.439/.455, also with a low K rate, basically hitting better than McNeil, and then hit .301/.358.408 in 245 minors plate appearances with just 35 Ks. He also pitched very well while in college.

He was amazingly a .370 hitter in 103 at bats while playing for several seasons as a minor league pitcher, remarkable in that pitchers back then rarely got a chance to hit due to the DH, so he only hit sporadically. How many players do you hear saying their timing is tough to nail down when they play sporadically? Dom Smith, anyone?

After going 7 for 18 as a hitter at age 28 in the high minors, Pill dropped the pitching and hit just .233 in 31 games and 103 at bats in AAA at age 29, mostly in the outfield, and then hung up the spikes and headed back to school.

I think he just started the hitter experiment too late at age 29.

I really wonder if he wished he had played right from the onset as a hitter, not a pitcher. He ended up a decent 46-38, 4.23 in the minors but just 0-3, 5.32 in 22 innings as a Met, at age 27 in the majors. If hitting and not pitching had been his total focus, like McNeil, might he have become a multi million $$ ballplayer as a hitter, too? Or, might he have not been good enough and missed the majors altogether?

I think Pill could have been a 4th or 5th outfielder type in the majors, who could have pitched in a pinch, too. But...we'll never know.

2/1/23

NEW INFO - 2023 Draft Prospect - C - Cooper Ingle

Cooper Ingle

C Clemson

2022 Clemson stat line - 54-G, 211-AB, .351, 8-HR

1-5-22 - Clemson Baseball @ClemsonBaseball

Cooper Ingle is a third-team preseason All-American by Perfect Game USA.

The catcher hit .351 with eight homers, 44 RBIs and a .449 on-base percentage in 2022

11-28-22 - 2023 MLB Draft: College Top 100 Prospects - https://d1baseball.com/prospects/2023-mlb-draft-college-top-100-prospects/ -

88 Cooper Ingle C Clemson ACC

10-16-22 - 2023 MLB Draft: an early look at the ACC

http://dugoutedgebaseball.blogspot.com/2022/10/2023-mlb-draft-early-look-at-acc.html?m=1&s=03 -

Just Missed: Catcher Cooper Ingle (Clemson) was the first player off the list after slashing .351/.449/.526 with eight home runs for the Tigers last year and is one of my favorite players in the conference. He utilizes a short, slasher-type swing focused on lashing line drives around the field, but he can turn on one if he needs to and could be a fun prospect to develop. An interesting .252/.401/.319 run through the Cape Cod League with more walks (30) than strikeouts (28) highlighted his exceptional feel for hitting and also called into question somewhat his ability to create impact with wood bats.

7-28-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/1/15/2023-mlb-draft-prospects -

91 C

Cooper Ingle

Clemson

One of the most patient, polished hitters in the country, Ingle is a player development dream with a keen eye at the plate and budding exit velocities when he's ready to pull the trigger. Mostly a slasher, gap-to-gap type of hitter now, Ingle has flashed average raw power and could eventually run into double-digit homers as a professional. For now, he's going to provide teams an excellent plate appearance, peppering the field line to line. Ingle needs to continue to get stronger to improve his arm strength behind the plate, but he's a good athlete back there and projects at worst a fringe-average backstop as a pro.

The Mack Report (Larez, Tidwell, Super Bowl, Daniel, Ronny, A-Ram)

One of the top 3 International prospects signed by the Mets -

The club announced Monday it has agreed to terms with 27 players, including catcher Daiverson Gutierrez, the No. 27-ranked prospect on the top 50 international list. They also agreed to deals with outfielder Anthony Baptist, who ranks No. 29, and No. 43 Cristopher Larez.

As for Larez, he is one of the most polished shortstops in the class and has a chance to be a five-tool player at a premium position.

He already shows good bat-to-ball skills and has a chance to be a plus hitter in the future. There’s a chance he develops more power as he grows and his body matures. Defensively, his instincts are noteworthy, and he features all of the skills an emerging middle infielder needs to make his way through the Minor Leagues and eventually the big leagues one day.

Larez is trained by Robert Vahlis, a member of MLB’s Trainer Partnership Program.

Mack - Remember… the best athletes in Latin America always are shortstops and they easily can be converted to either second of third base. Just look at the Gimenez//Rosario comp. Two prospect shortstops that had one converted to an all-star second baseman.

New York Mets Top 50 Prospects (2023)

https://www.prospects1500.com/nl-east/mets/new-york-mets-top-50-prospects-2023/?s=03

7. Blade Tidwell, RHP, 21, Single-A

A strong 2022 draft class brought along righty Tidwell from Tennessee in the second round. Tidwell throws four different pitches featuring a great fastball and nice complimentary sliders/changeups that generate the swing and misses. He has the traditional starter build and projects to be a mid to back end starter as of now. Past shoulder tendinitis and inconsistent command is probably something to keep an eye on in his journey, but isn’t a huge concern right now.

1-25-23 - The Athletic

Right-hander Blade Tidwell is probably their sixth-best prospect, if not better. A second-round pick last summer, Tidwell regularly sits in the upper 90s and can touch 100 mph. During his time with Low-A St. Lucie, he flashed the look of a prototypical power pitcher, including a curveball that tunneled well off his velocity and an ability to repeat his delivery, scouts said.

Mack - Finally found someone that is agreeing with me that the top pitcher prospect in the Mets chain is Tidwell. He easily would have been one of the top five picks in the 2022 draft if he didn’t get pulled for shoulder soreness prior to the season’s start. He still finished the season 3-2, 39-IP, 51-K, 3.00/1.08.

Tidwell managed to get in five starts for the Mets last season, the first being for the FCL team (1-IP, 0.00) and the last four for St. Lucie (8.1- IP, 2.16). In total, 11-K in 9.1-IP (but also 7-BB).

My guess is he opens up in Binghamton this spring and finishes the season in Syracuse.

Ben Yoel @Ben_Yoel

Steve Cohen dropping 7m on a Super Bowl ad is the most boss shit ever. Shohei Ohtani might as well start looking for real estate in New York.

Mack -

I think this is a first and it’s a pure, arrogant message being sent to the other owners that the Mets are here to stay,

And Ben is right about the message this sends to future free agents that are looking for their last great contract. Cohen is determined to build a World Series winner and spending money means nothing to Cohen. And agents always stresses to their clients that it is their job to get them the best deal out there, regardless of what team is or where they play,

Me? I think Ohtani is a lock for Queens in 2024.

Every minor league team in your chain need at least 25 players ti fill all the creaks in their wall… and if you are going to sign a first baseman, you might as well sign someone that led the league they played in last year in home runs.

26-year old Dariel Gomez came out of the D.R. as an International free agent signed by St. Louis. He played five years in that chain, sat out a year due to injuries, and then returned as a member of the Seattle chain.

The good news is he led the A+ Northwest League with 26 home runs. The bad news is his slash line was only .222/.321/.472 with 26 home runs and struck out 163 times in those 113 games.

Still, he fills a hole in the future 2023 Binghamton roster

The Athletic - Keith Law

87. Ronny Mauricio, SS, New York Mets

Age: 22 | 6-3 | 222 pounds

Bats: Switch | Throws: Right

International signing in 2017

Last year’s ranking: 40

Mauricio had 54 extra-base hits for Double-A Binghamton last year as one of the youngest regulars in the Eastern League despite an approach that you could euphemistically call “aggressive.” He’s a hacker, really, but his wrists are so quick and strong that he still managed to hit 26 homers and 26 doubles (and, if you’re too lazy to do the math, two triples). He reminds me a ton of young Alfonso Soriano, who also wasn’t the most discriminating hitter, and wasn’t even as good of an athlete as Mauricio is, but who had lightning-quick wrists and surprising strength in his forearms to hit 412 homers in 16 MLB seasons, peaking at 46 in 2006. Scouts really vary on whether he can stay at shortstop, although that only happens if he works harder on his defense; I’m in the camp that says he should move off the position, not because the Mets have a guy there, but because while I don’t think Mauricio has the footwork for it, he could be a 55-60 defender at third. He won the MVP in the Dominican Winter League this year, even though his pitch selection and swing decisions still weren’t good, and the Mets are going to have to make a choice at some point to hold him back until he shows real improvement in that area. It’s easy 30-homer power, though, and he doesn’t even have to walk much more to have real value if he ends up at third or second. Just making better choices to get to that power consistently against better pitching will be enough.

New York Mets Top 50 Prospects (2023)

https://www.prospects1500.com/nl-east/mets/new-york-mets-top- 50-prospects-2023/?s=03

5. Alex Ramirez, OF, 19, Single-A

Ramirez had an excellent season across both levels of Single-A. He enjoyed a blistering hot start in St. Lucie that got him the promotion to Brooklyn. Ramirez stopped striking out and walked slightly more this year. He sported a .281 average across both levels and while he did not hit a ton of homers this year, the extra base hits (30 doubles, 7 triples) stayed consistent and should only improve as his development across the Mets system continues.

Mack - I am extremely high on A-Ram and ave been for quite some long. The desire would be to rush this kid aong since the Mets are light on outfield prospects, but he is only a 19-year old and needs all the direction the Mets coaching staff can give him next year at their home camp at Port St. Lucie.

Look for a full season with the St. Lucie Mets.

Reese Kaplan -- The Long Term Impact of the Returning Twin

As Mets fans anticipate the start of the 2023 season with unabashed enthusiasm and swagger about the team taking the field, remember that it was just a few weeks ago that part of the winning formula was to have included Carlos Correa to play alongside Francisco Lindor, leaving Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Eduardo Escobar wondering what in the world they would have to do to earn a spot in the lineup.

No matter how you slice it, there were losers all around in the Correa situation. First were the San Francisco Giants who refused to risk mega riches on a truly magnificent ballplayer due to legitimate concerns over his health. When the Mets swooped in during the dark of night to seemingly snag Correa away, it was for less money and a shorter term.

Then as the negotiations and health issues battled against one another, this time it was the team that lost him to free agency, the Minnesota Twins, who coughed up a highly uncharacteristic sum to secure his services. Since he cost quite a bit more than was originally budgeted an offered, that would make the Twins something of a loser here as well as the team is putting all of their eggs into a potentially IL-headed basket towards the latter part of the deal.

However, the other loser in this situation is Carlos Correa himself. Don't get me wrong. He's surely not going to be destined to a future of Cup O Noodles as his gourmet repast because it's all he can afford. At an average annual salary of over $33 million for the next six years he can probably supersize his order. However, the Twins had extended a $285 million contract to Correa which he declined.

Then the Giants were in at $350 million and the Mets proffered $315 million. That alleged concern about how his leg would heal in the long term (as well as some rumored antivax sentiment regarding COVID) may have cost Correa both in terms of average annual compensation as well as the duration of those payments.

Say what you will about the way things turned out, but the fact is that the Giants and the Mets helped illustrate something that heretofore has not been a major aspect of baseball player paychecks -- concern for injury in the long term. That aspect of contractual risk is a critical one as the upcoming free agent season contains some mega prizes like Manny Machado, Aaron Nola, Julio Urias and a fellow by the name Shohei Ohtani who could make the All Star team with his bat and for standing on the pitching mound.

Expect that the previously unimagined and unseen level of salary for Ohtani will also warrant just as deep a concern for what happens if an arm injury threatens his game as a pitcher. Chances are that even if it was so severe that it required surgery he could continue his career as a DH without having to throw the ball at all, but it would still mean paying for up to two years of full salary (or the corresponding insurance premiums) for a guy unable to play the field.

Already people are spouting opinions about what it would take to land Ohtani and whether or not it would make sense to do so. Say, for the sake of argument, he's regarded as the game's first $60 million per year player being a $30 million pitcher and $30 million hitter. Considering what some others are earning for just one of those roles, that $60 million is not exactly an unfair compensation demand.

Others feel that it would be a shrewder investment to try to land a pairing of a top hitter like Machado and a top pitcher like Nola or Urias would spread the risk a bit. It won't eliminate it, but if the hitter or the pitcher was down long term with an illness or injury, the other one would still be capable of contributing, unlike losing Ohtani and missing out on both aspects of his game simultaneously.

Still, Steve Cohen has already shown he's not against securing the best of the best when he's determined to do so. Ohtani would help cement his promise of a World Series Championship for the New York Mets within his five year timeline for doing so. Adding another Japanese player to join Kodai Senga would help make both players feel a bit more comfortable knowing they can communicate with ease with a fellow athlete. The headlines alone would elevate the Mets and Steve Cohen to near legendary status. Expect it to happen.

However, if it doesn't, please understand that the Angels did a whole lot of nothing while enjoying the biggest slugger in the league and the best two-way player in the league.

It is possible to win games in other ways, too. The Mets should be just as actively working on Plans B, C and D in the event Plan A takes himself across town to join the Dodgers or heading south to say hola to the Padres.

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