Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Link: Brandon Lyon's Contract Incentives Are Kicking In
Check out a short piece I put together about Brandon Lyon's incentives, my debut as a contributor over at Metsblog.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
2013 Mets Prospect Report: Week 3 (4/18 - 4/24)
Top Pitching Prospect of the Week
Rafael Montero, SP (AA) - 6.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
I do what I can to mix it up when selecting the top prospects of the week, but Montero is making that difficult. Another strong outing this week brings his season line to 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA, a .71 WHIP, and a 27 to 1 K:BB ratio. In his first 4 starts he's carving up the Eastern League like he's a big leaguer. And in light of his success and the Mets' starting pitching woes, there are many fans calling for just that. But as good as he's been, now's not the time. I expect Montero will remain in AA for at least another month before they even consider moving him up to AAA. But every dominant start makes it a little more likely that we could see him in Queens before the year is out.
Age: 22
Acquired: 2010-11 International Period
Signing Bonus: $80,000
MLB ETA: 2014... (or sooner?)
Honorable Mention:
Rafael Montero, SP (AA) - 6.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
I do what I can to mix it up when selecting the top prospects of the week, but Montero is making that difficult. Another strong outing this week brings his season line to 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA, a .71 WHIP, and a 27 to 1 K:BB ratio. In his first 4 starts he's carving up the Eastern League like he's a big leaguer. And in light of his success and the Mets' starting pitching woes, there are many fans calling for just that. But as good as he's been, now's not the time. I expect Montero will remain in AA for at least another month before they even consider moving him up to AAA. But every dominant start makes it a little more likely that we could see him in Queens before the year is out.
Age: 22
Acquired: 2010-11 International Period
Signing Bonus: $80,000
MLB ETA: 2014... (or sooner?)
Honorable Mention:
Thursday, April 18, 2013
2013 Mets Prospect Report: Week 2 (4/11 - 4/17)
Top Pitching Prospect of the Week
Jacob deGrom, SP (A+/AA) - 14.0 IP, 0-1, 3.21 ERA, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 15 K
There may be some recency bias in effect here, but deGrom earns this spot on the strength of his stellar AA debut last night. He was a hard-luck loser as the B-Mets went down 1-0, but he lasted 8 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and a walk with 8 strikeouts. DeGrom is perhaps the most underhyped of the Mets vaunted collection of prospect arms, though I doubt that remains the case for much longer if he continues putting together starts like this. On the older side for a prospect, deGrom gets some latitude having migrated to pitching full time late in his college career and then missing a season plus as a pro recovering from Tommy John surgery. One of several strong college arms the Mets took in the 2010 draft, the hard-throwing righthander must be added to the Mets' 40-man roster by November in order to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. Even so, I don't think it's terribly likely that deGrom debuts with the Mets this year. The past few years they've been stingy with call-ups, and deGrom will likely be pushing his innings limit by August if all goes well.
Age: 24
Acquired: 2010 Draft (Round 9, Overall Pick 272)
Signing Bonus: $95,000
MLB ETA: 2014
Honorable Mention:
Jacob deGrom, SP (A+/AA) - 14.0 IP, 0-1, 3.21 ERA, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 15 K
There may be some recency bias in effect here, but deGrom earns this spot on the strength of his stellar AA debut last night. He was a hard-luck loser as the B-Mets went down 1-0, but he lasted 8 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and a walk with 8 strikeouts. DeGrom is perhaps the most underhyped of the Mets vaunted collection of prospect arms, though I doubt that remains the case for much longer if he continues putting together starts like this. On the older side for a prospect, deGrom gets some latitude having migrated to pitching full time late in his college career and then missing a season plus as a pro recovering from Tommy John surgery. One of several strong college arms the Mets took in the 2010 draft, the hard-throwing righthander must be added to the Mets' 40-man roster by November in order to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. Even so, I don't think it's terribly likely that deGrom debuts with the Mets this year. The past few years they've been stingy with call-ups, and deGrom will likely be pushing his innings limit by August if all goes well.
Age: 24
Acquired: 2010 Draft (Round 9, Overall Pick 272)
Signing Bonus: $95,000
MLB ETA: 2014
Honorable Mention:
Thursday, April 11, 2013
2013 Mets Prospect Report: Week 1 (4/4 - 4/10)
Top Pitching Prospect of the Week
Rafael Montero, SP (AA) - 11.2 IP, 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 15 K
One of the more advanced arms in the Mets stable of young pitching prospects, the 22-year-old Montero breezed through his first two starts. His 15 strikeouts against 0 walks this week are an example of his exciting combination of stuff and control. The instinct is to be concerned about guys who spend as much time in the strike zone as Montero does, because against better hitters that can be dangerous. But here we are in AA, and Montero continues to live in the zone & miss bats and induce weak contact. It's not a problem until it's a problem, and right now, it's not a problem. As a signee from the 2010-11 international class, Montero has one more year of Rule 5 protection remaining, so there is no need on that front to rush him to the 40-man roster in 2013. Montero has been moved aggressively in his 2 years in the system, but he has met every challenge so far. Even so, I expect that he'll spend the first half of 2013 in AA regardless of how well he pitches this spring. He's also a guy I think is a strong candidate to be moved this summer or next offseason, should the Mets look to add a legitimate OF bat on the trade market.
Age: 22
Acquired: 2010-11 International Period
Signing Bonus: $80,000
MLB ETA: 2014
Honorable Mention:
Rafael Montero, SP (AA) - 11.2 IP, 1-0, 1.54 ERA, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 15 K
One of the more advanced arms in the Mets stable of young pitching prospects, the 22-year-old Montero breezed through his first two starts. His 15 strikeouts against 0 walks this week are an example of his exciting combination of stuff and control. The instinct is to be concerned about guys who spend as much time in the strike zone as Montero does, because against better hitters that can be dangerous. But here we are in AA, and Montero continues to live in the zone & miss bats and induce weak contact. It's not a problem until it's a problem, and right now, it's not a problem. As a signee from the 2010-11 international class, Montero has one more year of Rule 5 protection remaining, so there is no need on that front to rush him to the 40-man roster in 2013. Montero has been moved aggressively in his 2 years in the system, but he has met every challenge so far. Even so, I expect that he'll spend the first half of 2013 in AA regardless of how well he pitches this spring. He's also a guy I think is a strong candidate to be moved this summer or next offseason, should the Mets look to add a legitimate OF bat on the trade market.
Age: 22
Acquired: 2010-11 International Period
Signing Bonus: $80,000
MLB ETA: 2014
Honorable Mention:
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