Following when the now-departed P.J. Conlon pitched against the Braves, the Mets’ starters have begun to give the team better performances. Here are the last six games:
Mar 29 – Steven Matz 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks
Mar 30 – Jason Vargas 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks
Mar 31 – Seth Lugo 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 Ks
Jun 01 – Zack Wheeler 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 Ks
Jun 02 – Jacob deGrom 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 13 Ks
Jun 03 – Steven Matz 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 Ks
Total – 32 IP, 25 H, 5 ER, 9 BB, 31 Ks
Matz having to leave the first game early, Vargas being treated with kid gloves and Lugo limited in his first start of the season all combine to hold the innings down. But the quality they’ve received in the last six games – against good teams in the Braves and the Cubs – is an encouraging sign. We would love to see more of a 1.41 ERA, 1.063 WHIP and a 3.4 K/BB ratio from the starters going forward.
Some guys were down on this team at 11-1, and they cited reasons for their pessimism….. things that have since played out to drive the team’s dismal performance.
in the midst of horrible games, the team has suddenly seen success from their Starting Pitching…especially, Matz and Wheeler pitching to their talent level.
They won early games with so-so hitting and spotty Starting Pitching….. they are now seeing good Starting Pitching—it may be that this season is not over.
Wheeler and his 5.14 ERA talent level needs to go to the pen, and if he fails there, then DFAed.
He has a fip and xfip in the high 3’s, he’s defintely not an ace, but he’s a fine back end of the rotation guy.
Switch Vargas and Lugo. Release Reyes. Robles has got to go,if he can’t be traded send him back to Vegas. Blevins need to be released. When Flores comes back try to trade him he is a man without a position. Look into trading Cabrera and Familia. Conforto is probably going to be a good ball player but he isn’t a CF!
DeGrom to the YAnks for Bird,Frazier and Andujar.
I I wouldn’t make that trade with the Yanks in a million years, deGrom is worth so much more. Disagree on Blevins and Flores.
Thats still an average of 5 1/3 IP for starters. The numbers are improving, but the length is pretty poor still. 16 outs for starters wont get it done IMO.
The starting pitching plus Swarzak’s potential as the set up man gives me hope. Add the (right handed)injured position players on their return gives me hope.
I was thinking of the LA Dodgers taking the Mets rejects: Turner, Taijeron and now Conlon. Do they have some sort of inside connection? (I had to check Taijeron’s stats to ease my mind).
They also signed Mike Baxter when he was released.
and the Mets pick Jarred Kelenic.
Another lefty…and high schooler
Ha…. it’s never too early, eh Chris!?
ok everyone….No waiting 3 years—tell us now who they should have picked instead
I was hoping for a college outfielder – Travis Swaggerty seemed like the guy but he didn’t have a great Junior season.
Keith Law had Swaggerty ranked fourth and he was available when the Mets picked. Interestingly, the guys he had ranked second and third (Stewart and Liberatore) were also available. The guy they did pick, Law had ranked sixth.
i wanted a Righty hitting athletic infielder.
disappointed about India and the catcher
I see tonight’s pitching matchup has two of the prized pitchers from last year’s free agent class. Bragging rights on the line!
Im disappointed in the Alderson/Tannous draft. Flat out, its not clear to me these guys know anything about personnel and talent assessment.
Im happy for Kelenic and hope for nothing but the best for his arrival in 2023. Was all that losing and getting the 6th pick for a guy mocked outside the top 10 worth it? With all the College and short-time-to-the-bigs talent available, it surprises me to take *another* flyer on a lefty outfielder that never even did more that travel teams and showcases. I hope it turns out to be a surprise for some new FO.
Last FG mock had him going 6
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-mlb-mock-draft-v-3-1/
Keith Law also had him going 6. He said, “Kelenic is the only prep player I’ve heard with the Mets; otherwise it has been college bats, including Bart, Madrigal, Bohm and Travis Swaggerty.”
http://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/23689410/keith-law-2018-mock-draft-40
Callis & Mayo had him 13
https://www.mlb.com/news/final-2018-mock-drafts-from-callis-and-mayo/c-279764934
Mike Axisa/CBS Sports had him 6
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2018-mlb-mock-draft-auburn-pitcher-still-projected-to-go-no-1-to-tigers-in-updated-first-round/
247 Sports had him 9
https://247sports.com/mlb/scouting/Article/MLB-Draft-2018-Mock-Draft-40-118767728
Draft Site had him 10
https://www.draftsite.com/mlb/mock-draft/2018/
The last thing I want to do is take a guy based primarily on need today. That’s how you end up taking guys like Eddie Kunz. You take the highest guy on your board, regardless of his class or position or ETA. That Alderson, who won’t be around when Kelenic reaches the majors, took a prep player means he was thinking of the long-term interests of the club. To me, that’s a positive.
Tell that to Conforto.
It’s easy to criticize — offer me a solution. Give me a name that they should have drafted, one that will look good today, tomorrow and 20 years from now.
Of course no one knows that. But I would have take Carter Stewart or Matthew Liberatore ahead of Kelenic. Pitching demands never cease, but lefty hitting OF are a penny a dozen. There were prize picks above selecting an another OF.
FWIW, the second pick was ranked 160th in the MLB draft rankings:
Woods-Richardson broke out on the showcase circuit last summer, running his fastball up to 95 mph at the Area Code Games and showing three-pitch potential at multiple events. He looked like a potential top-three-rounds pick, but hasn’t built on that momentum this spring. Pro teams are still interested, though now they’re wondering if he might be destined to become a reliever and if he can be picked early enough to sign him away from a Texas commitment.
Though Woods-Richardson’s arm speed and athleticism still endear him to scouts, he has spent much of his senior year pitching at 89-92 mph with a fastball that features more angle than life. A midseason tonsillectomy didn’t help, but he also has a history of inconsistency with his stuff. His curveball hasn’t been as sharp as hoped either, and he hasn’t used his changeup much after it looked promising last summer.
Woods-Richardson has a sound delivery with a high-three-quarters arm slot and repeats it well. But unless he shows he can carry his best stuff deeper into ballgames, he may wind up in the bullpen. He’s also a talented third baseman with power and arm strength, giving him a chance to contribute as a two-way player if he joins the Longhorns.
MLB.com wrote that Woods-Richardson’s fastball velocity was consistently sitting at 89-92 mph this spring. But he quickly dismissed that report.
“That was only one game and it was a two-inning start,” Woods-Richardson said. “Every game, I averaged 92-94 mph and topped out at 97.”
http://www.the3rdmanin.com/simeon-woods-richardson-mlb-draft/
Tim Britton, in the Athletic (absolutely worth the miniscule subscription) today, had another excellent article. Here is an excerpt that just floored me in perspective.
“The Mets right now remind me of a line from Bojack Horseman: “You’re not good enough at this job to be too good for this job.” New York is not talented enough to overlook the small things, and this is why Callaway had to hold a postgame team meeting last week. The Mets don’t hit enough normally to be above situational hitting; they’re one of the worst teams in baseball getting the runner in from third with fewer than two outs. They’re not a good enough pitching staff, especially in the bullpen, to overcome the free passes they issue; their relievers’ walk rate exceeds 10 percent. They don’t steal enough bases or get good enough secondary leads to justify the number of times they’ve been picked off. And they certainly don’t make enough flashy defensive plays to accommodate the routine ones they don’t make. They just aren’t good enough to give away runs the way they did Sunday.”
Keith Law had his review of NL teams in the draft. Here’s part of what he said on the Mets:
“The Mets took the first prep player of the 2018 draft in high-ceiling Wisconsin outfielder Jarred Kelenic (1), who clearly established himself as the best high school position player in the class and had been in consideration at pick No. 1. Kelenic has All-Star center-fielder upside with power, speed and a plus-plus arm, and his swing is certainly geared toward driving the ball to all fields.”