In yesterday’s report card column, John gave Tyrone Taylor a D+ and no one argued much about that grade. And if you just look at Taylor’s .664 OPS, it’s hard to argue very much. But Taylor has been a solid addition to the team and if the Mets were to cut bait with him, it would probably cause more problems than it would be for most bench guys who received that grade.
Taylor started off the season fine and he’s been productive offensively here lately, too. But he had an extended stretch where he was terrible. In his first 15 games, Taylor had an .851 OPS. In his last 14 games, he has a .782 OPS. It’s reminiscent of James Carville’s line about Pennsylvania. Carville noted that on one end you have Pittsburgh and the other end you have Philadelphia. But in the middle is Alabama.
In the 107 PA in the middle of his good stretches, Taylor has a .196/.234/.304 line. He wasn’t hitting for either AVG or power and he wasn’t helping out by drawing walks, either. In his most recent stretch, he’s not hitting for AVG, either. But he’s making his hits count, as seven of the last nine have been XBH.
One of the main problems for Taylor this year has been his production versus LHP. Coming into this season, Taylor had a lifetime .752 OPS and a .203 ISO versus lefties. But here in 2024, those numbers are .512 and .102, respectively. And that’s particularly tough, as the Mets are trying to get playing time for DJ Stewart, too, and he gets the vast majority of his playing time against righties, leaving Taylor to face the lefties.
Taylor can play all three outfield positions and is a solid fielder. He’s hitting RHP and has a track record of doing it versus LHP. He may have earned that D+ grade for the first part of 2024 but my hope is that he’ll be on the team for the remainder of the season.
There is a series on AppleTV called Earth by Night. It is fascinating and shows things in a different view from what we have normally seen as it shows the night life in jungles and forests. I have only seen the first four episodes, but they are about 1/2 hour each and pretty riveting. Much more riveting than Alonso’s at-bat at the All Star Game for sure.
Before the draft, just for conversation, I made an update to March’s opinion:
Top prospects 2024
March
Williams, Gilbert, Scott, Acuna, Rodriguez (SS), Houck, Vargas, Ramirez, Clifford, Ziegler, Morabito, Reimer, Stuart, Baro, Mauricio, Sproat, Tidwell, Hamel, Vasil, Parada, Lavender, Rodriguez(C), Hernandez, McLean
July
Williams, Gilbert, Mauricio, Sproat, Scott
Tong, Acuna, Clifford, Tidwell, Morabito
Rodriguez, Baez, McLean, Parada, Vargas, Ramirez, Hernandez, Baro, Reiner, Hamel
Stuart, Vasil, Houck, Thomas, Lorusso
The more I look at Oneal Cruz and Endy de la Cruz, the more excited I get about what Mauricio can be as the tools are there. That was a great signing, like Alvarez was.
Tyrone Taylor fills a role on the team as a bench outfielder. He is a good defensive three position outfielder, above average base runner and a career average offensive player. This year he is slighty below average (89 OPS+) and so for he hasn’t step up to seize the opportunity that was afforded to him with the Marte injury. His role wasn’t a team starter but it was a bench role.
The rightfield production is below average and there isn’t any really rental that would increase the production. Internally Iglesias should get more playing time and McNeil, Taylor and Stewart should compete for right field playing time. Hopefully someone will hot.
Very good point in the Taylor grade, it was my oversight as well. Reconsidering, I’d go C to C- for the reasons that you list. His plate disappointments overshadow what he brings to the table, which is very useful from a backup OF. Thanks for pointing it out.
I went through the remaining schedule and I’m predicting a 42-25 finish to get to 91 wins. It would be a truly remarkable turnaround from that May swoon and probably guarantee at least the 2nd wild card.
I also think McNeil gets hot post All Star break and hits .300 the rest of the way.
Alonso finishes with 40 homers on the nose.
Brandon Sproat becomes a bullpen weapon in September.
I’m looking at the same schedule and I see it more like 85 wins with the present roster. A good acquisition at the trade deadline could bring it up two or three games. 91 wins is a stretch.
Basically the pace they ve been playing at
What would it take to get Brent Rooker from the A’s to play RF?
“The Trade Market Remains Light On Middle Infield Talent“
I saw this headline on MLBTR today. And my first thought was…………..
Is Jeff McNeil a keeper? I doubt it, especially since there are many prospects that play his position behind him?
The reality is he is untradable because of his $15.75m for the next two years. Three of the four past years he is below average offensively. He is also 32 old. Yes he is a keeper, for now. They shouldn’t DFA . His versatility makes him useful.
Personally, I like Jeff McNeil. I hope he can turn things around, at least as an expensive utility bench player.
If you reason it out, it is silly to expect all our players to have an OPS at or near .800. Some players are bench players because they are not good enough to be starters. Taylor serves a nice role and the hitting coach should be helping him, and everyone else for that matter, when he gets in a rut. I too see where his grade might be improved, but I’m fine if not. I had 88 wins since the start but could certainly live with 91. Another significant bullpen arm is the place to start or the post season won’t happen. Sproat might just be a catch lightening in a bottle late season call up.
I’m not looking for Taylor to post an .800 OPS. I’d like for him to be close to his lifetime .746 OPS coming into this year. I don’t believe a .664 mark counts as close.
Christian Scott with a UCL sprain: IL
It’s the old M*A*S*H line, paraphrasing Col. Henry Blake
Rule 1: Pitchers get hurt
Rule 2: There’s not any system – pitch counts, inning counts, days of rest between starts – that can change Rule 1
Any comment that recalls Henry Blake and M*A*S*H is a winner in my books!
That we as a tough day for Hawkeye, “you never hear the bullet” episode if I recall.
Great memory! That is indeed the episode, which came in the first year of the series. The actual line: “There are certain rules about a war. Rule Number One is: Young men die. And Rule Number Two is: Doctors can’t change Rule Number One.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sometimes_You_Hear_the_Bullet