The Mack Attack - Vol. I Issue XI

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Sunday, February 24, 2008

The Texas Rangers signed C Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a one-year contract.

-This is one of the target guys (who play a target position) to keep an eye on.

-First of all, it’s not a slam dunk that Salty gets to start this year… last year’s starter, 29-year-old Gerald Laird, plans on having something to say about it…

-Then there is the case of the Top 50 Prospect Texas that finished AA-ball last year for the Frisco Rough Riders. Taylor Teagarden only hit .297/.357/.529/886 there in 102 at bats, and even if he starts off this year back at AA, he looks to be ready to go Big Time in 2009.

-ScoutngBook.com on Teagarden:

“Born with a name that must have been playground hell, Teagarden is an offensive-minded catcher who won a national championship with the Texas Longhorns, when he was a teammate of Huston Street. Teagarden missed most of 2006 due to an elbow injury that required TJ surgery, but appears to be fully recovered based on his monster 2007 numbers in high-A Bakersfield (.316/.449/608) and AA Frisco (.294/.357/.529). Texas seems intent on leaving him behind the plate, despite the 2007 acquisition of phenom Saltalamacchia.”

-All this means that Texas has too many catchers, and if Brian Schneider doesn’t pan out… well, you get the drift…

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Interesting interview between Amazin Avenue/Jonathan Mayo:

Q: With Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber gone and Mike Pelfrey a big leaguer (presumably), the Mets' top pitching prospects are mostly guys who were drafted last year. Who do you like out of that crop?

Mayo: Eddie Kunz is the guy who'll ge there the fastest. I know his AFL stint was less than impressive, but he was gassed by that point. Look for him to move quickly. I love that the Mets took some chances on some high school arms. Even though the system's not deep, they're the kind of organization that can afford to put in the time and be patient developing some of them. I think Nathan Vineyard already has a pretty nice idea of how to pitch and will become even better when he adds velocity to the fastball. Scott Moviel is more of a project -- I thought he might go to NC State like Andrew Brackman -- but the Mets got him signed and his GCL debut was encouraging. With a guy that big, a lot can go wrong mechanically, so they'll probably have to take it slow with him. But the end result could be worth the wait.

Mack: Wwhat’s interesting is the names Kunz and Vineyard consistently come up on everybody’s top Ten spring prospect list, even though neither one burned up their first Mets season. However, in fairness, both these kids were pitched out and most experts believe their Mets stats at the end of the year do not reflect their ability to dominate in this league. The proverbial ‘we’ll see…’

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Injury bug out early this year:

The Mets haven’t even played one inning of a Grapefruit game and already…

Fr: NYP – Carlos Delgado’s power numbers were down across the board last year, but he insisted it was more a matter of mechanics than diminishing skills or the even more worrisome trend of declining bat speed.

Fr: Newsday: Endy Chavez was happy to report Monday that both of his hamstrings are feeling just fine. His left ankle, however, is not quite up to speed yet.

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Rotoword listed its own top ten Mets prospects and guess who was number one?

1. Fernando Martinez - OF - DOB: 10/10/88 - ETA: 2010

.111/.200/.333, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 6/1 K/BB, 0 SB in 9 AB (R GCL Mets)

.271/.336/.377, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 51/20 K/BB, 3 SB in 236 AB (AA Binghamton)

Sure, they needed a center fielder, but it's hard to believe the Twins sent Johan Santana to the Mets without getting the team's best prospect in return. That was Martinez, though the four players the Twins received would have occupied the next four spots on New York's list. Martinez, who received a $1.4 million bonus to sign at age 16, quickly established himself as a top prospect by hitting .333/.389/.505 in 192 at-bats at low-A Hagerstown in his pro debut in 2006. Moved up in August, he proceeded to bat .193/.254/.387 in 119 AB for high-A St. Lucie. Still, the Mets opted to get extremely aggressive and send him to Double-A for his age-18 season. He barely held his own in 60 games when he wasn't sidelined with hand injuries, but even that was rather impressive. Martinez is an enormous talent with 35-homer potential and the ability to hit for average. He should also prove to be an above average defender in right field with experience. He's at least one and probably two years away, but he's a star in the making.

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Veterans in their Contract Walk Years, 2008

There are certain players that will play the 2008 season in the last year of their contract. Meaning, they can sign with another team at the end of this season. Here are the crème on the top of the list for some positions the Mets might consider making changes:

Pitchers: A.J. Burnett Andy Pettite Ben Sheets Brad Lidge Brad Penny

Eric Gagne Jason Isringhausen Joe Nathan John Lackey John Smoltz

Outfielders: Adam Dunn Bobby Abreu Carl Crawford C C Sabathia Derek Lowe

Pat Burrell Vladimir Guerrero Ken Griffey Jr. Manny Ramirez

First Base: Jason Giambi Mark Teixeira

2nd Base: Jeff Kent Mark Ellis Orlando Hudson

Catcher: Kenji Johjima

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Ex-Mets:

The Seattle Mariners claimed RHP Anderson Garcia off waivers from the Phillies…OF Jay Payton isn't sure what the Orioles plan to do with him given their current outfield situation. "I could be here all year, I could be here half the year, I could be here another five days," Payton said… The Cardinals probably won't use Jason Isringhausen in games until late March. Izzy made his spring debut on March 15 last year. He's healthy, but he's typically been on a different schedule than the Cardinals' other pitchers… Finally commenting on the Mitchell Report, Paul Lo Duca admitted to "mistakes in judgment" on Saturday. The statement read in part: "In regards to Senator [George] Mitchell's Report, I apologize to my family, all my fans and to the entire baseball community for [the] mistakes in judgment I made in the past and for the distractions that resulted."… from DuckSnorts: 2008 projections: P Heath Bell – 81 IP – 2.76 ERA… Jeff Keppinger has made the Cincinnati roster as a utility player… The Phillies agreed to terms with RHP Kris Benson on a minor league contract and invited him to spring training… the Marlins sent RHP Marcos Carvajal outright to Triple-A Albuquerque and invited him to spring training… RP Joe D'Alessandro signed with the New Jersey Jackals… non-roster invitees to ST… Astros- Mike Dejean, Victor Diaz, David Newhan … Blue Jays- Kane Davis, Wayne Lydon, Matt Watson … Cubs- Shingo Takatsu, Luis Figueroa … Dodgers- Chan Ho Park, Tom Martin … Giants- Bartolome Fortunato, Brett Harper, Scott McClain … Indians- Matt Ginter, Jorge Julio, Rich Rundles --- Mariners- Mark Kiger … Marlins- Gaby Hernandez, Bob Keppel, Joe Nelson, Tagg Bozied … Nats- Alex Escobar, Mike Bacsik, Jorge Padilla … Orioles- Steve Trachsel … Padres- Chip Ambres, Shawn Estes, Glendon Rusch … Phillies- Andy Tracy, Vic Darensbourg … Pirates- Hector Carrasco, Doug Mientkiewicz, Jorge Velandia … Rangers- Edgardo Alfonzo … Rays- Mike Difelice … Red Sox- Gil Velazquez … Reds- Jon Adkins, Scott Sauerbeck … Rockies- Victor Zambrano.., Royals- Brian Lawrence, Hideo Nomo, Matt Peterson … Tigers- Timo Perez … Twins- Deolis Guerra, Drew Butera, Kevin Mulvey, Randy Keisler, Chris Basak … White Sox- Miguel Negron … Yankees- Billy Traber, Chris Woodward, Scott Strickland… Former Mets pinch-hitter Matt Franco, who played for Bobby Valentine in Japan following his big league career, has retired. He is 38. Franco last played in the big leagues in 2003, his second season with the Braves… Former shortstop Jose Vizcaino, hired by the Dodgers as a special assistant, shares a long history with second baseman Jeff Kent. They were teammates with the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros and twice were paired in trades, going first from the Mets to the Indians and then from the Indians to the Giants… Paul Byrd is still awaiting word from the commissioner's office on whether he'll face any kind of punishment for his HGH usage…

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Roster Changes:

Prospects SS Wilmer Flores has been added to the VSL Mets roster and Jefry Marte is now listed on the DSL Mets squad. They were born in 1991. That was the year I sold my radio stations. Jeez… also new to the DSL squad is 17 year old P Jose Feliz. The GCL Mets have already added 18-year- old prospect SS Ruben Tejada to their roster.

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Baseball Prospectus made their divisional predictions this week:

East

1. New York Mets PECOTA predicts they'll allow 665 runs in 2008.

2. Atlanta Braves PECOTA predicts they'll bat .272 as a team in 2008.

3. Philadelphia Phillies PECOTA predicts they'll lose 78 games in 2008.

4. Florida Marlins PECOTA predicts they'll score 760 runs in 2008.

5. Washington Nationals PECOTA predicts they'll lose 90 games in 2008.

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According to Scoutingbook.com, there are 241 prospects in the 2008 minor leagues.

Also according to them, the Mets only have four:

28th: OF Fernando Martinez:

When the Mets assigned Martinez to be the youngest prospect to attend the Arizona Fall League, many were left skeptical of the Mets' chances at maximizing their value with the phenom. After all, in his final 15 games in the Florida State League, Martinez had gone 9-for-57 with three extra-base hits and 13 strikeouts. However, injuries had kept Martinez inactive for much of his first full season, so the AFL presented an opportunity for consistent playing time. Martinez significantly responded, displaying huge power potential from the left side. It appears the Mets know how to handle the teenager, who could use some time in the weight room and some improvements against southpaws to take the next step in 2008. The idea of Martinez and crosstown phenom Tabata reaching New York at the same time almost seems too good to be true, but the Mets haven't been this excited about an outfielder in a very while.

115th: 1B Mike Carp:

A power hitter who swings hard and misses often, Carp is also saddled with horrendous L-R splits. In 2007 he hit only .238 with just three home runs (in 151 at-bats) vs LHP. Since his defense is unspectacular and he has no special baserunning ability, Carp needs to figure out how to hit lefties if he's ever going to be anything other than a reserve or platoon player. He's likely to get one last chance with the Mets in AAA this year, but if he does not perform, don't expect to see him on any prospect lists next season

139th: 1B Nick Evans:

The Mets 5th round selection in the 2004 amateur draft, Evans always put up solid numbers, but really broke open in the summer of 2007. Firmly taking hold of his future as middle of the order power bat, Evans hit .286/.374/.476 in 378 ABs for St. Lucie. His blossoming as a power threat has scouts not only relisting him over the Mets other 1B prospect, Mike Carp... they're looking at a 30-homer, 100RBI future in the middle of the Mets lineup.

181st – RP Joe Smith:

The man with the least-memorable name in baseball lived up to it in 2007, putting in more than fifty quality appearances for the Mets... but nobody noticed. Incredibly, his low innings mean he remains rookie-eligible for 2008, despite the fact he appeared in exactly one third of all Mets games last season. While his stuff could use a bit more sizzle, Smith was a serviceable setup man on a beaten-up Mets team, and he remains one of their best prospects going forward.

Mack