Mack Attack: June 7, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Saturday, June 7, 2008

Question: Why Such a Change in Direction This Year During The Draft?

-let’s face it… Omar & Co. has basically had once philosophy regarding the draft since he took over the team and that is to draft as many tall starting pitchers, especially if they are lefties. He did adjust that a little the last couple of years and threw in some high round relief pitchers, but basically the first day (and the last) of the draft has been pitcher dominated.

-add to that the fact that the high end of the system (AAA and AA) has been decimated, especially with the Jeff Conine, Luis Castillo, and Johan Santana trades.

-so, the Mets system is in disarray and the win-loss record of all 4 top minor league clubs reflect that, but, let’s take a little closer look at the starting pitching on 4 teams with no bats:

-going into Friday night’s games (and a couple of these guys were throwing a couple of great games while I wrote this), here are some of the current ERA’s from the rotational guys:

B-Mets: Jon Niese (3.47), Sal Aguilar (3.51)
Lucy: Dillon Gee (3.91), Dylan Owen (3.51), Tobi Stoner (2.74)
Gnats: Mike Antonini (2.94), Angel Calero (2.57), Maikel Cleto (3.73), Elvin Ramirez (3.15)

That’s 9 starters with a ERA under 4, and we didn’t even add in the guys from New Orleans (Tony Armas: 2.29 – Ruddy Lugo: 3.86).

And, these are for teams that have offensively sucked all year long. No, Omar definitely changed the direction of the draft this year to positional players for one reason and one reason only. The Mets need 5 starters… have Santana, Pelfrey, and Maine under contract, will re-sign Pedro, and all they have to do in 2009 is sign one FA and then develop one of these 1 or 2 of these guys over the next 3-4 years.

(we’ll look at the relief pitching tomorrow)

 

Draft Picks Yesterday/Today:

Javier Rodriguez OF R R 6-2 165 Puerto Rico Baseball Academy

The Mets drafted Rodriguez in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis OF 6-2 Azuza Pacific

Nieuwenhuis was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft by the New York

Mets. 2008 college stats: .400/.496/.724 15 HRs 68 RBIs 0-1 7.71

From his college website:

Junior • 6-2 • OF/RHPHighlands Ranch, CO (Denver Christian HS)THIS YEAR: Junior center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Baseball America’s 2008 NAIA Preseason Player of the Year, returns after a standout sophomore season to lead the Azusa Pacific offense … Had a breakout summer campaign in which he earned Alaska Baseball League MVP honors … Will be the centerpiece and hit in the middle of the Cougar lineup … Possesses a dangerous power/speed combination … Will make a run at several program career records.

From BA:

2007: Batted .399 (87-for-218) in 59 games to help lead Azusa Pacific to its fourth NAIA World Series appearance in program history and its first since 1984 - Junior center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Baseball America’s 2008 NAIA Preseason Player of the Year, returns after a standout sophomore season to lead the Azusa Pacific offense … Had a breakout summer campaign in which he earned Alaska Baseball League MVP honors … Will be the centerpiece and hit in the middle of the Cougar lineup … Possesses a dangerous power/speed combination … Will make a run at several program career records.

Sean Ratliff OF L L 6-3 225 2-24-87 Stanford University

The Mets drafted Ratliff in the 4th round of the 2008 draft.

From Baseball America:

Stanford's top talent, junior outfielder Sean Ratliff, might have worked into the first-round mix with more polish at the plate. His 18 homers ranked fifth in the Pac-10, he runs well for his 6-foot-3, 225-pound size, and he has enough arm to hit 92 mph off the mound. It's a prototype right-field profile, but Ratliff has an unorthodox swing with holes in it, and he swings and misses a lot. His 72 strikeouts tied for second-worst in Division I entering regional play

From the Stanford website:

As A Junior In 2008: On the 2008 Wallace Award Watch List • Leads the team in homers, RBI, and triples (4) • Hitting .285 with 17 home runs, 54 RBI and six stolen bases • Had a torrid career-high-tying 13-game hit streak from March 8 - April 5, going 22-for-51 (.431) with five doubles, two triples, seven homers and 22 RBI • One of three players to have started all 53 games • Homered four times over three-game span (May 4-6) • Has one of the team's three grand slams during the 2008 season (5/4 at San Jose State) • Has made three appearances on the mound, pitching 3.0 innings for a 2-0 record and a 6.00 ERA.

From MLB.com:

Hitting Ability: He's not a pure hitter, not being consistent enough from at-bat to at-bat.
Power: He's got pretty good power and showed home run pop to the pull side.
Running Speed: He grades out as average, at best.
Base running: He handled himself OK on the bases.
Arm Strength: He wasn't tested in this game, but he's shown a strong arm as a guy who's done some pitching.
Fielding: He's playing CF now and looks OK, but he may not be able to stay there in the future.
Range: He has average range in center right now.
Physical Description: Ratliff is a big, strong, left-handed hitter.
Medical Update: Healthy.
Strengths: Power bat, with home-run potential.
Weaknesses: Inconsistency. He hasn't shown the ability to make consistent contact.
Summary: College power hitters are always going to draw interest, even inconsistent ones. Ratliff hasn't always been able to make consistent contact, but he manages to show enough to remain intriguing. A center fielder for now, the team who thinks he'll turn his sometimes power into something frequent enough to man a corner spot will take a chance on him

 

Mets Top 10 Draft Picks: - 2005:

 

1st Rd. RHP Mike Pelfrey – In 2008 Mets rotation – pitched great game last night

4th Rd. 2B Hector Pellot - having horrible year at A+/Lucy

5th Rd. C Andrew Butera - traded to Twins for Luis Castillo – playing 2008 AA

6th Rd. OF Gregory Cain - only 2 seasons in Mets org – career over after 2006

7th Rd. LHP Jon Niese - currently top Mets pitching prospect – AA/B-Mets

8th Rd. C Sean McCraw - having horrible season at A+

9th Rd. RHP Robert Parnell - currently #2 pitching prospect - AA/B-Mets

10th Rd. OF Courtney Billingslea - 2 miserable yrs in Mets org. – played Indy ball 2007

 

Zephyrs:

Jose Valentin was added to the roster and Joselo Diaz was given his outright release.

The New Orleans Zephyrs used timely hitting and another home run from Chris Aguila to rally past the Oklahoma RedHawks on Friday, 8-6, in front of the largest crowd at Zephyr Field this season. Aguila hit a three-run homer in the sixth to erase a 4-1 deficit, and the Zephyrs broke the tie with four runs in the seventh to take the second game of the four-game series with the division-leading RedHawks. The win moved the Zephyrs back within two games of first place in the American Southern.

The home run by Aguila was his seventh in his last seven games, and gives him 16 for the season, third-most in the Pacific Coast League.

With the game knotted at 4-4 in the seventh, the Z's loaded the bases with nobody out on a double by Anderson Hernandez, a bunt single by Argenis Reyes, and a walk to Jose Valentin. With Jesus Feliciano batting .362 against left-handed pitchers entering the game, Oklahoma turned to southpaw Bill White, and Feliciano greeted him with a line drive into right-center field to score two runs.

 

B-Mets:

1B/OF Nick Evans optioned to Binghamton.

SS/2B Matt Smith assigned to Extended Spring Training.

2B Emmanuel Garcia activated from Temporary Inactive List

Ambiorix Concepcion hit a two-run homer in the eighth, helping the Binghamton Mets to a 3-2 win over the New Britain Rock Cats at NYSEG Stadium Friday. The victory is Binghamton’s third in a row and eighth in their last nine games.

After New Britain (28-32) went ahead in the fourth on David Winfree’s RBI double off Jonathon Niese, the B-Mets (32-28) scratched out a run against Rock Cats starter Oswaldo Sosa in the fifth. Emmanuel Garcia walked and Jose Coronado singled, putting runners at the corners with no outs. Rafael Arroyo hit into a double play, but Garcia scored to tie the game 1-1.

New Britain went up 2-1 in the sixth on Felix Molina’s run-scoring single off German Marte. The score remained the same until the eighth. Nick Evans drew a one-out walk off Jay Sawatski. Two batters later, Concepcion launched a two-run shot over the left-centerfield fence that put the B-Mets ahead for good.

Eude Brito (2-1) replaced Marte and retired all four to face him. Eddie Kunz came on to get the final two outs, which included Caleb Stewart and Jose Coronado teaming up to throw out Toby Gardenhire at the plate to preserve the lead. Kunz earned his 15th save in 16 chances.

Gnats:

Lance Pendleton and three relievers combined for a four-hit shutout as the visiting Charleston RiverDogs earned a 2-0 win over the Sand Gnats before 2,662 at Historic Grayson Stadium on Friday evening.

Charleston (41-20) scored the only runs of the contest on a two-run double from Brandon Laird with two outs in the sixth. The hit ended Savannah starter Mike Antonini’s outing and handed the ‘Dogs a 2-0 advantage.

Savannah (27-34) had opportunities in the sixth and seventh but came up empty. With two aboard in the sixth, Casey Craig and Jordan Abruzzo each flied out to end the threat.

With Francisco Pena on second with two outs in the seventh, Jake Eigsti blooped a single to left, but Austin Krum made a great throw to the plate to cut down Pena trying to score.

Pendleton (5-2) earned the win, allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 6 in 5.2 innings. Jonathan Ortiz struck out a pair in the ninth for his 18th save.

Antonini (4-4) pitched well in the loss, permitting 2 unearned runs on 5 hits in 5.2 innings. The left-hander tied a season-high with 8 strikeouts while walking none. Both 8 strikeout games have come in losses for Antonini.

Greg Veloz had a pair of hits to lead the Gnats while Laird and Krum paced Charleston with a pair of hits apiece.

 

Minor Mets Bios:

Adam Bostick SP L L 6-1 220 3-17-83 Greensburg-Salem (Pa.) High School

Bostick was selected by Florida Marlins in 6th Round (182nd overall) of 2001 amateur entry draft. He signed for a $150,0000 bonus and was immediately assigned to the GCL Marlin team where, according to Baseball Cube, he pitched 0.0 innings over 7 starts, giving up 57 runs and posting an ERA of 720,000,000.00. Let’s all assume that’s wrong. Bostick missed the entire 2002 season following surgery to transpose a nerve in his elbow. 2003 through 2006 were spent at Jamestown (A-), Greensboro (A), Jupiter (A+), Carolina (AA) and finally, Albuquerque (AAA) in 2006. He was a starter throughout his Marlins minor league career. This was a guy that, when in A ball, struck out 163 batters in 114 innings.

On Nov 20, 2006, Bostick was traded by the Marlins with Jason Vargas to Mets for Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens. Various scouting reports have said that he has a smooth delivery, and pitches at 88-90 mph and tops out at 93 mph. He has known for having the best curveball in the Marlins system, but his changeup needs work. He also has had erratic command and shown a lack of endurance, but only gave up 7 home runs in the 2006 season. Experts project him as a lefty specialist if he masters his control problems and gets to the big leagues.

John Sickles’ 2007 Top Mets prospects has him at #10, with a C+ rating, plus the following comments: “good breaking ball…” In fact, Sickles has always been high on Bostick. In January 2007, Rotoworld listed Bostick as the 13th top Mets prospect of 2007. Bostick pitched the entire 2007 season for New Orleans (6-7, 5.66, 1.56, in 21 games, 20 starts). In September 2007, Bostick was assigned to play in the Arizona Winter League (which is always a sign that the organization wants to invest more time and money in you). In October 2007, Bostick was assigned to play in the Arizona Winter League. In late January 2007, Baseball America ranked him as the 23rd overall Mets prospect. Also in February 2008, Rotoworld ranked Bostick as the #12 Mets prospect.

 

Ex-Mets:

Chan Ho Park pitched three scoreless innings in the Dodgers' loss to the Rockies on Wednesday to lower his earned-run average to 2.21