Mack Attack: June 8, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Sunday, June 8, 2008

Final Rundown of the Draft:

RHP (Starter) - Holt (1a), Beaulac (9), Hebert (HS) (7), Kaplan (11), Shaw (13), Moore (14), McHugh (18), Rosenbaum (19), Schwinden (22), Allen (HS) (24), Smith (42), Bischoff (47)

RHP (Reliever) - Babin (16), Turgeon (25), Lynn (30), Powers (31), Grbavac (32), Goldberg (36)

LHP (Starter) - Valenzuela(HS) (10), Cohoon (12), Fuller (21), Johnson (28), Houck (17), Erickson (37), Hilliard (38), Ricard (44)

C - Doyle (5), Moras (20), Hinojosa (HS) (39), Howe (41)

1B - Davis (1), Bruno (HS) (15), Flagg (27), Phillips (45), McNulty (49)

2B - Satin (6), Giuffre (HS) (29), Suire (35)

SS - Havens (1)

3B - Campbell (8)

OF - Rodriguez (HS) (2), Nieuwenheis (3), Ratliff (4), Leblanc (23), Servidio (26), Medchill (33), Garber (34), Williams (40), McGonigle (43), Gump (46), Baisley (48), Brunty (HS) (50)

 

Question: What’s The State of Minor League Relief Pitching:

We mentioned yesterday how well the SPs were doing on 4 teams that can win their games on bats alone. There simply is not enough bats in the organization, especially at the lower levels.

So, how has the relief pitching worked out with the new emphasis on drafting high round relievers?

Well first of all, Henry Owens has gone on to become a successful reliever, but just not on the Mets. No, I don’t want to talk about who he was trade for.

Next, Joe Smith is on the Mets.

Following that… and remember… these are WHIPs for relievers for 4 bad teams:

AAA - Willie Collazo (1.11), Tim McNab (0.97), & Carlos Muniz (1.10)

AA - Eddie Camacho (1.18), Joe Hietpas (1.23), and Tim LaVigne (1.50)

A+ - Emary Frederick (0.94)

A - Nick Waechter (1.21), Edgar Ramirez (1.09), Jose Bierd (1.19) & Steve Cheney (1.22)

That’s 11 quality relievers to add to 11 quality starters this year… for 4 teams with a combined win-loss record of something you don’t want to know.

That’s why Omar went for the bats this year.

 

Players On The Bubble at the All-Star Break

It will be interesting to see how many of these 23-24 year old college draftees go straight to upper level Mets affiliates once they are assigned. Figuring it might happen, here’s some guys that need to not be called into the manager’s office in the next week:

AAA - Anderson Hernandez (.200), & Nate Field (6.65/1.61)

AA - Rafael Arroyo (.194), Jon Malo (.200), Emmanuel Garcia (.219), Eric Brown (2-5, 6.79), & Robert Paulk (15.23/3.08)

A+ - Hector Pellot (.165), Jason Jacobs (.205), Brahiam Maldonado (.217), J.R. Voyles (27.00/3.00), Stephen Clyne (9.86/1.95), and Nick Carr (0-7, 7.19)

A - John Holdzkon (8.69/2.59), Julio Polanco (6.83), Michael Parker (.216), & Matt Bouchard (.218, 17 errors)

 

Draft Picks Yesterday/Today:

Joshua Satin 2B R R 6-2 12-23-84 UC Berkeley

The Mets drafted Satin in the 6th round of the 2008 draft. He’s already 24 years old.

From Baseball America pre-draft:

Phelps' closest comparison may be California senior Josh Satin, who after two difficult springs put it all together as a senior. Satin showed he can hit with wood in the Cape Cod League—he was the league's all-star MVP in 2006—and has above-average bat speed that produces excellent power. He has played mostly second base in college, though many scouts believe he's a better fit in the outfield as a pro due to fringy range and infield actions.

John Manuel/BA comments draft day:

"How did Josh Satin last until the sixth round? That’s a surprise, but he’s a college value pick with legit power and a small chance to stay at second base as a pro. The California senior has enough ability to be a useful outfielder and has the raw power to at least have a chance to reach the big leagues. He could be a utility player if he retains his athleticism and can play second or third base. Satin was the Cape Cod League all-star game MVP in 2007."

Michael Hebert RHP R R 6-3 180 8-11-90 Saugus H.S. (CA.)

The Mets drafted Hebert in the 7th round of the 2008 draft.

 

Eric Campbell 3B R R 6-3 225 4-9-87 Boston College

The Mets drafted Campbell in the 8th round of the 2008 draft.

Highlights from Boston College:

As a Junior (2008) - .306/.386/.498 - 209 Abs 43 R 6 HRs 41 RBIs 23 BB 34 Ks .948 Fld%

As a Sophomore (2007) - Played in and started all 52 games, including 29 ACC contests ... earned All-ACC second-team honors ...registered 51 starts at third base ... finished the season ranked first on the team in eight offensive categories - batting average (.350), hits (70), doubles (20), RBIs (41), total bases (102), extra-base hits (24), slugging percentage (.510) and on base percentage (.432) ... hit .369 (41-for-111) with runners on base ... batted .355 (49-for-138) against right-handed pitchers; recorded a .339 (21-for-62) batting average against left-handed pitchers ... ranked second in the ACC in doubles with 20 ... tallied 35 runs and walked 23 times ... totaled 20 multiple-hit games, including seven games of three hits or more ... collected 11 multiple-RBI games ... registered a three-hit game with two runs and two RBIs against Villanova (3/27) ... went 4-for-5, including a double and three-run home run at Maryland (4/14) ... had a 3-for-5 performance with two doubles against Wake Forest (4/22).
As a Freshman (2006) - Played in and started 54 games, including all 30 ACC contests ... recorded 49 starts at third base, four starts in left field and one start at first base ... hit .260 in 196 plate appearances and .245 in 106 plate appearances in conference play ... was 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts ... collected 16 multi-hit performances, including one three-hit performance and one four-hit game ... had 10 multi-RBI games, including one four-RBI game ... recorded 18 walks and 32 RBI; his 32 RBIs were good for third best on the team ... went 4-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored vs. Pittsburgh (3/5) ... collected three hits and added two runs scored and one RBI vs. Duke (4/1) ... went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored against Harvard (4/11).

 

 

Mets Top 10 Draft Picks: - 2006:

2nd Rd. RHP Kevin Mulvey - traded to Minny (Santana) - 3-6, 4.07 for AAA-Minny

3rd Rd. RHP Joe Smith - pitching in the New York Mets bullpen

4th Rd. RHP John Holdzkom - miserable season in Savannah

5th Rd. RHP Stephen Holmes – on IR since signing

6th Rd. RHP Scott Schafer - on IR - in extended camp

7th Rd. OF Daniel Stegall 2 miserable seasons in2007/2008 – now in Extended camp

8th Rd RHP Nathan Hedrick - in Extended Camp

9th Rd OF Jeremy Barfield - never signed

10th Rd. RHP - Phillips Orta - wallowing in Extended Camp

 

Zephyrs:

The New Orleans Zephyrs capitalized on three walks and an error in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving them a 3-2 win over the Oklahoma RedHawks on Saturday. Anderson Machado drew a leadoff walk against Oklahoma reliever Steve Rowe, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Nickeas. After falling behind in the count 2-0, the RedHawks elected to intentionally walk Anderson Hernandez. But Rowe (1-2) walked Argenis Reyes to load the bases, setting the stage for Zephyrs newcomer Jose Valentin. With the infield drawn in, the 38-year-old Valentin hit a soft grounder up the first base line, but first baseman Chris Davis let the ball get under his glove, scoring the game-winning run.
Nelson Figueroa overcame a rocky first inning to breeze through the final six frames, finishing with seven innings of work and allowing two runs on two hits. Both of the hits came in the game's first four batters, when Oklahoma grabbed a 2-0 lead. The Zephyrs tied the game on a third inning home run by Michel Abreu, his fourth of the season, and an RBI single by Nickeas in the fifth. Brandon Knight earned his first win as a Zephyr by pitching a scoreless 10th inning, allowing one hit and recording one strikeout. With the win, the Z's climbed within one game of the RedHawks for the division lead, the closest they have been to first place since a half-game deficit on May 11.

 

 

Lucy:

Roster move: Add IF Brian Burgamy to roster… Send OF Chris Fournier to Brooklyn

 

This Day In Mets History:

2001 - Damon Easley becomes the ninth player in Tiger history to hit for the cycle, and the first Detroit player since 1993 when Travis Fryman accomplished the feat. The New York City native's eighth inning right-field triple completes the deed in the 9-4 victory over the Brewers.

 

And lastly:

Jim McKay, the veteran and eloquent sportscaster thrust into the role of telling Americans about the tragedy at the 1972 Munich Olympics, has died. He was 87.