The Mack Attack - 5-10-8

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Saturday, May 10, 2008

May 10, 2008

Mets News

The Mets have made 115 pitching changes this season, second most in the major leagues behind the Braves

A person familiar with the Mets' thinking, who requested anonymity because he was relaying details of private conversations, said Mets management is planning a reevaluation at the end of this month. The off season acquisitions of Johan Santana, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider improved the roster, and if the team hasn't found a way to assert itself in the division by June, the Wilpons will look seriously at whether a change is necessary in the manager's office. Now, this same person said that, unless the Mets fall completely out of the race, Randolph is likely to last through this season. GM Omar Minaya likely will stick up for him, and there's no clear-cut candidate, inside the organization or out, waiting to take Randolph's place midseason. – NJ.com

Draft:

Project Prospect’s potential 1st rounders:

Alonso, Yonder * 1B 21.0 Miami 4/8/1987

Alvarez, Pedro * 3B 21.2 Vanderbilt 2/6/1987

Beckham, Gordon * SS 21.5 Georgia 10/16/1986

Beckham, Tim * SS 18.2 Griffin HS 1/27/1990

Cole, Gerrit RHP 17.6 Lutheran Orange 9/8/1990

Cooper, David 1B 21.2 Cal 2/12/1987

Crow, Aaron * RHP 21.4 Missouri 11/11/1986

Danks, Jordan CF 21.7 Texas 8/7/1986

Davis, Ike OF 21.1 Arizona State 3/22/1987

DeVall, Brett LHP 18.3 Niceville HS 1/8/1990

Dykstra, Allan 1B 20.9 Wake Forest 5/21/1987

Fields, Joshua RHP 22.7 Georgia 8/19/1985

Friedrich, Christian LHP 20.8 Eastern Kentucky 7/8/1987

Galloway, Isaac OF 18.5 Los Osos HS 10/10/1989

Havens, Reese SS 21.5 South Carolina 10/20/1986

Hicks, Aaron RHP/OF 18.5 Wilson HS 10/2/1989

Hosmer, Eric * 1B 18.5 American Heritage 10/24/1989

Hunt, Shooter RHP 21.7 Tulane 8/16/1986

Kelly, Casey SS 18.5 Sarasota HS 10/4/1989

Lynn, Lance RHP 20.9 Ole Miss 5/12/1987

Martin, Ethan RHP/3B 18.9 Stephens County HS 6/6/1989

Matusz, Brian * LHP 21.2 San Diego 2/11/1987

Melville, Tim RHP 18.5 Holt High 10/9/1989

Meyer, Alex * RHP 18.3 Greensburg HS 1/3/1990

Odorizzi, Jake RHP 18.1 Highland HS 3/27/1990

Posey, Buster * C 21.1 Florida State 3/27/1987

Ross, Tyson RHP 21.0 Cal 4/22/1987

Scheppers, Tanner * RHP 21.3 Fresno State 1/17/1987

Skipworth, Kyle * C 18.1 Patriot HS 3/1/1990

Smoak, Justin * 1B 21.4 South Carolina 12/5/1986

Wallace, Brett * 1B 21.7 Arizona State 8/26/1986

Weeks, Jemile 2B 21.2 Miami 1/26/1987

 

Draft Order in 1st Round:

1. Tampa Bay Rays 11. Texas Rangers 21. Detroit Tigers

2. Pittsburgh Pirates 12. Oakland Athletics 22. New York Mets

3. Kansas City Royals 13. St. Louis Cardinals 23. San Diego Padres

4. Baltimore Orioles 14. Minnesota Twins 24. Philadelphia

5. San Francisco Giants 15. Los Angeles Dodgers 25. Colorado Rockies

6. Florida Marlins 16. Milwaukee Brewers 26. Arizona

7. Cincinnati Reds 17. Toronto Blue Jays 27. Minnesota Twins

8. Chicago White Sox 18. New York Mets 28. New York Yankees

9. Washington Nationals 19. Chicago Cubs 29. Cleveland

10. Houston Astros 20. Seattle Mariners 30. Boston Red Sox

 

Mets Contracts

Omar Minaya - Executive VP of Baseball Operations & GM - 5 years/about $4M (2005-09) - hired 9/04 - signed 1-year contract as Montreal GM for 2004 - signed 2-year contract as Montreal GM (2002-03)

B-Mets:

Upcoming Pitching:

Saturday: Jon Niese (2-3, 3.44)

Sunday: Jose Sanchez (2-2, 4.93)

Monday: Bobby Parnell (2-2, 5.82)

 

Gnats:

Right-handed pitcher Brant Rustich has been added to the Savannah roster and will join the Sand Gnats in Hickory, the New York Mets announced today.

Rustich was drafted in the second round of the 2007 amateur draft out of the University of California Los Angeles. The 6-6 Rustich is the sixth best prospect in the Mets’ organization according to Baseball America. Brant had stints in Kingsport and Brooklyn last year where he was nearly flawless. With Kingsport, he was 1-0 in 5 games (2 starts) and featured a 0.87 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched. In Brooklyn, he was 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 games with 11 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. The 23-year-old Rustich was drafted after his redshirt-junior season with the Bruins when he went 3-2 with a 6.67 ERA. Prior to a finger injury during his junior season, Rustich was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six games. Brant is a native of San Diego, Calif. and graduated from Grossmont High School in La Mesa, Calif. in 2003. Rustich, Casey Craig and Jordan Abruzzo all played high school baseball in the San Diego East County area.

Minor League Bios:

Brant Rustich P R R 6-6 225 1-23-85 UCLA

Rustich’s 2007 stats with UCLA: 20 appearances (1 start), 3-2, 6 saves, 6.67 ERA, 29.2 IP, 31 H, 20 BB, 28 Ks, 3HRs, .265 BA.

A scouting report prior to draft:

Fastball: Rustich features a fastball that sits in the 93-94 mph range.

Slider: Rustich's slider is a plus pitch at times.

Changeup: Rustich has thrown a changeup in the past, but didn't throw one in the weekend series against Winthrop.

Split-fingered fastball: He's thrown a split in the past, but didn't in his two outings over the weekend, perhaps scrapping it because of 2006 finger surgery.

Control: The closer commanded both pitches well over the weekend.

Physical Description: Big, imposing presence on the mound.

Medical Update: Rustich pitched in just six games in 2006 before a finger injury forced him to red shirt. He had surgery, but seemed to throw fine in the opening weekend, albeit without the split.

Strengths: Good two-pitch mix, presence for back bullpen.

Weaknesses: He doesn't have the pure power stuff necessarily to be a big league closer and he lacks deception. Some felt he'd have more value as a starter.

Summary: Overall, it was a good opening weekend for Rustich, who answered some questions about his finger. His delivery had improved from the previous year, with a slightly higher arm slot.

Another scouting report:

A physical beast at a listed 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, at times Rustich has three above-average pitches in his 93-96 mph fastball, power slider (at times touching 87 mph) and split-finger fastball. He's still bothered by a finger injury that caused him to redshirt last season, and his command is nearly nonexistent. In terms of stuff, he's a first-round talent, but his lack of pitchability makes him a 22-year-old with a 6.10 career ERA and 75 walks in 124 innings.

And a local article just after the draft:

UCLA right-handed pitcher was selected by the New York Mets in the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft Thursday afternoon. Rustich, the 93rd overall selection in the 2007 draft, became the 28th baseball player in school history to be chosen in the first two rounds.

Rustich, a hard-throwing 6-foot-6-inch right-hander from El Cajon, Calif., leads the Bruins with six saves this season. The redshirt junior has tallied a 3-2 record and a 6.67 ERA in 20 appearances, striking out 28 batters in 29.2 innings. Rustich limited hitters to a .265 clip and made one start midway through the season.

Rustich becomes just the seventh Bruin to have been chosen by the New York Mets. At least one UCLA ballplayer has been selected within the first two rounds in three of the past four drafts. The former Grossmont High School standout received a medical redshirt in 2006 after suffering a finger injury. Rustich recorded a 1.50 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings of relief that season.

The Mets drafted Rustich in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft. He started the 2007 season for Kingsport (1-0, 0.87 in 5 games, 2 starts), but was quickly promoted to Brooklyn (2-0, 2.13, 0.39 in 10 appearances).

In September 2007, Rustich was assigned to play in the Hawaiian Winter League (which is always a sign that the organization wants to invest more time and money in you). It is also quite an honor for someone who was drafted in the same year to be assigned this high. Aslo in September, Baseball America ranked Rustich as the 20th top prospect to come out of the NY-Penn league.

In November 2007, Scouts.com ranked Rustich as the 4th top Mets prospect, while BA had him 6th.

In late January 2007, Baseball America ranked him as the 6th overall Mets prospect.

In February 2008, Baseball Prospectus awarded him a 3-star rating and ranked him as the 5th overall Mets prospect.

Also in February 2008, Rotoworld ranked Rustich as the #7 Mets prospect, saying:

Rustich was terribly inconsistent at UCLA, posting a 6.10 ERA and a 114/75 K/BB ratio in 124 career innings. He wasn't any better last year, finishing with a 6.67 ERA and a 28/20 K/BB ratio in 29 2/3 innings. Still, the Mets made him a second-round pick and he pulled off a stunning turnaround in the low minors, finishing with a 21/2 K/BB ratio in 23 innings. Rustich throws in the mid-90s and has a powerful build, so it's not surprising that he was drafted as early as he was. Still, he figured to be a long-term project. Now it's conceivable that he could see the majors before the end of this year, depending on whether his command holds up. He has a better chance than Kunz of turning into a closer someday. However, he's also the more likely of the two to have no significant career at all.

Ex-Mets:

From Adam Rubin:

Don’t blame Jeff Keppinger for the Reds’ offensive struggles. The former Met, who had an intermediate stop in Kansas City after being traded by the Amazin’s for Ruben Gotay, has the NL’s second-best average with runners in scoring position (.444, trailing only the Dodgers’ Juan Pierre). He’s also the third-hardest to strike out in the league. Until first-year manager Dusty Baker rested Keppinger on Wednesday, before a Reds off-day, Keppinger had appeared in every game and started all but one (31 at shortstop, 2 at first base)…

 

Cincinnati Reds placed P Scott Sauerbeck on the 7-day DL… Houston signed P Alay Soler… Jason Bay had 3 hits yesterday…

And lastly:

"Jackie Robinson was the greatest competitor I ever saw. He didn't win. He triumphed." -RALPH BRANCA, major league pitcher (1944-56)