213 Miles From Shea

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Jake Hager joins many players (Oscar De La Cruz, Jared Robinson, David Rodriguez, etc) that the Mets have signed this year who haven’t made the majors yet with their original clubs. We’ve repeated this too much throughout this article series – the Mets had no upper minors depth at all. The Mets needed to do a lot to create that depth.

Hager was a first round pick by the Rays back in 2011. He stayed with the Rays through the 2017 season and then signed with the Brewers. Over his career in the minors he has hit .259/.312/.376. Ultimately his stats show a stark difference between AA and AAA. In Double A he hit .270/.323/.406/.728 and in Triple A .237/.286/.361/.647.

So the question is – what can he do this spring? How does he perform in Syracuse? The Mets top tier infield prospects are still a while away from making the majors. If there are any injuries on the team, Hager could be on the short list for players to be added to the 40 man roster to play for a week before being DFA’d. There are a few players that are in a similar pool (Brandon Drury, Jose Peraza). Let’s see what he can do this spring!

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets return to TV today. Somehow yesterday’s game wasn’t on TV! The Astros TV crew has not arrived to camp yet, so none of their home games are being broadcasted. The only way to follow yesterday’s game was through the radio booth. I’ve now listened to the Marlins, Cardinals and Astros booths this spring and somehow the Marlins have been the best. The Cardinals were shockingly awful. Astros yesterday were very middle of the road. I guess we all can’t be the Mets.

Anyway. Yesterday was deGrom day even if we couldn’t see it. Jacob deGrom had an easy outing, allowing a hit and a walk over 2.0 innings while striking out 3 and lighting up the radar gun. He was followed by Edwin Diaz who had a 7 pitch inning with a strikeout – very easy! Miguel Castro came in after and allowed a walk but nothing else. To round out the day, Tommy Hunter worked around a hit in his Mets debut and and Montgomery’s outing got cut short due tot he rain

On the other side of the ball, Alosno continued his hot spring spring smoking two doubles and picking an RBI. Dominic Smith showed us why he is on the MLB’s Top 100 with a homer and Pete Crow-Armstrong had his first professional hit with a triple. A good day work for the Mets!

Today’s Game:
Marcus Stroman will make his second start in Spring and his first against an NL East team. He looked great his first time out, showing a lot of movement on his pitches as he pitched two perfect innings (with two strikeouts) against the Astros. Stroman will then be followed by several bullpen pitchers working in their second game this spring.

Last time out, Loup allowed a hit and recorded a strikeout in one inning of work. Jeurys Familia will also make his second appearance this spring (both Loup and Familia pitched last Thursday). Familia allowed two walks but didn’t allow anyone to score in his inning of work. Jerry Blevins is schedule and last saw game time on Tuesday against the Astros where he allowed a hit, walk and struck out a batter in one inning. Jacob Barnes will look to bounce back from his Wednesday appearance where he allowed 3 runs off 3 hits and 2 walks in an inning of work. Finally, Daniel Zamora rounds out the expected pitchers list and he has pitched since the Mets spring Opener last Monday, also against the Marlins, where he allowed one hit while striking out 1 in one inning.

We are getting to that time where we are seeing pitchers again! Let’s Go Mets!

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Brandon Drury was a January depth signing for the Mets who spent a good portion of this off-season trying to rebuild out depth. Drury was drafted by the Braves in 2010 and was traded with Nick Ahmed, Martin Prado and others for to the Diamondbacks in January 2013 for Chris Johnson and Justin Upton. Drury would make his major league debut with the Diamondbacks in 2015. In 2018 he was part of a three team trade between the Diamondbacks, Yankees and Rays (he ended up with the Yankees). He was traded again (lots of trades!) in a deadline deal to the Blue Jays for J.A. Happ.

So from that part alone – Brandon has dealt with New York before, has dealt a lot with being dealt and just change in general.

Over his career he has hit .248/.296/.411 with his best season being in 2016 and his worst season in 2020. At his best he hit .282/.329/.438 over 461 PA’s. At his worst he hit .152/.184/.174 in 49 PA’s. His career stats are skewed to his time in Arizona where he was much more successful and got over 480 PA’s in back to back seasons. Since then he’s struggled.

The Mets have a crowded infield already, made confusing by their lack of a true centerfielder that has infielders finding playing time in the outfield. A good spring and Drury could find himself a lot higher up on the depth chart. Its difficult to see outside an injury how he finds significant playing time on the Mets. That being said – he has a ton of major league experience and is a smart signing for a team looking to stretch out their depth. I’m expecting him to be in camp until the end of Spring.

Recapping Thursday:
The Mets last played on Thursday (only in Spring Training/Opening Weekend are off-days scheduled for Friday) and beat the Nationals 8-4, dropping the Nationals to a meaningless 0-3 record. Big days for a few starters on the Mets – Brandon Nimmo opened the game with a leadoff homer and Pete Alonso hit a grand slam.

On the mound, David Peterson allowed one hit in 2.0 innings in his first outing. Peterson is competing for the 5th rotation spot and probably has the inside track for now. Familia walked a couple but got out of it. Loup and May, two bullpen signings in the off-season had great days too. Betances though – not so much. He allowed 2 hits and walked 2 which led to 4 runs. Overall, a good day for the Mets!

On Tap For Today:
If you woke up today expecting the Mets to play the rare Spring Training night game – you were mistaken! Due to weather the game has been moved up which means we get to celebrate Jacob deGrom earlier in the day! Jacob is coming off of another amazing season where he finished third in Cy-Young Voting. He led the league in strikeouts with 104 (second straight year leading in K’s) and led in K/9 at 13.8. He posted a 2.38 ERA, 2.26 FIP, 0.956 WHIP and 178 ERA+, all better than his previous year.

There’s a lot to look for after deGrom too! Miguel Castro is scheduled. Last year he ranked in the 100th percentile for fastball speed, 65th percentile for fastball spin and 77th percentile for whiff percentage. He’ll be followed by Edwin Diaz who was in the 99 percentile or higher in K%, Whiff%, Fastball Velocity, and xSLG last season.

Towards the end of the afternoon, we’ll look at more pitchers trying out for the last rotation spot with Tommy Hunter, Joey Lucchesi and Mike Montgomery.

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Some of these non-roster invitee articles are more fun to write than others and this is one of the more fun ones – Brett Baty! Baty was the first pick by the Mets in the 2019 draft and was not traded away by the BVW general manager era of the Mets – thus the corner infielder is still with us and is also usually considered around the third top prospect in the Mets system currently.

His presence in camp, like Matt Allan, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Francisco Alvarez, Ronny Mauricio, etc, is to get a glimpse at the future of the Mets beyond 2021. There are very few scenarios that have Baty making the team at any point in 2021. He is also part of that group of players that make you go “ooooh” when looking at a lineup card for an early in the season spring training game. Here’s a link to MLB.com’s profile on him and his grades are below:

• Hit: 50
• Run: 45
• Power: 60
• Arm: 60
• Field: 50
• Overall 55

MLB.com’s profile has one of my favorite Baty stats – in his senior year of high school he batted .615! In 2019 he actually playe across three different levels because of his hitting ability. Starting off in the Gulf Coast League, he hit .350/.480/.650 and was out of there after 5 games. He then spent the majority of his season in Kingsport where he hit .222/.339/.437 over 186 PA’s before a stint In Brooklyn where he hit .200/.500/.300 (an odd batting line that can only make sense when there are 10 AB’s and 6 BB’s).

We were denied a year of Baty stats last year and I’m so excited to see what he does this spring and what he does the rest of the season.

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

David Rodriguez was a free agent signing last off-season to help fill out Mets catching depth. He was slated to go to Syracuse and then you know – the pandemic happened – and we missed out of a whole year of Rodriguez playing games in the Mets system. He made his minor league debut with the Rays all the way back in 2013 as a 17 year old and his stats have always been a bit interesting.

He has been a much better hitter in International Leagues. Across 7 years in the minors he has a .250/.322/.369 line (and that includes one year of minor league ball in the Venezuelan Summer League where he hit .329/.409/.540). As an international player in winter leagues he has hit .363/.430/.546. Including this past winter in the Venezuelan Winter League where he hit .383/.481/.579 in 160 PA’s followed by a .333/.429/.500 stint in the Caribbean Series.

After the Ali Sanchez trade the Mets have Patrick Mazeika, followed by Bruce Maxell and David Rodriguez as catching depth. Essentially the Mets are hoping that if needed, one of them can be similar to Tomas Nido. Mazeika’s advantage is that he is already on the 40-man roster and has been in the Mets system for years. Maxwell’s advantage is that he has had time in the majors. Rodriguez is the wild card. Despite not hitting well in the minors he has hit well in the winter. After a year where no one hit in the minors – where does that leave him? He’ll probably get an extended look this year at camp.

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets played their second road Spring Training game of the season yesterday and it went as well as you would expect it to with a minor league pitching staff going up against a major league roster. The Mets lost in a high scoring game 14-9, a boon to all of the hitters that traveled with the Mets.

It was also the first time the Mets got an extended taste of the new spring training rules for pitchers. After a pitcher throws 20 pitches, if they haven’t recorded 3 outs they can be removed from the game. A pitcher who has been removed from the game can go back in the game later. Since these games don’t mean anything in the standings – this is great. I’m all for player health in spring.

Anyway, just a few notes from yesterday. New Met Pillar had a good day at the plate going 2-2 with a triple and a double. J.D. Davis went 2-3. Mets top prospect, Brett Baty got an AB as a pinch hitter late int he game and he smacked a double and plated two runs.

What We are Looking For Today:
David Peterson will make his spring debut today! A couple of weeks ago, Peterson was a lock for the rotation (at least until Syndgergaard returns from injury). With the Walker signing, David Peterson is competing for the last spot in the rotation. Peterson is coming off of a strong rookie season where he pitched 49.2 innings over 10 games/9 starts with a 3.44 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.208 WHIP and a 123 ERA+.

Then we get a look at the Mets bullpen! Jeurys Familia, Dellin Betances and Travor May are all scheduled to pitch. How Familia and Betances bounce back will determine how good the Mets bullpen in. If they take a step towards their stronger seasons, then the Mets will have a deep, deep pen. May was an early signing by the Mets this year and added punch to the bullpen. He’s also quickly became a fan favorite (and a personal favorite), citing a local sandwich as a deal sealer.

Let’s Go Mets!

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

Today we look at Nick Meyer, drafted in round 6 in 2018 by the Mets out of California Polytechnic State. Also, Nick Meyer is one of the few players we actually have stats for in 2020! I’m not sure what terminology is correct (either he did this on his own or he got permission from the Mets) but Nick played in an independent league last year – the City of Champions Cup for the Tully Monsters. He got 112 PA’s in over 27 games and hit .247/.357/.360 in a league where he was half a year younger than the average player. That line is much better than his two seasons in the Mets system where over 393 PA’s he hit .193/.256/.235. The highest level he reached was St. Lucie. (He hit well in college, hitting .297/.363/.373)

He’s already been placed on the Cyclones roster – meaning he’ll pick up where he left off in 2019.

So Nick Meyer definitely took a step forward last year, but he’s in a crowded position and its difficult to gauge what his step forward means from a 4-team independent league born out of the pandemic. There are three catchers on the 40-man. Outside of the 40-man, Bruce Maxwell and David Rodriguez are ahead of him on the depth chart.

He’s in Mets camp because they need more catchers in camp, even if there isn’t a path for him to the majors this year. I expect we’ll get a look at him for the first week or so of spring and then he’ll go to the Minors camp once the Mets start making roster cuts.

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets picked up their first win of the Spring yesterday, 2-0, against the Houston Astros in St. Lucie. The big story for the Mets – Stroman looked good. In 2.0 innings of work, Stroman struck out two batters and did not allow any walks or hits. His pitches all had movement and was exactly what you wanted to see yesterday. He was followed by Yamamoto who is competing for the 5th starter spot. He allowed 2 hits and that’s it over 2.0 innings. Part of this is also on James McCann who made his catching debut for the Mets yesterday as he learns the pitching staff and works out game plans with them. When the team wins by a shutout, it’s a good day on the mound for everyone! Blevins, Smith, McWilliams all had great days too.

The offense yesterday pretty much boiled down to a solo homer from Jeff McNeil and Albert Almora Jr. The former who is one of the more dangerous hitters in baseball when he adds power to his OBP, the latter who is fighting for a roster spot this year.

What To Look For Today:
Short Answer: Depth. Today is a depth day. Jerad Eickhoff, in camp on a Non-Roster Invite, makes his Mets debut. An outside competitor for the the Mets 5th rotation spot, the long time Philly is in Camp trying to get back to the majors after not playing in 2020. In his first two years in the majors (2015-16), he pitched 248.1 innings with a 3.44 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 1.136 WHIP and 120 ERA+. Since then he has pitched 191.2 innings with a 5.07 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 1.466 WHIP and 86 ERA+.

Other pitchers of note: Ryley Gilliam makes his second appearance this Spring, he allowed 2 runs his first time out and is on a lot of people’s players to watch list. Nogosek will make his debut as well as Marcel Renteria. Renteria’s time as a prospect in the system is starting to tick down so it makes sense the he’ll be getting some playing time early. Oscar De La Cruz who is trying to make his major league debut this year is also a long man / spot starter type pitcher for 2021 getting some work in.

The depth theme continues with the line up. Pillar, signed as part of a CF complement with Almora gets to lead off today. Villar and Guillorme both get starting spots in the infield and Jose Martinez will make his Mets debut. Mallex Smith will also get some additional playing time this week. Smith led the American league in triples in 2018 with 10 and steals with 46 in 2019.

Let’s Go Mets!

Each year at 213 we look through the Non-Roster Invitees to spring training and get to know them a bit. Are they in camp to get a look at big league hitting/pitching to aid their development? Are the Mets just trying to get a better look at a future rookie? Are they a veteran trying to get back to the major league level? What can we expect from them this season?

With the roster crunch / trade of Ali Sanchez – Bruce Maxwell becomes much important on the Mets. The Mets currently are carrying only 3 catchers on the 40-man roster, if something happens to a catcher, Maxwell is now the next catcher up.

The former Athletic was drafted in the 2nd round in 2012 and became a free agent in 2018. He was signed to the Mets 60-man camp late last July. Maxwell became Nationally known when he became the first MLB player in 2017 to kneel during the National Anthem.

Bruce’s best season was his rookie season where he hit .283/.337/.402 over 101 PA’s. Overall in his career he has hit .240/.314/.347. In 2019, when no baseball team would sign him, he then went to Mexican league and had a good amount of success hitting .325/.407/.559 over 487 PA’s. Most recently he played in the Dominican Winter League and hit .113/.172/.132 over 58 PA’s.

Because the Mets traded away Ali Sanchez in a roster move, Bruce’s spring becomes much more important. There are not a lot of players between him and the 40-man roster. So we’ll be looking to see how he works with pitchers, and how he hits this month.

Before we go – one parting fact: Bruce Maxwell actually played in the World Baseball Classic for Team Germany.