213 Miles From Shea

MLB.com updated their top prospects list, via the Mets twitter account. While the Mets saw a “drop” in value for Syndergaard, the organization as a whole has 5 players in the top 100, which is more than any time in recent memory:

13. Noah Syndergaard
67. Kevin Plawecki
68. Brandon Nimmo
86. Michael Conforto
88. Dominic Smith

As much as the Mets need position players, 4 of their 5 top prospects at this point are position players that according to MLB.com should debut between 2015 and 2017. If we just focus on the Mets, these are their top prospects:

1. Noah Syndergaard
2. Kevin Plawecki
3. Brandon Nimmo
4. Michael Conforto
5. Dominic Smith
6. Rafael Montero
7. Ahmed Rosario
8. Dilson Herrera
9. Steven Matz
10. Gavin Cecchini
11. Milton Ramos
12. Gabriel Ynoa
13. Cesar Puello
14. Cory Mazzoni
15. Jack Leathersich
16. Marcos Molina
17. Blake Taylor
18. Michael Fulmer
19. Matt den Dekker
20. Logan Verrett

Impressive List of Players!

This is pure speculation and opinion.

The Mariners are mainly in the market for offense, but they could use one more starter as well, especially a starter on the cheap so they can acquire more bats. Not only is Colon a mid-tier pitcher, he has an excellent record in Seattle. Especially as of late he’s been crushing it in Seattle.

The Mariners also have a bat that is intriguing for the Mets, Nick Franklin. Even with the recent struggles with Miller in the lineup, their reluctance to recall Franklin to the majors suggests they are sticking with Miller. The Mets have been linked on the blogosphere with Franklin before, and I still think he would make an excellent addition to the lineup.

The question is if the trade is fair. From the Mets fan side, I believe yes this is fair. I would do this trade in a heart beat. From the Mariners side, I’m not sure. They are getting stuck with another large contract.

The Mets wrap up their 10 game road trip today. If the Mets pick up the win today, they will split the series with the Brewers and go .500 on the first trip after the All-Star break. Yesterday the Mets took the early lead but weren’t able to hold on. Today Jacob deGrom will take the mound with a 4-5 record over 13 games and 80.2 innings with a 3.01 ERA. In his last three starts he is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA while striking out 26 batters and walking only 3 while pitching 21.0 innings. He faced the Brewers earlery this season and allowed 3 ER over 5.2 innings and 9 hits while striking out 4. The Brewers have the following numbers against deGrom:

• Braun 0-2
• Davis 1-3
• Gennett 2-3, 2B
• Gomez 2-3
• Lucroy 2-3, 2B
• Peralta 0-3

Jimmy Nelson gets the start for the Brewers. He is 1-1 in his first three starts of the season with a 1-1 record over 16.0 innings. In that time he walked 6 and struck out 16. He had one start in May and really has been called up since mid July. In those two starts he has allowed 9 ER over 10.1 innings, inflating his ERA. His only start last year was against the Mets where he allowed 1 ER over 5.0 innings while walking three and striking out 4. The Mets have the following numbers against Nelson:

• E Young 0-3
• Duda 0-1
• Lagares 0-1
• Murphy 1-1
• Recker 0-2

Lets Go Mets!

The Giants got Jake Peavy earlier today for Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree. Peavy is a rental player that ended up costing the Giants their #2 and #11 prospects according to MLB.com. For the Giants, trading away pitching prospects is nothing, they pump them out routinely like some sort of best factory every (Hey Zack Wheeler) so while this was a pricy trade, for the amount of arms they have (most of their top prospects are arms), they can afford this.

This also leaves only two top tier pitchers left on the trade market in David Price and Jon Lester. But maybe only one. Not only is the Lester situation complicated regarding Boston maybe wanting to sign him long term, would they trade him right now after trading Peavy? A full rebuilding mode would say yes. Both of these pitchers will demand a lot, especially in light of what Peavy just received.

This is also good for the next tier of pitchers which include AJ Burnett,  and Bartolo Colon. I don’t think Colon can bring in a hall like Peavy due to age and the amount of money on his contract, but it shows he will bring in something. (Also somewhere in between top tier and this next tier are Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee, which in a trade would demand a return closer to Price, and Lester, and definitely more than Peavy)

It also further shows that if the Mets take in more of Colon’s contract, they might get something even better in a trade. There were reports they might take up two million, I’m sure for the right prospects in a trade, they’ll take more than that.

This leaves the Indians, Orioles, Cardinals, Pirates, and Yankees with a lot of options (there are other pitchers out there that can be moved as well) but the precedent has been set with Peavy that getting a starter rental will be costly.

The Mets bats still haven’t truly come back yet from the All-Star break but they were able to squeak out a win last night. The Mets were down 2-0 heading into the 9th against K-Rod when Murphy, Wright and Duda were able to get it done and score three runs (thanks to Duda’s 2 Run Blast) that put the Mets ahead. This puts the Mets in position now to have an opportunity to win the series or at least split, and also continued them playing .500 ball for the road trip.

Niese gets the start tonight for the Mets, on the season he is 5-5 over 18 starts and 109.1 innings with a 3.13 ERA. His first start since the All-Star break was not a pleasant one as he allowed 4 ER over 6.0 innings against the Mariners. He faced the Brewers earlier this year holding them to one run over 7.2 innings and 6 hits while walking only one and striking out 8. The Brewers have the following numbers against Niese:

• Ramirez 6-16, 2B, 2 HR
• Weeks 4-13, 2B, HR
• Lucroy 5-15
• Braun 2-11
• Gomez 3-11
• Reynolds 2-7, HR

The Mets bats will try to wake up consistently against Wily Peralta who is 11-6 this year with a 3.58 ERA over 20 games and 125.2 innings. After thee bad starts in a row where he allowed 4 ER over 6, 4 ER over 6 and 9 ER over 4.1, he’s gotten back on track allowing 1 ER in his last two starts (14.0 innings). Earlier this year when he faced the Mets, he allowed 1 ER over 6.1 while striking out 3. The Mets have the following numbers against Peralta:

• Murphy 1-6
• Tejada 0-6
• Wright 0-6
• Duda 0-4
• Abreu 1-3
• Granderson 2-2, 2B
• E Young 1-2

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets look to just forget about last night’s game as Zack Wheeler takes the mound today. Wheeler is 5-8 over 20 games and 114.1 innings with a 3.78 ERA. He has pitched 25.1 innings in his last four starts striking out 21 batters, walking 10 and posting a beautiful 1.42 ERA. Last year he made one start against the Brewers where he allowed 1 ER over 5.0 innings with 3 runs overall while walking 3 and striking out 3. The Brewers have the following numbers against Wheeler:

• Gomez 3-3, 2B
• Lucroy 0-3
• Ramirez 0-0, 2 BB
• Schaefer 0-2
• Weeks 0-2

The Mets bats look to pick themselves up against Gallardo tonight who has pitched 20 games this season over 121.o innings with a 5-5 record and a 3.79 ERA. His last four starts have been rougher than his season average allowing 19 runs, 16 earned over 23.1 innings, a 6.17 ERA. Last year he was 2-0 in as many starts against the Mets allowing 13 hits and 6 ER over 12.0 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against Gallardo:

• C Young 3-22
• Wright 3-19, HR
• Murphy 6-15, 3 2B
• Duda 5-10, 2B, 2 HR
• Tejada 2-6
• E Young 0-6
• Granderson 0-2
• Lagares 0-2
• d’Arnaud 1-2

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets started the road trip with dropping a series to the Padres, but responded yesterday by taking a series from the Mariners thanks to a fantastic start by Colon who retired 20 batters straight to start the game. Tonight the Mets play in their first series in a hitters friendly stadium on the trip as the Mets look to start off strong in a four game set against the Brewers. Right now they are 3-3 on the road trip.

Dillon Gee returns to the rotation tonight. On the season he is 4-2 over 10 games and 64.2 innings with a 2.92 ERA before he went down with an injury. Last year in one start against the Brewers he allowed 4 ER over 6.0 innings with 7 hits while walking two and striking out two. The Brewers have the following numbers against Gee:

• Lucroy 3-9, 2 2B
• Overbay 1-9
• Weeks 1-7
• Braun 1-5
• Ramirez 1-5

The Mets draw Matt Garza tonight who is 6-7 over 20 games and 124.2 innings with a 4.04 ERA. He started July off strong allowing 16.2 innings and 2 ER. In his first start from the All-Star game he allowed 5 ER while only retiring one batter. He shut out the Mets over 7 innings last year with 3 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against Garza:

• Granderson 7-24, 4 2B, HR
• Abreu 5-18, 2 2B
• Duda 1-5, 2B
• Wright 1-6, 2B
• C Young 1-6
• Tejada 1-4
• Murphy 0-2

Lets Go Mets!

In another daily article speculating on who the Mets could trade with, today we focus on the Orioles.

The Orioles have three needs in a division that is fairly close: a starter, a reliever and another catcher. The Mets could help in two of those areas. Colon being the starter and Plawecki being the catcher. They are pieced together right now at catcher, but there isn’t a guarantee that they will be able to keep Wieters once he becomes a free agent. Their catching prospect, Chance Sisco, is still a while off in development.

The reason I list both Plawecki and Colon is their combination of prospect and veteran, a combination of help later and help now, not only helps the Orioles, it can get a better package from the Mets.

The more well known prospects out of the Orioles system are all arms, but they have three position players in the ranks that are interesting, and the Mets should take a look:

Dariel Alvarez: The Cuban defector outfielder is having a strong second season in the Orioles Farm System. This year between AA and AAA he is hitting .308 with a .328 OBP and 14 homers over 410 plate appearances. His weakness in some ways might be his strength. He will be 26 next year. If the Mets acquire him this year, he would be worth a shot in the outfield to see if he can contribute on a high level next season. He’s a “win now” mode type move for the Mets although he doesn’t fill in the biggest need, a consistent power bat.

Christian Walker: The 23 year old first basement is hitting .302 between AA and AAA this year with a .513 slugging from hitting 20 homers. He’s a power bat. Acquiring Walker would give the Mets the option next year, if they don’t find a LF, of moving Granderson to left, Duda to right and Walker to first as a bridge to Smith.

Mike Yastrzemski: The final position player the Mets should look at is another OF. He has played in three levels this year (A, A+, AA) and has hit a combined .310 with a .366 OBP and a .533 SLG. Out of the players listed here, he is the farthest time wise from the majors. Over his 381 AB’s this season he has 118 hits, 24 2B, 14, 3B and 11 HR, which is intriguing. He has also walked 29 times and stolen 17 bases.

All of these players are considered to be in the lower top 10 Orioles prospects at the midpoint of this season according to the Baltimore Sun. I could see Colon landing one of these players but if the Mets ate some salary and traded Plawecki, considered to be a Top 5 or Top 3 prospect in the Mets organization, I wonder if the Mets and Orioles could work out a package for all three.

With the trade deadline approaching, rumors are being kicked up.

Yesterday, there were several mentions on twitter from beat reporters that the Giants were interested in Bartolo Colon. In reality, the Giants are probably interested in two Mets players. With Cain down on injury, they need a starter, and Colon is one of the cheaper ones available on the market, and they need second basemen, Murphy being one of the most expensive ones the market.

The Cubs and the Mets have been hypothetically linked by writers all month. Both have Top 5 farm systems according to Keith Law. The Cubs have an over abundance of position players and the Mets have a lot of arms.

Complicating this is the Mets stance not to trade their young arms, this makes a lot of sense.

Complicating a Colon trade to the Giants is the next thing the Mets need to be ready next year is either a shortstop or an outfielder who can hit. Colon is not going to bring that from the Giants. Their best prospects that could be available in 2015 or 2016 are pitchers, their hitters are a ways away.

This is where a three-way trade would seem to make sense. It would require the Mets to send Colon to the Giants (and probably still pay a huge chunk of Colon’s salary next year). At that point, the Giants are receiving two years of an aging pitcher, but at a discount, making it easier for them to trade one of their higher level pitching prospects, or a collection of their mid-tier pitching prospects to the Cubs, who can then send over one of their middle infielders who can play short to the Mets.

Depending on the player the Mets would get in this hypothetical scenario, would change what the Mets need to do to get the deal done. For example, if the trade is for Starling Castro, they will need to eat way more of Colon’s contract to convince the Giants to trade over a better package plus the Mets would probably have to trade a prospect of their own directly to the Cubs.

I feel the chances of this happening are low, but it seems that for the Mets, trying to move a player like Colon or sell high on Plawecki, working out a 3-way trade to acquire parts of the Cubs system might be the way to go (without having to depart with any jewels in the system).

The Mets look to take the series tonight against Mariners. After dropping three consecutive games, the Mets were able to beat the Mariners last night thanks to stellar pitching and just enough hitting. Tonight Colon makes possibly one of his last starts as a Met as rumors have kicked up the last few days that the Mets are shopping Colon. On the season he is 8-8 over 19 games, 126.2 innings with a 4.12 ERA. He pitched 5.0 innings in his first start since the All-Star break allowing 4 ER, all in one inning in a game the Mets eventually won. He faced the Mariners three times last year logging 21.0 innings with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 15. The Mariners have the following numbers against Colon:

• Ackley 4-13
• Bloomquist 5-13, 2 2B
• Cano 6-15, 2 2B, HR
• Chavez 5-14
• Franklin 2-9
• Miller 0-3
• Montero 3-9

The Mets batters will get a look at the 21-year old Taijuan Walker tonight who is coming back for a second time this season.  In his first two starts he allowed 4 ER and 7 hits over 10.0 innings. Last year he made three starts against the Mariners and he was 1-0 over 15.0 innings with a 3.60 ERA (identical to his ERA now). He has not faced any current members of the Mets.

Lets Go Mets!