Mack's Mets

5/5/24

Tom Brennan - A Few Brief Thoughts on Early Baseball (1900-1930j and Latinos

(Mack: I took this pic)

Jose Reyes was one of the Mets' finest Latino ball players ever!

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

I got into a general discussion with a bunch of folks has to how well Babe Ruth might have played in this current day and age. Of course, he’d be 129 years old, but…

Anyway, Babe Ruth is not the discussion for today, but have at it in the comments section about the Bambino if you wish to.

A few folks in that exchange of ideas, though, said that baseball these days was diluted compared to 1930. After all, back then, they reasoned, there were just 16 teams, and now there are 30.

That logic is totally flawed, for at least these four reasons:

1) The current US population is about 350 million people. Back in 1930, it was 123 million people. So there’s been nearly a tripling of the number of people living in the US since 1930.

2) They were no black players in the major leagues in 1930, and there are many now. But every baseball fan who has not been sequestered in a cave knows that narrative quite well.

3) The average player today is significantly taller and heavier than guys from the early 1900s.

4) Perhaps not as well known, there were virtually no Latin players in the majors in 1930, a point that very few people seem to bring up.

Last year on opening day, it was very different - I read that there were 235 Latin players on major league rosters, the equivalent of 9 full teams.

9 divided by 30 is 30%. And that does not take into account Japanese and Korean major leaguers.

So, no, baseball today isn’t diluted.

It is instead extremely upgraded.

Feel free to research the topic more if you care to, but here are a few snippets about early Latin ballplayer major league history:

I saw this when I googled the topic, but found no stats for him. “Luis Miguel Castro (November 25, 1876 – September 24, 1941), nicknamed "Jud" and "Count", was a professional baseball infielder who was born in Medellín, Colombia. He is considered the first Latin American to play in recognized Major League Baseball.”

Also, a University of Michigan website posted the following:

"The first two Latinos to play in what is now Major League Baseball were Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans, who both joined the Cincinnati Reds of the National League in 1911.

The first "star" Latino baseball player was Adolfo Luque, who won 27 games (27-8, 1.93) for the Cincinnati Reds in 1923 and played for 20 years from the late 1910s through the 1930s. Though Luque achieved success, most Latino players of this time were not so lucky, having brief and undistinguishable careers in the late 1910s and 1920s."

Interestingly, as the Florida Complex League games got underway yesterday, nearly the entire FCL Mets roster is comprised of Latin ball players.

So, amigos, on this Cinco de Mayo, may you and your wife Marguerita enjoy a little information on this topic, both in the early 1900s and today. Have a tortilla and guacamole at your leisure.

Happy Sunday, all you Mayo Readeros.

I read recently that the average male life expectancy in the U.S. in 1900 was just 46 years! So, in everything, give thanks, especially if you’re older than 46.

MACK - MLB.com - Mock Draft

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-pipeline-2024-mock-draft-may-2?s=03

1. Guardians: Charlie Condon, OF/3B, Georgia (No. 1)

2. Reds: Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State (No. 2)

3. Rockies: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida (No. 3)

4. A’s: Braden Montgomery, OF, Texas A&M (No. 5)

5. White Sox: Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest (No. 4)

6. Royals: Konnor Griffin, SS/OF, Jackson Prep, Miss. (No. 9)

7. Cardinals: Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas (No. 6)

8. Angels: JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia (No. 8)

9. Pirates: Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake, Calif. (No. 10)

10. Nationals: Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest (No. 7)

11. Tigers: Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina (No. 11)

12. Red Sox: Seaver King, 3B/OF, Wake Forest (No. 13)

13. Giants: Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina (No. 23)

14. Cubs: Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State (No. 21)

15. Mariners: Billy Amick, 3B, Tennessee (No. 15)

16. Marlins: James Tibbs, OF, Florida State (No. 22)

17. Brewers: Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Kansas State (No. 31)

18. Rays: Cam Caminiti, LHP, Saguaro HS, Ariz. (No. 17)

19. Mets: Dakota Jordan, OF, Mississippi State (No. 24)

Jordan originally headed to Mississippi State to play football and baseball, but giving up the gridiron looks like a good move. He has a ton of bat speed and power and has a 1.214 OPS this year, though some are worried about the sophomore’s strikeouts (28.7 percent K rate).

20. Blue Jays: Tommy White, 3B, Louisiana State (No. 16)

MACK - Draft News

(thru Friday’s results)

MLB Pipeline @MLBPipeline

Nick Kurtz sends his 18th homer of the year out in a hurry. No. 4 Draft prospect

Stephen Schoch @bigdonkey47

Pretty nice of Nick Kurtz to provide evidence of the tape measure shots in this series while they’re talking about tape measure shots in this series

Charlie Condon ties the Georgia career home run record with his 53rd bomb in two seasons

Georgia Baseball @BaseballUGA

Charlie Condon ties the Georgia single season (28) and career (53) home run records!

Kendall Rogers @KendallRogers

The fact he did this before April was insanely impressive

No. 31 for Charlie Condon and it got out at over 114 mph

MLB Pipeline @MLBPipeline

Well, that didn't take long.

Teddy Cahill @tedcahill

Charlie Condon led off the third inning. Vanderbilt intentionally walked him.

As I said on the pod this week, I wouldn't pitch to him either.

JAC CAGLIANONE GRAND SLAM! ... and he's also the starting pitcher. More on the 2024 Draft prospect, who is a two-way sensation

Braden Montgomery launches a grand slam for his 23rd home run of the season -- fourth-most in D1. No. 5 Draft prospect

Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB

You know what I like about Braden Montgomery and how his game will translate? These are big league swings and big league bat speed. Very, very few little league homers. These aren’t alloy/aluminum nukes. They’re legit barrels at any level.

Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB

My opinion on who I'd select with the no. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft changes daily.

Ryan Brauninger @R_Brauninger

News: Texas A&M third baseman Gavin Grahovac had an MRI on his left knee this morning after injuring it running to 1st in the series finale vs Georgia.

I’m told those tests came back clean, and there is no structural damage. I fully anticipate him being back next weekend at LSU.

Tyler Jennings @TylerJennings24

Jamie Arnold is such a fun, fun arm. Struck out nine across five innings last night, racking up 15 whiffs. FB command was iffy at times, sitting 90-94 with a ton of arm-side run from a low release. Mid-80s SL was the best pitch, tons of bite and sweep. Flashed CH. Top 2025 arm.

Brian Recca @brian_recca

Mavrick Rizy '24 Worcester Academy (MA)

LSU baseball commit

Huge kid at 6'9-230. Was 95-97 t98 through innings 1-2, generating weak contact. Held 91-94. Great feel for 77-81 slider; used as a putaway pitch. Mid/upper 80s CH was inconsistent but flashed avg at times.

Ian Smith @IanSmittyGA

Big night overall for Connor Shouse, going 3-for-3 with three hard-hit barrels including another 2B off the wall in dead CF. One of the top two-way players in Prep Baseball GA 2024 class has been locked in at the plate to start the state playoffs for PHS baseball GA.

Prep Baseball Georgia @PrepBaseballGA

Big-time players making big plays.

2024 SS/RHP Connor Shouse finds his 2nd barrel in as many ABs, and clears the bases with this pull-side 2B.

The GT Baseball commit stays compact and shows off the present above-average bat speed with ease.

MACK - Sunday Morning Observations

(thru Friday’s results)

Mack’s Observations -

David Stearns is doing everything he can to ruin a great lead in portion of this post.

I decided this was a great time in the early season to write about possible promotions that could be coming in this organization. I figured it might be a little early especially since the Mets are well known for their snail pace at promoting thise that should be.

Well, Stearns looks like a breath of fresh air, what with this week’s promotions of Jonah Tong, Danny Young, and Christian Scott, doing their best to ruin what I had already wrote and saved since this past Sunday night.

The top three Syracuse hitters (J.D. Martinez, Tomas Nido, Mark Vientos) have already caught the shuttle to LaGuardia so I don’t, baring injuries, see any additional bats coming to Queens soon. Vientos has since returned, leaving him one more option.

Starter Joey Lucchesi has put up impressive numbers so far, but remains in the Mets doghouse what with the Scott promotion being the second starter promotion (Butto) out of this affiliate.

Reliever-wise, Dedniel Nunez, Danny Young, Reid Garrett, and Sean Reid-Foley have already got the call. No other Syracuse relievers have combined for a decent amount of innings thrown and an equally decent ERA.

As for AA-Binghamton, there really is only one bat that should be promoted to AAA-Syracuse and that would be CF Alex Ramirez. And I really don’t care who they kick to curb to make room for him. This is the top producing outfielder in the chain so far this season and someone already in Syracuse needs to be either demoted of given a tent and told to move to the Columbia University campus lawn.

Pitching wise, RHSP Blade Tidwell looks to be the first that will move forward, possibly causing Mike Vasil to be sent back here for addition AA work. This could quickly follow the Scott promotion on Wednesday.

Reliever wise, RHRP Wilkin Ramos is establishing himself early as their top AA pen arm.

Regarding A+ Brooklyn, right now, no pitchers or catchers are posting the results to make a case for a promotion. Both starters Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean need more time at this level to develop.

In St. Lucie, RHRP Jawilme Ramirez, SS Nick Moribito, and C/1B/OF Christopher Suero look to be the next in line once room is made for them in Brooklyn.

New Met:

INF Mike Brosseau 3B/2B/1B/OF 30/yrs

5-10 200 RHH

UDFA - Oakland University

Career: 3.1-WAR 582-AB 26-HR .242

Played for David Stearns in Milwaukee

Against LHP: .265/.326/.464

Against RHP: .209/.293/.374

29.5% K-Rate

77% play at third base

Opinion: Stirckly a depth platoon player against lefties.

Roster Moves -

Mets:

Promote RHSP Christian Scott from AAA-Syracuse

traded Zack Short to the Red Sox for cash.

LHRP Josh Walker to AAA-Syracuse

LHRP Danny Young selected from Syracuse.

RP Drew Smith - 15-day IL: shoulder inflammation

RP Dedniel Nunez recalled from Syracuse

Syracuse:

RHP Justin Jarvis transferred from AA to AAA Syracuse

Signed veteran INF Mike Brosseau to a minor league deal

3B Mark Vientos returned from the Mets

OF Taylor Kohlway released

LHRP Nate Lavender - 60 day IL: TJS

RHP David Griffin transferred from AA to AAA Syracuse

RHP Hunter Parsons transferred from AA to AAA Syracuse

Binghamton:

IF José Peroza placed on the 7-day IL

IF Mateo Gil transferred from A+ to AA Binghamton

OF Jaylen Palmer off 7-day IL

IF Jett Williams on 7-day IL

OF Rhylan Thomas placed on the 7-day IL

OF Joe Suozzi transferred from A+ to AA Binghamton

RHP Andre Scrubb activated off the development list.

RHP Cam Robinson activated off the 7-day IL

Brooklyn:

RHP Jordan Geber transferred to AA-Binghamton

St. Lucie:

RHSP Jonah Tong promoted to A+ Brooklyn

3B Boston Baro promoted from FCL Mets

Prospect List Changes -

Brooklyn RHSP Douglas Orellana black to BLUE

MetsMinors.Net @Mets_Minors

St. Lucie Mets center fielder Nick Morabito has been one of the best hitters in minor league baseball to start the season.

Here’s how he ranks among 902 minor league hitters:

2nd - .538 OBP

3rd - .411 AVG

3rd - 218 wRC+

The Mets have signed Jake Stevenson to a minor league deal and he has been added to the Brooklyn Cyclones roster.

Jake Stevenson @JakeStevenson38

6th Live 4/17, 25 pitches

FB (7) top 97.1 avg 96.1 17.6 vb 7.4 hb

CT (8) avg 90 6.9 vb -4.1 hb

SL (10) up to -19 hb

avg 81.9 -1.1 vb -12.4 hb

FA looking for affiliate opp

2023 Stats in Pirates org

1.85 ERA, 24.1 ip, 26 ks, .173 oBA, .210 oSLG

Jon Heyman @JonHeyman

The Mets hold a winning record despite a very difficult early schedule and obvious star underperformance. So where are the fans (19th in attendance)?

Dom Smith has deal with Red Sox, pending physical

Anthony DiComo @AnthonyDiComo

Today in Fun With Reed Garrett Stats:

Only two pitchers in Mets history have recorded at least five wins in a season without a loss, plus at least one save:

1. Reed Garrett, 2024

2. Jerry Blevins, 2017

-The last reliever with five wins through his first eight outings of a season was Cecil Upshaw (1971 Braves).

-The only RP with more wins through eight outings are Hugh Bedient (1912 Red Sox) & Rube Waddell (1905 A's).

Kevin Kernan @AMBS_Kernan

So Guardians lose one run game in game they had runner picked off second on inside move and had another runner thrown out at 2B who couldn’t bother to slide. New baseball

Mike Mayer @mikemayer22

Mets top minor league hitters by wRC+ through April:

209 Nick Morabito

186 Christopher Suero

165 Nick Lorusso

156 Ben Gamel

151 Jose Peroza

146 Ryan Clifford

143 Alex Ramírez

137 Mark Vientos

133 Rylan Bannon

126 JT Schwartz

122 Rhylan Thomas

120 Wyatt Young

119 Matt Rudick

Mets top minor league pitchers by K-BB% through April:

45.6% Jonah Tong

36.2% Dakota Hawkins

32.5% Jack Wenninger

31.9% Christian Scott

29.8% Jordany Ventura

28.3% Austin Troesser

23.8% Blade Tidwell

23.1% Tyler Stuart

21.0% Jordan Geber

20.0% Douglas Orellana

John Harper @NYNJHarper

Was doing TV last night so just getting around to this: Severino brilliant, obviously. Use of 2-seamer this season has made him more unpredictable; 4-seamer playing up again. Also, thought it was cool the way he acknowledged crowd's ovation after 8th. Not enough pitchers do it.

Mike Puma @NYPost_Mets

Ji Man Choi has an opt out in his contract that could have been exercised today. Choi has decided to remain with the Mets - he's currently assigned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Baseball -

Kevin Kernan @AMBS_Kernan

I’ve come to the conclusion that with all the tinkering in baseball there are simply now too many rules. They’ve gone too far. Keep it simple MLB

Buster Olney @Buster_ESPN

From MLB: Through 452 total games played through the end of April, the 2024 Major League season set records for combined games played by players 23-and younger and 22-and-younger. Major League players Age 23-and-younger combined for a total of 413 games played, while players age…

Baseball Prospectus @baseballpro

The Splitter “Revolution” Part 2

by Daniel R. Epstein (@depstein1983)

Sub only

https://t.co/ej1BtYS0eT

BA - The Youngest Big Leaguers Keep Getting Older, Delaying Free Agency And Money-Making Opportunities

Sub only

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/the-youngest-big-leaguers-keep-getting-older-delaying-free-agency-and-money-making-opportunities/?s=03

5/4/24

Tom Brennan: Recap of Mets System Action

“HEY! HOW'D IT GO LAST NIGHT?”

Mets score 8 but surrender 10. Jose Quintana (1-3) gave up 8 runs in under 3 innings and has a seeming extreme aversion to winning games.

How else do you explain this jaw-dropping stat for Jose:

Just 10 credited wins in 63 starts and 22 relief outings (85 total outings) from 2020 thru 2024? Heck, Reed Garrett won 5 games in a month!

Brett Baty awakens with a 3 run jack and 3 hits. May this will propel him.

Double and 2 RBIs for Francisco Lindor. He now has 17 RBIs, an incredible number considering his hitting collapse in the season's first 2 weeks.

Dedniel Nunez was nice in long relief. 2.1 IP, one hit (solo HR), 3 Ks. 6.1 innings for the 27 y/o rookie so far, 10 Ks. Like it. Hard throwing Dedniel missed all of 2021 and most of the first 2 months of 2022, and of course all of 2020, which is how he becomes a 27 year old rookie.

AAA

10-1 ugly loss.

Mark Vientos, in first at bat since his demotion, was hit by a friggin' pitch and came out of the game. Dude can't catch a break. I've seen no report yet on that.

Justin Jarvis struggled but threw 4 scoreless innings.

Then Griffin got shelled. 8 runs in a short span. ERA of 19+

Then Steve Blass came in. Funny, for some reason, Blass looked just like Shintaro Fujinami. Four walks and a wild pitch in 2 innings. 39 pitches, and if you guessed that 23 were balls, you win the prize.

After his 4th walk, a mound visit. Then, Yolmer Sanchez took over and threw two straight 47 MPH curves, the second of which resulted in a single. Ultimately a 10-1 loss.

7 run late inning rally and Bingo won 7-2. Without that surge, it would have been a very low scoring night in the Mets minors. JT Schwartz (.256) had 3 singles and an RBI. Kevin Parada hit and walk (.188).

High A

Brooklyn only had 2 runs on 5 hits, but Cyclone pitchers shut out the opponent on one hit. It was surrendered by the great Brandon Sproat, who fanned 8 in 5 innings.

Drake Osborn had 2 more hits and continues his awesome season start.

How awesome? .381/.490/.538 in 14 games.

Amazing that the righty hitting catcher hit just .179 in Brooklyn last year, and now is exhibiting this level of elevated stick work early on. 19th rounder in 2021. He has an excellent opportunity this year to shoot up if he can keep hitting, as the catchers in AAA, AA, and High A, other than him, are not hitting.

He and 1B Nick Lorusso are a combined 36 for 109 (.330) for the Cyclones. The rest of Brooklyn is hitting just 120 for 618 (.194).

Can't blame Cyclones Park this time for the team's overall .201 hitting - the team is hitting just .191 on the road so far. But their lowly .201 compares to a league high team average of .238 and a low of .193, so hitters clearly trail pitchers in general in the SAL.

A Ball

St Lucie lost and had just 1 more hit (6) than its 5 errors, 3 by Baez.

FSL Player of the Month Nick Morabito sat this one out, keeping his .411 average right where it was.

David Peterson went 3 innings, 1 hit, no walks, 4 Ks in his 2nd rehab outing.

OPEN THREAD - WHAT BASEBALL RULE CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?

Baseball Rules Ain’t All Perfect

Tom Brennan here.

Baseball has 7 billion rules currently, give or take a few.

What rules changes would you like to see?

I’d like 3 changes:

1) Increase rosters by one spot, to 27, but it has to be an extra hitter. Why?

- Because teams had 15 hitters in my first 30+ years as a Mets fan. Now they have 13.

- Reduce underemployment- raise it from 13 to 14. Give more guys a good job.

2) Start runners in extra innings for the 10th and 11th inning at FIRST BASE, not second.

- If it goes to the 12th inning, THEN start guys at second base.

3) If you bean someone, the batter and any base runners automatically score. And it you hit a guy and he goes on the IL, due to that injury (think Marte September 2021, Pete June 2022), you (the pitcher) get suspended without pay for 7 games.

Do you agree? Disagree?

What are your rule change requests?

Happy Quattro de Mayo.

Reese Kaplan -- So What 2024 Mets Will Not Be Here in 2025?

Today let us take a very early and premature look at the major league offensive roster and who has a future in New York in 2025:

Pete Alonso is in his final year before hitting free agency. Some say the Mets should extend him now. Others say trade him away midyear. Still others want him to remain here for the duration as the Mets make an outside drive towards October baseball. The fact is until they make a decision here, they don´t know what will be doing at the first base position.
Jeff McNeil is a crafty hitter who got a long term deal. The price on him is not so high that it would prevent the club from offering him up in trades. He doesn´t have a lot of home run power nor much base running speed, so with a plethora of infielders in the minors it may mean McNeil is on the trading block.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor is here for the duration of his $341 million contract. His price is too high to find ready takers and he delivers a combination of power, speed, defense and RBIs that would be hard to replace. Right now he is clearly the most productive shortstop the club has ever had.
The big unknown here is Brett Baty. At times he flashes defense that might make him a starter on that basis alone. The real question remains his bat. He started off well, then backslid for the past few weeks. It is really a mystery of what kind of ballplayer he will become.
Catcher Francisco Alvarez is out now with his unfortunate thumb surgery but he is showing the effort both with the bat and behind the dish to know he is the man with the catcher’s gear now and for the future. He earns next to nothing and is very young.
Between his on-base ability and his defensive skills Brandon Nimmo looks like a winner. Last season he showed an increase in home run power. Thus far in 2024 it is too soon to tell how he will finish the year, but everyone seems to respect him and enjoys having him in the lineup every day.
Harrison Bader has been better than many anticipated but at $10.5 million for a guy whose primary skill is with his glove no one knows what his future is in Queens. He was signed to a single year deal and there is no guarantee the Mets will want him back when other players may offer more overall skills than glove alone. If Pete Alonso goes, then the likelihood of Bader returning is extremely slim.
Now people are remembering the player Starling Marte was for the team in 2022. If he finishes as he has started the season then the club has a tough decision to make for the future. They have him for one more year at a salary of $20,750,000. It may be time to take a Branch Rickey approach of dealing him away a year too soon than be saddled with him a year too long. At age 36 in 2025 it might make sense to sell high if he finished strongly (or even in 2024 at the break if the club is out of contention).
J.D. Martinez is a professional hitter and despite his back problems he is generally going to play every day at DH which puts less stress on him than playing the field would. At the rate he is being paid, they may want to entice him to come back for another year if he finishes strongly.
Many feel I am on a one-man dump D.J. Stewart campaign, but I simply look at the numbers. He is a career .218 hitter and doing worse than that this year. He cannot field. He cannot run. He kind of reminds me of the low average years of Dave Kingman. He will hit it out of the park or retire to the bench having done nothing much. He is not expensive but are one-dimensional players how you build for the future?
Former Brewer Tyrone Taylor is a keeper for his glove and his bat. He may not be a regular starter, but as a 4th outfielder you won´t be embarrassed when he is inserted into the lineup. He is not even arbitration eligible until 2025 and not a potential free agent until 2027. Bring him back.
Thus far Joey Wendle has been a bit less than expected. He is a .262 career hitter which isn´t bad for a backup player but he started off a little slowly. He offers up positional versatility but thus far his defense has not been all that good. At a $2 million salary for one year he is serviceable but his future in New York could go either way.
Omar Narvaez is earning $7 million on a contract that ends this year. Buh-bye!
Tomas Nido never has done much with his bat, so it is possible he finds himself off the 40-man roster once again as the Mets shop around for a stronger back as a backup catcher.

Monday we will start to look at the Syracuse Mets roster and who may or may not have a 2025 future at Citifield.

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