Spring Training

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Paul Sewald

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Paul Sewald, the 27-year old reliever, will likely be one of the last few relievers to make the New York Mets roster. He had an up and down rookie season with the Mets and will try to look for more consistency in the 2018 season.

Sewald Has Been A Lifelong Met:

The  Mets drafted Sewald in the 10th round of the 2012 MLB Draft from the University of San Diego. The Mets Sewald sent to the Brooklyn Cyclones and excelled in his first year of professional baseball. He had a 1.88 ERA and only walked two batters in 28.2 innings.

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He earned a promotion to the Savannah Sand Gnats in 2013 and was just as strong with a 1.77 ERA and picked up eight saves. His control was something that made him stand out, only walking seven batters in 56 innings. Outside of 4.1 innings with the Binghamton Mets, Sewald played with the St. Lucie Mets in 2014 and 1.92 ERA with 11 saves.

Sewald continued to dominate with the B-Mets the next year with a 1.75 ERA and 24 saves which earned him and Eastern League All-Star selection. 2016 was his last full year in the minors and he spent it with the Las Vegas 51s. His ERA rose to 3.29, as most do, but the Mets still had plans for Sewald’s future with the organization.

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Sewald’s Mets Debut:

In 2017, the  Mets called-up and sent down Sewald a couple of times in April but spend the rest of the year with the Mets. From May through September, Sewald would have a good then a bad month. He never found the consistency that he was able to show in the minor leagues. He finished the 2017 season with a 4.55 ERA but pitched 65.1 innings out of the bullpen.

Sewald has had a solid Spring Training with a 3.75 ERA in the 12 innings he has pitched. Sewald is likely going to be a middle reliever this season potentially is an underrated reliever for the Mets. The fans and organization seem to think highly of Sewald because they did not trade him for Cleveland Indians second baseman, Jason Kipnis. Fans around the league should not be surprised if he has a breakout season in 2018.

 

New York Yankees: Brandon Drury Injury Update

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What Happened to Drury ?

During the New York Yankees Spring Training contest against the rival Boston Red Sox at George M Steinbrenner Field on Friday March 23rd, Brandon Drury was hit by a pitch in the left elbow and was immediately removed from the game.

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Drury was taken in for X-Rays which came back negative. Brandon will sit out a few days to recover, but should be ready for Opening Day on Thursday March 29th in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

Drury was acquired in a three team trade at the beginning of Spring Training. Leading to expected re-assigning of the Yankees hope third base prospect Miguel Andújar back to Triple A Scranton.

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This Spring Drury has hit .239 batting average with 1 homerun and 5 rbi’s. Drury has played solid defense at third base and will look to take that solid play into the season.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Hansel Robles

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New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Hansel Robles

Hansel Robles, the 27-year old reliever, is one of the more interesting pitchers the New York Mets have on their roster. His struggles with consistency and the long ball has not put his Mets future in question as he continues to struggle.

Robles Road to the Big Leagues

Robles was originally signed as an international free agent in August 2008 out of the Dominican Republic. He spent 2009 and 2010 with the Dominican League Mets where he had a 2.91 and 3.09 ERA as a starter. He spent the next year with the Kingsport reliever and pitched 37 innings as a reliever and had a 2.68 ERA.

Robles returned to being a starter in 2012 with the Brooklyn Cyclones. He has his best year in the minors going 6-1 with a 1.11 ERA and only walked 10 batters in 72.2 innings. His strong year earned him a New York-Penn League All-Star selection. Next year was not as strong as the year before, but was still good.  He had a 3.78 ERA in a year he spent mostly with the St. Lucie Mets.

Robles Finally Makes it to the Show

Robles arrived to the Binghamton Mets in 2014 and split time as a starter and reliever. His ERA rose to 4.31 but pitched a career high 110.2 innings. After pitching 7.2 innings out of the bullpen with the Las Vegas 51s he earned the call-up to the New York Mets. His rookie season was a successful one going 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA and 61 strikeouts.

2016 was his first full season in the big leagues and he was very solid out of the Mets bullpen. In 77.2 innings pitched he struck out 85 batters with a 3.48 ERA. The team had high hopes for him in 2017 but he struggled to a point where the Mets optioned him back to Las Vegas. After two months in the minors he made his return in mid-July. He came back better than ever but completely imploded in the September. Overall he finished the season with a 4.92 ERA in 46 games.

His struggles have carried over into Spring Training by allowing 13 runs in 11.2 innings. He has also given up an alarming five home runs. He has been scored upon in four out of his eight outings this spring. Robles will have a tight leash on him this season if he does end up making the team this season and there is no guarantee of that happening.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Jacob Rhame

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New York Mets‘ Jacob Rhame was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 6th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He spent the rest of the year with the Ogden Raptors where he had eight saves in the 20 games he pitched that season.

The next year he played with the Great Lakes Loons and had a 2.00 ERA in 51 games and was established himself number 23 prospect in the Dodgers organization.

Moving Up The Ranks and Facing Speed Bumps

In 2015, he played five games with the Tulsa Drillers and finished the game with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes where he continued his success with a 2.68 ERA and struck out 70 batters.

He moved up to the number 18 spot on the Dodgers prospect list heading into 2016. With the Oklahoma City Dodgers he saw his ERA rise to 3.29 as most pitchers do in the Pacific Coast League.

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His struggles continued in 2017 where he had a 4.31 ERA and dropped off the Dodgers prospects list before he was traded. Upon his arrival to the Mets he pitched six innings with the Las Vegas 51s and only allowed one run.

When he was brought up to the Mets as part of the September roster expansion he struggled giving up nine runs in nine innings and had an alarming 2.11 WHIP.

Rhame barely makes the Mets top prospects list at number 30. He is very reliant on his fastball which sits at 95-96 mph and can hit the upper-90s. His secondary pitches are mediocre but his slider show some bite on it every once in a while and his change-up still needs work. He walked too many batters in his short MLB stint but he usually has had decent control.

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Decent has summarized his Spring Training allowing four runs in the nine innings he has pitched. Seven of his nine outings this spring has been scoreless.

The Mets see potential in Rhame since they have kept him with the team while most of the minor league guys have been sent down already. If he makes the team he likely will not see too many high leverage situations until Mickey Callaway feels he is ready for them.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: A.J. Ramos

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Before he came to the New York Mets, A.J. Ramos was drafted by the Marlins in the 21st round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Texas Tech University. After four very strong years in the minors he made his Marlins debut in 2012. He only pitched 9.1 innings and allowed four runs.

Ramos in his Miami Marlins Years

Ramos had a breakout year in 2013 as he pitched 80 innings and has a 3.15 ERA which established his role as their set-up man. His 2014 was even better where he had a perfect 7-0 record and a 2.11 ERA in 68 games. He earned the closer role in 2015 and did not skip a beat. He pitched in 71 games, had a 2.30 ERA and was ninth in the NL with 32 saves.

2016 was his best year of his career, he had a 2.81 ERA in 67 games and had 40 saves which was good for fourth in the NL. Ramos also earned his only All-Star selection of his career. The Marlins had high hopes for Ramos in 2017 but he had a 3.63 ERA and 20 saves before he was traded to the Mets. After trading Addison Reed and with Familia’s health in question the Mets needed a better arm in the bullpen which is why they acquired Ramos.

As a Met, Ramos struggled a little bit with a 4.74 ERA in the 19 innings he pitched. Ramos is expected to rebound and be a huge part of a revamped Mets’ bullpen. He is a free agent after the season so if the team is out of contention he will likely be a trade piece at the trade deadline. In Spring Training, he has struggled in his last two outings but strung together a few strong outings before that. Overall Ramos looks good to go for the season and will be a huge part of the Mets bullpen.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Corey Oswalt

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After Corey Oswalt was drafted, he was assigned to the Kingsport Mets and struggled with an 8.15 ERA in 9 games. Oswalt battled injuries in 2013 with Kingsport and only was able to pitch 13 innings.

Breakout to breakdown:

2014 was his breakout year with the Brooklyn Cyclones where he went 6-2 with a 2.26 ERA in 12 games. He became known for his control and was named a Short Season All-Star by Baseball America.

Oswalt continued his success in 2015 by winning 11 of his 23 starts and putting up a 3.36 ERA. He only walked 21 batters in 128.2 innings and moved up to the St. Lucie Mets for the 2016 season.

Outside of one inning he spent with the Gulf Coast Mets, he saw his ERA rise to 4.06 in 68 innings, this still allowed Oswalt to be named the 27th best prospect in the Mets organization going into 2017.

Oswalt put up his best numbers with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2017. He had a 12-5 record, 2.28 ERA and pitched a career high 134.1 innings.

He earned MILB.com organization All-Star honors, Baseball America Double-A All-Star honors, Eastern League All-Star honors and was name the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. The Mets placed Oswalt on the 40-man roster after the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Oswalt was recently sent back to minor league camp but has only allowed two runs in 6.1 innings this spring.

He will likely start the season in Las Vegas with the 51s and could see time with the Mets this season because of injuries or his performance. Worst case scenario is the Mets will bring him up in September for the roster expansion.

Should the New York Mets Be Concerned With a Bad Spring Training?

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Of course the New York Mets win/loss record is ugly this spring. but there is no reason to be concerned for this season.

Why we shouldn’t be concerned:

Between Tim Tebow, minor leaguers and players getting game action for the first time in months, everyone is working at different speeds in getting themselves ready for opening day. Veterans like Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Vargas likely take longer to get their bodies ready than a young guy like Amed Rosario.

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The record does not mean anything for the team’s success in 2018. The last five World Series champions have a combined record of 80-73 in their respective Spring Training and the five worst teams in baseball the last five years have a combined record of 79-73 in their respective Spring Training.

One win is the difference here between a contender and cellar dweller. A team can fully be evaluated until the season begins and a team is playing games with only 25 people on the roster and their starters throwing 100 pitches each start.

Spring Training is the only time in baseball where each player is playing for themselves and coaches, managers and fans should be evaluating each player.

Guys like Brandon Nimmo, Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard have been playing great so far this spring and deserve their praise. Specific battles within the team and players recovering from injuries should also be looked at in depth.

d’Arnaud vs Plawecki, Nimmo vs Juan Lagares, the rest of the starting rotation behind Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom are the battles or games with in the games fans should concentrate their concerns with not wins and losses. If Steven Matz falters again, Adrian Gonzalez struggles at the plate, etc. are the big focal points of the spring.

Yes, wins are sexy but no one cares about a Spring Training record once March 29 comes. For those that still do not want to look past the wins and losses, there are still two weeks for the Mets to bring themselves out of the bottom of the Grapefruit League standings.

New York Yankees Player Preview: Miguel Andújar

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The New York Yankees have a highly valued farm system, and one of the crown jewels of that system is our next player preview Miguel Andújar. Andújar is the number six prospect for the Yankees. The 23 year old is currently billed as the third baseman of the future for the bombers.

The question is however….is the future now?

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Major League Debut Recap

Miguel made his Major League debut on June 28 against the Chicago White Sox, earning three hits in four at bats with four rbi’s (runs batted in). With only a very small sample size of Major League plate appearances (8) Andújar did have 4 hits 1 BB (base on balls), 1 SB (stolen base), and 2 of his 4 hits were doubles.

However to get a better picture of Andújar’s ability at the plate we take a look at his minor league numbers for the 2017 season. Andújar 2017 MLB numbers: .315 AVG/ .352 OBP/ .498 SLG, 16 HR, 82 RBI. as per Baseball Reference.

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Miguel came into Spring Training (2018) with a chance to compete for the opening day starters job at third base. Andújar came out of the gate hot this Spring, driving nearly every ball he hit with authority.

However, since his hot start Andújar has cooled off a bit in the production category  over the last week or so. Yet Miguel is still hitting the ball hard as evidence by his .714 Slugging percentage during Spring Training. But hitting was never the concern with Miguel, as all of the Yankees top brass know he can hit.

The question has been his defense. And so far this Spring, Andújar has played extremely well in the field converting all of his 19 chances in the field.

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It was thought that Miguel seemingly had an opportunity to secure his position as the Yankees Opening Day third baseman when Todd Frazier signed with the cross town rival New York Mets. But when Brandon Drury was acquired just prior to the start of Spring Training games from the Arizona Diamondbacks, that picture was put in doubt.

As Yankees GM Brian Cashman all but confirmed Drury would be the third baseman. And then factoring in the recent signing of veteran infielder Neil Walker coupled with Andújar’s lack of positional versatility (as he is only a third baseman), Miguel will more than likely begin the season at Scranton.

Offensively, Miguel has nothing left to prove at Triple A but his defense still needs to be improved, though it isn’t as bad as it has been made out to be.

Miguel Andújar will have a chance in 2018 to prove himself at the Major League level, and when he does, just look out; as Andújar may be able to cement himself in as the everyday third baseman for the New York Yankees and potentially make the Yankees upper management and their fans forget about a shortstop down I95.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Rafael Montero

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Montero signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic. He immediately became one of the Mets top prospects because of his ability to strikeout batters with great control.

Montero’s Background:

Montero excelled in the minors, earning a Futures Game selection, Baseball America and MILB.com organizational All-Star selections. He peaked at #3 on the Mets prospect list and #94 on the MLB’s top prospect list.

In 2014, the Mets decided to call-up Montero but was overshadowed that season by Jacob deGrom’s dominance. Montero had a decent 4.06 ERA in 10 games, but lost the control that made him a top prospect.

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In 2015, he only pitched 10 innings with the Mets and struggled out of the bullpen. His season would end early because of a rotator cuff injury in his right arm.

2016 was another forgettable year for Montero, he allowed 17 runs in 19 innings and walked 16 batters. The Mets were running low on time with Montero and in 2017 he was given another chance to meet his potential.

He went 5-11 with a 5.52 ERA, so nothing to write home about, but he showed glimpses of what he could possibly be. Montero was third on the team in innings pitched, starts and second on the team in strikeouts. After two strong outings to start his spring, he has struggled in his latest two outings allowing seven runs in 1.1 innings.

Montero will likely make the team out of Spring Training and will have a longer leash than most relievers struggling to make a team. This is his last chance with the Mets and if he does not produce the Mets will have no other choice but to DFA him. There are younger and more talented pitchers in the Mets minor league system and the Mets are in a “win now” mode.

New York Mets 40-Man Roster Overview: Steven Matz

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New York Mets, New York Yankees, Steven Matz

Matz was drafted by the New York Mets in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Ward Melville High School in Long Island. Before even making his professional debut he underwent Tommy John Surgery which kept him out for the whole 2011 season. Matz finally made his debut in 2012 with the Kingsport Mets where he had a 1.55 ERA in 29 innings.

How has Matz found success?


Going into the 2013 season he replaced his slider with his curveball and found success with it. With the Savannah Sand Gnats, he made 21 starts and had a very nice 2.62 ERA, which earned him an All-Star selection for the Mets organization and the nine spot on their prospects list.

2014 was another strong year for Matz as he split time between the St. Lucie and Binghamton Mets and made 24 starts with a 2.24 ERA. He was also an organization, Florida State League and Double-A All-Star. He was also named the organization’s pitcher of the year, the top spot on the Mets prospect list and number 15 on the MLB prospect list.

2015 was a big year for Matz, where after putting a 2.05 ERA in the minors he earned a call up to a Mets team that was in a pennant chase. Matz helped lead that team to a World Series birth going 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA.

Other than being sidelined in August with a shoulder injury, Matz had a 2016 season going 9-7 with a 3.40 ERA in 22 games. Matz would finish tied for sixth in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Just like many of the Mets pitchers in 2017 he did not live up to the high expectations he had and was often injured. He only pitched for a little over two months and had a horrible 2-7 record with a 6.08 ERA. Matz reported to Spring Training hoping to start with a clean slate but has struggled so far.

Matz has made two starts but only pitched 1.2 innings and allowed four walks, eight hits and ten runs. In his last start against the Washington Nationals, he could not make it out of the first inning. With every other option the Mets have to start pitching better than him he is likely heading to the bullpen. He still has time to right the ship but if he continues to pitch this bad it would be no surprise to see him start the season in the minors.