Can’t believe it’s been four years.
I’m more proud of you than you’ll ever know.
Happy Birthday.
For the second straight year, we had a last minute cancellation for my son’s birthday party. It’s quite understandable as life gets in the way. Children and parents get sick. People unexpectedly drop by, and there are family emergencies that need attention.
Someone could just plum forget. It happens.
The issue is what should you do when you have to miss a birthday party.
Now, there are two different scenarios for this. The first is you’ve RSVP’s no to the party. In those instances, you can do whatever you want.
On a personal note, we treat each instance differently. If those kids have gone to my son’s party in the past, we’ll return the favor. They spent on a nice gift, and we’ll do the same.
If they’ve never gone to a party for our son, depending on how close a friend the kid is, we may give a small gift like a busy book or nothing at all.
The other scenario is where you’ve replied yes, but for whatever the case may be, you couldn’t make it to the party.
What I’ve found to be odd is that in both situations, the late cancellation did not provide a birthday present.
My presumption was that a gift is owed, and I’m not sure why people would feel otherwise.
At that point, the parents have already undertaken the expense of your child’s attendance. This includes cost of the child to attend the event as well as the cost for the goodie bag. There are other minor factors as well such as ordering pizza, cake, cupcakes, etc.
Bottom line is there was an expense paid upon your representation your child would attend.
Considering you also likely purchased a gift, you probably should give the gift to the birthday boy or girl.
Unless there’s some etiquette to the contrary of which I’m not aware, or there are real extenuating circumstances preventing the giving of the gift, giving a gift after a no-show or last minute cancellation should be considered an obligation.
If you’ve been on Twitter, you will notice the feud between Noah Syndergaard and Mr. Met. During this rivalry of sorts, each party has given each other shots with Mr. Met perhaps landing the biggest shot between the two:
Did you want to join us for dinner tonight?! ? https://t.co/yVwJf8jnAE
— Mr. Met (@MrMet) April 4, 2017
Well, it seems that Syndergaard has taken it up a notch by continuing in his quest to erase Mr. Met from all things Mets related. It started with Mr. Met being removed from the blue alternate home and road jerseys prior to the start of the 2017 season. Mr. Met was also removed from the team batting practice caps.
Even with the Mets having a dreadful season after the removal of Mr. Met from the uniforms, the team is still abiding by Syndergaard’s wishes in having Mr. Met remain off the Mets uniforms:
The 2018 batting practice hats from @NewEraCap are looking ?. pic.twitter.com/GxW4I9MRvs
— MLB (@MLB) November 20, 2017
All kidding aside, it is bizarre the Mets or MLB wouldn’t reincorporate Mr. Met into the team uniforms. The batting practice cap is really no different than the current blue alternate home cap. By having the two hats the same, you’re really missing an opportunity to sell a different cap to fans. At least on a theoretical level, this would increase sales.
More than that, there’s just a general sense of a complete lack of ingenuity. Put another way, the Mets cap is boring. It’d be great to see the Mets follow the suit of the Rockies (wearing the old logo for the old NHL team), the Blue Jays going with the Maple Leaf, or the Rays featuring the sunshine.
Overall, these batting practice caps should be fun, and you should want to run out and buy them when you see them in the store or presented online for the first time. Personally, I look at the Mets 2018 batting practice cap, and I have no inclination whatsoever to buy one.
Now, if they brought back Mr. Met, I might be inclined to get one for me and my son.
With the Mets being one of 30 MLB teams hoping to acquire the rights to Shohei Ohtani, now is a good time to revisit the Mets history with Japanese players. Suffice it to say, the organization does not have the history some other teams have like the Yankees with Hideki Matsui or the Mariners with Ichiro Suzuki or Kazuhiro Sasaki, the Mets have found Japanese players who have been good contributors to the club.
In total, the Mets have had 13 Japanese players in their history. Can you name them? Good luck!
Takashi Kashiwada Hideo Nomo Masato Yoshii Tsuyoshi Shinjo Satoru Komiyama Kazuo Matsui Kazuhisa Ishii Shingo Takatsu Ken Takahashi Hisanori Takahashi Ryota Igarashi Daisuke Matsuzaka Nori Aoki
On Thanksgiving, it’s time to go around the Mets 2017 roster and name something each player should be thankful for:
Nori Aoki – He looked so much better in September than he did in all of 2017 by being competent while playing on a dysfunctional team.
Jerry Blevins – Throughout all the stress of the season and his extreme workload, the man didn’t even put on one pound.
Chasen Bradford – With his call-up to the majors, he’s now on the short list for best beards in Mets history.
Jay Bruce – He learned from his experience last year, and he played well for a team that acquired him in a trade.
Asdrubal Cabrera – As we found out this season, all he wanted the Mets to do was to pick up his option so he could provide for him family. With the Mets having done that, he can now rest easy.
Jamie Callahan – One day when bards tell the tale of the six right-handed relievers the Mets acquired at the 2017 deadline, they will regale us all with stories of how Callahan was the first of them to finish out a game the Mets won.
Gavin Cecchini – He made the switch from short to second where it will be easier for him to make it to the majors. That goes double if the Mets who are tightening payroll off a poor season don’t bring in a free agent to play the position.
Yoenis Cespedes – With Cespedes missing half the season, that left a lot of time for him to hit the course.
Michael Conforto – Collins is gone meaning no one is standing in his way from being a superstar anymore.
Travis d’Arnaud – He became the greatest defensive second baseman in Mets history by posting a 1.000 fielding percentage at the position.
Jacob deGrom – With him pitching so well this year, he knows he will finally be able to cash in in arbitration thereby allowing him to afford a haircut.
Lucas Duda – The slugger was the first Mets player traded at the deadline, and he temporarily got to avoid the We Follow Lucas Duda filming.
Josh Edgin – He could be the only pitcher in the history of the Mets organization who is capable of getting both Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy out.
Phillip Evans – After winning a batting title in 2016, having a good Spring Training, and a good second half for Vegas, the Mets finally decided to let him post similarly good numbers for them in September.
Jeurys Familia – Blood clots in his shoulder costing him most of the season made most people forget why he missed the beginning of the season.
Chris Flexen – As we learned with Mike Pelfrey, being a Mets pitcher who struggled in the majors after completely skipping Triple-A will get you career earnings of roughly $47 million.
Wilmer Flores – He fouled a ball off his face, and he lived to tell about it.
Sean Gilmartin – With his going from the Mets to the Cardinals, he was able to prove he wasn’t bad. It was just the Mets as an organization did not employ anyone capable of knowing he was actually injured.
Erik Goeddel – No matter how much he struggled this season, he will never be the most hated person in pro sports with the last name pronounced GO-dell\n
Curtis Granderson – He had a front row seat to seeing Chase Utley fail in the postseason.
Robert Gsellman – He has so much self confidence he doesn’t care what anyone things of him.
Matt Harvey – Between the Tommy John, TOS, and the Mets rushing him into the rotation with atrophied muscles in his throwing arm knowing he wouldn’t really be ready until a month into the season, he should be thankful for getting out of the season with his right arm still attached.
Ty Kelly – He got out of here after one game thereby preventing Nurse Ratched from getting to him and ending his season.
Juan Lagares – With all the injuries and the Mets looking to cut payroll, he is once again the center fielder of the future.
Seth Lugo – As we learned in the WBC and regular season, when he’s blonde, he’s Cy Young the first two times through the order.
Steven Matz – With him suffering the same injury deGrom suffered last year, we all know he can come back from this to be the same exact injury prone pitcher he was before the surgery.
Kevin McGowan – He will always have a special place in Mets fans hearts as it was his call-up that forced Ramirez off the roster.
Tommy Milone – He was able to find a team that was okay with him having an ERA over 8.00.
Rafael Montero – For the first time in his life, he wasn’t a complete abomination as a pitcher.
Tomas Nido – Even with his struggles at the plate in Binghamton, he can rest easy knowing the Mets don’t expect an OBP over .300 from their catchers.
Brandon Nimmo – No one, not matter what, has been able to wipe that smile off of his face.
Tyler Pill – In a year of embarrassing pitching performances by Mets pitchers, Pill actually acquitted himself quite well before suffering his season ending injury.
Kevin Plawecki – He’s so well liked by his teammates that someone left him a present in his locker, which apparently has inspired him to hit the ball harder and longer thereby resurrecting his career.
Neil Ramirez – Somehow, someway, he was not the absolute worst pitcher on a team’s pitching staff.
AJ Ramos – To him, getting traded to the Mets meant he was traded to a team that actually spends money in the offseason.
Addison Reed – He was so good this year he was worth not just one but three right-handed relievers.
Jose Reyes – The Mets didn’t cut him or his playing time no matter how horrible he played during the 2017 season.
Matt Reynolds – He got that long look in September Sandy Alderson promised him. Unfortunately, that only amounted to him getting 10 games to show what he could do at the MLB level.
Jacob Rhame – He’s with an organization that has had success getting flame throwing right-handed pitchers who have slimmed down since getting drafted reach their full potential.
Rene Rivera – After failing to whisper loud enough to help the Mets pitchers pitch better, he was able to go to the Cubs to help their pitchers lead them to an NLCS berth.
T.J. Rivera – With Warthen and Ramirez gone, he’s not going to have to worry about anyone mishandling his return from Tommy John.
Hansel Robles – In his mind every ball hit in the air is an inning ending pop up.
Amed Rosario – He didn’t have to have his development hampered by being expected to be the savior when he was called-up to the majors as the Mets were well out of contention on August 1st.
Fernando Salas – Despite his rough stint with the Mets, he was able to land with the Angels to end the season thereby proving it was the Mets handling of pitchers and not him that was terrible.
Paul Sewald – As a reward for all of his hard work in Vegas, he got the privilege of being the arm Collins loved to abuse during the season.
Dominic Smith – He finally got his call-up in August in Philadelphia of all places allowing him to celebrate the accomplishment and the win with a cheesesteak from Pat’s. (NOTE: not a cheapshot at his weight, this actually happened)
Josh Smoker – After the Mets finally gave up on using a pitcher with a history of shoulder issues as the long man in the pen, he showed the team in September that he could be as a lefty out of the pen to get lefties out.
Noah Syndergaard – Mr. Met flipped off someone this year other than him.
Travis Taijeron – With the Dodgers just signing him to a minor league deal, he is now all but assured of becoming the next Justin Turner.
Neil Walker – The Mets moved him to the Brewers where he was able to re-establish his free agency value by being productive and by staying healthy, which was coincidentally was when he was away from the Mets medical team.
Adam Wilk – Because Harvey was at home one day in his pajamas, he set off on a path where he would become eligible to earn a share of the postseason money awarded to the Twins for claiming the second Wild Card.
Zack Wheeler – Instead of missing two years due to injury, he missed two months.
David Wright – Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Mets still have not given up on him.
Terry Collins – At the end of the day, he was able to make a friend of Fred Wilpon who had his back no matter what. We should all be so lucky.
Dan Warthen – He found a new group of pitchers in Texas who have elbows waiting to learn how to throw that Warthen Slider.
Kevin Long – After departing the Mets, he was able to smuggle the page out of his binders that showed exactly how he turned Daniel Murphy into Babe Ruth. He can now bring that with him to Washington.
Sandy Alderson – Collins was so poor at managing, he was able to convince ownership it was all Collins’ fault and not his for poorly constructing a roster.
Mets Fans – Well, even if it wasn’t at this post, we all still have a sense of humor, and we can still laugh at what we put up with from this team on a daily basis.
Happy Thanksgiving.
With the Mets opting to add Gerson Bautista, Tyler Bashlor, Luis Guillorme, and Corey Oswalt to the Major League roster, they protected those players from the Rule 5 Draft. Conversely, the Mets made some tough decisions on some other players whom they exposed and risked losing in December 14th’s Rule 5 Draft:
Level: Binghamton
Stats: 8-7, 3.60 ERA, 1.251 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 6.1 K/9
After a difficult 2016 season and May, Jannis began to control his knuckleball much better producing better results. Part of that was his ability to keep in the ball on the ground with him posting a 1.58 ground out to fly out ratio and his surrendering just four homers in 122.1 innings pitched.
As a result, we saw his ERA drop in successive months, and he carried that forward into the Arizona Fall League. With the top prospects in the game, Jannis stood out with the third best ERA among starters (2.33) and the fifth best WHIP (1.037).
While he may not be the next R.A. Dickey, he has shown he can consistently throw the knuckleball, which may very well entice some team into giving him a shot to stick in their rotation or their bullpen.
Level: Las Vegas & Binghamton
Stats: 7-13, 5.35 ERA, 1.439 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 5.1 K/9
Like many pitchers who pitch to contact, Knapp struggled in Vegas. This was largely the result of his surrendering a .326 BABIP, and his really struggling at home. Naturally, these numbers would not entice any team. What would is what Knapp did when he was sent to Binghamton to help that team with their postseason push.
When Knapp was sent to Binghamton, he made four starts going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.037 WHIP. In his only postseason start he picked up the win pitching seven innings and allowing five hits, one earned, one walk, and striking out seven. During this stretch, he just might have done enough to entice a team to select him.
And his being selected would not be completely unexpected. A few years ago, the Cardinals selected Matthew Bowman from the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft. Bowman had a similar profile to Knapp, and he has been a useful piece in the Cardinals bullpen the past two seasons.
Level: Las Vegas
2017 Stats: 0-2, 8.31 ERA, 1.788 WHIP, 5.2 BB/9, 6.2 K/9
2016 Stats (Binghamton): 1-1, 1.87 ERA, 14 SV, 0.902 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.4 K/9
This time a year ago it would have been surprising to learn Roseboom was not going to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. After a dominating year in Binghamton, he followed that with an impressive run in the Arizona Fall League. He was then given a chance to make the team out of Spring Training as a second lefty in the bullpen, and he showed enough for the Mets to consider him.
He struggled in his 18 appearances for Vegas this season, but that could be largely attributed to the season ending foot injury he suffered in May. If a team believes Roseboom would be healthy to start the year, or they believe they can stash him on the Disabled List to start the season, he looks like a prime candidate to be poached by another organization. This shouldn’t be too surprising as teams typically use the Rule 5 Draft to look to find a left-handed reliever who could help them out of the pen.
Level: Columbia, St. Lucie, Binghamton
Stats: 6-0, 1.51 ERA, 14 SV, 0.905 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 10.1 K/9
Uceta was statistically the best reliever in the Mets minor leagues last year. That was largely due to his three month stretch where he allowed just one unearned run. A major reason for his success was his ability to focus on his two best pitches, a mid 90s fastball and an outstanding changeup, to get betters out. This was a big reason why he was a fast riser through the Mets minor league system. This gives us every reason to believe he could just be scratching the surface as a shutdown late inning reliever.
It’s very likely another team sees this come Rule 5 Draft time. Of all the players the Mets left exposed, Uceta appears to be the player most likely to be selected.
Level: St. Lucie & Las Vegas
Stats: .277/.358/.440, 34 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, 70 RBI, 18 SB, 3 CS
After dealing with a pair of broken hammate bones, the 23 year old switch hitter got back to being the bat the Mets were once very excited to see. The real question for the Mets as well as any team that would even consider selecting him is where do you put him?
Due to his struggles at third, the Mets are having him work at both corner outfield spots during the Instructional Leagues. If he shows any aptitude there, we may see him make the complete switch from infielder to outfielder. That’s if a team doesn’t select him, which they could based upon his bat and his versatility. Still, with his having only played 13 games above High-A and his not having a true position, the Mets may be able to get him through the Rule 5 Draft one last time.
Like seemingly every Major League team, the New York Mets are interested in obtaining the Japanese Babe Ruth – Shohei Ohtani. While it is good to hear the Mets are in fact interested in entering the race for the pitcher/hitter, no one should expect the Mets to get him.
This isn’t a financial reason either. Ohtani comes with a $20 million posting fee which is only accepted by the team who is deemed to have one the claim. The Mets can only offer him a bonus from their international bonus pool which currently stands at $150,000. This pales in comparison to the $3,535,000 the Rangers could offer him or the $3,250,000 the Yankees could offer him.
Now, the Mets don’t have the pool money those teams have because the Mets have spent their money acquiring players. The one caveat here is if Ohtani really wanted to come to the Mets, the Mets could very well trade for additional pool money.
The issue is why would Ohtani want to come to the Mets? Given the Collective Bargaining Agreement constructs, Ohtani is going to make roughly the same amount as T.J. Rivera did last year. If he waited two years, he’d possibly get Giancarlo Stanton‘s contract. In many ways, you could argue, Ohtani isn’t motivated as much by the money as he is by the chance of accomplishing his dream of playing in the majors.
For him, that means both pitching and hitting. Likely, that means Ohtani belongs in the American League where he could DH on a somewhat regular basis. During his five year career in the Japanese Leagues, his positional breakdown was as follows: P (85 G), RF (57 G), LF (7 G), DH (256 G).
Consider for a moment, Ohtani has not appeared in the outfield since 2014. There are a few reasons for that including Ohtani’s recent medical history. A bigger reason is a team does not want their top of the rotation starter airing it out in right field to try to nail a runner at the plate, nor do they want that pitcher diving to catch a ball and risk the injuries we have seen Juan Lagares suffer the past few seasons.
You could argue this could lead a team to try to move him to first base. However, if you view Ohtani as a top of the rotation starter, would you be willing to risk a Cliff Floyd – Todd Hundley type of collision? There is next to no chance you would do that, and that is even before you consider a team not wanting to waste teaching Otani a new position in lieu of working with his new pitching coach.
As much as National League teams want Ohtani, they really can’t afford the risk of playing Ohtani everyday. You don’t want him in right field a day after he threw 100 pitches. Accordingly, there are some necessary off days he is going to need. Every National League team knows this, including the Mets. Ohtani and his agents know this as well.
If Ohtani really wants to pitch and hit, he’s really limited to the American League where he can DH on the days he’s not starting.
Of course, there is still every possibility Ohtani really does want to do it all, which would include fielding. To be fair, there haven’t been comments from Ohtani regarding his wants from that regard.
Still, if you were a betting man, you would likely bet on Ohtani choosing an American League team because that is the team best suited for not only his talents, but also for his own personal goals. If that is the case, while we can point fingers at the Mets for missing out on players over the years, they will not be to blame for missing out on a once in a generation type of talent.
Tonight at 8:00 P.M. is the deadline for the Mets to add players to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. At the moment, the Mets 40 man roster stands at 35, which means the team could add as many as five eligible players to the roster.
Typically speaking, the Mets won’t go that far for a few reasons. First, the team will need to add players this offseason to help bolster a team desperately in need at some key positions. Second, the team may want to keep some spots open so they could add a player or two during this year’s Rule 5 draft. Considering there are some teams facing a roster crunch, there may very well be some intriguing names that become available.
For the moment, let’s assume the Mets will add five players with the team likely considering DFAing a couple of names already on the 40 man roster. If the Mets have that ability, here are the players I believe the Mets should add to the roster.
RHP Tyler Bashlor
Age: 24
Level: St. Lucie & Binghamton
Stats: 3-2, 3.44 ERA, 46 G, 13 SV, 49.2 IP, 84 K, 1.309 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 15.2 K/9
Bashlor is a power arm who can routinely get it into the high 90s. This along with his curveball is a reason why he gets huge strikeout numbers. The problem with him is he walks too many batters. It’s been a problem his entire minor league career. To that point, there is one caveat. In the small sample size he worked with Glenn Abbott in Binghamton, he only walked 2.5 batters per nine, which is a much more manageable number. If he can keep that up, he’s a shut down reliever who could very well be a future closer for the Mets.
RHP Gerson Bautista
Age: 22
Level: Carolina League & St. Lucie
Stats: 3-3, 4.22 ERA, 37 G, 9 SV, 59.2 IP, 73 K, 1.592 WHIP, 4.7 BB/9, 11.0 K/9
Bautista was the crown jewel of the Addison Reed trade. The reliever has immense talent with the ability to get up to triple digits on the radar gun. What is really interesting with him is that once he became a Met, he was finally able to harness his abilities. In 10 appearances with St. Lucie, he had a 1.88 ERA, 0.907 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, and a 12.6 K/9. If he is truly that pitcher, he has an outside chance to pitch in Queens in 2018.
MI Luis Guillorme
Age: 23
Level: Binghamton
Stats: .283/.376/.331, 20 2B, HR, 43 RBI, 4 SB, 3 CS
Guillorme is a throwback player who is a highlight reel at second or short. At the moment, he’s more than ready to contribute defensively at the Major League level. Offensively, Guillorme finds his way on base, and he’s a smart baserunner. He’s also aware that he needs to begin hitting for more power, and he has set out to do that. Given his work ethic, it shouldn’t be ruled out he will hit for enough power where he may one day be a top of the lineup hitter.
RHP Corey Oswalt
Age: 24
Level: Binghamton
Stats: 12-5, 2.28 ERA, 24 G, 24 GS, 2 CG, SHO, 134.1 IP, 119 K, 1.176 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 8.0 K/9
Oswalt was not only the best pitcher in the Mets organization this past season winning a Sterling Award, he was also the best pitcher in the Eastern League as evidenced by his being named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. He’s a four pitch starter who may not dominate opposing batters, but he knows how to get people out. Given the rash of injuries the Mets have faced in their starting rotation in successive seasons, this is something that should not be overlooked, and the Mets certainly should not risk a chance of losing him.
RHP Adonis Uceta
Age: 23
Level: Columbia, St. Lucie, Binghamton
Stats: 6-0, 1.51 ERA, 41 G, 14 SV, 59.2 IP, 67 K, 0.905 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 10.1 K/9
The Mets converted this former starter to a reliever, and he took off this season. With him mainly focusing on his two best pitches, a mid to high 90s fastball and an outstanding changeup, Uceta dominated opposing batters. For a three month stretch, he did not allow one earned run while oppositing batters hit .133/.198/.158 off of him. It’s a big reason why he quickly rose through the farm system last year, and it’s a big reason why he could contribute in the Mets bullpen next season.
Overall, it’s unlikely the Mets protect as many as five players, and it’s equally unlikely the team protects three relief pitchers. To that end, it’s really a debate over who to protect. Do you protect Bashlor and Uceta, who could reasonably contribute in the bullpen next year? Or maybe, you protect just one of them to make sure you keep Bautista who is likely the best arm of the three. It’s not the easiest decision in the world, but it is one that Alderson now faces.
Hopefully, no matter what decision he makes, we won’t be revisiting this one like we have revisited the Jeff Walters – Matthew Bowman decision.
In conjunction with the Mets selling their 2018 schedule, they have announced their Promotion Schedule.
It should be noted that none of the announced promotions are adults only. For that matter, none of them are kids only, which is odd considering there are giveaways which are clearly targeted towards kids.
If you are a parent looking to take kids to the game, here’s a list of promotions which kids should enjoy (Limit in parentheses):
Sat, March 31st: Build-A-Bear Teddy (15,000)
Sun, April 15th – Kids Mets Glove (15,000)
Sat, May 5th – Yoenis Cespedes Garden Gnome (25,000)
Sun, May 6th – Baseball Socks (15,000)
Sat, May 19th – Mr. Met Star Wars Bobblehead (25,000)
Sun, June 10th – Mets Fathead (15,000)
Sat, June 23rd – Home Run Apple Figurine (15,000)
Sun, June 24th – Mets cap (15,000)
Sat, July 7th – Jacob deGrom Bobblehead (25,000)
Sat, July 8th – Cespedes Shinguard (15,000)
Sun, July 15th – Mets Toy Truck (15,000)
Sun, August 5th – Topps National Baseball Card Day pack
Sun, August 26th – Mets Lunchbag (15,000)
Sat, Sept 8th – Mets winter hat (15,000)
Sun, Sept 9th – Mets Cereal Bowl (15,000)
For the Sunday promotions, keep in mind that if it is a day game, kids get to run the bases after the game.
Additionally, every Friday is free t-shirt night for everyone. However, the size provided to all is an adult x-large which really precludes it from being a kid friendly promotion.
Lastly, if you’re going on a Bobblehead or gnome day be prepared. You can get there hours before the start of the game and still not get the promotion. That sets a really bad tone for the rest of your day.
Overall, if you are planning to take the family to Citi Field, you should take your kid to one of the aforementioned games. Unless the Mets do some serious work on the roster, chances are you won’t get a win. If you go on a promotional date, you can still go home with something.
Traditionally, the Arizona Fall League is reserved for the top Double-A and Triple-A prospects in each organization. We’ve previously seen with players like David Wright and Mike Piazza having played in the Arizona Fall League. We see it again this season with top prospects like Kyle Tucker (Astros), Ronald Acuna (Braves), and Francisco Mejia (Indians).
The list of players in the Arizona Fall League this year also includes 29 year old Mickey Jannis.
Typically speaking, when a prospect passes a certain age, they are no longer considered a prospect. Depending on which standard you apply, that age is a moving date, but everyone will agree that 29 years old is too old to be considered a prospect.
Jannis is different than your typical prospect because he is a knuckleball pitcher, and for a number of reasons knuckleball pitchers have a tendency to develop later in their careers than most prospects.
There are few pitching coaches out there who are actually adept at teaching the pitch, and it is a difficult pitch to throw. However, the main reason is probably due to it being seen as gimmick which pitchers do not seek to learn until their careers are almost at a premature end. Jim Bouton described this process best in Ball Four:
After a couple of year in the minors, however, I started to get bigger and stronger and started to overpower people with my fastball. So I phased the knuckleball out.
I never really used it again until 1967. My arm was very sore and I was getting my head beat in. [Ralph Houk] put me into a game against Baltimore and I didn’t have a thing except pain. I got two out and then with my arm still hurting like hell, I threw four knuckeballs to Frank Robinson and struck him out. The next day I get sent to Syracuse. Even so, it wasn’t until the last part of the next season that I began throwing it again. The idea that you’ve lost your regular stuff is very slow in coming.
That experience is typical to most knuckleballers. In R.A. Dickey‘s own book, Wherever I Wind Up, he stated his process of learning the knuckleball began when the Rangers front office suggested it was his best chance of being able to have a Major League career. That is an experience shared by Jannis:
It’s just a decision I made after I got released by the Rays after my second year in pro ball. I went into independent baseball and just made the transition. It’s been a long process. I’m still learning to throw it, learning to throw it for strikes. It’s just every day learning something new with the pitch.
(William Boor, MLB.com)
In many ways, Jannis is still learning how to control the pitch, and as a result, he has had middling results. He would go from a 3.55 ERA and 1.354 WHIP in 2015 to a 5.69 ERA and 1.564 WHIP in 2016. This made his age 29 season an important one to improve his status as a prospect. Based upon recent knuckleball pitchers age 29 season, there wasn’t much reason for hope:
- Tim Wakefield (1996) 14-13, 5.14 ERA, 1.550 WHIP
- Dickey (2004) 6-7, 5.61 ERA, 1.620 WHIP
Albeit in Double-A, Jannis had a much better age 29 season going 8-7 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.251 WHIP. During the season, he’s come closer to taming the knuckleball leading to better success, a rejuvenation of his status as a prospect, and his assignment to the Arizona Fall League.
Jannis has taken full advantage of the opportunity by pitching great. In his six starts, he was 1-3 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.037 WHIP. Overall, he’s showing he control his knuckeball, and he can get baseball’s top prospects out. If he continues learning how to harness his knuckleball, he may very well get the chance to prove he can use it to get Major League batters out.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This was first published on MMO