Yes, I admit it. That’s a pretty neutral headline. Doesn’t tell you whether I think Lee Smith is worthy of the Hall of Fame.
Because I don’t really know.
Smith appears to be more qualified than Bruce Sutter, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006, the eleventh year his name appeared on the ballot. But Sutter doesn’t really match up to Hall of Fame standards. So what to do about Smith?
The Mets system is hurt by a lack of depth. It has some very nice arms in Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia, but things begin to fall off quickly after that. The offensive prospects, in particular, come with a lot of question marks.
1. Zack Wheeler, RHP
BORN: May 30, 1990
EXPERIENCE: 2 seasons
ACQUIRED: 2009 1st round (6th overall), Georgia HS (by San Francisco)
2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: 2nd (San Francisco)
SCOUTING REPORT: A half year of veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran cost the San Francisco Giants dearly when they shipped Wheeler to the east coast. The right-hander instantly became the organization’s No. 1 prospect, narrowly edging Matt Harvey for the distinction. Wheeler’s repertoire includes a 91-95 mph fastball that can touch the upper 90s, a potentially-plus curveball and two developing pitches: a changeup and a cutter.
YEAR IN REVIEW: Wheeler had little to no issues with high-A ball during his first true full season in the minors. He struggled a bit with his control while pitching in the Giants organization (4.81 BB/9 in 88 IP) but made some minor adjustments with the Mets and showed improvement, albeit in a small sample size (1.67 BB/9 in 27 IP). He has yet to see his strikeout rate dip below 10.00 K/9 in his career. After posting an outstanding ground-ball rate in ’10, Wheeler’s became more of a fly-ball pitcher in ’11; it would be nice to see him work the lower half of the strike zone more consistently.
YEAR AHEAD: Wheeler is ready for the challenge of double-A and he should spend the majority of the season at that level. The organization may be tempted to call on him if the starting rotation struggles but he could use another full season in the minors before facing big league hitters.
CAREER OUTLOOK: Beltran compiled 1.2 WAR in 44 games with the Giants before jumping ship for a lucrative two-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Assuming he stays healthy, Wheeler will have no issues surpassing the value (possibly in his rookie season) that the Giants organization squeezed out of Beltran. Wheeler has a legitimate shot at becoming a No. 1 or 2 starter at the MLB level.
The results of the 2011 Fans Scouting Report are now available on the player pages and the leaderboards.
As always big thanks to Tangotiger for running them each year.
NOTE: The left-handed Paul McCartney should NOT be
confused with his Maholmish southclaw brethren.
Late Monday night, Paul Maholm broke the news via his own Twitter account that he has signed with the Chicago Cubs. This morning, Bruce Levine reported that the deal will pay him $4.25 million for 2012 with a $500,000 buyout of a $6.5 million option for 2013, so the deal will either be 1/4.75 or 2/10.75. This puts his guaranteed money at just slightly less than what the Indians took on to acquire Derek Lowe. If he pitches well and the Cubs pick up the option, he’ll essentially have gotten the same deal as Chris Capuano. The market for this kind of pitcher has been pretty clearly defined.
What can we expect from Maholm? And is he a good fit for the Cubs rotation?
It’s three Shawon Dunstons!
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Offseason Notes.
1. Shame-Filled Introduction
2. Reckless Power (RECK) Leaderboards
3. SCOUT Leaderboards: Australian Baseball League
Shame-Filled Introduction
Announcement
It’s with, like, 75% chagrin that I present today’s edition of Offseason Notes — which, it turns out, is mostly a collection of leaderboards and omits entirely any “news” or “current events.”
On Whose Fault That Is
Decidedly not mine.
On Whose Fault That Is, Part II
Probably either my parents’ or society’s.
On What the Name Is of the Game I’m Playing
The Blame Game.
Fernando Martinez’s time as a New York Met might be coming to an end. To make room for Ronny Cedeno and Scott Hairston on its 40-man roster, the Mets placed Martinez on waivers. While it seems that Martinez has been around forever, the former top prospect is only 23 — which means he could be an intriguing option for some other team.
A month ago, Albert Pujols agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It was a deal that the media and public mostly ignored due to the intense coverage of the trade that sent Nick Schmidt to the Colorado Rockies as the player-to-be-named-later in San Diego’s Huston Street acquisition. Who could forget what a monumental day that was? Apparently desperate to get back in the limelight, Pujols and the Angels have released final terms on the contract between the two. I now will cede to their wishes and relay that information.
Pujols will be guaranteed $12 million this year, followed by $16 million in 2013 and then $23 million in 2014. That’s followed up with $1 million raises each season, concluding with a $30 million payday in 2021. There’s a bunch of other stuff in there, and that’s probably what took so long to write out and agree upon. But these are the most important figures, totaling $240 million for sure over 10 years.
The 2012 Hall of Fame voting results were really never in question — this was Barry Larkin’s year. The only question would be how close certain other players could inch towards their own home in Cooperstown. A few took steps forward — Jack Morris, Jeff Bagwell, and Tim Raines enjoyed substantial gains. Others, like Mark McGwire, took steps back.
Edgar Martinez was a member of the final category — those that moved laterally, showing little to no momentum. Martinez debuted on the ballot in 2010 with 36.2% of the vote, slipped back to 32.9% last year, and just managed to claw his way back to his starting point this year, landing 36.5% of the vote. Although there have been a few players to start in the same vicinity as Martinez and make it to Cooperstown — Rich Gossage and Eddie Mathews, for example, these players have typically gained large amounts of support in their second or third years on the ballot before making it in. Martinez’s stagnation instead is reminiscent of a current Hall of Famer who had to rely upon the Veteran’s Committee for induction: Pee Wee Reese.
Episode 121
FanGraphs Audio returns from its winter furlough with managing editor Dave Cameron. Among the topics discussed: the respective Hall of Fame credentials of Jeff Bagwell, Edgar Martinez, and Tim Raines. Also, for no reason whatsoever: Bryan LaHair. Music courtesy of 1970s American rock band Player.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.
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Audio after the jump. (Approximately 30 min. play time.)
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Looking at Howie Kendrick’s performance record, it seems odd that he has only played two full seasons. Those two seasons — his two most recent campaigns — paint a starkly different picture. If Kendrick performs the way he did last year for the foreseeable future then the Angels scored big by extending his contract before he reaches free agency, but even a baseline Kendrick performance will make this contract a good one.
