Jacob deGrom

[Marillac]

deGrom strikes again. 8 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 9 strike outs, and he retired the last 14 he faced. Pitch count of just 100. I can't believe they pulled him. WTF? He was on cruise control. 75 strikes, throwing 96 in the 8th, up 2-0. You don't pull a pitcher with just 100 pitches three outs shy of a CG shutout.

ERA now stands at 2.62 on the year with an 8-6 record due to awful run support. He hasn't let up a run in 22 innings. If he doesn't win R.O.Y. it's a travesty. He was also 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA at AAA before the call-up. Three starts left to get to ten wins. He'd be 5th in the league in ERA but he is 17 innings shy of qualifying.

Joe Panik is making a good case for ROY.

Great job by Panik! If it can't be deGrom, I'd love for it to be Panik, but he's only played 54 games this season and there are only about 20 remaining...that's less than half a season even if he plays in them all. It's tough to give anyone a nod in that situation when there are other deserving candidates.

deGrom will have 23 starts which is really only about a handful off from what a typical pitcher is expected to pitch in 2014.

Hamilton seems to be really cooling off. 55 steals is awesome, but he's been caught 21 times. His OBP of .299 is awful and he's now batting .259 with no power and has had a terrible second half of the year.

 

[MainMan]

Lagares has been stealing a lot of bases recently. And based upon the speed and instincts he shows in the OF, you would think he would be pretty decent at this going forward.

But he still has a lousy OBP at .321 just 40 points over his batting average. And 84 SO to 19 BB.

Assuming the Mets upgrade their lineup elsewhere, would you feel comfortable if Lagares is the leadoff hitter next year?

 

[Andrew]

Lagares has been stealing a lot of bases recently. And based upon the speed and instincts he shows in the OF, you would think he would be pretty decent at this going forward.

But he still has a lousy OBP at .321 just 40 points over his batting average. And 84 SO to 19 BB.

Assuming the Mets upgrade their lineup elsewhere, would you feel comfortable if Lagares is the leadoff hitter next year?

I don't think the Mets will give us many other options. Lagares could improve.

 

[Marillac]

Lagares has been stealing a lot of bases recently. And based upon the speed and instincts he shows in the OF, you would think he would be pretty decent at this going forward.

But he still has a lousy OBP at .321 just 40 points over his batting average. And 84 SO to 19 BB.

Assuming the Mets upgrade their lineup elsewhere, would you feel comfortable if Lagares is the leadoff hitter next year?

Like most of us, my first thought is that he doesn't walk enough and doesn't seem like the prototypical leadoff hitter. But Baseball is kind of odd lately, and it's a pitcher's game this year...offensive #s are down. According to Yahoo Sports, only two of the top 13 base stealers in the NL--presumably where most of the leadoff guys will be found--have an OBP over .350 (both at just .353). Lagares is right there with most of them and you'd have to think that his pitch awareness and plate discipline will only get better as he develops. While he's fast, he not Dee Gordon or Jacob Ellsbury...he might touch 30 steals once MAYBE twice in his career. I wouldn't really have an issue with him batting leadoff...it looks like it's giving him a swagger since he took over there.

A guy that might be able to do it, although probably not next season, is Herrera. He has shown really good patience at the plate (two walks and two runs scored tonight). Small sample, but he is at .340 OBP, in spite of his struggles hitting the last few games, with six walks in 12 games. His OBP in AA was .406.

 

[Marillac]

This seems to be the perfect time to trade for a guy like Giancarlo Stanton. He'd have a Piazza-like effect on a team that is ready to compete. The Mets have the pieces. This is a fun team to watch regardless, but damn it'd be nice to have a 40-home run threat like that again.