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We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

Centerfield Nov 04 2018 06:00 AM

Crushed a 103 MPH pitch yesterday at the AFL all star game. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mlb.co ... e.amp.html Super excited about him. I know that FK raises some very valid reasons to temper enthusiasm, and keep in mind I have not seen him play, so make of it what you will, but I think this guy can be great. He’s not just a masher. Hits for average and gets on base. Supposedly hits to all fields. Plus he hits right handed. Defensively? Um. I heard he made a nice play yesterday.

Centerfield Nov 04 2018 06:04 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

And remember, I was dead on about Brandon Nimmo last year. So I have serious credibility here. (As long as you ignore similar predictions for Juan Lagares, Kevin Plawecki and Gavin Cecchini. 25% of the time, I’m right every time.)

Mex17 Nov 04 2018 06:39 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

I'm not disputing anything that you said, but we desperately need a major league caliber catcher in the middle of his prime who can handle himself behind the plate and also hit (I mean, actually hit) from the right hand side. The Miami Marlins just so happen to have that exact player and that player wants out of Miami and Jeter sure could benefit by flipping him for some more controllable and less expensive talent. Bruce can play first for the next two years and then we will see what is on the market after 2020.

Frayed Knot Nov 04 2018 07:16 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

I honestly don't know what to think about Alonso. On the one hand I can make the CF case that he's a masher waiting to happen; a .290 hitter w/a good walk rate (.091)* where 48% of his minor league hits have gone for XBs Then on the other I wouldn't object to trading NOW!!!! and let his weaknesses get exposed by better pitching and sea level humidity in some other organization, preferably for a guy who mans a position where we don't already have other options and that isn't as easy to fill. I guess the bottom line is that I think he has value but isn't invaluable and certainly not a 'can't miss'. This is all complicated by the fact that none of us has seen him play outside of an AB or two in Prospect games or hi-light clips and likely wouldn't recognize him if he walked onto our elevator with a 'Hi, my name is Peter Alonso' tag on his shirt. You just hope the new administration doesn't adopt a Steve Phillipsian attitude where all prospects are suspects and therefore fodder as throw-ins to get whatever flavor of the month veteran is on the market at that moment. The key to handling prospects is the pick out the right ones and deal off the rest. Hopefully the club has a decent idea of which he'll be. * .065-.070 is about average

Centerfield Nov 04 2018 07:29 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

For me, the biggest thing is that the statheads are all consistent that he hits the ball really hard. Which suggests his power will translate at sea level. Unlike McNeil who seemed to have warning track power when he arrived at Citi, and may have benefited from a high BABiP, the nerds seem to think this skill will carry over. Only time will tell. The defense is really a concern though. Remember, they raved about Dom Smith. And he’s just been ok. So I cringe to think how bad Alonso must be.

MFS62 Nov 04 2018 08:12 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

Centerfield wrote: The defense is really a concern though. Remember, they raved about Dom Smith. And he’s just been ok. So I cringe to think how bad Alonso must be. When I check the AFL stats, I check the "errors" column and last time I noticed, Alonso didn't have any. Of course, you can't make an error on a ball you can't get to, but he seems to be capably handling the chances he has had. Later

Frayed Knot Nov 04 2018 10:32 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

The scuttlebutt has been that he's not merely below average with the glove but downright bad. Of course you can get away with that at 1st base to a certain degree if you hit, but to do that you really have to hit and the main thing that's tilted me toward in the 'anti' column on Alonso is mostly just a push-back to the 'grass is greener' theory that some here have seemingly adopted with him where they assume he close to a lock to do so. In my mind the best case scenario is that he's still at least a half season away. Let him show that he keep this up while improving on his glove (and maybe also on his 30+% K-rates) and if he's doing all that thru June then he'll force them to make some kind of move depending on what they've got going on at 1B in Queens.

smg58 Nov 04 2018 12:59 PM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

The Mets need to get more right-handed, there's no reason to think Alonso isn't better than Dom Smith right now, and he's at least as safe a bet in 2019 as Bruce. Sustained success means not giving up 6+ years of somebody in a way that might downgrade a position right now. That is especially true if you're trying to secure the availability of long-term money for front line free agents at positions where you do not already have options. Now you can make an argument that the Mets need Realmuto, who is cheaper than the free agent catchers who are available. The evidence that Realmuto is much better than Grandal or Ramos is lacking, however. In fact, the evidence that he is better at all is debatable. Ramos had an .845 OPS last season, Realmuto had an .825 OPS, and Grandal had an .815 OPS. We are not talking Mike Piazza here. I would much, much, much, much rather pay extra money than give up a high-end prospect who is capable of helping us significantly in 2019.

Fman99 Nov 04 2018 08:45 PM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

I want to see him in Flushing. Although him starting the season down the street from me here in the 'Cuse is a nice consolation prize.

Ceetar Nov 05 2018 08:11 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

Fman99 wrote: I want to see him in Flushing. Although him starting the season down the street from me here in the 'Cuse is a nice consolation prize. get there fast, cause it's only gonna be about 3 weeks barring Joey Votto. He improved his walk rate in 2018, good to see. Steamer is estimating about a 112 wRC+ but only 212 PA which seems way off. 0.6 fWAR which would be like 1.8 over a full season. That's okay, and not particularly good for first baseman. Not that I buy much of Steamer projections. I think he can be a good and useful part of the 2019 Mets, even if he's not a rookie of the year contender. But he's almost definitely at the pinnacle of his value right now, and if you can capitalize on that for a great player, you do so and roll with Frazier or find a decent guy to fill and and go with it.

Edgy MD Nov 05 2018 09:21 AM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

Do Steamboat projections get updated if the Mets suddenly deal off Bruce and Flores, or Smith enrolls in divinity school?

Frayed Knot Nov 05 2018 10:22 PM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

This Puma article, even though titled 'Mets Fianlly Ready to Give Alonso a Chance', doesn't really say much other than that he'll be invited to Spring Training and given a chance to win the job. Well duh! But it has Brodie saying nice things about him including all the catch phrases like 'held in high regard by the org', 'works hard', 'made strides defensively', etc. so it's certainly not a negative piece. So they're "going to be open-minded" about how they plan to cover 1st base next year.

Centerfield Nov 05 2018 10:23 PM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

We won’t see him until the extra year of control has been secured. Nor should we.

Vic Sage Nov 06 2018 03:23 PM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

Hopefully he gets off to a good start in Vegas... i mean, Rochester (Syracuse? somewhere up state), and gets the May/June call-up (after the deadline passes that delays his arbitration eligibility for a year). I refuse to get excited about him now, though. We've all been burned too many times by hot prospects.

Ashie62 Nov 06 2018 08:08 PM Re: We Need To Have a Serious Discussion About Peter Alonso

Starts year in NYC and wins the NL ROY