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Welcome Justin Slaten (or instead, Ryan Ammons)

MFS62 Dec 06 2023 12:44 PM

Righty reliever Justin Slaten was selected by the Mets in today's Rule V Draft. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=slaten000jus Later

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2023 12:49 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

26 years old. Spent most of 2023 with Frisco of the Texas League (AA) in the Rangers organization. 3.16 ERA over 51.1 innings. 35 games, all but one in relief. 16 walks, 76 strikeouts, 9 homers allowed.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 06 2023 01:11 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

Univ of New Mexico Lobo in tha house! Love those K/9 numbers. Wonder if he will be arriving from Texas on the Slaten Island Ferry?

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2023 01:16 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

This is from FanGraphs, July 2023. They have Slaten as the Rangers' 19th best prospect. The Rangers have finally moved Slaten to the bullpen and he's carving. He isn't throwing any harder than he was in 2022, but Slaten has taken to a single-inning, air-it-out approach and isn't walking anyone. He's sitting 94-97 with plus-plus carry, bending in his usual knee-buckling low-to-mid-80s slider, and he's also added a cutter. Slaten's delivery is violent and he has a high-maintenance frame, so his prospectdom is a little less stable than a premium on-mound athlete's, but he has late-inning stuff and seems to have taken a step forward from a control standpoint. He could be in Texas' big league bullpen by the end of the year and, if not, is almost certainly a post-season 40-man add who'll debut next year. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/texas-rangers-top-43-prospects/

A Boy Named Seo Dec 06 2023 01:22 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

Slaten, we hardly knew ye. MLBTR: 8. Mets: RHP Justin Slaten (Rangers); Mets later traded Slaten to the Red Sox for LHP Ryan Ammons* and cash considerations. Here's the new new guy --> https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ammons000rya

A Boy Named Seo Dec 06 2023 01:25 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

Unless I'm trippin, new guy was drafted in '23 and has yet to make professional debut at any level of the minors. Seems an odd Rule V choice, no?

A Boy Named Seo Dec 06 2023 02:02 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

Having a conversation with myself like a sad and lonely bro, but I wonder if the Rule V considerations were traded along with Slaten to the Red Sox? I'm guessing the dude we got we can just go to the minors but the Sox would have to offer Slaten back to the Rangers if he doesn't stick? Not seeing this detail being reported yet.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2023 02:03 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

I assume that Ammons isn't a Rule 5, so the Mets won't have to keep him on the big league roster for the entire season. Slaten was closer to being ready, but Ammons is easier to keep in the organization. That's probably the rationale behind the deal.

bmfc1 Dec 06 2023 02:06 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

Slaten seemed Major League ready but they thought that about Zach Greene a year ago. I think that BG nails the rationale. Ammons was Boston's 10th round pick in the '23 draft. [TWEET]https://twitter.com/Ryanammons21/status/1732494793186439245[/TWEET] https://www.milb.com/player/ryan-ammons-686825 https://clemsontigers.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-ammons/

MFS62 Dec 06 2023 02:39 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

They don't have to keep Ammons on the major league roster. But it seemed like Slaten could have been a help this year. Later

Frayed Knot Dec 06 2023 03:02 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

The Rule 5 restrictions stay with the player who was drafted (Slaten) and do NOT transfer to this Ammons guy for whom he was traded. Not sure why Ammons didn't pitch last year but being less than a year since his drafting he comes with the same amount of team control as anyone with that little pro experience whether on paper or on the field.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2023 03:05 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten (or instead, Ryan Ammons)

Sox Prospect News wrote: With the 298th overall pick in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Red Sox selected Ryan Ammons, a left-handed pitcher out of Clemson University. Ammons opened the 2023 season as Clemson's Friday night starter and made two starts for the Tigers before missing nearly two months with a left forearm strain. Upon returning to action in late April, the 22-year-old southpaw was used strictly out of the bullpen, pitching to a 5.40 ERA with seven strikeouts to five walks across 10 innings of relief. Coming into the spring, Ammons had forged a 4.55 ERA with 49 strikeouts to 20 walks over 34 relief appearances (31 2/3 innings) in his first three seasons at Clemson. The 6-foot, 205-pound southpaw has experience closing games and works with a fastball that reaches 94 mph as well as a solid breaking ball, per our own Ian Cundall. A redshirt junior out of South Carolina, Ammons is the second lefty to be selected by Boston in this draft, joining a fellow ACC product in Virginia's Connelly Early. The slot value for the 298th overall pick is $167,900. http://news.soxprospects.com/2023/07/red-sox-select-ryan-ammons-with-10th.html

A Boy Named Seo Dec 06 2023 03:15 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten

Frayed Knot wrote: The Rule 5 restrictions stay with the player who was drafted (Slaten) and do NOT transfer to this Ammons guy for whom he was traded. Not sure why Ammons didn't pitch last year but being less than a year since his drafting he comes with the same amount of team control as anyone with that little pro experience whether on paper or on the field. I bet Stearns was into him and didn't get a chance to draft him so he's righting that wrong.

Frayed Knot Dec 06 2023 03:21 PM Re: Welcome Justin Slaten (or instead, Ryan Ammons)

The 10th round is the final one in which draft "slotting" exists so some interesting picks sometimes come from both that round and from round #11 where the shackles are taken off. The Sox may have seen him as a higher round talent -- the term 'Friday Night Starter' implies 'staff ace' in college ball -- who was passed over in the early rounds due to his injury then grabbed at the lowest possible cost. College seniors with no leverage of returning are frequent round 10 picks as well so he fit both categories. As a 22 y/o he should be closer to whatever final product he'll eventually wind up as but also will be given a shorter time frame in which to find that level.