Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren, made a few suggestions about the Wild Card format during an interview with David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Did this game show what some view as an inherent flaw in the Wild Card single-game playoff? “All of us at the general managers meeting when we talked about this format, it’s not a format that’s indicative of the best team. When you’re playing for six months and 162 games, this is [...]

The following is the draft order for the 2013 First Year Player Draft. Each team’s approximate bonus pool to sign its picks in the first 10 rounds is in parentheses and comes courtesy of Baseball America. Those numbers are based on the 2012 pick values, which will be adjusted upward to reflect the increase in MLB’s revenues this year. Bonus pool money will shift from one team to another every time a competitive-balance lottery pick [...]

Mets farmhands LHP Garrett Olson and RHP Jack Egbert have declared free agency according to MiLB.com. Both pitchers spent the majority of the 2012 season with Triple-A Buffalo. Egbert, 29, was 3-4 with a 1.401 WHIP and a 5.40 ERA in 27 appearances this season. He made one appearance for the Mets, allowing no base runners in 2/3 of an inning. Olson, 28, was 4-7 with a 1.502 WHIP and a 4.63 ERA in 34 appearances including 21 starts. He also made [...]

Baseball America ranked the Top 20 Prospects in the New York-Penn League and featured four Mets farmhands in RHP Luis Mateo #5, CF Brandon Nimmo #11, RHP Hansel Robles #12 and SS Philip Evans #18. Not a bad showing at all. Here is what they had to say on each of them: 5. Luis Mateo: He’s a true power pitcher who sits at 92-95 mph and touches 96 regularly, with good angle on his fastball. His very hard, late-breaking [...]

Baseball America named Gavin Cecchini,  the Mets’ top pick, the 12th overall pick this year, the number 12th ranked prospect in the Appalachian League for 2012. Matt Eddy wrote the following about the Mets shortstop prospect: He possesses the footwork, hands and range to be an average shortstop, but he’ll need to further develop his average though accurate arm to seal the deal. He has average speed and is a plus baserunner. Cecchini probably won’t [...]

Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog had this update on Mets pitching prospect Steven Matz who ended the season with shoulder soreness: Matz is not on the official instructs roster. However, he is in St. Lucie and on a throwing program. The lefty was shut down at the end of July with discomfort in his shoulder area, but the Mets’ doctors did not believe his injury was “severe.” Matz lit up Appalachian League radar guns with [...]

Third baseman David Wright blasted a two-run homer in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the Miami Marlins and now stands just four hits away from breaking Ed Kranepool’s franchise record of 1,418 hits. However in light of the team’s poor second half, he’s finding it difficult to find any enjoyment from his personal achievements. “I think R.A. would agree with me but it’s tough to pat yourself on the back and enjoy these individual accolades when the team [...]

I wanted to update this as the 2012 season winds down. I’ll post a final version at season’s end, but for now, if the season ended today, this is what the first round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft would look like. Houston Astros Chicago Cubs Colorado Rockies Cleveland Indians Minnesota Twins Miami Marlins New York Mets The Mets and Marlins still have six remaining contests among their 12 final games to this season [...]

Mike Newman of Fangraphs took a look at a few of the prospects that made their way through the Kingsport Mets this season. You may remember Mike from his former site “Scouting the Sally” which was always one of the preeminent minor bleague sites on the net. His opinion and insights on prospects from his own scouting and statistical point of views have always been highly regarded and his reputation is well known. Here’s his [...]