Like us on Facebook here

Monday, June.03/2013

Citi Field is one of the newest Ball Parks in the Majors and will have be host to the 2013 ALL – Star Game. It is light years ahead of where Shea Stadium was.  The field made slight moderation’s to the fences last year prior to being awarding the event.  Will they have 1, 2 or 3 players selected for the Mid – Summers Classic?  We will find out in the next 5 – 6 weeks.

Jake Dal Porto (MLB Reports Writer) Follow @TheJakeMan24

The New York Mets haven’t had much team success in 2013, as they currently sit in fourth place in the National League East, 11 games out of first place.

Amid the rebuilding process, however, the Mets could produce three All-Stars in 2013. Sending three All-Stars would be ideal for the franchise’s sake, as the All-Star Game will be at Citi Field, and a good representation of the team would be something to rejoice over in dreadful times.

The first two are fairly obvious–David Wright and Matt Harvey. The third one in Daniel Murphy isn’t as obvious.

Do they have a case?

Wright has had his struggles during the last 3 years, with injuries and the dimensions at Citi Field. His slash line of .306/.391/.887 in 2012 proved he was back. So far in 2013, he is /277/.374/.836 – with 7 HRs and 30 RBI in a feeble lineup surrounding him.  The man has also added 11 SB – which means he must be feeling at 100% health.  The 10 Year Mets Captain just inked a 7 YR/$127 MIL extension prior to the 2013 season – that will see him be a Met through 2020.

The Case For David Wright To Start

In Sandy Alderson’s eyes, David Wright should’ve started the All-Star Game in 2012. And that’s putting it nicely, as Alderson wasn’t happy when Pablo Sandoval was voted in over Wright. He had a case, too. Wright’s numbers were far superior to Sandoval’s, but the rabid Giants fans piled on the votes.

The race is a bit closer this year. Wright sports a 2.0 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), while Sandoval has a 1.1 WAR. Wright also beats Sandoval in the wOBA (Weighted On-Base Percentage) department, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

So, yeah, Sandoval doesn’t seem to have much of a case. His only claim would be his superior batting average and RBI total, but those two stats aren’t the best barometers of individual success.

But Sandoval, who’s currently nursing a strained left foot, might not be Wright’s biggest competitor. That honor goes to Matt Carpenter, who currently leads National League third basemen with a 2.5 WAR.

Carpenter’s name is, well, unknown outside of the St.Louis region, at least to the casual observer. That likely means that he won’t get voted in. However, let’s discount the voting process, and determine who should technically start if pure stats. Technically is the key word here.

We know that Carpenter’s WAR is better, as is his wOBA and OBP, but Wright bests him in slugging percentage and ISO (Isolated Power). Wright has also swiped 10 more stolen bases.

The stats are about even, but there’s one glaring caveat to Carpenter’s case to start at third base over Wright: Carpenter has played more games at second base (36) than he’s played at third base (22). The stats don’t change in total, but you can’t consider him to be a “true” third baseman. For that, Wright gets the edge.

Elsewhere…

A big month of June could improve Chase Headley’s case, and the same goes for Ryan Zimmerman, who’s starting to catch fire after hitting .226 with a .670 OPS in April. But as it stands, Wright and Carpenter lead the pack, and if the starting spot comes down to votes, which it obviously will, Carpenter is likely to be outnumbered by New York.

The Case For Matt Harvey To Be the NL’s Starting Pitcher

Boy, does the NL have a host of deserving starters.

You have the big names: Clayton Kershaw, Adam Wainwright, Cliff Lee and Stephen Strasburg.

The second-tier: Matt Harvey, Patrick Corbin, Shelby Miller and Jordan Zimmerman. You might as well throw A.J. Burnett into that mix too.

So, Harvey is in some stiff competition, but the manager selects the starter, not the fans. Which means, if Harvey sustains his hot start, his case is as good as any. The below table can shed some light on the stacked NL pitching landscape.

Despite his hiccup against the Miami Marlins on Sunday, you’ll notice that Harvey fares well in all six categories.

Wainwright owns an edge on Harvey in FIP, BB/9, WAR and innings pitched, but Harvey owns an edge in ERA and K/9. Kershaw also has a case, but Harvey betters him in all six categories except for ERA and innings pitched.

Miller has a legitimate case too. He has a lower ERA than Harvey, their FIPs are comparable, their BB/9 rates are comparable and they’re striking out about the same number of batters per nine innings. If the St.Louis Cardinals lighten his workload, however, he can’t be in the same sentence as Wainwright, Harvey and Kershaw. Since he’s a rookie, I wouldn’t rule that out.

I hate to neglect the pitchers at the bottom of the list–Zimmermann, Lee, Corbin and Burnett. They’re worthy of being in the conversation, but the high-strikeout, low-walk pitchers are having better seasons, and it also helps to boast the high-strikeout, low-walk combination. It’s like the power-speed combination for hitters.

Burnett, for instance, could have an even stronger bid if his BB/9 rate decreases, as his K/9 rate leads the pack, and his ERA and FIP are also right in line.

Strasburg’s stats present an interesting case. His FIP is borderline between elite and average. He boasts the gaudy strikeout numbers and a low BB/9 rate. With that, you’d think he’d garner more consideration, but Harvey’s walking less batters and owns a significant edge in the FIP department.

Statistically, the field boils down to Wainwright and Harvey. We know a) Wainwright can sustain his hot start because he’s proven himself, and b) Harvey is a walking legend, but the league has yet to crack his case. Once they do, he’ll have to adjust, which is where things could get dicey. But for now I’ll leave at this: Harvey stands a darn good chance to start the All-Star Game.

The Case For Daniel Murphy To Make the NL All-Star Team

Of the three possible Mets All-Stars, Murphy is the dark horse.

Brandon Phillips should start. While RBI is a flawed stat, he leads the NL with 45 of them. His WAR (2.1) trails just Matt Carpenter for the lead among second basemen. So, again, he should start, but the fans will decide that narrative.

After Phillips, things become a bit foggy…

Marco Scutaro is slashing .329/.380.429 with a 1.7 WAR. Rookie Jedd Gyorko has a 1.1 WAR and six homers. If Chase Utley, who’s been injured, returns and picks off where he left off, he’s another candidate because of his potential to hit for power (he ranked second among second basemen in ISO before hitting the DL).

And then there’s Murphy, who’s quietly slashing .291/.323/.441 with a 1.6 WAR. He isn’t hitting for much power, nor is he drawing many walks, but since there isn’t an obvious alternative to Phillips, his case is as good as any. Someone will have to emerge, and Murphy is in the discussion.

Heading into 2013 Daniel Murphy was a career .310 hitter at Citi Field with 217 Hits in 168 Games and an OPS of .802. Even with a slow start in Flushing Meadows in 2013, he is still over a .300 BA there career. Murphy was Drafted in the 13 Round of the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft by the Mets. The Second Baseman is eligible for Arbitration after this year, (also for 2015_, before becoming an outright Free Agent in 2016.

***The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners***

Jake Dal Porto is a student from the Bay Area. He has followed Bay Area sports for years, and enjoys writing about the various Bay Area teams. He is an assistant editor at Golden Gate Sports, and the editor of Blue Man Hoop. Jake also writes about the NBA for Hoops Habit. If you need to contact Jake, email him: jakedalporto@gmail.com  or follow him on twitter    Follow @TheJakeMan24

Please e-mail us at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Like us on Facebook here