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In a report for ESPN.com, Jason Grey takes a look back at the final week of the Arizona Fall League, recapping performances by a MLB prospects.
According to Grey, “Daniel Murphy looked like he could handle second base well enough, given his offensive ability. Whether that’s enough for the Mets remains to be seen. He has limitations, but he didn’t embarrass himself.”
Meanwhile, on the season’s final day, Eddie Kunz blew a save by giving up a pinch-hit 
grand slam to the Phillies OF Jeremy Slayden in the eighth inning.
Regarding Kunz, Grey writes:
“Comparing Kunz’s delivery to the one he displayed last season in the AFL, it appears the team has adjusted him to stand taller in his delivery, presumably to help his command, handle lefties better or both. However, it hasn’t been working well here. The raw stuff is still there, including the heavy sink on his ball, but he needs to improve his command to stick in the big leagues.”
In 10 appearances this fall, Kunz is 2–2 with a 10.93 ERA in 14 innings pitched, during which he has walked 10 batters.
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eddie kunz… LOL
Seriously.
Talk about ‘ouch’.
Let the talk of Murphy at 2B restart.
Look, I have no objections to letting him get some time there while we still have Castillo. To rest Castillo. If Castillo still stinks it up then Murphy can play fulltime at 2B if he has shown that ability. He may not be a starter there but he can’t be any worse defensively than Easley.
It makes perfect sense for Murphy to play 2nd base and I don’t know why it’s so difficult for the Mets to admit this.
… because he’s not very good at second base. That’s why.
Yeah … I know … because we’ve all seen him play there to be able to make that judgment.
Please - stop already!
The Mets need to sign Orlando Hudson and jettison Castillo.
All this fooling around with speculation about Murphy at 2B or possibly signing Furcal is crazy.
From what we hear the guy wants to play here (Hudson) and he’s a leader and a decent talent. Why are we even thinking about treating 2B like it’s an unimportant position?
It makes more sense to spend the money on 2 starters, a closer and a left fielder than to spend it on Orlando Hudson. He just ain’t worth the money.
Exactly, I just don’t get why people want to fix mistakes with more mistakes.
Yeah, why throw money at a position that you already threw money at and it didn’t work? You have a guy who can handle the position at relatively no cost and you have 4 gaping holes in the team that needs money thrown at it.
So let Murph play 2nd and fix the rest of the team. He’ll be fine.
That is true if Murphy is capable at 2b over the long haul. I am willing to cross my fingers, but at the same time, your theory of throwing more money at a position you already threw money at could apply to closer as well, and one could argue that Murphy is just as unproven as some of the internal options like Joe Smith we already have. But closer is more important than defense at 2b (with Reyes and Beltran also up the middle), so KRod and Murph makes sense to me.
The difference is we don’t have a closer. We need one. We have a 2nd baseman signed for 3 more years … why pay Hudson another 4-5 to play the position when you can use that money more wisely … and have Murphy play the position, or at least platoon with Castillo if he can’t be moved.
But yeah, K-Rod and Murph makes sense to me too.
Why? Because that guy you have signed for three more years is the only player who, when he takes the field, the team has a losing record?
I’m not an overly superstitious guy, but facts are facts. When Castillo plays, the Mets lose. When Castillo is in the clubhouse the Mets lose. Down the stretch last season, when the Mets were fighting for a playoff berth, the powers that be put their trust in Ramon Martinez over that “guy who is signed for the next three years.” That in an of itself is an admission of the team cancer that is Luis Castillo.
This team will not win anything as long as Luis Castillo is a member. THAT is why would admit your mistake (which it seems the team already has) and FIX it without regard to cash (which we can only hope it will).
I think you missed my whole point, TurboDan.
Eddie Kunz will amount to nothing - mark my words, i’d trade him if at all possible.
Jerry knew he blew, that’s why he wouldn’t use him.
Maybe so … but does this worry anybody?
“it appears the team has adjusted him to stand taller in his delivery, presumably to help his command, handle lefties better or both. ”
Sounds like Aaron Heilman all over again.
Be careful. We were all saying this about Mike Pelfrey when he put up an 8 something ERA in spring training 2008.
Exactly! And guys here wanted him to be our closer at the end of the season. Sheesh.
“he needs to improve his command to stick in the big leagues.”
How about even making it to the big leagues.
I love people on this site who post constantly about having Kunz in the pen or as significant trade bait. I’ve been saying this all along: very few of our minor leaguers are attractive to anyone outside of Metsblog. Parnell may be slightly above Kunz in that regard, but not much, and Evans is that way too.
This farm has very few interesting parts. Far too few for a team of this wealth.
Parnell is WAY more attractive around baseball than Kunz is.
Other than one report of the White Sox scouting him, show me the evidence of this.
Meh, I’d disagree, Parnell is a borderline nonprospect, Kunz is at least still somewhat young.
Parnel throws 96-97 mph with a tight little slider. If he can develop some command of his pitches, he can be very good.
He’s 24 and had no success above A ball. There’s not a lot of reason to think he’s going to suddenly develop more command or more pitches. His best hope is to be an awesome power bullpen arm.
everyones gotta give kunz a chance..HES 22 YEARS OLD..if he is doing thhis at 25 then worry but defenitely not now
Dude…
Dude what??? fine run him out of NY and in 5 years u will be very sorry
I doubt it. There’s no place to “run him out” to because nobody wants him.
Do you think every minor leaguer becomes a major leaguer? What possible evidence do you have to show that Kunz has any promise at all?
WOW…u think that nobody wants him??? u must not be a very bright person
My intelligence has nothing to do with this.
Show me EVIDENCE. Where is someone intrigued with Kunz. Metsblog posters don’t count.
I am sure there are a few because of his former status and a current buy low trade.
I’m sure there are some who would accept him as part of a package, sure, but that’s not the same of a team wanting him. I find it hard to believe that anyone is saying, “you know who we should try to get? Steady Eddie Kunz.”
I could still see a team that wanted him as part of a trade and would demand for him to be thrown in to complete the deal. Such as in a trade for Street. The fact that he is not supposed to give up many HR might tempt the Rockies to take a chance on him.
Where Heilman straight up for Street would never work maybe throwing in Kunz and another low level guy would.
His former status isn’t really that good. Most teams saw him as a meh prospect to begin with who’s only value was that he would be able to turn around quickly and make the bigs as a power bullpen arm. Now that doesn’t even look true.
Kunz sux. He’s a LOOGY at best.
Gina: YES!
So the question becomes, why worry about draft picks? He was our first pick that year and nobody likes him so what does that say about our scouting and our drafting? Davis, Havens, and Holt this year and the only one talked about is Holt and thats not as a starter, as he was drafted, but as a bullpen guy. If our drafting is so bad (and forget about paying over slot cause that has nothing to do with the scouting) why should we care about draft picks?
Because you need them to sustain a franchise, or at least a winning one. It’s not that we shouldn’t care about draft picks it’s that we should be up in arms about the horrible states of our current scouting/drafting/developing strategies. Instead fans buy into the hype and excuses and/or see one decent player, Murphy or Pelfrey, and as-sume everything’s okay.
Just because our drafting is terrible doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care about them, we should improve our draft system!
I think people will talk more about Havens, as he was hurt this year.
But this team is terrible at drafting. And has been for years. Jason Tyner????
Not willing to pay above slot has something to do with it, but scouting and philosophy seems to as well.
and also think back to pelfrey…when he was 22 or 23 making his first couple outings noone wanted him here…now hes 24/25 and hes great..just be patient…it is rediculous how everyone wants to run players out of NY if they start off poorly
Pelfrey was a first round draft pick.
kunz was a first round draft pick too
He was a supplemental round pick.
I wouldn’t say Pelfrey is “GREAT” yet. He had a great 2nd half of the season. He’s not anywhere near “GREAT” yet.
I agree Mark, if anything Pelfrey right now Pelfrey is sort of an example of the problems with our developing of players. We took a great college pitcher, and for some reason made him get rid of what made him a great college pitcher his best college pitch and then yanked him up and down through levels and into the majors way before he was ready. When we drafted him he looked like a player who would eventually be an ace or high #2, now he’s looking more like his upside is a high #3. Which would be okay if it wasn’t for the fact most of his issues came from unnecessary tinkering and trying to rush him.
Pelfrey was a starting prospect who we messed up by messes with his pitches, making him stop throwing his best college pitch, and yanking up and down through the system even though he wasn’t ready. This guy was supposed to be a quick turn around power bullpen arm the situations really aren’t comparable.
Sounds to me thats exactly what they did to him, messed with his mechanics, not to mention rushing him through. If Wagner wasnt injured would Kunz had ever seen the big club last year? He would have been given a chance to see what he can do this year in ST but going to AAA with an eye on him to join the bullpen in 2010. The “suppose to be a quick turn around power bullpen arm” I havent seen from anyone but you Gina, though I’m not saying you didnt see it somewhere. Thing is in college he was a position player they used in the ninth to save games. He wasnt a fulltime pitcher and they knew this when they drafted him. That in itself would mean it would take a while to hone his mechanics and his control. Though he may not make it, I would still give him some time.
Ugh most scouting reports I read at him right after the draft said that he, and most of our other picks outside of Moviel and Vineyard from that draft, were expected to be drafted hoping they would be players like Joe Smith, quick paths to the majors. I can find a couple links, including one from this blog itself but obviously we can’t link in here, that said we should be looking at him to compete for a bullpen job out of spring training in 08.
But my question to you would be what would be the point of them spending a first round pick on a part-time pitcher in college if they thought he was going to take 3-4 years to develop and still only be a bullpen pitcher? If that was their thinking then there’s something wrong with their drafting strategy, because they might as well have taken a starting prospect. Or are you saying they drafted him thinking he would eventually be a starter?
I tried posting this with the links and it keeps getting eaten. I’ll try again later. But I promise I’m not making it up.
You’re not. I remember it too. And I also remember thinking, why are we using our top pick for a guy who might become a relief pitcher.
I think you draft starters and if they don’t make it, then you convert.
This whole relief specialist thing is wreaking havoc on baseball IMHO
agreed. He is 22, only been a pro for a year or 2. And they had him working on a new delivery in the AFL, which is what the league is for. basically results don’t matter, and scouts will look past them at “stuff” and projecting for the future.
If a pitcher is learing a new pitch, they need to throw it till they get it mastered. even if at first it gets hammered, you keep working on it.
Just do it in the minors.
I won’t say that Kunz will never be a solid major league pitcher. I will say that he for sure needs to be in the minors to at least start the year next season. If he gets his stuff and control down and starts dominating, then you can bring him up.
His raw talent (aka the stuff) will certainly be of interest to other teams.
Why are the Mets always screwing around with guys deliveries though?