Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, Mets fans!
All-Star festivities will come to a close on Tuesday night as the annual MLB All-Star Game will take place at Coors Field. New York pitcher Taijuan Walker will be the only Met representing the National League as he replaces ace Jacob deGrom who has elected to rest during the break.
Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani (4-1, 3.49 ERA) will take the mound for the American League as he will face off against National League righty Max Scherzer (7-4, 2.66 ERA) of the Nationals. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m. EST and can be seen on FOX.
Let’s get into this morning’s briefing.
After taking Vanderbilt ace Kumar Rocker in the first round on Sunday, the Mets took nine more players in Day 2 of the 2021 MLB Draft. With its second round selection, New York took right-handed pitcher Calvin Ziegler out of St. Mary’s Catholic in Oregon. Ziegler was ranked 123rd in MLB.com’s prospect rankings.
With their third round pick, the Mets selected righty Dominic Hamel from Dallas Baptist. Hamel was ranked 96th in MLB.com’s rankings. The rest of the picks are as follows:
Check out the MetsMinors.net Draft Tracker for overviews for each player the Mets draft.
ESPN announced a four-part 30 for 30 on the 1986 Mets titled “Once Upon a Time in Queens.” The documentary will air on Sept. 14 and 15 on ESPN.
Alexis Brudnicki of Baseball America interviews Mets second round draftee Ziegler. In this piece, the righty scouts himself and discusses how he has added more velocity.
Kyle Glaser of Baseball America writes how Mets top-prospect Francisco Álvarez showed he is New York’s next “homegrown star” in his Futures Game performance.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) has suspended its regularly season due to multiple COVID-19 cases recently. It will take affect on Tuesday. The league has a 15-day Olympic break that is scheduled to start on July 19 so teams will only miss a week of play.
MLB announced a financial commitment of up to $150 million to the Players Alliance, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The alliance is a group of over current and former African American baseball players with the goal of improving representation of Black Americans in baseball.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic shares an excerpt from “Remember Who You Are: What Pedro Gomez Showed Us About Baseball and Life” edited by Steve Kettman. The book is set to release on Tuesday.
Alexis Farinacci writes on New York’s pitching performance in a 6-5 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Patrick Glynn takes a look at the highs and lows of the Mets’ series split with the Pirates.
Anthony E. Parelli reviews the Mets’ week last week with a series win against the Brewers and a series split with the Pirates.
Mets Maniacs: In today’s episode, Mike and Ty discuss the drafting of Kumar Rocker, the Pirates series, and what we can expect out of this offense and National League East in the second half.
1977: The New York City blackout affects Shea Stadium during a game between the Mets and Cubs. Before the game was suspended, Mets players drove their cars onto the field and entertained fans in front of the headlights.
Birthdays: Mike Fitzgerald (61) and Jack Aker (81).
Let’s go Mets!
The post Morning Briefing: Taijuan Walker Set to Play in All-Star Game first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
