Player School +/-
Shields Robbie Florida Southern 26
Orloff Ben Uc Irvine 16
Jackson Ryan Miami (Fl) 9
Dozier Brian Southern Mississippi -1
Karcich Jon Santa Clara -2
Prince Josh Tulane -2
Wikoff Brandon Illinois -3
Smith Kyle Cal Poly -4
Green Grant Southern California -4
Greer Brent Western Carolina -11
Wade Chris Kentucky -13

The "+/-" column gives plays above or below average for the combination of the last two seasons per 2400 balls in play (approximately 100 games). The numbers are regressed based on the playing time of each shortstop.

The big surprise to me in this group is Robbie Shields up at the top. His +26 is just percentage points below the top performance of the last two years, which belonged to another D II product, UC San Diego's Vance Albitz. The fact that the two names at the top are both from D II schools may give us pause. Perhaps Shields racked up the strong numbers because Florida Southern's weaker competition didn't generally hit balls as hard as the batters in a top D I conference. I don't know whether that's the case, though I can say that the year-to-year correlation is weaker for programs outside of D I. But even if common sense knocks down Shields' +26, it's still clear that he turned an awful lot of ground balls into outs

it would be nice to see the mets sign natz and get in touch with their 5th round pick magnifico. they haven't even made an offer.

It looks to me like they haven't moved on any of the HS pitching yet. My guess is they don't want to throw those guys right into game action, so there was less urgency there as far as filling out rosters. They may prefer to work with the young pitchers in instructs/side sessions first.

They've got another month to sign them, but we haven't heard anything yet. I'm not particularly concerned, but I'm starting to get thoughtful.

Of the 16 guys they haven't signed, 13 are pitchers. Of those, 11 are HS or JC guys.

Matz will likely come down to the wire. He's reportedly asking $1M but isn't likely to get more than about half that. The rest are guys who likely don't get more than $150k. And I doubt they intend to sign all of them. 4-5 would be nice.

It's Friday, so I guess Casey Schmidt, one of the last of the college guys should be going tonight in Cape Cod. He might still be worth signing after the Cape season ends.

Of the 16 guys they haven't signed, 13 are pitchers. Of those, 11 are HS or JC guys.

Matz will likely come down to the wire. He's reportedly asking $1M but isn't likely to get more than about half that. The rest are guys who likely don't get more than $150k. And I doubt they intend to sign all of them. 4-5 would be nice.

It's Friday, so I guess Casey Schmidt, one of the last of the college guys should be going tonight in Cape Cod. He might still be worth signing after the Cape season ends.