Purke, as in Turkey

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/mattpurke47/status/931631892151128064[/tweet]

I guess we should note the annual First Guy Signed Of The Season and get on with the Print Those World Series Tickets Already jokes.

Matt Purke, lefty reliever, Tommy John survivor, washed out from Nationals and White Sox orgs. Was once a 1st round draft pick (14th in the nation) out of high school.

Struck out 80 in 65 IP in AAA Charlotte this season!

Wifey is Sophie and just like me, they spend Saturday afternoons watching kids play soccer
[tweet]

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[MFS62]

A YLDB where I work already named him "Puke".
Can't wait for the NY Post headlines.
Hope he proves them wrong.
Welcome, Matthew.
Later

[Ceetar]

he struck out a third of the lefties that faced him last year. It was the minors, but those splits are good. Watch out Blevins

[Benjamin Grimm]

MFS62 wrote: A YLDB where I work already named him "Puke".

Do you work with fourth graders? (Or, perhaps, in the White House?)

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: MFS62 wrote: A YLDB where I work already named him "Puke". Do you work with fourth graders? (Or, perhaps, in the White House?)

No. Just a snarky punk YLDB.
And I don't even work in the White House. People I worked with in the Pentagon were classier than that.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Taken with the 14th overall pick by a cash-strapped Texas organization in 2009, Matt turned down a (generous, to many minds) $4 million bonus and followed through on his plans to go to Texas Christian U.

The Purker then had a dream of a freshman season with the Horned Frogs. Yeah, you may think that a 3.09 ERA is good, but not exactly a dream, but in the Big 12 it was a ticket to a 16-0 record.

Now, I would have tossed my hat right back into the draft that summer, but most guys, if they turn down a big 'ol bonus and head for college, they give it at least two years. Matt did this too, and his sophomore season was going even better, starting 5-1, with a 1.71 ERA, but arm trouble ended his season after 11 starts.

That's a sucky break, because he did declare for the draft, and perhaps that uncertainty undid him as he fell to the third round and the 96th overall pick by the Nats. He had shoulder debridement surgery ending his 2012 season, and then the TJ in 2014. He joined the White Sox and pitched 12 times out of the pen in 2016, spending all of 2017 laboring for Charlotte.

His control has never been sparkling, but has been a real issue since the surgery, but he seems to be adapting to a new life as a reliever, and the Mets may be grabbing him just as he's ready for the specialist role, and in a position to invest less and get more than his previous organizations. The Rangers wasted the pick on him, the Nats endured two surgeries with him, and the Sox took the pain of his first big league exposure.

Now it's on the Mets to cash in everybody else's chips and make something of this guy.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: The Purker then had a dream of a freshman season with the Horned Frogs. ... Now, I would have tossed my hat right back into the draft that summer, but most guys, if they turn down a big 'ol bonus and head for college, they give it at least two years. Matt did this too, and his sophomore season was going even better, starting 5-1, with a 1.71 ERA, but arm trouble ended his season after 11 starts.

Actually he couldn't have re-declared himself following his outstanding freshman season because once you commit to a four-year program you're generally required to stay for a full three years before
re-entering the draft. There are however certain age conditions under which players from four-year institutions become sophomore eligible and Purke appears to have been one of those (he was just
shy of 19 y/o when he graduated from HS).

[Edgy MD]

Seems to me like a lot of dudes get drafted after their sophomore season.

But the requirement seems absurd. Whose rule is that? The NCAA's or MLB's?

[Frayed Knot]

Seems to me like a lot of dudes get drafted after their sophomore season.
-- Not sure of the exact percentages, but sophs being eligible is the exception rather than the rule and you definitely can't re-apply after just your freshman year.
Juco kids can leave after one or two years but at 4-year joints you're almost always out of the draft until year 3



But the requirement seems absurd. Whose rule is that? The NCAA's or MLB's?
-- MLB's, although certainly in conjunction with the NCAA
It's hardly a perfect set-up but it at least gives potential baseball players several options as to when they can make themselves available as compared to the NBA or especially the NFL

[RealityChuck]

Purkey? Isn

[Guest cooby]

Never heard of him. I hope he's good!

I read it as Puke too

[smg58]

You can never have too much bullpen depth, plus he's a lefty with a pulse, plus he does have some upside. Worth a shot.

[MFS62]

smg58 wrote: You can never have too much bullpen depth, plus he's a lefty with a pulse

That reminds me - The company for which I work send out advertising letters. The letters all say something like "As one of our VIP customers, we will hold this offer for you for 5 days". One of the callers once asked me, "What did I have to do to be one of your VIP customers?".
Our calls are recorded, and we have to tell the truth or we can get fired, so I told him, "You have a measurable pulse and a credit card". When the guy stopped laughing, he said he appreciated my honesty bought a lot of stuff.
Back to the thread.
Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yes, he's sort of like Smokie's enemy: Fallen lefty prospect trying to re-establish himself as a bullpenner. Small sample looks more like a lefty-on-lefty guy tho.

[MFS62]

(seen elsewhere, but I want to share the pain): does he warm up in the bullpen, or just purkolate?

Later

[Edgy MD]

Purke wins the WHO GOT MOST HIPSTER DURING THE OFF-SEASON AWARD.

[fimg=500:f0gwdnmh]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-2a2e194c46c4cdbf.jpg[/fimg:f0gwdnmh]

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's not Jacob Rhame?

[Edgy MD]

Nope. Rhame finished just outside the money.

[fimg=500:ub4eq3zk]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-453c1a9ba9203313.jpg[/fimg:ub4eq3zk]

[seawolf17]

Edgy MD wrote: Nope. Rhame finished just outside the money. [fimg=500]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-453c1a9ba9203313.jpg[/fimg]

I SAID, IT'S "INCREDIBOY!"

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy MD wrote: Purke wins the WHO GOT MOST HIPSTER DURING THE OFF-SEASON AWARD. [fimg=500]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-2a2e194c46c4cdbf.jpg[/fimg]

I swear he got, like, 20 percent more Korean, too.

[dgwphotography]

seawolf17 wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Nope. Rhame finished just outside the money. [fimg=500]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-453c1a9ba9203313.jpg[/fimg] I SAID, IT'S "INCREDIBOY!"

Go home Buddy, I work alone...

[Guest cooby]

Hipster or Dipster?

[Lefty Specialist]

Good Lord, we have some dorky looking pitchers.

[HahnSolo]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Purke wins the WHO GOT MOST HIPSTER DURING THE OFF-SEASON AWARD. [fimg=500]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-2a2e194c46c4cdbf.jpg[/fimg] I swear he got, like, 20 percent more Korean, too.

I was gonna say he got 80% more Sean Ono Lennon.

[Guest cooby]

Kinda makes me glad I don't get Mets broadcasts

[Zvon]

cooby wrote: Kinda makes me glad I don't get Mets broadcasts

lol.
Ye not judge thy book by thy cover, my good lady.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

HahnSolo wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Purke wins the WHO GOT MOST HIPSTER DURING THE OFF-SEASON AWARD. [fimg=500]http://image.nj.com/home/njo-media/width960/img/mets_main/photo/mets-2018-baseball-2a2e194c46c4cdbf.jpg[/fimg] I swear he got, like, 20 percent more Korean, too. I was gonna say he got 80% more Sean Ono Lennon.

Beautiful, boy.

I keep reading about Purke's funky delivery, and all that reading has me spring-daydreaming. If he's all the way back from TJ and the control has indeed normalized... maybe he's a Potential Perpetual Pedro?