Major Thoughts on Minor Players: Duda, Evans, and Turner

Another possible addition to the Queens roster come September may be OF/1B Lucas Duda. He hit another home run yesterday for Buffalo, which made him tied for the AAA International league lead in extra base hits (31) and slugging percentage (.663).Duda has also scored a run in 13 of his last 14 games and is hitting .414 (12-29) in the past week. His combined B-Met/Bison 2010 stats are: 345-AB, .304/.401/.588/.989, 21-HR, 78-RBI. Remember now, the Mets define a “utility player” as someone that can play both in the infield and the outfield (my theory on that is simply because they carry an extra relief pitcher due to the lack of innings eaters in the rotation). Because of this, Duda joins a list that included Mike Hessman and Daniel Murphy as possible 2011 25-man men (say that three times fast). The knock on Duda has always been that he can’t hit lefties (66-AB, .242), but that isn’t as critical in a utility role. What is important is his .354 batting average with runners on base. I’ve told this story a few times before, so skip to the next paragraph if you heard it. I remember talking in 2007 to some of the guys that came out of Brooklyn and to a man they all said that Duda had the best swing they had ever seen in organized baseball. Keep an eye on him.

Speaking of possible future Mets utility players, the subject always comes back to Nick Evans. Evans is currently tearing up the International League, compiling 16 hits in his first 12 games since his promotion from Binghamton. They include six doubles and two yard ball. Look, I know Evans is only 24-years old and he definitely can hit at all the minor league levels, but I just don’t see him as a future major leaguer in Queens. I always thought he’d make a great utility guy, but he has lost that future to guys mentioned in the above paragraph. Evans also has limited trade value and simply doesn’t project out as a starter in the majors. For now, his future as a Met depends on what the Mets chose to do with Murphy, Hessman, and Duda. Evans stuff: Nick’s best friend in the Mets organization was Jake Ruckle, who the Mets released earlier this year. They always travelled together to ST, driving across America to St. Lucie.

We’ve talked many times about who’s going to play future second base in Queens, but we have never up to this point considered Justin Turner. He went 2-5 again Monday and now leads the team in hitting (.324). He’s gone 10-27 in the past six games and is definitely not a defensive liability in the infield. Turner was a great little pickup by the Mets. He came out of the Baltimore Orioles organization via a trade as part of a deal for Ramon Hernandez, was a Cincy seventh rounder in 2006, and can play second, third, short, all three outfield positions, and even first. He’s only 26-years old and, frankly, this is not someone who should be ruled out as a possible replacement someday for Luis Castillo.