Man, it (Met MinL OF) reminds me of that guy keeping the plates spinning atop those sticks on the Ed Sullivan Show. And thanks for reminding us about “Tilly”—had completely dropped off my radar. My thoughts: Duda will play as much or more1B as OF and Campbell will rotate among all 4 corners loosening the logjam a tad.
And my questions:
As it gets closer to cut bait time, is it important to push up for evaluation? (I’m thinking of Maldonado at Buff leaving Ratliff at Bingo—between Guzman & …).
Is denDekker really “ahead” of Ceciliani, or does the SLU/SAV placement not really matter?
No love for Eudy Pina? Would like to see a Pina-Cecil-J-Rod OF in SAV (if I ever get to Savannah that is).
1. The closer players get to the majors, the more they need to fit into the needs of the system. A+ down to Rookie is all about just playing and learning... but AA and AAA is when a team needs to fit a player into the needs of the parent team.
Where do the Mets sit right now? Well, LF is filled through 2013, CF is filled through 2011, and RF is wide open for interpretation.
What's around and on the horizon:
Angel Pagan - 2011's RF and a better CFer than Beltran, but the Mets will bow to Carlos' needs to play there. Past that, Pagan's value will diminish if the other two outfield positions in Queens aren't homer bats.
Chris Carter - I think he did well last year in a sub role, but his supposed home run prowess was virtually non-existent . A .389 slugging percentage is not what the Mets are looking for here.
Jesus Felciano - It was very nice that Feliciano got to play in Queens before he dies of old age. Seriously, he's a good outfielder in the Pagan mode, but the Mets already have one of them. Do you really think he would have played if Bay was healthy and the team was two games out near the end of September?
Lucas Duda - Adam Dunn on sweet and low. Big time left handed potential but is blocked at first base by Ike Davis, blocked in left by Bay, and there is no way he can handle right field defensively at Citi Field.
Fernando Martinez - let's put the health issue aside for a second... I'm told the old management team had given up on his potential as a center fielder. No one was impressed with F-Mart's hitting when he did play Queens; well, not many were happy with his defensive play in center either. I lokk for him to play AAA in RF in 2011 in hopes of fianlly developing his talent.
Andy Green, Jorge Padilla, Valentino Pascucci, Jon Malo, Hector Pellot, Raul Reyes, Jason Pridie - nah
Brahiam Maldonado - 309 home runs in the past two seasons in A+/AA. A consisten .800+ OPS. Right now, he's a long shot, but I hope new Mets management left his play right field in Binghamton for the entire season, lining him up behind F-Mart.
Carlos Guzman - coming off a serious injury, Guzman may be running out of time because of all the competition.
Sean Ratliff - has done nothing wrong as a Met, but doesn't translate as a big bat outielder.
D.J. Wabick - same as Ratliff.
Hobie, this may sound bleak, but it won't be a year from now. The next tier of outfielders (Ceciliani, den Dekker, Puello, J-Rod, Vaughn) will give the Mets many options... but not until 2013 and 2014.
2. I consider Ceciliani way ahead of den Dekker, because of his ability at his current age of development. This kid may be a big one. Nothing against den Dekker though, but I don't remember one scout every saying that he was prime meat in the draft.
3. I can't even begin to project Pena. Seriously, it's impossible to project anyone from that island. I think he'll play GCL in 2011 and we'll get a look see then...
4. Don't forget Gilbert Gomez. May be the 2nd top Mets OF prospect behind J-Rod right now.
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