6-8 fr. Mack: Round 5 - #152 overall – OF Matt den Dekker – First of all, this is one of the top defensive outfielders in the NCAA. His arm is okay but his overall play in the field is first team defensive. Secondly, den Dekker is a speedster on the base paths that projects out as a 20-25 steal per season guy. Had a real bad junior year which cost him being drafted anywhere decently last year. Bounced back this season by leading the Gators in hitting (.355). This season: 12th in the SEC in batting average, 10th in hits, and 6th in steals. You’re not going to find much pop here my guess he has excellent potential to become a major league utility outfielder. - Projection: First of all, this was an excellent 5th round pick. den Dekker was projected by most of the experts as going earlier, based on his talent, not whether or not he can be signed. Draft Rating: “A”
6-22-10: - The Mets selected Gator center fielder Matt den Dekker in the fifth round. A lefty with plus speed and some power potential, den Dekker has always intrigued scouts. But the production has always been a little short. As a senior, den Dekker should be one of the easiest players to sign in the draft who still has some upside
8-12-10: - Matt den Dekker is off to a good start in Savannah. The Sand Gnats don’t get too many early round draft picks. They’re usually sent directly to Brooklyn; however the Cyclones has a trio in the outfield that are leading their team to the playoffs and den Dekker’s late signing caused a change in plans. Mets fans got their first glimpse of Matt when he was showing off with circus catches in the CWS this year. He’s always been touted as a great defensive centerfielder, but his bat has been alive in Savannah as well. It’s early on, but his combined stats for the GCL Mets and Gnats are: .323/.400/.419/.819. You might remember my original analysis of his pick. Here’s what I wrote on June 8th: Round 5 - #152 overall – OF Matt den Dekker – First of all, this is one of the top defensive outfielders in the NCAA. His arm is okay but his overall play in the field is first team defensive. Secondly, den Dekker is a speedster on the base paths that projects out as a 20-25 steal per season guy. Had a real bad junior year which cost him being drafted anywhere decently last year. Bounced back this season by leading the Gators in hitting (.355). This season: 12th in the SEC in batting average, 10th in hits, and 6th in steals. You’re not going to find much pop here my guess he has excellent potential to become a major league utility outfielder. - Projection: First of all, this was an excellent 5th round pick. den Dekker was projected by most of the experts as going earlier, based on his talent, not whether or not he can be signed. Draft Rating: “A” The Mets have five interesting lower-level outfield prospects in there system… den Dekker, Cory Vaughn, Darrell Ceciliani, Pedro Zapata, and Cesar Puello. All represent limited pop, but lots of speed, gap hitting, and excellent defense. It will be interesting which one of these rises to the top in 2013.
11-23-10: - OF Matt den Dekker – 23/yrs. old - I started out thinking that den Dekker would be higher up the chain than this, but the fact is he played 2010 way above his projected ability. This isn’t saying he’s overrated. It is; however correct to say that guys like Darrell Ceciliani, Cesar Puello, and Cory Vaughn, are, prospect wise, more qualified to be on this list first. Either way, D.D. will move on to Lucy to play in an all-star outfield which will eventually answer the question, who gets center, he or Darrell? 2011: St. Lucie 2012: Binghamton
3-30-11 – 2011 Forecast: - den Dekker only did one thing wrong in 2010 and that was refuse to correspond with me J The good news is he is an excellent defensive center fielder and can spray all over the field. The bad news is he’s much smaller than I had hoped he was and probably will never produce the kind of pop you want out of a center fielder. He’ll most likely play the entire 2011 season for St. Lucie, unless he is pushed by Darrell Cecilliani.
5-10-11: - Stock Up – CF Matt den Dekker – Dekker got the kinks out last year with the GCL Mets and went on to hitting .346 for Savannah in 104-Abs. He’s now 119-Abs into A+ ball and he’s hitting .336, so I guess we should start looking for a possible bump to offensive-less Binghamton. The important number here is the increase in his slugging percentage (.471 to .538), which include his first home run of his pro career. Dekker is one of those new, non-pop, outfielders that offer you spray to all fields, speed, and excellent defense. This could possibly play well in Citifield as a 2 hitter and CFer in 2013.
5-16-11: - The general consensus of Mets experts all agree that CF Matt den Dekker will most probably get bumped to the B-Mets once the first half of the season is over. He proved last year he could hit at the A-level (.346), and he is currently 9th in the FSL in hitting with a .331 BA. den Dekker is also the top Mets defensive outfield prospect in the system and 23 of his 48 hits this season are extra base. Based on his current performance, and the lack of others I have had ranked higher in my “Keepers” series, I’ve moved him from 27th to 22nd.
6-15-11: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110615&content_id=20523328&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb - The speedy 23-year-old lefty is now trying to get on the fast track to the Majors, and he seems headed in just that direction. As good as Den Dekker is defensively, his work at the plate with St. Lucie can't be overshadowed. Den Dekker won consecutive Florida State League Player of the Week honors in late April, going 26-for-55 over the 14-day span and hitting in 13 straight games. He hasn't been able to match that .376 average for the first month, but he still has some impressive offensive stats. Through 62 games, Den Dekker is hitting .304 with 32 extra-base hits, including six homers and a league-best eight triples. He also has 49 runs scored, 34 RBIs and 11 steals.
6-30-11: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/6/30/2251774/minor-league-notes-june-30th-2011#storyjump - Another 2010 draftee expected to advance quickly is New York Mets outfield prospect Matt Den Dekker, selected in the fifth round last year from the University of Florida. He was a senior and is already 23, so it is wise for the Mets to be aggressive about promoting him if his performance warrants. It was warranted following his .296/.362/.494 first half for St. Lucie in the High-A Florida State League, and he moved up to Double-A Binghamton 10 days ago. The results there are much less impressive: .194/.256/.278 in 36 at-bats, with 14 strikeouts, but the sample is small, of course. Den Dekker is an exceptional defensive outfielder with above average speed. He has some pop in his bat, but his hitting approach is inconsistent and he has problems with pitch recognition which Double-A pitchers have been able to expose in the early going.
7-5-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/aa-weekend-harvey-valdespin-keeps-on-hitting - Slow start to Matt den Dekker‘s AA career: .179/.258/.232 in 14 games. Forget the batting average, I’m worried about the four walks and 16 strikeouts. The good news, I suppose? It’s only two weeks and he has two more months at AA this year to figure it out.
7-14-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/11/2270752/mets-minors-road-report-binghamton-7-9-brooklyn-7-10 - The scouting report is pretty accurate. Den Dekker’s swing is hard and long and he’s going to strike out a lot. The biggest thing I noticed is once he commits, he can’t really adjust to offspeed stuff. However, when he does make contact, it is loud. He is walking more at AA, though 6 of those walks have come in two games, and he only has 4 in the other nineteen. He plays a confident center, and while he didn’t really get tested too much, he is very fluid and quick to get to flyballs. He looks like he will be boom or bust with the bat, and has a very low ceiling compared to a lot of other Mets prospects, but he is probably more likely to have a quiet 5-10 year major league career then, say, Cesar Puello. It will be as a 2nd division starter/4th outfielder, mind you, and you will probably have to hide him against lefties, but CFs with plus gloves and decent pop find the field.
7-22-11: - den Dekker hit his third home run in the past four games for Binghamton last night (Can you start a sentence with a lower case “den”?). It has taken him only 121-Abs at in AA to hit five home runs, while it took him 267-Abs earlier this year in A+ to hit six. I guess this is what they call maturing.
7-26-11: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/7/26/2287253/mets-mid-term-farm-system-review-2011-binghamton#storyjump - OF Matt den Dekker - STOCK HOLDING - Den Dekker showed many of the tools that make him such an easy bet to make the show. His glove in CF has lived up to all expectations. He has solid speed on the bases. He's even showing the kind of home run power that many thought would only translate to doubles in the pros. But for me to really feel good about his prospect status he's going to have to cut down on the strikeouts. At St. Lucie they were high but acceptable and as a four year college player he they should have been. In Bingo they're pushing 30% which will not cut it in the majors, let alone the high minors. The development of his plate discipline is the key. It is what will determine if he can maintain a passable OBP as he climbs the ladder. It is what will allow his surprising power to either continue to blossom or to fizzle. And it is ultimately what will determine whether he's Jordan Schafer or Drew Stubbs.
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