Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone at Mack's Mets. It's been a tough year for Mets fans, but I don't need to list what went wrong or talk about Miami's new shortstop. Instead, I'd like to talk about the positives going into next year and one smaller move I'd like to see the Mets make, especially in light of the fact that 2014 looks to be the year of new beginnings, not 2012.
As has been mentioned on this site, the Mets' bolstered bullpen should pay dividends next year. With a rotation filled with many question marks (again!), the pen is going to be pitching a lot of innings. The signings of Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez and Frank Francisco immediately turn what was a net negative in 2011 into a positive for next year. These additions also free up the front office to explore trades for Bobby Parnell or Pedro Beato.
The development of Ruben Tejada is first on my list of things I'm looking forward to in 2012. The kid will have a lot of pressure on him, but if he just plays his game and doesn't try to be the "most exciting player in baseball" I think the Mets have themselves a very good player. He's solid on defense and I think he'll continue hitting and getting on base, eventually becoming a great #2 hitter like Placido Polanco of the Philadelphia Phillies.
I'm also looking forward to seeing how David Wright and (to a lesser extent) Jason Bay react to the new dimensions at Citi Field. Wright should be healthy and motivated this year, with all that has gone on in Queens. Bay showed signs of life toward the end of the year and hopefully he can return to being a productive hitter - which may allow the team to turn the page from him sometime in 2012.
Watching the rest of the future core progress will be the most fun aspect of 2012. In particular, I expect Jon Niese and Ike Davis to continue to progress. Niese will take further steps into becoming a very good SP3 and Davis could become one of the marquee first basemen in the league. Lucas Duda's hitting should continue and Reese Havens and Kirk Nieuwenhuis could make their first appearances at Citi this year.
The only pitcher I'd expect to see called up this year is Matt Harvey, and that's only if he's truly dominating at Triple-A Buffalo. Zack Wheeler will start out at Double-A Binghamton and shouldn't even have any hope of seeing the bigs this year. I don't think Jeurys Familia will be ready, but I'd keep him in the minors as well. Let these kids rack up some big numbers in the minors and build their confidence; we can track their progress online and wait until 2013 to see them in a Mets uniform.
The only pitcher I'd expect to see called up this year is Matt Harvey, and that's only if he's truly dominating at Triple-A Buffalo. Zack Wheeler will start out at Double-A Binghamton and shouldn't even have any hope of seeing the bigs this year. I don't think Jeurys Familia will be ready, but I'd keep him in the minors as well. Let these kids rack up some big numbers in the minors and build their confidence; we can track their progress online and wait until 2013 to see them in a Mets uniform.
I really don't enjoy thinking this way, but the 2012 trade deadline should be a very interesting one for the Mets. While the team promises to be competitive, I think we all know they're going into the season facing a huge mountain to climb. Given that, I'm very interested to see how Sandy handles players who won't be part of the 2014 Mets and are marketable to playoff teams. It could be a real chance to continue restocking the farm system.
As far as their moves left this off-season, I'd only like to see the Mets go after a catcher of the future. I'm encouraged by the fact that the front office reportedly likes Travis d'Arnaud in the Toronto Blue Jays system, as it shows they understand the team's future as well as current needs. Getting d'Arnaud will be difficult, but I'd still like to see the Mets add a high-ceiling catcher to their system.
As it stands, the 2014 Mets look to have five of their starting eight positions already covered in terms of talent within the organization:
1B - Davis/Duda
2B - Havens/Jordany Valdespin
SS - Tejada
3B - Wright
OF - Nieuwenhuis.
That leaves two outfield positions and catcher. If the Mets can go out and get a young catcher, that leaves only two positions left to fill. I realize that the Mets aren't spending like they used to, however with only two positions to fill and all of the other positions (save Wright) filled on the cheap, the front office could go out and acquire the additional finishing touches they'll need at that point.
As it stands, the 2014 Mets look to have five of their starting eight positions already covered in terms of talent within the organization:
1B - Davis/Duda
2B - Havens/Jordany Valdespin
SS - Tejada
3B - Wright
OF - Nieuwenhuis.
That leaves two outfield positions and catcher. If the Mets can go out and get a young catcher, that leaves only two positions left to fill. I realize that the Mets aren't spending like they used to, however with only two positions to fill and all of the other positions (save Wright) filled on the cheap, the front office could go out and acquire the additional finishing touches they'll need at that point.
If we're willing to be patient and put things into perspective, there are a lot of positives for the 2012 season - and I'm looking forward to it.
2 comments:
As long as ike is here, you can probably list duda as an outfielder. If he remains a Met, which he should for at least this upcoming season, thats where his future will be. There are no.other players I can't wait to watch then Ike and Duda. Its going to be very interesting to see just how good they can be over a while season.
I agree Charles...the reason I listed Duda at 1B is that I think either he or Ike will be manning 1B with the other eventually traded to fill another area of need.
It comes down to Duda's defense - I don't think he'll be able to handle the OF over the long haul and his future is as a 1B/DH. I really hope he proves me wrong as I think he can be a great hitter. He should be in the OF here all of 2012...after that it's tough to say.
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