1-11-12 - metsmerizedonline 42. Matt den Dekker (CF) Den Dekker is an intriguing
prospect. He is a very solid defender who could probably play CF in the big
leagues right now. He has above average speed, is a hard-nosed player with a
good solid throwing arm, but needs to work on his routes to the ball to avoid
having to make last second adjustments. But the questions regarding den Dekker
arise from his age, he’s already 24 years-old, and has only played a
half-season above single A. Last year, he was having a good year at St. Lucie,
hitting .296 in 267 AB’s, when he was promoted at mid-season to AA Bingo.
Binghamton was a different story for den Dekker, he struggled to consistently
put the bat on the ball, and managed to hit only.235 in 272 AA AB’s. The reason
for the drop-off was a fifty percent increase in strikeouts. Den Dekker has a
long swing before the bat reaches the hitting zone, which leaves him unable to
catch up to pitches up and in. He did show an increase in HR’s when he got to
AA, hitting 6 at St. Lucie, and adding 11 more after his promotion, but his
SLG% went down from .494 to .426. His drop-off in contact didn’t hurt his HR
output, but he hit significantly less 2B’s and 3B’s. So the question is will it
be a positive profile for den Dekker? A speedy, versatile outfielder, who is a
left-handed hitter with occasional HR power. Or the negative one, an older
player who did well against lower competition, but once he reached AA opposing
pitchers began exploiting a mechanical flaw in his swing which hurt his ability
to consistently make contact? This season will answer that question.
I just find this whole little episode stunning.
Giving up Fernando Martinez for nothing just seems odd. Surely Martinez was worth
something, like a live arm or two, on the trade market. Moreover, there is
still slack on the Mets 40-man roster. This feels a little bit like the Omar
Minaya days when the Mets often seemed out of line with the way teams valued
assets (hello, 4 years and $25 million for Luis Castillo). The Astros, and as the rumor goes, at least
five teams were interested in Martinez, and the Mets got nothing. Who was the
top prospect like Martinez where a team just gave up at this point when the
player still had an option remaining? I’m drawing a blank. Anyone?
http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/the-official-end-of-the-fernando-martinez-era/
Dave Winfield got his first taste of the New York
Mets over lunch. For the Mets front office team of Nelson Doubleday and Frank
Cashen this was all new and, in hindsight, the 1980 Major League Baseball
Reentry Draft, marked the organizations first major foray into free agency. For
Winfield the visit to the Big Apple was business as usual. The pleasantries
didn’t last very long, maybe not even past the appetizer, before Winfield and
his agent cut to the chase. Winfield challenged the Mets to bear fruit: show me
you’re serious about building a winning team he told Cashen. It was the same
speech he gave Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner days earlier. http://blog.johnstrubel.com/2012/01/04/winfield-and-the-mets/#more-1597
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| photo by Mack Ade |
“I think we are in great position to rebound from
last year. I think with the acquisitions we made in the offseason with the
bullpen getting fortified and getting guys like (utility player Daniel) Murphy
and (first baseman Ike) Davis back healthy, the fence (at Citi Field) is being
moved in, so I think there is going to be a lot of positive activity throughout
spring training.” http://www.metsblog.com/2012/01/12/teufel-we-are-great-position-to-rebound-from-last-year/
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