18. Of Matt
den Dekker
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.
8-22-11
Observation: - CF Matt den Dekker – den Dekker is starting to figure out AA
pitching, but the season will end soon. He will return to the Binghamton
centerfield come 2012 opening day, where his increasing pop will hopefully
continue to grow. The Mets fall desperately short on outfield talent right now,
but that doesn't mean they should rush the talent they have in the system. Most
probably, this is the future centerfielder in Queens, but it takes time. - ETA:
2013
8-21-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/prospect-pulse-left-handed-hitters.html
- Matt Den Dekker – Den Dekker was the
Mets 2010 5th round draft pick, out of the University of Florida. He started
this, his second pro season, at St Lucie, high A. After 267 AB’s and a .296 BA,
he was promoted at mid-season to Bingo. He started out in AA struggling
mightily, and only recently has begun to hit the way he is capable. After 210
AA AB’s, he is hitting .245 with 8 HR’s and 25 RBI’s, but is hitting .290 over
his last ten games. The biggest problem for him is the strikeout. In 477 total
AB’s this season, he has struck out a staggering 134 times, with only 47 walks,
for an OBP of .347. Den Dekker is a very good fielding center-fielder, but if
he is going to keep climbing the ladder he must cut way down on his strikeouts,
increase his walks, and thereby bring up what is an abysmal OBP for a lead-off
hitter.
1-11-12 - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/01/2012-mets-top-prospects-s-41-50.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment