The Keepers - #7 - OF - Kirk Nieuwenhuis

7.        OF      Kirk Nieuwenhuis

4-28-10: - Kirk Nieuwenhuis – OF – AA – Binghamton – Kirk is off to another of his typical productive years: .313/.360/.475/.835. I happen to think that he’s the top Mets outfield prospect and will get to Queens ahead of Fernando “Day-To-Day” Martinez, who I understand is once again dinged up.

5-22-10: - OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Most of the outfield prospect press has fallen on Fernando Martinez; however, Nieuwenhuis has very quietly become the top Mets prospect for that position. Kirk hit 16-HR and 71-RBI for St. Lucie last year and is hitting .301/.337/.470/.807 so far this season for Binghamton. He needs to learn some plate discipline (only 8-BB this season), but as of right now, he’s on top of the list to become a future Mets center fielder. Keep an eye on this kid. Big trade bait.

5-27-10 - Stock up: Nieuwenhuis has quietly been putting together a decent year in AA, but there just wasn’t that home run pop we got used to last season at St. Lucie. Well, that’s not true anymore. Kirk hit #7 of the young season last night, which is his third in the past five games. His slugging percentage is up to .500 and his OPS is .837. It will be interesting to see what the Mets do with him next season. They gave him a taste over Fernando Martinez at ST and I can speak firsthand about how much he enjoyed being part of the Mets locker room with the Queens boys. Martinez will obviously not be ready to play centerfield at Citi Field, but Nieuwenhuis is earning playing CF in Buffalo, over F-Mart. As I said, interesting decision coming up for the Mets.

6-11-10: - CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his 9th home run of the season in the opening game of a twin bill Thursday. Don’t look for him to be heading to Buffalo any time soon. Pedro Feliciano will be returning there as soon as Carlos Beltran is activated. Still, Captain Kirk is on pace for a 20+ HR season at AA.

7-3-10: - Nieuwenhuis continues to strengthen up after his short stint on the disabled list. He hit his 11th home run of the season in the first game of a Friday night doubleheader and it’s interesting that the team management continues to have him lead off. Right now, he is the top Mets’ outfield prospect in the system.

7-7-10: - Binghamton’s Kirk Nieuwenhuis is on fire… he led off Wednesday’s game with a double for the third game in a row and followed that with another double in his second at bat. At that point in the game he had nine doubles, a home run, and four singles in his last 20 at-bats.

3-19-11: - Down: - Kirk Nieuwenhuis - Look, the Captain is having a horrible spring, batting only .097 (3-31). He's obviously not ready for the big show, which is fine, but I wish the Mets would just return him to the minor league portion of the complex and let him get his confidence back. How many times have we had to watch some kid have a bad spring, or a bad first time in the majors, and then go down and funk out for a month or two. Remember Anderson Hernandez? How about Nick Evans? Nieuwenhuis is only getting innings now because of split schedule days.

Up: - OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 4-19-11 – Kirk has hit .355 in the past ten games, raising his seasonal AAA batting average to .325. I expect the Mets to leave him alone this season and let his bat mature at Buffalo. Can he start next year for New York? Hell, if Happy Hairston can…

4-21-11: - Captain Kirk’s biggest obstacle is pitch selection, which keeps his strike outs high. Last year:  132 in 514 at bats. So far this season: 12 in 47 at bats. By the way, he made another killer catch in centerfield in this game. As much as I have told you that he doesn’t have what it takes to star in the majors, he is making a case of proving me wrong so far this season.

4-23-11 -  UP – OF Kirk Nieuwenhius – I go hot and cold on the Captain, but he’s off to a great start this spring. He’s cut down on his strikeouts, increased his walks, and is playing all-star defense. Through 4-23, he’s hitting .333/.421/.588/.985, but only four RBIs. Still the increased OBP and 16-BB/57-AB is encouraging.

4-25-11: - CF Kirk Nieuwenhis continues to hit well, but his defense in centerfield seems to become under question. He played two balls very badly yesterday, resulting in runs scored. Neither was accredited to an error, but both, let’s say, would have been run down by either Angel Pagan or the 2009 version of Carlos Beltran. He still projects out as a liability in CitiField centerfield.

8-23-11: - #24: - OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis – David Rubin continues to bust my banana over the lack of respect I give Captain Kirk. Look, I gave the same amount of skepticism to Lucas Duda because I just didn’t see either of these guys projected as a starting outfield in the majors. I love Kirk’s bat almost as much as I love Duda’s swing, but he simply needs more time to cut down on his strikeouts and work on his defense. Now, with injury, and right field being given to Lucas, you have to wonder if Nieuwenhuis will ever be given that chance. He’ll play Buffalo again in 2012 with a definite September call-up. ETA: 4th outfielder in 2013.