Mets wise, the team
seems set for years to come with Ruben Tejada. He had a great year in 2012
(.289) and will play 2013 as only a 23-year old. Nothing is going to change
here for many years. Current injury relief, pending changes from camp, is
Justin Turner.
There is a
considerable amount of depth here, which is currently rare for a positional
player these days.
Wilfredo Tovar (2012 –
Bing/St.L: 411-AB, .270) will most probably start most of the games in Las
Vegas. He’s comfortably on the 40-man and the organization’s top defensive
infielder will be ready for any emergency work needed in Flushing. Also on the
roster is recently added Brandon Hicks (2012 – AAA: .244, 18-HR, 61-RBI,
.856-OPS MLB: .172) who is rumored to be
early favorite for a utility job in Flushing. You have to take a send look at
those 18 home runs, especially from someone that can play all three infield
positions.
Binghamton should go
to T.J. Rivera, who was a pleasant surprise in 2012 (Sav - .333, St.L - .306).
His backup will most probably be the recently re-signed Josh Rodriguez who should
hold down one of the AA UT slots.
Now comes the draft
picks…
My guess is Phillip
Evans (2012 – Brooklyn: .252) will play St. Lucie and Gavin Cecchini (2012 –
Kingsport: .246) goes to Savannah. Backups should be Brandon Brown (2012 – SAV:
.222) and Ismael Tijerna (2012 – SAV: .137).
There will be a
number of shortstops that will remain back in extended camp. They are: Richie
Rodriguez, Jorge Rivero, Anthony Chavez, Leon Canelon, Alfredo Reyes, and Ahmed
Rosario. Reyes and Rosario will most probably be assigned to the DSL teams.
Observation:
This is what you are looking
for in an organization. A young star in the majors, a couple of qualified AAAA
players ready for the call, and a couple of quality high draft picks being
molded. In addition, Rosario projects out as a future MLB starter.
Rating:
Mets: B+
Organization: A-
If Tejada works on his baserunning and steal about 10 bases per year I have no problem with him at SS for the next few years!!
ReplyDeleteNice to see some real organizational depth at a critical position. It will be interesting to see if Rivera can replicate his success of last season, making the sometimes difficult transition to AA. I wouldn't be surprised if Cecchini stays in Brooklyn, at least to start the season, while Matt Reynolds gets playing time in Savannah. Wilpon loves to showcase players he feels will be future stars in Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteMack, do you think Chad Zurcher will be ready to play to start the season? He missed all of 2012 due to injury. He played SS in Kingsport in 2011 and hit a decent .283 with a .386 OBP, but I think they have him slotted to play 2B from here on.
I don't know about Zurcher but I did spend some quality tie with Reynolds last year and he's a team player that will play where asked.
ReplyDeleteHe told me his natural position is 3B.
Right now, Reynolds is on Savannah's roster as a SS, but they do not show anyone at 3B. Maybe Matt will play more 3B in Savannah this year. Then again, I don't think they've addressed roster shifts yet, so Matt could go elsewhere or play either position.
ReplyDeleteI love the organizational depth the Mets have at SS. I can see the Mets dealing Torvar if the right offer comes along, especially after the Didi Gregorius deal.
ReplyDeleteI would not consider Tejada a superstar but he will definitely be a solid regular and a fixture of the future.
I think that one of Evans or Cecchini will eventually be the second basemen of the future.
The person who I am really excited about is Rosario. He is a big bonus prospect and I hope he can develop into a top hitting prospect who can hopefully stick at short. I think best case for Rosario would be Xander Boegarts from the Red Sox.
the secret to baseball is to sign and draft "middle players"... catcher, pitcher, second base, shortstop, and center fielders... this is where your 5-tool players are
ReplyDeleteeveryone in the DR dreams of playing SS so every top prospect down there is a SS... they can easily be moved around
Which I think has been the Mets emphasis under Alderson. Rosario, Cecchini, Evans, Plawecki and Nimmo. Along with the addition of D'arnaud, the Mets have really put a premium on adding up the middle talent. Hopefully this strategy, the Mets can be strong up the middle and if all breaks right, have a surplus of prospects here to fill other holes either via trade or position changes.
ReplyDeletethe 2011 and 2012 draft are quite different for Mets fans. Sandy and Company are supposed to be experts on high school seniors, not Latin 16-year olds like Omar...
ReplyDeleteIt's going to take until 2015 for us to see how these two draft work out.
To be honest, I'm not that thrilled so far with thr results but it is far to early to judge them, especially the kids that arrived last year after their high school graduation.