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6/25/13

Matthew Silva - Two Cents Tuesday - A Possible Answer to "What Outfield"? in 2013



When this season started, the starting outfield looked like a joke and it played the part as well. Players like Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Colin Cowgill fell out of favor with the team. Jordany Valdespin and Mike Baxter couldn’t settle in when they got a chance. Matt den Dekker broke his wrist and washed away our hopes of seeing him patrol centerfield. The only bright spot, relatively speaking, was Marlon Byrd.

Byrd has played solid defense and has improved at the dish with every passing month. His monthly splits are .232/.250/.308 with 11 HR and 35 RBI on the season. Not bad for a guy who was trying to find his swing in Mexico not too long ago. This guy knows how to hit and has been a boon for David Wright ever since he has been slotted behind the Captain in the 5th spot of the lineup. He is assuming the role we thought was reserved for Ike Davis; the protector with pop who made sure that our lineup ran a little longer than just David. The spotlight has been on Byrd for most of the season when it came to our outfielders, but now that light is starting to shift to two unlikely contributors.

Juan Lagares is finally getting his fair shot. He is starting to play much more often and in turn is playing more consistently. He is hitting .308 so far in the month of June through 52 at-bats which is a massive improvement over the previous 47 at-bats he collected through spot duty in April and May. His play defensively has also improved as he has become more accustomed to major league hitters and ballparks. His range has always been solid and we all know how athletic he is as evidenced by some of his acrobatic catches. He has become a vital cog in the outfield that has been showing both improvement and production. I don’t know if we can really see him as a long term solution to the Mets outfield of the future, but if he continues to put up numbers like this, he certainly will be part of the conversation.

The most unlikely contributor hasn’t even been on the team for very long, but he is starting to really produce. Eric Young Jr., like Lagares, was never given consistent playing time in the outfield and considering the talent the Colorado Rockies have in the outfield with Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzalez, you can hardly blame them. Young Jr. bounced around different positions and never really put up the numbers that were expected of him. Now, after being traded for Colin McHugh and getting a full-time gig in left field for the Mets, he is showing that he can be a solid contributor in more ways than one. His defense compared to Lucas Duda’s is night and day. He has a decent arm and is getting to balls that Lucas wouldn’t even dream of. His presence as a leadoff hitter hasn’t gone unnoticed as well. He raked in the last series against the Phillies and his threat to steal a base is going to be helpful Daniel Murphy see some more fastballs to help him out of a little slump. Last year, Ruben Tejada showed no ability to steal a bag and I believe it really hampered the offense to have no base stealing threats atop the lineup. Now, Eric Young Jr. provides the threat that left when players like Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan walked out of Flushing. Granted, this is the smallest sample size of the three in terms of effectiveness on the field, but our options are few and this has been a welcome sign for a team looking for a consistent lineup.


Together, these guys are producing in an area of dire need. The question is whether they will be able to stay together. Eventually, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda will return and someone will likely get bumped in favor of both of their bats. Maybe by then the production will fade and we will be counting the days until those two return. I’m just relieved that we have some sort of an answer to that ugly question of “What outfield?”

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