Organizational
Evaluation By Position – OF
I’m not going to try and break this out by RF,CF, and LF.
Every one of these guys could wind up on any one of these three positions, both
in the minors as well as Queens.
Each team normally carry four or five outfielders on their
active roster based on the fact that one usually is also used as a DH
throughout the season. Right now, I have seven in AAA, five in AA, six in A+,
six in A-Ball, and five in low-A. Obviously some of these guys have to be moved
and others (like Darrell Cecilliani) could
easily be playing at a different level than I have him projected to. For now,
all of this is guessing.
AAA – Cesar Puello and Dustin Lawley are the prospects so they will be on
this roster. Remember, Lawley also plays 3B and DH so he easily could represent
here the 2nd of four starters that we classify as outfielders. My
hope is he will play mostly in LF where his Mets future might be. If you see
him playing third, consider him being set up as future trade bait.
Now it gets sticky. Cecilliani seems to have enough AA
at-bats to be ready here (418), but some feel he needs some more time in
Binghamton. There’s still Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who
I’m not sure is going to make the cut this time, newcomer Anthony Seratelli (AAA – 400-AB, .273, 11-HR, 41-RBI),
Alonzo Harris (AA - .218) and let’s not forget
about Jordany Valdespin (AAA - .466).
AA – We start with another ‘almost prospect’, Cory Vaughn (Bing: 262-AB, .252, 10-HR, 50-RBI) who
needs to go back to New York State and finish what he started there. He’ll be
joined by Travis Taijeron, who had 23-HR and
69-RBIs combined for St. Lucie and Binghamton. These are obviously two-thirds
of the starting B-Mets outfield on opening day, but everything gets foggy after
this. You’ve got once-prospect and now organizational outfielder Gilbert Gomez (St. Lucie, 366-AB, .216), utility
player Joe Bonfe (Bing, 110-AB, .245) and Kyle Johnson, who was picked up after he was
designated by the Angels (A-ball, Burlington - .308) He finished the season
hitting .278 for St. Lucie. My money is on Johnson who looks like a solid
pickup.
A+ - Things are really crowded here. It’s obvious that Brandon Nimmo (Savannah, 395-AB - .273) will play
centerfield. Eudy Pina was originally thought of
as a prospect but has been disappointing (Savannah - .233). Jorge Rivero put together a nice season combining 191
at-bats for Brooklyn and Savannah (.298). Maikis De La
Cruz was called up to Savannah when injuries befell others and did very
well (349-AB, .261). Charley Thurber needs to
return here for at least another half season after a sub-2013 (277-at bats,
.227). And lastly, there’s Greg Pron (Savannah -
.188) will probably not survive camp.
A – Things don’t clear up at this level either.
The Sand Gnats outfield will be led by 5th round
draft pick Jared King who got his feet wet last
year in Brooklyn (222-ABs, .266). Sadly, college boys like this are being held
back because of the log jam of rosters like St. Lucie. He will be joined by his
Cyclones teammate, 9th round pick Patrick
Biondi (Brooklyn, 193-AB, .249). Neither one of these guys are going to
lead the Sally League in home runs, but they do both give the Mets two viable
future options. Rounding out the rest of the candidates are James Roche (Brooklyn, 235-AB, .243), Jonathan Clark (Brooklyn, 119-AB, .176), and Stefan Sabol (Savannah, 365-AB, .203).
Low-A - The Brooklyn roster will most probably be
much different than this on opening day, especially if the Mets draft college
outfielders like they did last year. For now, the Cyclones line up with the
bonus baby obtained in the R A Dickey deal, Wuilmer Beccera (GCL – 173-AB, .243), 2013 draft pick Champ Stuart (Kingsport, .240), OF-C-1B UT Jeff Diehl (Kingsport, 207-AB, .266), Joe Tuschak (Kingsport, .271), a very surprising Victor Cruzado (Kingsport, .328), and possibly Eris Peguero (Brooklyn, 49-AB, .184).
Kingsport and below – Remaining back in camp will be 18-yr.
old draft pick Ivan Wilson (GCL, 160-AB, .219),
2012’s DSL phenom but 2013’s flop Vicente Lupo (GCL,
109-AB, .220), and Michael Bernal (Kingsport,
93-AB, .237).
John Mora (DSL1, .310) should come stateside and bonus
babies, 16-yr. old Ricardo Cespedes (Aug 2013 -
$725K) and Oswald Caraballo will most probably
be assigned to one of the DSL teams.
Summation:
There is no clear cut prospect here, but there are a bunch of
guys that do have the potential to shine at the major league level. 2014 will
be a big year for the ‘big 4’ (Puello, Lawley, Vaughn, Taijeron) and if only
one pans out it still will make a big difference for a team that desperately
needs a star outfielder.
Rating: C
I'm pretty hopeful that Puello will be a player. In fact, given current fiscal realities, I think that the Mets are likely to plan for that eventuality. They've gotta be hoping that a good half-season in Vegas will get him to Queens by around the all-star break. Lawley is the wildcard, of course, and his continued development would be a huge bonus. Can they go into next season with an OF of EY, Lagares, and Chris Young, waiting on Puello? Probably not, though I could live with it temporarily if they managed to upgrade elsewhere (SS anyone?) or if they do the unthinkable and spend the most of the rest of their budget on Cano. More likely, they'll bite the bullet and trade prospects for a solid corner OF bat, and let Young handle the other corner while waiting on the two AAA kids.
ReplyDeleteRemember... Puello NEVER took any PEDs... he was fined 50 games for his association with Biogeneses THE YEAR BEFORE THE 2013 SEASON... the 2013 numbers generated are the real deal
ReplyDeleteLets sign Cruz and Roy Holiday, I wanted more but its better then nothing.
ReplyDeleteLets sign Cruz and Roy Holiday, I wanted more but its better then nothing.
ReplyDeletegreg - I'm leaning more toward Granderson than Cruz. Check Cruz's splits away from the hitter friendly Rangers Ballpark. He doesn't seem to hit very well in pitcher's parks.
ReplyDeleteMack - I think Nieuwenhuis remains in the mix this year. He may even have the opportunity to win an opening day roster spot in ST. More likely, he's part of the outfield group in Vegas. Lawley might start the season in Binghamton. I'm not sure his late season promotion to AAA, skipping over Bingo, means they think he is ready for that jump. Harris (with his .218 BA) might be asked to repeat Binghamton.
What do you think the possibilities are that Vaughn and Ceciliani are thought to be ready for AAA while Lawley and Harris are told that their seasons will start in Binghamton?
Vaughn and Cecillini might not be in the mix because they can be taken in the rule5 draft.
ReplyDeleteVaughn and Cecillini might not be in the mix because they can be taken in the rule5 draft.
ReplyDeleteKind of what will happen in Queens. Lagares, Young, and what's next? Will Young jr. play 2B or LF? IF Young plays LF, do they carry Den Dekker, Valdespin or Nieuwenhuis as lefthander off the bench? And Brown as righhander off the bench?
ReplyDeleteI guess that Valdespin and Nieuwenhuis will be in Las Vegas. With Puello in RF and Lawley (or Vaughn) in LF I could see Nieuwenhuis in CF, Harris as 4th OF-er and Valdespin out of the OF mix. Or they can play Valdespin CF.
Johnson, Cecilliani, Vaughn (or Lawley) and Taijeron will be the oufield for Binghamton.