Mack’s Morning Report – 11-22-13 – QBC14, Darrell Cecilliani, ‘Player Evaluation By Position’ – 2B

 

Mack - I'm talking today to Shannon Shark over at MetsPolice.com. Hey Shannon, I hear you have quite the event coming up. Tell our readers a little about it.

Shannon - We thought it would be neat to get the fans together for a mid-winter event. I know by then I can't wait for spring training, so we thought it would be a good time to scratch that itch on January 18th at McFadden's Citi Field.

It's called the Queens Baseball Convention and we're shooting for a mix of Fan Fest meets Comic-Con meets the Hofstra Mets conference from a few years back.

The program schedule, although incomplete, is starting to come together and can be found at www.QBC14.com

Mack – Who are some of the Mets Bloggers you have lined up for discussion panels?

Shannon - We're still working on the batting order but Matt Cerrone (Mets Blog), Paul Lukas (Uni Watch), Greg Prince (Faith and Fear), Kerel Cooper (On The Black), Mark Healey (Going 9), and Randy Medina (The Apple) are in for sure, and I haven't put it up on the website yet but Andy Martino and Adam Rubin are going to come by.

Mack – Well, as you know, I can’t travel anymore, but I’ll be there in spirit. You guys have a ball and I hope some of my readers will attend as well. 

According to http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/rule-5-preview-cubs-marcus-hatley-yankees-danny-burawa-among-names-to-watch , here is one of the key players you have to look to be taken in the Rule 5 draft:

Darrell Ceciliani, of, Mets: Any team with a gap in its system in terms of outfield depth could be enticed to gamble on Ceciliani, a fourth-round pick in 2009 who has a solid base of skills but no carrying tool. The 23-year-old bats lefthanded and has a full season of experience at Double-A Binghamton, where he ranked second in the Eastern League with 31 stolen bases. Scouts project Ceciliani to have three average tools: hitting, running and fielding, and while his walk rate dried up at Double-A, he did hit .276/.328/.390 versus righthanders and could be a functional extra outfielder.

Mack – Boy, the paragraph written by Baseball America doesn’t even sound positive. ‘DC’ was a nice try, but he now projects out as an oft-injured AAAA players that could easily settle into Las Vegas an emergency player. But, that’s all, and I’d be very surprised if anyone took him in the Rule 5. Cory Vaughn yes, but not Cecilliani. 

 

The series continues with second base.

Queens wise, the Mets will have to decide who will be the primary player here in 2014, Daniel Murphy or Wilmer Flores. There also is one school of thought that one of these guys could wind up on first base (I vote for Flores), but my guess is this is a second base battle that will be solved by one of them leaving via a trade. Josh Satin and (possibly) Justin Turner will return as utility backups.

From Robert Emrich -

Second base -- Wilmer Flores, Las Vegas (107 games), (New York 27 games): Long considered one of the Mets' best position prospects, Flores cemented that status with a strong season in the Pacific Coast League. The 22-year-old Venezuela native batted .321, slugged 15 homers and drove in 86 runs, the latter of which was good for second most in the organization. Flores also smacked 36 doubles, third in the Pacific Coast League, despite playing fewer games than the two players ahead of him. He also played more second base than he had before in his career, putting together a .975 fielding percentage in 79 games at the position.

"This is his first full season playing second base," DePodesta said. "He  up as a shortstop and got some exposure to second last year in Double-A. Really happy with the progress at second base, turns a really good double play and had good hands. I think he makes all the plays you expect a guy to make and he does it while being a middle-of-the-order bat. We think he has a chance to hit at the Major League level.

"He's a physical young man and is still growing into a big frame. I think he's starting to tap into that power -- some of those doubles are starting to turn into homers. I think the hardest thing is that he was such a big name at 15, 16, coming out of Venezuela. It's hard to say he's only 21 even though he's been a name in the Minors for five years. I think what he might look like at 25, 26, 27 as an offensive player is pretty exciting." - http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131121&content_id=63739820&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

At Las Vegas, Danny Muno (AA: .249/.384/.379/.762) will step up even though his overall numbers declined at each level over his first three seasons in pro ball (2011: Brooklyn - .355… 2012: St. Lucie - .280… 2013: Binghamton - .249). I project Muno as a possible utility player at the major league level but nothing more. Behind Muno is Reese Havens (AAA - .237), who is still a member of this organization. Havens’ bad back returned again last season and I can’t see him being any factor in the future. No one had more potential than the three guys the Mets drafted in the first round in 2008 (Havens, Ike Davis and Brad Holt). Lastly, I put Jordany Valdespin here because I really don’t have any idea where to classify him. I don’t think he’ll be around come April and, if he is, he might be slotted in as a backup outfielder, but, for now, I have him as a AAA second baseman.

At Binghamton, I expect TJ Rivera (St. Lucie: .289) to be the everyday second baseman. Rivera continues to impress (2011 – K-Port/Brooklyn: .301… 2012 – Savannah-St. Lucie: .320… 2013 – St. Lucie: .289) after being signed as an undrafted shotstop out of the Bronx. As of today, none of the AA infield positions (2B, SS, 3B) have a utility player on the roster, so look for some additional signings before opening day.

At St. Lucie, my guess is that 4th round pick LJ Mazzilli (Brooklyn - .278) was first penciled in here to jump Savannah in 2013, but then along came the Dilson Herrera (2013 – WV/Sav - .267, 11-HR, 60-RBI) trade. Herrera overnight became the number one second base prospect in the organization and I have him projected to make his way to Queens latest on opening day 2016. He definitely looked like the real deal in the short time he played for Savannah (.316) last season. His backup looks to be Jorge Rivero (2013: Brooklyn – Savannah - .298).

Savannah looks to be Mazzilli, backed up by either Yucary De La Cruz (Sav: .212) or Chad Zurcher (Sav: .276). The frustrating part for Mazzilli will be the fact that Herrera will most probably hold up his progress, and, at the age of 23, he might already be running out of time.

For now, prior to the draft, Brooklyn looks to have Juan Carlos Gamboa (Brooklyn - .195) and Yeixon Ruiz (Kingsport - .304) on their roster, while Kingsport has prospect Leon Canelon (GCL - .278) and Branden Kauper (GCL - .214). Canelon did come to the Mets as one of those bonus babies that come out of  Venezuela and his professional numbers so far (2011: .274, 2012: .302, 2013: .278) have been respectable. He will play 2014 as a 22-yr. old so you could see him as high as Savannah.

Lastly, no one screams out from the 2013 DSL teams.

Summation:

Thanks to Sandy and Company, we have depth here. I remind everyone that Mazzilli is not considered a prospect and I think the Mets drafted him a little high, but the trade for Herrera could be one of the best moves they have made since they have been in charge. As fans, you need to keep an eye on these two (and Canelon), but Herrera ETAs on opening day 2016. Right now, with Flores and Murphy in Queens, second base is deep.

Grade:  A-