#17 3B/LF Dustin Lawley (LR: NR)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 1" Weight: 195 lb
Age: 25
Acquired: 2011 Rule 4 Draft, 19th Round, University of West Florida
2013: (A/AAA) .262/.314/.513, 26 HR, 96 RBI, 6 SB (67%), 36 BB, 113 K
2012: (A) .261/.333/.434, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 14 SB (78%), 50 BB, 122 K
2011: (R/A) .284/.323/.510, 10 HR, 44 RBI, 5 SB (50%), 14 BB, 52 K
Ya know....sometimes you just need to hit the living crap out of the ball in order to make these list and that's exactly what Lawley did last year. Finally playing away from cavernous confines such as Grayson Stadium and MCU Stadium, Lawley took advantage and smashed 33 doubles and 25 HRs for the Port St. Lucie Mets resulting in a ridiculous ISO power rate of .252.
Just to show how remarkable that is, among A+ players in 2013 with at least 350 plate appearances, Lawley finished 1st in ISO by an astounding .051 points. When you drop it down to a minimum of 220 PA's, only 4 players, including 2 Top 10 MLB prospects, surpass Lawley. (Travis Taijeron, Javier Baez, Maikel Franco, and Miguel Sano.) Baseball America even graded Lawley as the single biggest power threat in the Mets system right now, surpassing the incumbent Aderlin Rodriguez.
Power isn't his only tool though. Lawley is also a decent baserunner who has the ability to steal 10-15 bags a year and have above average defensive skills in the OF including enough range to spot start in CF from time to time. At age 24, if Lawley is going to make a move, now has got to be the time. He was skipped over AA Binghamton to help with the Las Vegas playoff run and held his own in a small 6 game stint. However with a very crowded Vegas OF, with Puello, Nieuwenheis, Den Dekker, Vaughn, and perhaps even Lucas Duda all expected to be in AAA, I'm not sure how Lawley is going to fit there. A short stint at Binghamton may be where he starts but he'll get the first call-up to Vegas if he's needed.
Anticipated Assignment: (AA) Binghamton starting LF/ DH Rotation
Ceiling: Second Division Low AVG, Power Hitting LF
Floor: Power bat off the bench
2 comments:
I know his not a catcher but he maybe the mets Evan Gattis.
I really hope he does well, and repeats last years numbers. I love that he is good defensively as well, that makes his chances of helping the big club even more likely. Hopefully in 2016 we trade Granderson and have an outfield of Lagares, Puello and Lawley. That would be nice and cheap the way the Coupons like it and would be great defensively with speed.
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