Battle for 1 Game of Abuse per Week
Favorites- Anthony Recker
Guys w/ a chance- Taylor Teagarden, Juan Centeno
Longshots- (none)
Recker wasn't half bad last year as both Buck's and d'Arnaud's back-up. Although he only hit .215 overall, in 34 starts last season, he hit a halfway decent .230 and slugged a .434 thanks to 6 HR and 7 doubles. He's on the 40 man roster, is only making $490k, and can even pitch so he's the clear cut front runner.
His main competition will be the newly signed Taylor Teagarden. The former Texas, and Baseball America Top 100, prospect has been dismal since his initial debut in 2008. While he possesses some power and has a good arm behind the plate he just can't seem to put the bat on the ball. He is also out of options so if he doesn't win the Mets will have to expose him to waivers before sending him to AAA.
Juan Centeno also has a chance to make the club, albeit a small one. The 24 year old has the ability to hit .280+ at the MLB level and is considered a very strong defender with a strong arm that regularly 40%+ of potential base stealers. His downside is the fact that he possesses practically zero power with only 2 career HR in 316 minor league games. It's far more likely that Centeno begins the year in AAA in case d'Arnaud gets hurt again. If that happens Centeno will get the 1st crack at the starting job over both Recker and Teagarden.
Battle for the Pie-Throwing Middle Infielder Throne
Favorites- (none)
Guys w/ a chance- Wilfredo Tovar, Omar Quintanilla, Anthony Seratelli
Longshots- Daniel Muno, Wilmer Flores
Here is our 1st TRUE position battle. At this point in time we have no idea who the back up SS/2B will be. We can safely assume that IF Eric Young Jr. loses his starting spot to Chris Young that he would be the back-up 2B. So, that being said, what we really are looking for is a guy who can play SS.
Tovar is by far the slickest defender on the list. In 128 games last season for the Binghamton Mets, Tovar only committed 9 errors and turned 65 Double Plays. His bat will never be good enough to hold an MLB job but at the very least he should be able to put up the same numbers as Tejada from last year.
For the second season in a row, Quintanilla has been non tendered being arbitration eligible and then came back to the Mets on a minor league contract. While he has been serviceable in Tejada's absence over the past two years, both his defense and offensive production took large steps backwards.
Mack's Mets dark horse for the job is the newly signed UT Anthony Seratelli. The Jersey native has been in the Kansas City Royals system his entire career and is a true utility player. Last year alone Seratelli spent time at all 4 infield positions and some time in RF grading out as anywhere from slightly below average to average defensively. Offensively he has 10-15 HR power, .260+ AVG ability, 15-20 SB speed, and a good enough eye for a 12% BB rate.
Daniel Muno has an outside chance but it's more likely that he heads to AAA since Reese Havens has retired. Wilmer Flores has the bat to hold a job on the bench, but, there's no way he could play SS everyday if needed.
Battle for the Just "Wait for Davis to Fail" Corner IF Spot
Favorites- Josh Satin
Guys w/ a chance- Zach Lutz, Lucas Duda, Andrew Brown
Longshots- Brandon Allen, Eric Campbell, Wilmer Flores
This battle comes with the added bonus of probably being a platoon starter at 1B to prevent Davis from starting against lefties. Josh Satin will go into camp with a big leg up on the competition thanks to his .317 AVG and .476 SLG against left handers last season. As an added bonus he also graded out as a plus plus defender at 1B (albeit Small Sample Size) with a +20.5 UZR/150 and has the ability to play 3B if needed.
Satin's emergence and the large number of non-roster invitees could spell doom for Zach Lutz's 40 man roster spot, but he'll be in camp and is a sure bet to put up a good fight and challenge Satin for his spot. However with the oft-injured trademark to his name as well as career reverse platoon batting splits favoring at bats against right handers, not lefties, Lutz is going to have do some serious mashing to make the team.
Lucas Duda is the only lefty on this list and for good reason. The team seems to be extremely enamored by his OBP abilities and raw power that they may be willing to carry 3 1B on the roster. He'll have to improve on his back to back sub .240 batting line seasons though if he wants the starting job from Davis.
Don't be surprised if Andrew Brown also makes a run at Josh Satin for his roster spot. The power hitting Brown does not have significant platoon splits and was primarily a 1B throughout his minor league career. With a crowded outfield Brown is going to have to prove that he can hit at the major league level more consistently.
His main competition will be the newly signed Taylor Teagarden. The former Texas, and Baseball America Top 100, prospect has been dismal since his initial debut in 2008. While he possesses some power and has a good arm behind the plate he just can't seem to put the bat on the ball. He is also out of options so if he doesn't win the Mets will have to expose him to waivers before sending him to AAA.
Juan Centeno also has a chance to make the club, albeit a small one. The 24 year old has the ability to hit .280+ at the MLB level and is considered a very strong defender with a strong arm that regularly 40%+ of potential base stealers. His downside is the fact that he possesses practically zero power with only 2 career HR in 316 minor league games. It's far more likely that Centeno begins the year in AAA in case d'Arnaud gets hurt again. If that happens Centeno will get the 1st crack at the starting job over both Recker and Teagarden.
Battle for the Pie-Throwing Middle Infielder Throne
Favorites- (none)
Guys w/ a chance- Wilfredo Tovar, Omar Quintanilla, Anthony Seratelli
Longshots- Daniel Muno, Wilmer Flores
Here is our 1st TRUE position battle. At this point in time we have no idea who the back up SS/2B will be. We can safely assume that IF Eric Young Jr. loses his starting spot to Chris Young that he would be the back-up 2B. So, that being said, what we really are looking for is a guy who can play SS.
Tovar is by far the slickest defender on the list. In 128 games last season for the Binghamton Mets, Tovar only committed 9 errors and turned 65 Double Plays. His bat will never be good enough to hold an MLB job but at the very least he should be able to put up the same numbers as Tejada from last year.
For the second season in a row, Quintanilla has been non tendered being arbitration eligible and then came back to the Mets on a minor league contract. While he has been serviceable in Tejada's absence over the past two years, both his defense and offensive production took large steps backwards.
Mack's Mets dark horse for the job is the newly signed UT Anthony Seratelli. The Jersey native has been in the Kansas City Royals system his entire career and is a true utility player. Last year alone Seratelli spent time at all 4 infield positions and some time in RF grading out as anywhere from slightly below average to average defensively. Offensively he has 10-15 HR power, .260+ AVG ability, 15-20 SB speed, and a good enough eye for a 12% BB rate.
Daniel Muno has an outside chance but it's more likely that he heads to AAA since Reese Havens has retired. Wilmer Flores has the bat to hold a job on the bench, but, there's no way he could play SS everyday if needed.
Battle for the Just "Wait for Davis to Fail" Corner IF Spot
Favorites- Josh Satin
Guys w/ a chance- Zach Lutz, Lucas Duda, Andrew Brown
Longshots- Brandon Allen, Eric Campbell, Wilmer Flores
This battle comes with the added bonus of probably being a platoon starter at 1B to prevent Davis from starting against lefties. Josh Satin will go into camp with a big leg up on the competition thanks to his .317 AVG and .476 SLG against left handers last season. As an added bonus he also graded out as a plus plus defender at 1B (albeit Small Sample Size) with a +20.5 UZR/150 and has the ability to play 3B if needed.
Satin's emergence and the large number of non-roster invitees could spell doom for Zach Lutz's 40 man roster spot, but he'll be in camp and is a sure bet to put up a good fight and challenge Satin for his spot. However with the oft-injured trademark to his name as well as career reverse platoon batting splits favoring at bats against right handers, not lefties, Lutz is going to have do some serious mashing to make the team.
Lucas Duda is the only lefty on this list and for good reason. The team seems to be extremely enamored by his OBP abilities and raw power that they may be willing to carry 3 1B on the roster. He'll have to improve on his back to back sub .240 batting line seasons though if he wants the starting job from Davis.
Don't be surprised if Andrew Brown also makes a run at Josh Satin for his roster spot. The power hitting Brown does not have significant platoon splits and was primarily a 1B throughout his minor league career. With a crowded outfield Brown is going to have to prove that he can hit at the major league level more consistently.
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