Morning Report – 4-23-14 – Bobby Abreu, Allan Dykstra, Catcher

1963 Forbes Field

Coming Up –

        10 am – Reese Kaplan - Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

12 noon – Christopher Soto - PTBNL....Who is He? When Will he Make an Impact?

          2 pm –   Top 10 C in 2014 MLB Draft - Updated 4-17-14

           5pm -  Tyler Beede, Mark Zagunis, Brad Zimmer, James Farris, Keith Weisenberg

          8pm –  RHP - Tyler Beede – Vanderbilt

Former Mets RHRP Elvin Ramirez signs minor league deal with Reds.

Cory asked –

        Hey Mack, what do you think about the Bobby Abreu move?

                Mack – Hey Cory.

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the four-game series the Mets have scheduled in mid-May with the Yankees. I can’t think of a better DH for that series.

Abreu has been hitting very well in AAA-Las Vegas (.395/.489/.579/1.068) and had extended his game from DH to actually playing right field.

My guess is this move was made to wake Justin Granderbay’s arse up, plus also give the Mets a power bat for the first pinch hitter each game.

You know, it can’t hurt on a team this light with talent. It just may be the spark that is needed.

Craig asked –

        I saw the post you put up about Allan Dykstra becoming the Player of the Week in the PCL. You haven’t been much of a fan of Dykstra. Why?

                Mack – Thanks for the question, Craig.

        I wouldn’t call me a non-fan of his; however, many times I have had to rely on the opinions of my contacts in the industry on players that haven’t come through Savannah at some point of his career. I actually have never seen Dykstra play so I can’t speak first hand on him.

        The best word I ever heard regarding how he plays the game is ‘awkward’. The worst was ‘clumsy’. He obviously can hit the ball and has only 39 career errors in 348 games (2,631 put-outs), so, on paper, he sure looks like a duck.

        Another problem is he hits from the left side of the plate which means he is still blocked, this time exclusively by Lucas Duda.

        His only shot seems to be either a promotion if Duda is injured or a cup of coffee in September. He’s playing 2014 at 27-years old and I just don’t see him as anything more than the Mets AAAA insurance policy in Las Vegas.

			G	AB	R	H	BA	OBP	OPS
MLB	Travis d'Arnaud		16	52	4	10	0.192	0.276	0.564
	Anthony Recker		7	20	4	5	0.25	0.318	0.918
AAA	Juan Centeno		10	34	3	11	0.324	0.429	0.782
	Taylor Teagarden		11	36	5	10	0.278	0.35	0.933
	Kai Gronauer		5	3	0	0	0	0.4	0
AA	Kevin Plawecki		10	39	5	10	0.256	0.326	0.633
	Xorge Carillo		5	15	3	5	0.333	0.421	0.754
A+	Cam Maron		14	54	5	14	0.259	0.375	0.708
	Nelfi Zapata		0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Albert Cordero		5	20	0	4	0.2	0.19	0.39
A	Jeff Glenn		6	21	2	7	0.333	0.333	0.81
	Colton Plaia		10	35	3	6	0.171	0.256	0.542
	Edward Rohan		0	0	0	0	0	0	0

We move on to the catcher position (stats through end of games 4-21).

        Supposedly, the Mets future catcher is already playing in Queens. Travis d’Arnaud (.192) actually got off to a worse start than he finished last year, but he is starting to come around. He is hitting .267 in the last seven days, which is a lot more than can be said for some of his teammates. Defensively, he looks to be an all-start someday, but it’s just too early to evaluate his major league ability to hit the ball.

        His back-up, Anthony Recker (.250), is nothing more than that.

        Any chance of finding someone that could take away d’Arnaud’s job will Johnny Bench probably not come from the Vegas squad, though Juan Centeno (.324) continues to hit well for a guy tagged as a defensive catcher. Taylor Teagarden (.278) is just major league insurance in case d’Arnaud goes down and Kai Gronauer (.000) has been reduced to the bullpen catcher.

        Any chance for a major league replacement for d’Arnaud can be found in Binghamton. Kevin Plawecki (.256) has also got off to a slow star but is expected to finish the season in Las Vegas. Plawecki reminds a lot of people of a young and he will be pushing the gates of Flushing next spring. His back up, Xorge Carillo (.333), is just that.

        From here, we go into six non-prospects. St. Lucie has Cam Maron (.259), Nelfi Zapata (.000), and Albert Cordero (.200), whilce Savannah features a returning Jeff Glenn (.333), Colton Plaia (.171), and Edward Rohan (.000).

Summation: On the surface, having two top prospects at one position is a very good thing. It’s d’Arnaud’s job to lose, but, even if he does, I think the Mets are set here for five plus years.