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2/20/21

Reese Kaplan -- All That Glitters is Not Necessarily Gold

 


As we enter Week 2 of Spring Training baseball, the position players not already there in Port St. Lucie will make their way south to join the pitching and catching brethren already sweating in the Florida sun.  In all positions in baseball there’s a seemingly never ending reservoir of hope for success and dominance, probably nothing is as exciting and frustrating as the result of the productivity or lack thereof by the guys who swing the bats, run the bases and play their version of defense against batted balls. 

Growing up we all homed in on some prospect or recent acquisition, convinced down to our very core that this person was the answer to what ailed the team by the various under performers who manned the position in the recent past.  How many times have we seen that haloed prospect flail helplessly at the breaking ball, get caught in an obvious rundown instead of breaking full speed for the next base, or not know which way to break most effectively to field a batted ball?  Then there are the myriad of strategic and throwing miscues that make us collectively scratch our heads and wonder how we could possibly have been so wrong.

There are a great many players who flourished in the minors who never quite amounted to what we had expected when they entered the major league ranks.  A quick example that comes to mind was the Pacific Coast League darling, Eric Campbell.  In Las Vegas he was a machine, hitting even better than he had in the lower minors.  During his ascent from 2007 until 2014, he turned in batting averages at various levels that included .306, .297, .314, .355, .363 and .301.  It would be reasonable to assume (even allowing for him being slightly older than his minor league teammates) that he should be productive in the big leagues at a similar level.  Unfortunately during his three year sample as part of the Mets he finished with a .221 average with 7 HRs and 44 RBIs to go along with 9 SBs. 

Others who had great potential were unfortunately unable to recover from injuries that derailed their professional careers.  We all remember a number one draft pick with a great name, Reese Havens, who was never able to ascend up the ladder.  He hit .312, .288 and .289 over three consecutive seasons, but the myriad of health problems kept him from achieving what they’d hoped when they drafted him. 

Of course, it doesn’t take long to go through a long laundry list of players who were hyped to be the next big thing who never could seem to put it all together.  Remember F-Mart, Fernando Martinez?  He finished his big league career with a .202 batting average.

So the Saturday morning question to all of you is who do you remember with great expectations that never panned out as you had hoped?  The corresponding question is who is in the pipeline now that falls into that optimistic category when you consider what he’s capable of doing?

6 comments:

  1. I won't say Danny Muno, I promise.

    Cecchini I did after that one year he hit .325 in AAA, and .350 after his slow start that season - I thought he had finally crossed the same hump Nimmo had - boy, was I wrong.

    Akeel Morris, my first player interview. I just thought he'd do better.

    Strikeout Jack Leathersich - got hurt just when I thought he would put it together, and that (as they say) was that.

    Matt den Dekker - who knows how it would have worked out if (when he had all but won a roster spot out of spring training), he broke something and lost that key chance when he could have had a chance to really play in a very offensively challenged Mets outfield.

    Currently, I always thought if anything were to keep him out of the big leagues, it would be Pat Mazeika's glove - but so far, it has been his bat after hitting .350 in rookie ball. But maybe he breaks through this year.

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  2. I think Mazeika's Lefty Power Bat and ability to be a #3 catcher will get him a roster spot at some point. Unlike other prospects he doesn't K a lot.

    Overall, until a player shows you what he can do in the majors, you never know what you have. Even then, some players like Ruben Tejada and Ike Davis have some early success and then flame out.

    That's why I like a prospect like Wilmer Reyes who has speed, right handed bat, and has shown a good glove at 2B, SS, and 3B. Those abilities translate at any level. To me, at the very least, he would be the perfect backup infielder to complement Luis Guillorme (who deserves a shot to play more as well).

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  3. Lastings Milledge comes to mind along with our first rounder in 75' Butch Benton who I hoped was married to Barbie Benton who I had her centerfold taped in my locker in the Navy but no such luck. Tim Foli makes the list even though he played for 16 years he was only O.K. at best and not close to the hype of a #1 overall pick. Honorable mention goes to Les Rohr and let us not forget the immortal Steve Chilcott who injury aside would never have matched Mr. October and by the way could you ever have as a baseball a better nickname. We need our own Mr. October and who would you guys pick for us THIS YEAR?

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  4. I thought Jay Payton was going to be really, really good and just what we needed.

    Brian Cole -- that was just sad.

    I especially loved Pulsipher. Organization failed him, I think, but it's hard to know what you don't know.

    Not too many guys arrive fully formed, like Venus de Milo on a half shell. One guy that many of us identified early on was David Wright. His numbers were great in St. Lucie, as I recall, with K:BB ratio about 1:1. That's what I noticed most of all (I wonder if I remember that correctly). He turned out pretty good.

    Jimmy

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  5. I should also add that I hated to see Amos Otis go.

    Jimmy

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  6. I go with the two Alexs. Alex Ochoa was the five-tool wizard who the Mets got from the Orioles in the Bobby Bonilla trade.

    The second was Alex Escobar, who got traded in the Roberto Alomar deal. Tore up his knee playing for the Indians and was never the same.

    Bob W

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