Thoughts: Matt den Dekker, the Cyclones, and International Signings

Matt den Dekker is off to a good start in Savannah. The Sand Gnats don’t get too many early round draft picks. They’re usually sent directly to Brooklyn; however the Cyclones has a trio in the outfield that are leading their team to the playoffs and den Dekker’s late signing caused a change in plans. Mets fans got their first glimpse of Matt when he was showing off with circus catches in the CWS this year. He’s always been touted as a great defensive center fielder, but his bat has been alive in Savannah as well. It’s early on, but his combined stats for the GCL Mets and Gnats are: .371/.436/.543/.979. You might remember my original analysis of his pick. Here’s what I wrote on June 8th: Round 5 - #152 overall – OF Matt den Dekker – First of all, this is one of the top defensive outfielders in the NCAA. His arm is okay but his overall play in the field is first team defensive. Secondly, den Dekker is a speedster on the base paths that projects out as a 20-25 steal per season guy. Had a real bad junior year which cost him being drafted anywhere decently last year. Bounced back this season by leading the Gators in hitting (.355). This season: 12th in the SEC in batting average, 10th in hits, and 6th in steals. You’re not going to find much pop here my guess he has excellent potential to become a major league utility outfielder. - Projection: First of all, this was an excellent 5th round pick. den Dekker was projected by most of the experts as going earlier, based on his talent, not whether or not he can be signed. Draft Rating: “A” The Mets have five interesting lower-level outfield prospects in there system… den Dekker, Cory Vaughn, Darrell Ceciliani, Pedro Zapata, and Cesar Puello. All represent limited pop, but lots of speed, gap hitting, and excellent defense. It will be interesting which one of these rises to the top in 2013.

I gotta tell ya… there is some great baseball being played by the Mets in New York these days. The problem is that we’re talking about the Cyclones and the games are in Coney Island. I try not to get too excited about first year players, especially if they are playing at A ball or lower. I could spend days writing about all the players that hit .325+ or ERA’d under three at these levels, only to blow up once they hit St. Lucie. That being said, it’s hard not to think at least a couple of these studs will make it someday to Queens. Last night, it was A.J. Pinera’s turn to impress the hell out of us again. This time it read: 6.0-IP, 0-ER, 6-H- 10-K, 0-BB and his seasonal ERA is now 1.79. I don’t know enough about this guy, so I’m going to try and get in touch with him, and I’m going to reach out to Pete Spiewak at the Brooklyn Examiner and get the inside scoop on his repertoire.

The Mets seem to be coming up short again in the race to sign underage Latin players. This is the time of the year that it’s not safe to be 16-years old and living in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, or many other emerging baseball countries like Columbia and Panama. Most teams are proud to announce they have handed six and seven figure bonuses to kids that should be in high school. But the Mets keep pretty stealth about their international signings. Yes, they have signed a couple this year, but none on that top 10 list everybody coverts. Has the Mets been successful internationally under the Omar Minaya umbrella? Well, it frankly is too early to tell since you sign them so young and it takes so long to develop. Omar’s report card will be based primarily on how Ruben Tejada, Jenrry Mejia, and Wilmer Flores do over the next couple of years.