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| Photo by The Brooklyn Paper / Julie Rosenberg |
Lutz was the D3ielderBaseball.com National Player of the Year. He also was named PAC Player of the Year andpart of the All-PAC 1st team. His stats in his last year for Alvernia were .454/.541/.858, 12 HRs and 58 RBIs in 40 games.
The Mets drafted Lutz in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. He was signed and played the 2007 season for Brooklyn (1 game, 2 at bats).
9-9-9 From http://www.hardballtimes.com/ : - Lutz, the Mets fifth round pick in 2007 out of Alvernia College, is able to smoke the ball. He got off to an okay start for St. Lucie, then took off the rest of the year. The right-handed 23 year-old hit .284/.381/.441 and maintained a solid eye with a walk rate of 12.3%. In a brief call-up to Binghamton, Lutz hit .207/.324/.241 (14.7% walk rate) in eight games. He's a polished hitter who has a great eye; however, he needs to hit for more power if he wants to be a starting third baseman in the major leagues because his defense isn't good enough to make up for it.
Lutz played the entire 2008 season for Brooklyn, going .333/.442/.514/.956 in 72 at bats. This included 4 doubles, 3 HRs, and 12 RBIs in 24 games.
- In 2009, Lutz mastered A+ ball, going .284/.381/.441/.822, with 11-HR and 62-RBI in 356-AB and 99-G. He was ranked second in the league in OPS, and seventh in slugging percentage.
He had a cup of coffee at the end of the season for Binghamton, where he will play 2010.
1-1-10: - I have never met anyone in the Mets organization that isn’t high on this kid. Lutz’s pro career spans three years at three levels and he has a combined .438 slugging percentage and an .823 OPS. The srtange part is the lack of press he has been getting. If we assume he hits at the same pace in Binghamton this upcoming season, and he plays the season at 24 years old, and he plays 3B, where the hell does he go? I expect to start seeing him play second base soon.
2-10-10 - Zach Lutz – nothing wrong here, either… Lutz is showing the minor league brass that they just might have three major league third basemen in their organization… hit .284/.381/.441/822 for Lucy this year and will join most of his 2009 teammates with the B-Mets this season. Remember this name.
4-22-10: - Stock Up: We talked yesterday about the fact that the Mets have solved their first base problems for the next 5+ years. It’s also true that they don’t need a new third baseman during that same period, but the fact remains that there is a new one developing down on the farm and we might see him branching out to a new position someday to hopefully make this team both as the backup to David Wright, and a quality power utility bat.
5-10-10: - Stock Up: Lutz is one of those minor leaguers that doesn’t seem to get any press, but just goes out and does his job every night. And, don’t be fooled by that baby face… the kid’s got some real power! Lutz was a 5th round pick in 2007 and has produced well in Brooklyn (2008: .333/.442/.514/.956) and St. Lucie (2009: 11-HR, 62-RBI, .822-OPS). The soon-to-be 24-year old (June 3) continues to develop power and currently leads the Eastern League in both home runs (8) but also the best HR-AB ratio (13.13). ETA: 2011
5-24-10: - Stock Up: Lutz is one of those minor leaguers that doesn’t seem to get any press, but just goes out and does his job every night. And, don’t be fooled by that baby face… the kid’s got some real power! Lutz was a 5th round pick in 2007 and has produced well in Brooklyn (2008: .333/.442/.514/.956) and St. Lucie (2009: 11-HR, 62-RBI, .822-OPS). The soon-to-be 24-year old (June 3) continues to develop power and currently leads the Eastern League in both home runs (8) but also the best HR-AB ratio (13.13).
5-26-10: - 3B Zach Lutz placed on 7-day Disabled List retroactive to May 21 with a left foot fracture.
7-13 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/13/1565273/mid-term-farm-system-review-part - What does Zack Lutz have in common with Fernando Martinez & Reese Havens? That's right, he can't stay on the field either; Lutz has been out since May 20 with a fractured left foot. In 2007 it was a broken foot on opening night, in '08 it was a whole mixed bag including a back strain, a quad injury and an ankle injury, in 2009 he had a month-long case of food poisoning. And to make matters worse, he's probably been passed on the Mets 3B prospect totem pole by the 2010 dynamo that is Eric Campbell. Many people consider health/durability a skill and clearly Lutz doesn't possess it which is a shame because when he's on the field the kid can clearly hit. He's always had excellent contact skills and good power but in the first month+ of 2010 he seemed to take a step forward, blasting eight homers in just over 30 games, on pace to crush his career high of 11 bombs in '09. At the Double-A level, this definitely portends well for his ability to cut it in the bigs. He's also always had very strong plate discipline leading to high on-base averages, it's his defense that needs work and has probably suffered most from his various DL stints. Lutz definitely resembles a solid, if unspectacular, major league piece but to seal the deal he'll have to stay on the field and a big second half like he had in '09 certainly wouldn't hurt.
7-17-10: - it’s not that Zach Lutz did anything special on Saturday. What he did was simply play. Lutz was on his way to a great season with Binghamton (8-HR, 17-RBI, .896-OPS in 126-AB), when he broke his ankle. No one expected him back this quick, but, you know Zach. Anyway, he did go 1-3 for the GCL Mets on his first rehab day and we expect him back in the B-Mets lineup this time next week.
7-23-10 – The Mets top third base prospect is now rehabbing with the GCL Mets and got back into gear on Friday. He belted a 2-run homer, knocked in a total of four runs, and went 3-5 in their win. I’m sure he will be returning Binghamton sometime next week, if not sooner. The most important thing about his return is it comes just when the Mets need another trading pawn to hopefully pull off a pitching deal before the deadline.
8-1-10: - Lutz was having a great year before he wound up on the disabled list. Well, he’s been back for five games and now has five home runs in that span, which included two on Sunday. Lutz is one of those secondary prospects we always talk about when we discuss the Mets minor league system. He has a lifetime .285 professional BA going into this year, and showed the first sign of power last season for St. Lucie (11-HR, 62-RBI). This season, he had 14-HR in 170-Abs and currently has a .612 slugging percentage and 1.028OPS at the AA level. What all this means is the Mets may wind up with a hell of a third base prospect in 2012, esecpailly if he aces AAA next season.
8-6-10: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/2610479.html - Why He's Here: .333/.417/1.095 (7-for-21), 5 HR, 1 2B, 10 RBIs, 6 R, 3 BB, 5 SO - The Scoop: Lutz offers a tutorial on how to make one's hits count. Though he collected just seven base knocks for the week, six of them went for extra bases, and five of those cleared the wall. Lutz knocked in 10 runs, and he's been on an absolute tear since returning to Binghamton on July 27, going 13-for-29 (.448) with seven homers, three doubles and 15 RBIs in seven games. Already 24, Lutz is not exactly the second coming of David Wright for the Mets, but he has bat speed, he makes hard contact and he can play an average third base. That's a great return on a fifth-round pick from Division III Alvernia (Pa.) University. Now if Lutz could only stay healthy. He played in a career-high 109 games last season, but injuries cut short his 2007-08 campaigns and forced him to the sidelines for six weeks this year.
8-10-10 - The Mets have some decisions to make about a prospect that plays only one position which simply is not available on Roosevelt Avenue. 3B Zach Lutz has the talent to play MLB ball and his ETA is 2012 at the latest. He’s going to quickly learn what Shawn Bowman came to realize a year ago… his baseball future is probably not as a Mets. David Wright is going nowhere, and now that Ike Davis is at first base, he’s not even going to that position. Wright is projected as the Mets third sacker through the 2019 season, so whoever is going to dethrone King David someday is probably in middle school as we write. Lutz is a hitter, and his recent injury simply was a broken bone, not a series of nagging injuries. He wasted little time upon his return and let everybody know right away that he was back by hitting seven home runs in his first six games back. For the season, with three teams, he’s hitting: .280/.393/.593/.985 in 189-AB, with 16-HR and 37-RBI. Lutz turned 24 this past June and, if it wasn’t for his recent hiccup, he would have been once of the major names bantered around before the trade deadline. There doesn’t seem to be any plans to move him a round on the field, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he got an invite to Queens in September, simply to start showing him off. Regardless, watch for more press on a definite trade bait.
8-30-10: - Stock Up: The Mets top third base prospect, Zach Lutz, went 2-4 on Sunday, which included a two-run home run, his 18th of the season. His combined minor league stats this year are now: .283/.380/.561/.941. We’ve talked about Lutz many times this season, especially the fact that he only plays one position, which happens to be the most blocked in Mets history. Lutz is a hell of a minor league hitter, but he’s never going to move David Wringt off of third base in Queens. Concervatively, his ETA would be September 2011, so it will be interesting to see what the Mets do with him in the off-season. No, please, not another person trying to play second base…
9—1-10: - http://proxy.espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/9493/farm-report-zach-slated-for-triple-a - Lutz, 24, has been a gifted hitter since joining the organization. It’s his feet that have slowed him down, quite literally. During his first season, he suffered a stress fracture in his right foot in his first professional game with the Brooklyn Cyclones and required surgery to insert screws that still remain in the foot. This year, he suffered a stress fracture in the other foot that cost him two months, although he avoided another operation. Trying to combat the fragile bones, Lutz said he takes 3,000 units of calcium a day, drinks lots of milk and has yogurt and cheese for breakfast. “It’s very frustrating,” Lutz said. “It’s a constant battle. Every day I come in here and get worked on, rehab it every day, do exercises. It’s frustrating, but it’s something I have to deal with. And I’ll find a way to deal with it.”
9-29-10 from: - http://buffalo.bisons.milb.com/ - 2010 Notes: -Spent the majority of the season with Double-A Binghamton before ending the year with the Bisons. -Promoted to the Herd on September 1. -Made the most of his time with 9RBI in only 5 games. -Went 1-3 with an RBI-double in Bisons/Triple-A debut, September 1(1) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. -Hit a 3-run home run in second game, September 3 in Lehigh Valley. -Went 4-10 with three doubles and 5RBI over fi nal two games with the Bisons. -Was 5-7 with 9RBI with runners in scoring position.
10-8-10: - I think we just finished watching Zach Lutz become a full fledged prospect in 2010. Now, all the Mets have to do is find a place to play him. He will obviously do Buffalo in 2011, but, sadly, he will probably go the route of Shawn Bowman since he is boxed out by King David. This is one of the mew General Manager's prime trade bait in the off-season.
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