The Keepers - #107 - OF - Alonzo Harris

107. OF Alonzo Harris 

 Harris was one of the best baseball players to ever come out of the Mississippi High School system. In 2007, for McComb High School, he batted .540 with 25 singles, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, and 60 runs scored. He signed a scholarship to play baseball with Southwest Mississippi College before he was drafted. He was selected The Daily Leader (local newspaper) ”Mr. Baseball” and Most Valuable Player on the 2007 All-Area Dream Team. Harris stole seven bases in the Mississippi Class 5A/4A All-Star Game in June. At McComb, Harris played a variety of positions from shortstop, second base, outfield, and pitcher. Harris is runs a consistent 4.4 forty yard dash, and has been time as fast as a 6.5 in the 60-yard dash. He also starred at quarterback for the McComb football team. He rushed for over 1,000 yards. 

The Mets drafted Harris in the 39th round of the 2007 draft. He signed with the Mets just before the deadline and was assigned to the Instructional camp in Florida. 

The Mets have Harris penciled to start as a second baseman/outfielder in the minor leagues. 2008 was a great first year for Harris. He played for the GCL Mets, hitting .308/.379/.510/.889 in 104 at bats, which included 5 HRs. In 2009, Harris disappointingly didn’t get assigned to a full season team and played for Kingsport (253 at bats, .273/.321/.447/.768… 10-HR, 39-RBI, 59-K, 17-BB, 15-SB. I like any Mets minor league that hits at least 10 home runs a season. I had heard early on that he was held back in ST due to an injury but never confirmed that. Anyway, he bumped to Savannah for the end of the season and got in 25 at bats 

1-1-10: Forecast: Harris will come back to Savannah in the spring and should anchor a pretty decent young outfield. I like this kid and I look for a 15-HR, 60-RBI, .280 season from the 20 year old. 

6-28-11: - Harris tweeted on Tuesday: Pro_zo Alonzo Harris Jr. –“ i wish i knew what plan they got for me”........#headstartingtohanglow – Let’s see if we can help him out here… Harris is only 21-years old and is in his 4th season in the Mets organization. He had a fair amount of prospect talk early on after being drafted in the 39th round in 2007. Hit well (.308) and played the entire season in 2008 with the GCL Mets. Conservatively bumped to K-Port in 2009 (.273) where he showed promising pop (10-HR). Once again, promoted to the next level, Savannah, in 2010, where he stumbled (.224). He was also 2nd on the team last year in errors (21) as a second baseman, so the Mets decided to play him more in the outfield this year. Problem with this is Darrell Ceciliani and Cory Vaughn were promoted from Brooklyn (with all that bonus money hanging off them) so “Zo” lost more “Mo”. Now, he’s hit .321 in his last ten games (.264 overall) as he repeats Savannah, watching his playmates get sent to the airport. Normally, I would tell him to just keep hitting above .300, but how has that helped either Josh Satin or Juan Lagares? Conclusion: He’ll finish the year in Savannah. There’s no one ready behind him in the outfield so he should play every day. Frankly, I’d put him back on second and give him another shot there. 

8-28-11: - Stock Up – OF Alonzo Harris – There just isn’t that many games that a Met minor leaguer hits two home runs in one game, but Sand Gnats’s Zo Harris pulled it off last night. Harris has had a frustrating Mets career so far and keeps falling behind in the outfield pecking order. We’ll see if a game like this gets him ending strong for the season. 

 9-3-11: - 69 – OF Alonzo Harris – Harris has been lost and passed by in Savannah for the past few years. He even changed positions from second base to the outfield in hopes of turning a coach on. So far, it hasn’t. He can’t stay in Savannah for a third year, and there’s four other guys projected for St. Lucie, so I have him as either the 5th outfielder there, or out of the system. ETA: OOS 2014 

 3-31-11 – Simply put, I don’t see much of a Mets future for Harris. There just seems to be too many other outfielders ahead of him in the pecking order.