3/19/13

Mack Ade – Developing Catching Prospects




You heard me correctly.

The trade the brought both Travis d’Arnaud and John Buck to the New York Mets has taken away the pressure to develop  a starting catcher for the New York Mets in any year that starts with a ‘201’.
Because of that, the team can now concentrate on producing a catching prospect they can use as a bargaining chip in some future trade.

Candidates include:

Juan Centeno – We’d be writing a lot more about him in 2013 if it wasn’t for this trade. Centeno was drafted in the 32nd round of the 2007 draft. Has played six seasons in the organization (.268/.324/.325/.649). .318 in 2011 for St. Lucie. .285/.337, 281-AB, 43-K, 23-BB for Binghamton in 2012. Will start in Las Vegas once d-Arnaud hits the non-stop to LGA. Only 23-years old. It seems to me that Centeno is prime trade bait as early as this year.

Francisco Pena – Normally, you would ask if a six-year minor league veteran still has anything left in the tank. In the case of Pena, the tank remains to be untapped. Blood line has done nothing here: .233 lifetime minor league batting average. He’s had a wonderful WBC and maybe his flower finally blossoms in 2013; however, he remains blocked from AAA by d’Arnaud and Centeno and will platoon with Blake Forsythe (and possibly, Kai Gronauer) in AA.

Blake Forsythe – Regular readers know both how excited I was when the Mets drafted Forsythe and how disappointed I have been since. This was big time power (15-HR) as a sophomore at Tennessee that just went away after that. Now, he can’t get playtime though his total pro stats are 20-HRs in 776 ABs… but… a career .393 slugging percentage for a power hitter? I don’t know who to play here. Both Pena and Forsythe need at least one more full season with 300+ at-bats to determine their worth.

Cam Maron – May be the real deal. 34th round local boy pick in 2009. Has now played four seasons in the organization and has produced an impressive stat line: .306/.413/.411/.824. Love the .824. Hit an even .300 last season in Savannah. Will play 2013 as a 22-year old. I expect Maron to move pretty fast if he gets off to a good start in St. Lucie. This might be the most showcased catcher in the system right now.

Kevin Plawecki – Last year’s big dog draft pick (1st round – 35th overall). A productive start in Brooklyn after a long season for Purdue: 216-AB, .250/.345/.384/.729, 7-HR, 27-RBI. Combined 2012 Purdue/Brooklyn stats: 439-AB, 14-HR, 74-RBI, 28-doubles, only 32-Ks, 51-BB. That’s a pretty damn good first pro season. Plawecki will be showcased at Savannah and will compete with Centeno and Maron as the current possible trade bait in the system.

Tomas Nido – Everybody loves the name J. 8th round pick in 2012. Let’s face it, he played for a horrible team last season (K-Port). Stat line: 124-AB, .242/.307/.339/.646, 2-HR, 15-RBI, 23-K, 12-BB. His problem right now is he’s blocked in Savannah and, if the Mets want him to get 200+ at bats, he needs to go to Brooklyn. He will play 2013 as a 19-year old, so it’s far too early to project if the scout that signed him knew what he was doing.

Adrian Abreu – One of three current DSL catchers to keep an eye on. Hit .295/.417/.406/.824, 6-HR, 44-RBI, 224-AB, 26-K, 45-BB for the DSL-2 team. These are big time stats in a non-hitter league. Will play 2013 as a 22-year old so he needs to get moving. Look for him stateside at either K-Port or the GCL team.

Manuel Hilario – Abreu’s partner at the DSL-2 team was equally impressive: 224-AB, 42-K, 30-BB, .286/.378/.451/.829. Hilario will play 2013 as a 21-year old and should also come stateside next month.

Jose Garcia – prized prospect signed before the 2012 season. Hit only .216 for the DSL-1 team. Will play 2013 as a 19-year old. Probably will re-play DSL.

3 comments:

Michi L. said...

Nice to have a few promising catching prospects beside Travis dA

Charles said...

I'm just not enthused about Centeno. Yes he's a good defensive catcher, but to me, he hasn't played consistently at any level. I don't think he's ever gotten 300 ABs in consecutive seasons. That means, again to me, that the brass never really thought much of him.

I think Pena and Forsythe are basically roster filler at this point. Has either ever shown a consistant bat? A descent power year? You never know, but I'm not expecting anything from them.

Pawlecki is interesting and this year will go a long war into knowing what exactly the Mets drafted here. He's another reached for draft pick from Aldy and I'm not expecting a breakout offensive year playing in Savanah.

Miron gets points from me because he's from Long Island. I like the local boy and he's hit consistently. Hopefully, one more year like his usual and the Mets suddenly have a legit catching prospect. He's my pick to make the most ML impact first.

Nido....like Nimmo and Cecchini, he's way too far off to forecast, so call me when he gets to Lucy. However, he was singled out last year as having the most raw power of all their 2012 draft picks. That means he might not need to stick at the position to get to the majors. If I'm the Mets, I stick him in right field ASAP and let his power develop. Ride that stick up through the system while adding to an actual position of need for the Mets.

That's my take.

Mack Ade said...

Charles, you are wrong about Centeno because you are wrong about how the Mets handle their catchers.

ALL catchers platoon, thus, none ever get enough at-bats.

I hate this system and consider it the one reason they never developed a well rounded prospect.

Centeno has hit very well t two levels, especially for someone tagged as a defensive catcher.

And trust me Charles... half the teams in the league could care less how their catchers hit. They want them in the game to handle their rotation.