Good
morning.
Here’s
what would be my Las Vegas infield would be on opening day -
The cream's starting to rise to the top...
1B – Dominic
Smith – It feels like this kid had been around for a decade, but he
actually will play 2017 as a 22-year old. Let’s give credit where credit is due…
he hit .305/456-AB for St. Lucie in 2015 and .302/484-AB for Binghamton this
past season. The power is increasing each season (.683-OPS/2014, .771/2015,
.824/2016) and he did go 14-HR/91-RBIs this past season (3rd in the
league in ribbys), but I still see him more like a projected Keith Hernandez type hitter. Smith could move fast
through AAA ball, especially if the Mets decide to pass on Lucas Duda this year
and my temporary solution on first, Wilmer Flores, goes down with an injury.
2B – Amed
Rosario – It’s Rosario time. Every Mets fan that follows the minors has
been waiting this kid to make it to the majors and the soon-to-be 21-year old
will make his step to the AAA level this coming spring. 2016 was an amazing
year for the 6-2 Rosario, who hit a combined .324/5-HR/71-RBI/.833-OPS for St.
Lucie and Binghamton. Like Smith, he will eat up PCL pitching and he too could
be knocking on the door if Mets injuries leave it unlocked. The combination of
Smith and Rosario, like the once dynamic duo of David Wright and Jose Reyes was
on the right, could be the future left side of the infield for 10+ years.
SS – Gavin
Cecchini – Even I can’t ignore the 3rd highest batting
average in the PCL last season (.325), but I’ve never been high on this guy
mainly because how badly he plays in the field. That seems to be continuing in
the Arizona Fall League and I’ve added the Eastern League’s top hitter to this
roster, who also is a shortstop. Look for a healthy battle at this position.
3B – T.J.
Murphy – I still haven’t decided if Rivera gets a 25-man Mets roster
slot on opening day, so I have reserve a slot for him in Las Vegas at one of
the many positions he can play. We don’t have to spend any time talking about
this guy’s ability to hit pitching at all levels; however, he did shock most of
us with his .333-BA for the Mets this past fall.
IF/UT – Phillip Evans – Evans led the AA-Eastern League in 2016 batting
average with .335. I still seem to be the only Mets writer that was ever
excited that this guy was drafted by the Mets in the 15th round of
the 2011 draft. I had him projected as the 3rd top shortstop coming
out of school that year, but he fell this low because his representative told
everyone that Evans would be going on to college. So the Mets, for the hell of
it, had a ton of bonus money left and offered it to Evans who said yes. Since
then, it’s been a long hard six years… until 2016, when the soon-to-be 24-year
old finally banged out an .860-OPS. It’s going to be very interesting how the
who Cecchini vs. Evans thing plays out at short, especially if Cecchini keeps
dropping the hot potato.
IF/UT – To be determined - this originally was Eric Campbell whe I wrote this, but now that he's Japan bound, that's not going to happen. I expect the Mets to sign some AAAA type infielder to fill this slot.
C – Kevin
Plawecki – I no longer consider Plawecki a prospect. I’m not sure I ever
did, but I still want to keep him around for an insurance policy during the
usual injury plagued season. And beside that, he has proven he can hit well at
the AAA level. In my opinion, Plawecki is moving into the organizational AAAA
level, but that’s fine. We’ve had worse catchers in that category.
C/UT – Xorge
Carillo – Carillo is a .257 career minor league hitter (6 seasons) who
will play 2017 as a 28-year old. Carillo was considered a wild card draft
prospect that just couldn’t get his bat on the ball. It seems to be coming
around along with his defense. I don’t expect him to ever make a run for a
major league slot, but I said that around T.J. for years.
5 comments:
Smitty plays almost half the season as a 21 year old, so young the man is. He will tear up AAA, as will Rosario and Cecchini (and Evans, if not nabbed in Rule 5). That team will hit like crazy.
I think TJ Rivera will (and should be) be the Mets' 25th man, but if not, then he will be moved to the OF for Vegas. Heck, here is another guy who, if the Mets were a non-contending team as they have been for so many years until recently, would have been our every day 2B starter, saving the money we spent on Walker. But WE ARE GOING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES IN 2017 (if we sign Cespedes) and there is no room for hoping for the best with a guy like TJ who would, if given the chance, likely be a solid major league starting 2B.
Plawecki needs to ramp it up, or he will be AAAA.
you can flip, rosario and checcini. as there is no way rosario isnt playing ss.
Cechhini has been drawing Murphy comparisons -- a guy who can hit but not do much else. Murphy seemed to make a career of it. Moving him to 2B to get him regular playing time alongside Rosario would seem to increase his versatility and thus his marketability.
I have a feeling that they might start Rosario back in Binghamton. He's so young, and I don't think they expect him up this year. They might figure that half a season in Vegas will be enough for him. That gives them more flexibility with Cecchini and (if he's still here) Evans.
Let's not forget the immortals Matt Reynolds and Ty Kelly who the Mets deemed worthy of a 40-man roster spot.
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