Posted: Friday, 21 March 2008 10:39AM
Eddie C. Blog: The Baby Mets
Ed Coleman
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Port St. Lucie, FL (WFAN) -- The injury jinx that has plagued the Mets thus far this spring has been well documented. It's never easy when 3/4 of your starting lineup is rehabbing one sort of ailment or another. But one silver lining to the "Mash Unit" that the Mets have become is the emergence of some fine young talent in the bottom layers of their farm system. They may not have the depth you would like at the top levels of the system, but they have several young players coming, some coming fast.
We'll just deal with position players here, and we'll start with outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, a 20 year old out of Venezuela. Carrera hit .329 combined between the Gulf Coast Mets and Brooklyn - .341 in the Gulf Coast. He compiled an OBP of .430 and stole 22 bases in 28 attempts. He's the best defensive outfielder the Mets have in the minors, and he had an "Endy Chavez moment" this spring, leaping over the left field fence at Tradition Field to rob the Dodgers' John Lindsey of a home run in a scoreless game in the 9th inning. Carrera is a leadoff hitter who picks things up quickly, has great instincts and speed, works the count well and has good bat control. Carrera hit .357 this spring with the Mets and will likely start his year at St. Lucie.
 Even younger is 18 year old shortstop Ruben Tejada, very advanced for his age. The Mets found him in a Panama tryout camp - they call him a "true" prospect with great hands, great quickness and tremendous instincts. He puts his bat on the ball consistently and hit .283 with a .401 OBP in the Gulf Coast League. Tejada batted .500 ( 6-12 ) with 3 RBI this spring.
Moving up in age, 25 year old infielder Argenis Reyes was a virtual hit machine all spring. Reyes saw plenty of action at 2B while Luis Castillo's knees healed up, and has 13 hits in 29 AB for a .448 average along with 5 RBI. Reyes was signed as a 6 year free agent - he played at Double A Akron in the Indians system last season. He's a contact hitter with so-so speed who can play second, SS or the outfield. He'll play at Triple A for the Mets.
Catcher Robinson Cancel has been around - he's 32 and the Mets are his 7th club. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, he had right shoulder surgery and possesses an average arm behind the plate, but makes up for it with very quick feet and a quick release. Cancel is a big man with a deceptive body - he can run, and hits for power, and can also play 1B, 3B and the outfield. He'll also play at New Orleans.
On the infield corners, the Mets have some talent coming. 23 year old Daniel Murphy hit .285 with 11 homers and 78 RBI for St. Lucie last season. He was the Atlantic Sun Conference player of the year at Jacksonville University in 2006 and will play 3B at Double A Binghamton this year.
22 year old 1B Nick Evans was .286 - 15 - 54 at St. Lucie in 2007 - the year before at Hagerstown, he blasted 15 homers as well and drove in 68 runs. And 19 year old 3B Richard Lucas played 52 games with the Gulf Coast Mets.
Want more catchers? 22 year old Lucas Duda hit .299 at Brooklyn with 20 doubles, and 19 year old Greg Veloz led the Appalachian League in triples and was 4th in stolen bases.
Outfielder Brahiam Maldonado batted .310 with 10 HR and 39 RBI at Savannah last year, and 2b Hector Pellot was a South Atlantic League All-Star. And how about a couple of Penas for good measure? 18 year old Francisco, Tony's son, is a promising catcher, while 20 year old Richard is an outfielder with big-time tools.
The Mets need their major league players to get healthy and stay healthy, but there is talent bubbling under that the Mets are hoping will pay dividends fairly soon.
And C U soon
Eddie C. |
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The injury jinx that has plagued the Mets thus far this spring has been well documented. It's never easy when 3/4 of your starting lineup is rehabbing one sort of ailment or another. But one silver lining to the "Mash Unit" that the Metshave become is the emergence of some fine young talent in the bottom layers of their farm system.
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