Full Name: Kevin Jeffrey Plawecki
Born: 02/26/1991
Birthplace: Carmel, IN
College: Purdue
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 205
Bats: R
Throws: R
The weekly MVP could have been Josh Satin (who is tearing the PCL a new one), it could have been Rafael Montero (Who looks like he might be up ahead of Wheeler at this rate), it could have been Luis Mateo whose first start in Port St. Lucie was something to remember, but it wasn’t. For this week… it HAD to be Kevin Plawecki.
Since posting last week’s update Plawecki has discovered a love for hitting doubles. How much does he love it? Well… seven days and seven doubles should prove he likes them a little bit. If you REALLY want to be impressed, you should note that he hit all seven in a 4 game span. His OPS for the year resides around 1.121 and his future looks bright despite the presence of d’Arnaud, blocking his eventual ascent.
We talked in my “Bottom Up” series about the projection for Plawecki. To me, he looks like a future MLB catcher who will earn a starting role somewhere. He does not, so much, look like a star. That’s not a bad thing, but people want more of the Mets front office in this year’s draft. The top two picks of 2012 looking like they will never be All-Star caliber has more than a few pundits pretty upset.
However, if this week is an outlier of things to come for Plawecki and he can continue to hit with some pop… perhaps I (and about 99% of bloggers) was wrong. Perhaps Plawecki could develop into a star? Crazier things have happened.
AAA:
Josh Satin – VIVA LAS VEGAS! Satin has fallen in love with this hitter friendly ballpark and no longer looks like a “light-hitting” 1B. He has 18 hits in the first 11 games and 8 of them are for extra bases… 4 for home runs. Add in that he’s still Satin and still walking a healthy amount and you might have a diamond in the rough.
Juan Lagares – Signs of life? It’s no secret that I fell out of love with Lagares in 2012. He lacks the speed and power to really stick in the majors for ANY of the outfield spots. He’s not blowing me away just yet but he’s certainly on the rise.
Travis d’Arnaud – Waiting to explode? So… d’Arnaud is hitting, but he’s not hitting homers. It’s kinda like David Wright’s early season. At some point the doubles will leave the ballpark and at some other point, d’Arnaud will leave Vegas for Queens.
Wilmer Flores – He’s heating up… I miss NBA jam… you remember, the version where Patrick Ewing would magically hit 90% of his 3-pointers from the top corner? Anyway… Flores finished the week with two two hit games and three doubles. He usually warms up a bit more gradually than this but the trend of success is still looking good.
Zack Wheeler – That’s more like it! Wheeler pitched 5.1 innings and though he gave up 3 ER he didn’t walk anyone and struck out 8. That is the kind of outing that we want him to have more of.
Collin McHugh – Has been just about perfect. He threw 7.0 innings of 4-hit, 0-BB and 0 ER baseball with 5 K’s. Should Laffey or Hefner get any uglier on the mound he looks like the first guy on Alderson’s speed dial.
AA:
Blake Forsythe – Showing some BOOM BOOM POW! 4 games and 5 hits isn’t REALLY something you’d expect me to mention but 2 doubles, 1 triple and 1 homer in those 5 hits is simply too good not to mention.
Alonzo Harris – Quietly continues to progress. He’s not jumping off the board but Harris is clearly the most “Ready” of the AA outfielders and the AA outfielders are the guys who might impact the roster once rosters expand.
Cory Vaughn – First HR out of the way. Vaughn isn’t hot yet and his numbers don’t tell a pretty story but he’s streaky and I’m hoping the HR yesterday sparks him to play well.
Rafael Montero – JUST LOOKS GOOD. 3 starts under his belt and he has 21 K’s with only 1 BB and 11 Hits. He’ll be up in AAA sooner than you think.
Jack Leathersich – Out of control… without giving up runs. His ERA is still 0.00 but he’s got 5 BB’s and 5 K’s in 4.2 innings.
A+:
Matt Reynolds – Solid SS? We drafted Reynolds as a third baseman and frankly… he doesn’t have the power to sustain the position. HOWEVER, he’s played mostly shortstop for the Mets and if he can stick there he’s got the hitting to be an above average SS.
Jacob DeGrom – Not perfect, but good. So he gave up 7 hits and 4 ER? He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out 7.
Hansel Robles – A frustrating success. 6.1 IP and only 1 ER is good but 2 BB’s and 1 K isn’t going to cut it.
Noah Syndergaard – More Power and Less Control. Syndergaard struck out 8 in his second outing but he also gave up 4 BB’s which is too many.
Domingo Tapia – JUST BAD! 0.2 IP and a 40.50 ERA to show for it. Something was wrong. Let’s not freak out.
Luis Mateo – Ace of Port St. Lucie? 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. That is a heck of a line for his first and only outing this year.
A:
Brandon Nimmo – Where’s the beef? He’s hitting .405 but I’m not satisfied. Why? 1 SB, 1 2B and 1 3B. He’s not showing enough speed or power and he has to show me at least one of those things.
Jayce Boyd – Cooling off but still hot. He’s down to hitting .368 but he hit his first HR on Saturday so… it’s not all bad.
Rainy Lara – The Ace of Savannah? I’m going to have one major regret in my top 20 and his name is Lara. 13 K’s in 11.1 IP with only 2 BB’s… he could be a very good pitcher for us.
Steven Matz – Tremendous Second Start! I like Matz and he still has a sky-high ceiling but injuries have hampered his overall rise through the system. Last Start: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. That is VERY good.
Thank you, thank you and thank you once again for the detailed information. Please accept the following link as an expression of my most humble gratitude, which you can use to replace your current link to the CARDINALS “Luis Mateo”. The link I provide is for THE METS “Luis Mateo”.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=mateo-004lui
Again, thanks for the thorough information. It’s always a terrific Monday morning read.
By the way, I think Reynolds has the agility to stick at shortstop. What do you think?
I think he does but I would worry that he’d never be a “Good” defender at the position and his bat would be a slightly more powerful version of Ruben Tejada’s.
The way the ball jumps off his bat is reminiscent of a very young David Wright. He’s got a very strong arm and a sound glove with at least average lateral movement for a SS.
So far, he reminds me a little of Jack Wilson in the first half of his career with the Pirates.
And two more things:
Nimmo – Better for the kid to establish good contact first, then let his power develop as he grows. He’s just a kid, and miles ahead of where he was last year. I’ll take that.
Steven Matz – An eastern Long Islander from my neck of the woods. He trained at All Pro Sports Academy and may be much further along mentally than many people realize. He certainly has the tools and just needs to stay healthy.
Staying healthy will be the key. One bump in the road and I think he loses his shot at starting.
I hope McHugh takes Laffey’s spot in the rotation next time around. The Mets know Laffey’s ceiling. They need to know McHugh’s. It has been said that he has better stuff than Gee. Wheeler will be up this season and Montero sometime in 2014 and Syndergard in 2015. McHugh could be a sufficient fill in until then. Lots of good arms in the system.
Josh Satin made a mistake reupping with the Met organization. He just doesn’t satisfy them no matter what numbers he puts up.
I also enjoy this feature. Thanks David.
I’d like McHugh to get a few more starts to stretch his arm out but in terms of Laffey, I’d agree.
McHugh has 1-2 more MPH on his fastball than Gee but Gee seems to have a bit more deception in his delivery.
Satin needs a trade. In the early spring I suggested Josh Satin for Zolio Almonte. That STILL makes sense to me. Yankees get someone who can cover them for 1B or 3B as their need arises and eventually a guy who is GREAT off the bench because he’s got a PLUS PLUS eye. The Mets get a switch hitting OF who could be ready for the majors soon and would be capable of playing whatever position they needed.
Glad you enjoy this series. It gets really scary once the short-season leagues start up.