The shortage of highly-touted position prospects in the Mets farm system is no secret. It’s a system built on pitching, of course, with the high-upside position prospects still grinding away at the lower levels. Some of these lower level position prospects are starting to distinguish themselves in a big way, though. In Savannah the trio of center fielder Brandon Nimmo, catcher Kevin Plawecki, and first baseman Jayce Boyd are absolutely tearing up the South Atlantic League (SAL).
Through 4/27/13:
– Boyd is hitting .405(1st in the SAL)/.490(1st)/.583(6th), Plawecki is hitting .400(2nd)/.457(2nd)/.688(1st), and Nimmo is hitting .354(5th)/.449(4th)/.476(21st)
– Plawecki and Boyd are first and second in OPS at 1.144 and 1.073, respectively, and Nimmo is twelfth at .925
– Boyd leads the league in hits, while Plawecki is tied for second and Nimmo comes in at eighth
– Plawecki leads the league in doubles and is tied for seventh in home runs with four
– Nimmo is tied for second with three triples
– Boyd is second in RBI with 22 and Plawecki is tied for third with 20
– Plawecki is first in the league in total bases while Boyd is tied for third
Those are some pretty damn impressive numbers. Walks-to-strikeouts performances are up and down within the trio. Plawecki is not walking at a very high rate, but he’s also not striking out much either. Nimmo is walking at a decent rate but striking out at a pretty high rate as well. Boyd is both walking and striking out at impressive rates.
There are always caveats when evaluating prospect performance. Boyd and Plawecki (both at 22 years old) are a tad old for low A ball. They should be performing well at this level. That’s not to downplay their performance, though. They’re not just performing well, they’re absolutely dominating. Nimmo is the more age appropriate player at 20 years old, so his performance is extra encouraging.
Additionally, position is a factor when evaluating performance. Boyd’s power has been great and at the top of the league, but at his position (1B) that is to be expected. Plawecki has shown even greater power at the catcher position, which really adds more value to his performance. If Nimmo does stick at center field, that adds additional value to his performance as well.
What should you make of these early-season performances? Well, keep in mind that the season is still very young. In fact, Nimmo was at the top of most of these categories before he struggled a bit this past week. Because of their age and dominance, Plawecki and Boyd are knocking on St. Lucie’s door and should certainly be there relatively soon. If Nimmo continues to shine he won’t be too far behind. Fortunes change in a flash for prospects, but what these three players have done so far should hearten every Mets fan.
An encouraging article in the discouraging period between Matt Harvey starts.
Great article
Thanks, guys!
I’m really excited about Nimmo. While I’ve heard varying expectations about him, I think he could be a plus player if he’s able to stick in centerfield (I’m not sure if he’ll develop enough power to play well at a corner OF spot). From talking with some Mets prospect aficionados, they say he should be called up to St. Lucie sometime around the mid-June MiLB all-star break.
Plawecki’s performance has been encouraging, but like you mentioned, he is older than other SAL competition, so he should be performing well. He has the defense to stick at catcher, but I’m not sure if I see him as more than a really solid backup at the Major League level (not to say he couldn’t hold his own as a starter).
I don’t really know enough about Boyd to comment on him.
For Boyd, it basically comes down to the fact that he’s a first baseman, which means he’ll need to mash. Add that to the fact that he is old for the level, and expectations should still be tempered at this point I think. I guess basically what I’m saying is that the numbers for all three should be encouraging, but I’d show the most caution with Boyd.
fantastic article.
Thanks!
[…] Boyd, and Brandon Nimmo has been on the lips of Mets prospect watchers all season long and with good reason. These players are absolutely mashing right now, but analyses of their performances are generally […]