This was a tough week to choose a star. Instead it’s a group of names that some know and some don’t.
Zach Lutz – Before the season Lutz looked like the best hitter in the Met’s upper minors but after being sent to the minors (because he doesn’t play a useful position) Lutz was mired in a slump. He hit a dismal .218 in April with only 1 HR to his credit. May has seen the old Lutz emerge with the 3B/1B hitting .352 with 3 HRs in only 15 games. This Spring, with David Wright and Ike Davis both hitting well it looked like Lutz might have no home in the Met lineup but at the present time I think Lutz will be given a shot as soon as Alderson gives in and demotes Davis.
Wilmer Flores – Flores is only hitting .270 in the PCL but I’m up on Flores who has managed to get a hit in just about every start of the year. Also… with 13 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs he’s hitting the ball with some authority (to the tune of a .440 SLG). The issue? Daniel Murphy is hitting in the majors and the solution to the Met issues is not to get rid of Murphy… though Murphy might become pretty attractive trade bait. Flores still projects as a trade candidate.
Cory Vaughn – I’m higher on Vaughn than most people but even those who don’t like him cannot deny he’s been solid this season. Currently hitting .307/.392/.500 he’s getting enough contact to make his high (though not astronomical) k-rate look acceptable. He’s averaging just under 1 K per game but we should remember that this is significantly better than a certain Met outfielder who is currently injured (Matthew Den Dekker).
Cesar Puello – Puello and Vaughn are the internal solutions to the Met outfield woes and neither looked like too much of a help before May. Now that May is here the pair both have some impressive points. Puello had 0 homers in April and has 5, thus far, in May. Though most people are still unhappy with how little he walks. His overall line: .305/.369/.508, 5 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR and 9 SB should get him to AAA soon.
Dustin Lawley – Lawley doesn’t look right on this select list as he doesn’t have the prospect pedigree that the others do, but he’s just… HITTING. Through 40 games he has 40 hits but of those hits he has 11 doubles, 3 triples and 10 home runs to go along with a nice .840 OPS. Lawley can play in a number of positions so his future might be bright.
Aderlin Rodriguez – April was not kind: .186/.206/.351 but May has been kinder: .333/.366/.667. He’s got tremendous power but he needs to keep his batting average at least in the realm of .250 to have any relevance. He also doesn’t walk much but his K’s are not as high as you’d think from a pure slugger.
AAA:
Eric Campbell is quietly successful – Can’t find much fault with his line and the fact he can play almost anywhere tells me his future with the Mets is coming soon.
AA:
Jack Leathersich being himself – On May 14th Leathersich had one of those lines that I look at and shrug. 2.0 IP, 1 Hit, 4 Ks. He’s a lefty who excels against righties.
A+:
Noah Syndergaard has little left to prove – Another good outing with a high number of K’s and I have to think the Mets will be promoting people soon.
Where are the K’s, Domingo Tapia? – He’s got 28 K’s in 32.1 IP and with his stuff he should be well over 33 K’s. I don’t get it.
Matthew Bowman laughs at A+ – Getting promoted might affect some pitchers… thus far, Bowman only got better.
Jenrry Mejia is alive – Forget the mediocre outing… he’s alive and pitching!
Full Season A:
Kevin Plawecki coming down to earth – He hit .242/405/.364 in his last 10. It’s not like he’s doing bad but he’s not the same hitter he was in April.
Jayce Boyd likes doubles – He’s hit 14 in this young season and some of those should turn into homers. Boyd’s future will be determined by how many.
Maikis De La Cruz – De La Cruz looks to me like a leadoff hitter without blazing speed. He’s sneaking his way into my radar by inches.
Rainy Lara needs a promotion – I’ve talked about him recently or I might have featured him again. Lara threw ANOTHER gem. 8.0 IP, 2 Hits, 1 BB and 9 K’s. He’s one of the best pitchers at his level and clearly the best Met pitcher in Savannah.
Why package Murph when we can package Flores?
“Flores still projects as a trade candidate.”
It’s really a one or the other.
Because Flores is better.
Yes, but if you can get more for Flores… he might be the better player to trade.
Murphy is not hurting the team.
Agreed. Or at least he has the potential to be. We’ve probably seen the best that Murphy has to offer. That’s not to say Murphy’s best is bad, just that Flores could have an extremely bright future ahead of him.
What do you do with soon to be 27 year old Zach Lutz who has hit well the last 3 years at AAA? He is only losing value to the Mets. I guess you could find another team that needs some help (depth) at 3B and trade him to that team in a package this winter(should have been done last winter). You could promote him now and platoon him at first and give him a real look of at least 100 AB’s and maybe the Mets will end up with a useful bench player.
Flores should also start to get some reps at AAA . The Mets have three 2B. Murphy is the everyday 2B but a Turner/JV1 platoon would also result in an average player. Add Flores to the mix and something has to give. Therefore try Flores there at 1B in Vegas in case Ike never rights himself.
I hope Montero pitches a gem at AAA so they can’t send him down.
Lutz – I would demote Davis and give Lutz a month in the majors. Hopefully Davis figures his swing out but I would give Lutz the job for a month.
2B – Murphy has the job and deserves it but it SHOULD come down to who between Murphy and Flores has the larger return potential in a trade. I don’t really care which.
1B – Flores is good but lacks 1B power. He’s a 20 HR hitter.
Montero getting a solid AAA start under his belt would make it very hard for Alderson to demote. Promotions should come soon.