6/7/12

Middle Infielders – by Mack Ade


The Mets drafted 1,576 shortstops this week.

Experts tell me this is what you do when you are looking for a few good middle fielders. I’m not sure what they are expert in, but that’s what they tell me.

Every team drafted 40 players this week. At best, each team will develop 3-4 great players. That’s the math. Don’t question it. Just write it down and remember it.

I talked with OF Tillman Pugh minutes after he was cut this year. The Mets told him that they had plenty of outfielders in the system and could not project him as a future Met. The Mets then went into this draft knowing those three positions were not their concern.

Look at centerfield alone. Three prospects (Matt den Dekker, Darrell Cecilliani, Travis Taijerson) have that position locked up in the system for years. Right now, none have the ability to play in Queens; however, maybe one will. One. That’s all.

Remember… there are at least 7,000,000,000 people on this earth… and there are only 30 CFers. That’s the math.

Regarding the future of MFs… Ruben Tejada has proven he can’t stay healthy. Daniel Murphy is proving every day he can’t play in the field. Danny Muno has already proved he’s as dumb as a stump. And, Reese Havens is proving he was a bad early draft pick. THAT’s the reality of the Mets MF situation.

Continuing… Jordany Valdespin is a head-case. Wilfredo Tovar shows promise, but is far from solid. Robbie Shields seems to have peaked. Rylan Sandoval, Michael Fisher, and Josh Rodriguez are AAAA players. T.J. Rivera is too old at his level. J.C. Gamboa is green.

And then, there is Phillip Evans. He’s projects at starting in Queens in 2016, maybe a year earlier. It looks like second base, especially since Gavin Cecchini is now in the system, but, as the past (and current) have proven, nothing is etched in stone.

What is etched is Tejada and Murphy will NOT be starting middle-fielder in 2015. They just won’t. So, if you can’t project who will be, you start drafting a bunch of guys in hopes of developing one. Maybe two.

That’s how it works.

That’s the math.

3 comments:

Stephen Guilbert said...

Love the post and agree with everything except Tejada's future. IF he can stay healthy (which is a huge "if"), I see no reason why he isn't the SS of the future.

Anonymous said...

I'd echo Stephen's comments: not sure how Tejada has proven he can't stay healthy at this point. I think he's a good bet to be the 2015 SS. However, that's not really the point. The point, as Mack aptly, points out here, is that the Mets have no back-up plan at SS, no real plan for a future 2B, and a current 2B who looks like he needs to move to 3B (or even 1B) sooner rather than later. I have read a ton of reader comments on Mets blogs about this draft and I am amazed how many think we don't need middle infielders, and how many wanted us to pick a bunch of outfielders. From where I sit, it looks to me backwards. As Mack points out, we've got OF in the system but not nearly enough viable MI. That and NO catchers. I don't know if the Mets drafted the right guys this year, but they sure drafted at the right positions.

Mack Ade said...

I might be a little too harsh on Tejada here...

I have always liked Tejada and, yes, he could start here for many years.

I just think that both Evans and Cecchini have better bats