The New York Mets 2010 fifth round draft pick Matt den Dekker has had a turbulent year thus far. Before the season even began, the Triple-A center fielder broke his wrist diving for a fly ball during a March spring training game, leaving the Mets prospect, who appeared on the cusp of advancing to the big leagues, out of commission for a large portion of the season.

After being sidelined for almost three months, den Dekker returned in lackluster form. After spending a short stint at Class A St. Lucie, he made his move back into Triple-A ball. Upon his return to the 51’s he hit into a 1-25 slump. Since breaking out of his struggles, den Dekker has hit .317/.383/.525 since July 8, raising his overall Triple-A batting average to .282, an impressive number after coming back and batting .107 through 28 at-bats.

While it should be noted that the majority of his success has come in the 51’s hitter-friendly home stadium, Dekker has hit .325 at Cashman Field this season as opposed to .236 on the road, he has managed to hit his way to a .321 OBP and .500 slugging percentage in foreign ballparks. Den Dekker further added to his road statistics, going 3-4 last night with two home runs in Salt Lake City.

One further area of improvement is den Dekker’s increased ability to avoid striking out. Ever since being drafted, den Dekker’s strikeout rate was an area of concern among league scouts. He has worked extensively on his pitch recognition and patience at the plate with team coaches, and as such has lowered his strikeout rate from 28.4 percent in Triple-A last year, to 24.4 percent this year.