It’s been an interesting year for Las Vegas 51s outfielder, Matt den Dekker. He was invited to big league camp in spring training, and could have broken camp in the majors, but a wrist injury sidelined him for the first three months of the season.
He spent some time rehabbing in High-A St. Lucie before finding his home in Vegas (until probably September). A slow start at the plate has been erased, as den Dekker is hot right now with the bat, and his solid performance has been recognized by Baseball America. He appears as “In the team photo” on their weekly Prospect Hot Sheet. Here’s what the BA staff had to say about the outfielder:
A wrist injury sidelined the 26-year-old den Dekker for first three months of Triple-A Las Vegas’ season, but he’s enjoyed the thin mountain air this August, going 12-for-27 (.444) with a pair of homers and a triple this week to push his OPS to .970 for the month. The Mets face a 40-man roster decision on the 2010 fifth-rounder this offseason, so den Dekker may receive a September callup if he remains healthy and productive.
It seems as if den Dekker is one of the favorites to get a September call up and be protected by the Rule V draft, especially with the long-term future of the Mets outfield in the big leagues currently in jeopardy. Sandy Alderson could be going after some impact players this winter, but we’ll see how that plays out, first.
Den Dekker has continued the usual trend in his minor league career; the first time he gets promoted to a new level, he struggles. However, the second time around, he makes adjustments and performs well. Obviously, the hitter-friendly PCL probably plays a small role, but he’s hitting .304/.374/.509 with six home runs and 36 RBIs in 161 at-bats. His K-rate has also dropped from 28.4% to 23.6%. That’s still a lot of strikeouts, but it’s moving in the right direction, at least.
The one statistic that stuck out to me was his batting average against left-handed pitchers. In 32 at-bats, he’s hitting .094/.147/.094 with eight strikeouts. So, if he does end up having a role in next year’s outfield, it will most likely be as part of a platoon (at least, to start). I’ll be interested to see what he has to offer in September.
A lefty OF who can’t hit lefties, but has shown promise vs. righties and also plays stellar defense?
Sounds like Juan Lagares’ lefty twin. Perfect platoon partners next year, while free agency handles the corner spots and Duda, Valdespin, Niewenhuis, or Baxter can help off the bench.
I agree with you Andrew. I’m interested to see what den Dekker does once he’s called up in a couple weeks. To have a platoon that can (,more than) adequately field their position is great to have, especially if the corner outfielders may not be as adept at defense. But hopefully they’ll be able to hit!