Photo by @ZacharyLucy
We will be releasing the players we have chosen for the Mets roster of the 25 minor leaguers who we thought had the best years. These players are chosen strictly on their numbers and not on their prospect rankings. It is going to be a four part series with the bench, starting rotation, and bullpen still to come. Here is who we have chosen for the best player at each position in 2015:
Catcher: Patrick Mazeika (Kingsport Mets). The Mets 2015 8th round pick tore up the Appalachian League hitting .354/.451/.540 while leading the league with 27 doubles in his first taste of pro ball. The 22-year old lefty hitter also played 11 games at first base this year and hails from Stetson University like Mets ace Jacob deGrom. He was the co-winner of the Mets Sterling Award for the Kingsport Mets and was a postseason all-star in the APPY.
First Base- Dominic Smith (St. Lucie Mets). The Florida State League Player of the Year led the league with 33 doubles and 79 RBI while slashing .305/.354/.417 in his breakout season. He was a FSL postseason All-Star and a the Mets Sterling Award winner for the St. Lucie Mets as well. According to a poll done by Baseball America he was also the best defensive first basemen in the league as voted by coaches and managers. He has continued his great year in the Arizona Fall League hitting .385/.519/.564 before his recent oblique injury.
Second Base– Dilson Herrera (Las Vegas 51’s). The Mets future cornerstone at second base crushed the ball at AAA this year batting .327/.382/.511 with 23 doubles, 11 homeruns and 50 RBI for Las Vegas. He did struggle a little slashing just .211/.311/.367 in only 90 at bats in the Majors this year for the Mets. However, his defense looked much better in his short stint in the big leagues.
Shortstop- Gavin Cecchini (Binghamton Mets). It was a breakout offensive year for the former 2012 first round pick who hit .317/.377/.442 with 37 extra base hits while striking out only 55 times in 439 AA at bats. He was named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year and played in the All-Star game too. Recently played in four games for the Rafters in the AFL going 5 for 13 with four walks before being scratched from the roster with a shoulder injury.
Third Base– Eudor Garcia (Savannah Sand Gnats). The Mets drafted the 21-year old left-handed hitting Garcia in the 4th round in 2014. He slashed .296/.340/.442 with 23 doubles, four triples, nine homeruns, and 59 RBI in 398 at bats. He only walked 23 times all year but 13 of them came against lefties in 130 plate appearances.
Outfield– Wuilmer Becerra (Savannah Sand Gnats). After the 2015 season everyone should know that Becerra was part of the tremendous haul that Sandy Alderson got from the Blue Jays in return for R.A. Dickey. Becerra had a great offensive season hitting .290/.342/.423 with 27 doubles, three triples, nine homeruns, 16 stolen bases, and knocked in 63 runs. The 21-year old right fielder had a .444 SLG at home in Grayson Stadium which is known fir being a tough place for power hitters.
Outfield– Kevin Kaczmarski (Kingsport Mets). The Mets 2015 9th round pick led the Appalachian League with his .355 average, 91 hits, and was second with his 20 stolen bases. The 23-year old left-handed hitting outfielder hit .355/.415/.512 with 18 doubles, five triples, four homeruns, and 34 RBI. He played 50 games in left field, 11 in center field, and two in right field. He was a postseason all-star as well as sharing the Mets Sterling Award for Kingsport with Mazeika.
Outfield– Travis Taijeron (Las Vegas 51’s). The 26-year old outfielder hit a career high 25 homeruns, 71 RBI, and 65 walks. He hit .274/.393/.536 in 478 plate appearances while playing ten game in left field and 112 games in right field this year in AAA. He was a midseason all-star in the Pacific Coast League for the third time in his career (NYPL in 2011, SAL in 2012).
Hope Smith can get here soon as I am tired of Watching lame Duda AB’s
ETAs??:
2016-Herrera
2016/2017-Cecchini
2017/2018-Smith
2018/2019-Becerra
I am excited to see Smith soon too but Duda has been very good for the Mets the last two years.
Definitely think we see a lot of Dilson this year. Maybe some Cecchini late in the season. And similar with Smith in 2017 going into 18 like you said. Becerra is the one I am less sure about when, this year will be big for him to stay healthy for another whole season.
Your kidding right. Duda is Doodie. Its either a rare HR or K. I want to see contact hitters. Smart hitters. Doodie does not fall into that assessment
michael…Duda very good. We ain’t watching the same guy.
2018 he’s out and Smith comes in
I understand the Mets lineup needs more guys who make contact but over the last two years Duda has the 7th most HR’s among 1B and 9th best on base percentage. He is a good offensive first baseman.
I agree that Smith should be 1B in 2018 if he keeps progressing like I think he will. Doesn’t mean that Duda isn’t a good offensive 1B though.
You can have him. Too many times he does not move base runners or get someone in from third with less than two outs. If they are going to shift on you, learn to go the other way. His range at 1st base in limited. Where have you gone Keith Hernandez.
Smith, Herrera, Cecchini and Becerra give me so much hope for the future. Great to see them take huge strides in 2015. Hard not t be excited about their 2016.
You mean “you’re”…
Duda was 14th in OPS for MLB 1B. He’s not great but not nearly as bad as you’re making it seem. And rare HR? He hit 27 last yr.
Typical that you are worried about your and you’re instead of players who can consistently contribute. I suppose you never type quickly and never make a typo. Duda was pure Doodie most of the season. WS key spot Bases loaded 1 out and Doodie pops out. 27 Hrs (is that OK to type) means sometimes the ball hits the bat rather than the bat hitting the ball. Two weeks of the season produced more than half of those 27 Hrs (hopefully that is an acceptable way to say home runs). Smith in 2017. Say goodbye to Doodie.
Lets hope it is 2017
For the record, a month later. he’s good if you like high K’s, poor clutch hitting, long cold streaks, occasional hotstreaks that account for most of those homers, 19 of which were solo. Eyeball test, and self-sabotaging patterns including that high leg kick killing timing, tell the real story.
And that’s unfortunate because I like Lucas Duda the person and root hard for him, but he’s stubborn, stuck in his ways (high leg kick, timing problems, pull-happy) and isn’t adequately growing as a hitter despite the talent to be much better.
I always crack when people compare players to others at uis position as if that means anything.
Actually it does mean something, not sure why that would crack you up.
Duda has the 5th most homeruns (18) in the Majors over the last two seasons with runners on.
uh no it doesn’t its useless just like WAR. You are comparing him to others that play the position who may all suck.
Please stop stating facts. They get in the way of this guys point that Duda is doodie.
Facts aren’t welcome when it comes to Duda because some have this irrational displeasure with him. Perfectly fine as an average first baseman.
Duda is one of the best lefty power bats in baseball