We have two older Shortstop prospects to evaluate this time with Daniel Muno and T.J. Rivera. Three writers have weighed in on this tough juxtaposition:
Satish Ram:
With Muno and Rivera, you’ve got two guys who both started on one side of the infield and moved over to second base for defensive purposes later on in their careers. Both guys have offensive potential and the same career high in home runs with nine. Muno’s a little faster on the basepaths and was originally touted as a player with a little more potential, but he lost a little steam when he was suspended for a PED violation. Rivera has always been a player that I’ve been fond of — whether it be the fact that he’s a native New Yorker and an undrafted free agent, the fact that he makes contact at an excellent rate, or just a gut feeling — but he’s the guy I’m rolling with here. He managed to hold his average steady in Savannah, so I’m excited to see him play in Binghamton next year. Verdict: TJ Rivera
David Conde:
This is an interesting comparison, because both have played an important part in their team’s success in 2013. Both have the opportunity to play at any level, but at this point T.J. Rivera cannot move up, unless Daniel Muno continues to move up as well; interesting to see what would happen if they both ended up on the same team.
The best way for me to evaluate both players are to put them side by side and look at their career stats, they are just about even; Games – Muno (267) / Rivera (295), Runs – Muno (167)/Rivera (172), Hits – Muno (271)/Rivera (351), Doubles – Muno (66)/Rivera (60), Triples – Muno (7)/Rivera (5), HR – Muno (17)/Rivera (12), RBI – Muno (130)/Rivera (136), SB – Muno (43)/Rivera (20), Batting – Muno (.283/.404/.420)/Rivera (.304/.359/.396).
If we are looking at the stats alone, it’s hard to say which player I would choose because they both can be impressive in they continue to develop. Regarding their defense, Muno’s career FLD% at 2B (.974) & SS (.941) and Rivera’s career FLD% 2B (.976) & SS (.943), basically they are both better defensively at 2B, so it would be a tough decision to see who would be the one to move over if the opportunity to play on the same team ever evolved. So at this point this is a toss-up.
But overall I feel that Rivera is a bit more versatile and when he is fully given the opportunity, I feel he will truly shine. I had the opportunity to interview both players and they both impressed me; both great young men and very talented. This is a real tough one for me. Verdict: TJ Rivera
Cole Benz:
While I think that both of these players could potentially offer something to the big league club, I think that T.J. Rivera is going to have the bigger impression in Flushing. Rivera is a level behind Muno, however he carries a higher career batting average, has more hits and lower strikeouts than Muno. Rivera also has more RBI, albeit by a slight margin. Muno does have over 100 more walks, something Alderson values, which may come into play if the trend continues. Verdict: TJ Rivera
Looks like all three of our writers agree that TJ Rivera is the better shortstop Prospect. Congrats to Rivera for winning our face-off this week. Tune in Next week for a new Face-off.
I vote for Muno – he had a great second half at AA – double what he did from June on into a full season and the #’s are super – and has more power and speed than Rivera, and a sizeable gap in on base %. Danny is in the lead – based on stats….but both for me are sight unseen.
I am one of the few people that truly still follow the mets minor league. Seeing both players I agree hands down, TJ Rivera is the better prospect. Stats alone do not tell the whole story as Muno’s stats were aided by his PED use plain and simple. TJ Rivera is a leader and I have yet to see any player or reporter write up showing Rivera in a bad light. It would be refreshing to have a clean, hard working kid move up in the minor league system and make it to the big game. Hope this kid Rivera gets his shot as I have enjoyed his ride up in the minors and will enjoy seeing more from him.
It seemes that the phrase “Good guys finish last” is true. TJ Rivera has always played by the rules and has given 200% at every level he has played and has only used his God given talents. But to lose an opportunity to someone who has cheated to get to where he is at, is not fair to all those athletes who do the right thing.Any true sports fan knows that PED tarnishes your reputation as well as the statistics you achieve. I do not believe Danny Munos stats should be compared to TJ Rivera’s. If you need performance enhancing drus to gain an advantage over other athletes who are sacrificing everything to realize a dream, then they should play in a league of the own. Maybe there should be a league for PED athletes. Like the PED Majors or the PED NFL or PED Track and Field and so on.