Coming in to 2014 the average Mets fan probably wouldn’t have known who Matt Reynolds was. The former second-round pick of the Mets in the 2012 MLB Draft was coming off of a rough season in which he hit just .226 as a 22-year old in High-A St. Lucie.
However 2014 has been a completely different story. The 6’1 198 pounder, who plays mostly shortstop, began the season in Double-A Binghamton and came out firing on all cylinders, hitting .373/.455/.440 in April. He would continue to tear up the Eastern League until mid-June when he was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas. The advanced competition of the Pacific Coast League hasn’t slowed him down either, as he’s hit .346/.400/.469 through 23 games with the 51s.
All of Reynolds’ success has placed him firmly on the radar, both within the organization as well as with the fan base, when discussing the big league club.
“His [plate] approach is so good, he can make adjustments quick,” Binghamton hitting coach told the New York Post. “He’s consistent. He has a lot of confidence with two strikes, and you can see that consistency when he is [either] ahead or behind in the count.”
So whether it be as a potential replacement for Daniel Murphy, whose name has begun to surface in trade rumors, or at natural position of shortstop, where Ruben Tejada continues to struggle to hit consistently, Reynolds is the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
However, Reynolds has always had reputation as being an offensive-minded shortstop who lacked the defensive prowess to hold down an everyday stop. But people within the organization believe in his ability.
“He was a third baseman in college, but we thought he was a superior defender [who could] play in the middle of the diamond,” DePodesta said. “He was very fundamentally sound — he seemed to do a lot of little things well.”
It appears that people outside of the Mets are starting to change their tune as well:
“Defensively, he made all the plays for me,” one American League scout tells the Post. “His transfer on the double play was nothing special, but he’s a solid guy.”
In the end, Reynolds’ bat is going to be his calling card and his ticket to the majors. The only question is when that ticket will get punched. The Mets can certainly use his offense, so the time may be now.
“He looked like a big leaguer,” Salt Lake hitting coach Francisco Matos said, after Reynolds went 7-for-16 against the Bees last week. “He used the whole field, which is good for a young kid.”
(Photo credit Mark LoMoglio/Tampa Yankees)
BABIP!!!
I remain cautious when it comes to Matt Reynolds. I see a similar player and toolset to Ruben Tejada. Super utility w/ avg to below avg tools across the board.
Yeah we have a super utility in Campbell but I feel that Reynolds has a better stick than Tejada. I’m sure he can’t match up with him on defense. So the question is do we sacrifice defense for more offense. On other teams this may not matter but on a team like the Mets that lack offense it’s a risk worth taking. I feel.
BBLB, just what is his BABIP, including last year, and both levels this year? A lot of people mention that stat, but I’ve never seen it listed, other than the numbers being given in certain articles and posts. What’s a good place to get that stat for MLB and MiLB?
Ok, BBLB, I found the formula and calculated it for myself. But if you have a good source to just look it up instead of doing it yourself, please let me know.
For the record, through yesterday, here is his BABIP in MiLB:
2012 @ Savannah
BA .259 BABIP .290
Right at the low end of the mean.
2013 @ St Lucie
BA .225 BABIP .261
So a fair amount below the mean on BABIP last year.
2014 @ Binghamton
4/28/14 BA .389 BABIP .500 (his peak BABIP in Bing)
6/18/14 BA .355 BABIP .433 (includes his last game there)
So way above the norm, but regressing from his peak there.
2014 @ Las Vegas
7/03/14 BA .400 BABIP .541 (his peak BABIP in LV)
7/20/14 BA .333 BABIP .434
Again, still way above the norm, and again regressing from his peak there. Where will he finish?
I do find it interesting that “all of a sudden” he is far above the mean on BABIP for the entire year, while carrying that across two levels. Could that mean anything positive? I don’t know … I guess we’ll have to see if he can keep his BABIP above the norm going forward (although we know he isn’t very likely to keep it anywhere near .400, when the norm for MLB players is .300).
Thanks for making me dig, BBLB (but I still would like a reference to just look it up).
Chuck, I provided a chart of Reynolds stats below(BABIP included) but 2 good places to get those SABR stats would be:
Baseball Reference:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=reynol003mat
Fangraphs
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa579039&position=SS
(Click on pic to enlarge)
Thanks. BBLB. I often use baseball-reference myself, but I don’t see BABIP listed there. Maybe I’m overlooking it somehow, or have to click something else? But fangraphs has it listed up front, so I’ll start paying attention to that. I’ve never used them before, so I appreciate the reference.
I did use base-ball reference to chart it myself, and I posted the results in as a reply to myself by mistake, rather than to you. So I erased that, and tried to put it in as a reply to you, but MMO said that I had “already posted that.” So, just FYI, here’s what I had written:
“Ok, BBLB, I found the formula and calculated it for myself. But if you have a good source to just look it up instead of doing it yourself, please let me know.
For the record, through yesterday, here is his BABIP in MiLB:
2012 @ Savannah
BA .259 BABIP .290
Right at the low end of the mean.
2013 @ St Lucie
BA .225 BABIP .261
So a fair amount below the mean on BABIP last year.
2014 @ Binghamton
4/28/14 BA .389 BABIP .500 (his peak BABIP in Bing)
6/18/14 BA .355 BABIP .433 (includes his last game there)
So way above the norm, but regressing from his peak there.
2014 @ Las Vegas
7/03/14 BA .400 BABIP .541 (his peak BABIP in LV)
7/20/14 BA .333 BABIP .434
Again, still way above the norm, and again regressing from his peak there. Where will he finish?
I do find it interesting that “all of a sudden” he is far above the mean on BABIP for the entire year, while carrying that across two levels. Could that mean anything positive? I don’t know … I guess we’ll have to see if he can keep his BABIP above the norm going forward (although we know he isn’t very likely to keep it anywhere near .400, when the norm for MLB players is .300).
Thanks for making me dig, BBLB (but I still would like a reference to just look it up).” [Thanks again for providing that!]