Here in the wonderful world of prospects, I’ll admit, Allan Dykstra is old.  Okay, old is a bit of an understatement. He’s actually ancient, slated to turn 27 in May. But does his age mean that he should be a complete afterthought, especially at a position in such a state of flux as first-base is for the Mets?

Dykstra was a former 1st round pick of the San Diego Padres back when Sandy Alderson  and Paul DePodesta were running the show, selecting him 23rd overall  coming out of Wake Forest in 2008. When the front office duo landed in New York, one of the first trades they made was to send the Mets’ own struggling 1st round pick Eddie Kunz (selected 42nd overall in 2007) to the Padres for Allan Dykstra. At the time Kevin Goldstein, then with Baseball Prospectus tweeted “DePo guy; walks a lot; does nothing else.” Not high praise, but he did something well that the Mets’ hierarchy reportedly covets; get on base.

Goldstein was partially right. Dykstra definitely does walk, a lot. In  parts of seven minor league seasons Dykstra has posted a career on-base percentage of .402, thanks in large part to a very solid walk rate of 19%. This past year, at age 26, he was named the Mets organizational co-player of the year along with Kevin Plawecki, posting a very solid .274/.436/.503 slash line for AA Binghamton. He also posted career highs with 21 HR’s and 82RBI, while maintaining  a robust 20.9 BB%. The cynic will argue that he also strikes out quite a bit, which he does, posting a 24% K rate over his career. And they will argue that he is doing this against younger talent, which he is. I would counter that the rate at which he gets on base outweighs the strikeouts. For an organization that reportedly covets on-base percentage, power, and plate discipline, Dykstra appears to be an ideal offensive player.

Unfortunately, he suffered a minor setback in December while playing winter ball, breaking his fibula. An injury that likely cost him a spring training invite.  Still, based on his performance last year, I’d expect to see Dykstra start the year at AAA Las Vegas, where the hitters haven will likely aid his offensive numbers even more. I certainly root for Ike Davis to succeed but should he not, Dykstra should see serious consideration for the job in the future.

Photo Credit: Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com