Congratulations to the Las Vegas 51’s outfielder Eric Campbell for being awarded with the MMN Player of the Week honors. Eric had a very good week at the plate and helped his team to stay in contention.
Wow, this was a very tough week to pick a deserving player. There must be close to six other players who had similar or better weeks, if you want to compare numbers. But Eric’s week stood out for a few reasons as he helped his team to a 5-2 week. Eric batted .416 (10 for 24), three runs scored, four doubles, five RBIs and six walks. He had 10 hits in five straight games from Monday through Thursday of last week and four of those games were multi-hit games. His ability to get on base and draw in runs for the past week helped the 51’s, who are 70-57 to stay within a game of the lead in their division.
Eric was drafted by the Mets in the eighth round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur draft out of Boston College. He played in college for two seasons before being drafted by the Mets. At Boston College, Eric posted a career batting average of .306 and was named co-captain at the start of his junior year. He would then leave school and start his professional career with the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2008.
In Brooklyn, Eric batted .260 with four home runs, 27 runs scored, 28 RBIs, and nine doubles in 66 games. In 2009, he was sent to Savannah Sand Gnats where he played in 95 games and batted .248, five home runs, 42 runs scored, 23 doubles and 47 RBIs. He then was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets and played in seven games, batting .273.
In 2010, Eric started out with the St. Lucie Mets and in 46 games batted .335, 37 runs scored, four home runs, 14 doubles and 20 RBIs. He was then promoted to the Binghamton Mets, and in 50 games batted .279, six home runs, 26 runs scored, 11 doubles, and 30 RBIs. Between the two clubs Eric put up some good numbers even though a broken finger caused him to miss two months. Overall, 2010 was a positive step in the right direction for Eric.
Eric stayed with the B-Mets in 2011 and in 126 games he batted .274 with four home runs, 46 runs scored, 23 doubles, and 46 RBIs. In his third season with the B-Mets in 2012, he batted .297 with 53 runs scored, nine home runs, 25 doubles and 50 RBIs, which was probably one of his best seasons in his young baseball career. After a finger injury that could’ve truly delayed his career, Eric came back and played the two seasons after with something to prove, and his numbers earned him a promotion to the Las Vegas 51’s for this season. It is great to see players fight through adversity in their careers and continue to develop and grow within the Mets farm system.
In 103 games so far this season, Eric is batting .296 with 51 runs scored, seven home runs, 18 doubles, and 52 RBIs. Based on his career numbers, Eric has a knack for getting on base and not only scoring runs, but also driving in runs, which is a great attribute to have in an organization looking for players that can make an immediate impact.
The 51’s are fighting for a division title and with players moving up and down throughout the season, it is rare when you have a player that has played the full season with one club and is such an important part of their success. This past week showed just how important Eric Campbell means to the 51’s and also what he means to this Mets Organization filled with so many promising stars of the future.
Honorable Mentions
Brooklyn Cyclones – SS – Gavin Cecchini
It was very hard not to give Gavin this week’s honor. He is on a torrid 16 game hit streak, and his consistent batting has helped Brooklyn to remain only a game out of first in second place and 2.5 games ahead of Hudson Valley for the last playoff spot. When Gavin started his hit streak, Brooklyn was 19-22 and since then they went 10-6 and are 29-28 as of yesterday’s game. The team did not play on Monday and Tuesday due to the NYPL All Star Game, which isn’t a fault to Gavin, but had a little bit to do with my decision this week. Those were possibly eight at-bats that could have drawn a different conclusion, but either way he is having a great few weeks and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon. This Week: 9 for 19, .474, 3 R, 1 RBI, 2 Walks.
St. Lucie Mets – RF Kyle Johnson & 2B T.J. Rivera
These two players gave me fits all week. I looked at both possibly winning this week’s honors, especially with each having long hitting streaks. Kyle’s hitting streak has not stopped yet as his single in yesterday’s game extended his streak to 14 games. T.J.’s hitting streak was stopped on Saturday at 13 straight games. That is an amazing feat for two players that are pivotal in the St. Lucie Mets line-up at one and two in the order. The team is battling to get in the playoffs and at 28-23 they sit only 1.5 games out of first. Kyle and T.J have shown that they are key components the lineup that boasts some pretty good hitters. This week: Kyle – 10 for 27, .370, 5 R, 1 HR, 1 Triple, 3 RBI, 2 Walks. T.J. – 10 for 27, .370, 2 R, 1 Double, 1 HR, 6 RBI’s, 2 Walks
St. Lucie Mets – 3B – Robbie Shields
Robbie actually had a very good week at the plate. He caught me by surprise with how well he hit. Not that Robbie is not a good hitter, but he really wasn’t on my radar but quickly became someone I had to keep an eye on as he put up some good numbers from Monday through Thursday. He recorded three multi-hit games and had a mini five-game hit streak during the week. On a team that has hitters like Kyle, T.J., Dustin Lawley, and Kevin Plawecki, sometimes it’s easy to be overlooked, but Robbie is a hitter that can be considered for PotW week honors in the near future. This Week: 10 for 22, .455, 5 R, 3 Doubles, 1 RBI, 1 Walk.
Kingsport Mets – 1B Jeyckol De Leon & SS Amed Rosario
These are two more players that had tremendous weeks, but just didn’t make the cut as the actual winner. This week was a very tough week to pick an outstanding winner from this group, and Jeyckol and Amed are two more players I felt at least needed to be mentioned. Kingsport finds themselves at 31-25 and in second place and 2.5 games out of first. In the last ten games both players have been hitting at all cylinders. Jeyckol has hit safely in eight out of his last 10 games, while Amed (who is on the Mets Top 20 Prospect Watch List) has hit safely in nine out of his last 10 games. Both have not shown any power, but they have shown they are capable of putting the bat on the ball and making something happen. These are two rising stars that in the Mets organization worth watching. This Week: Jeyckol – 10 for 25, .400, 4 R, 4 Doubles, 3 RBI’s, Walk. Amed – 10 for 21, .476, 2 R, 1 Double, 1 Triple, 3 RBIs.