Courtesy of St. Lucie Mets

Champ Stuart, the 23 year old, 2013, 6th round draft pick is known among Mets prospect followers and fans as an 80 runner with not much else going for him on the diamond. To the degree that when the St Lucie opening day lineup was announced, myself along with a few other commentators, were questioning why he was batting leadoff. Stuart was the #60 ranked prospect here at MMN and selected as the fastest base runner as well.

The Bahama native is quietly doing everything the organization could want in his repeating of High A. He currently has a .238 average , which on surface is nothing extraordinary. Taking a deeper look though and we find that he has cut his strikeout rate down to below 30% for the first time in his brief career. It looks to be sustainable based on his improved walk rate which currently sits at 12.8%.

He is also driving the ball more, 20 games in he has six extra base hits so far, which is nearly half of his career high of 13. All the while he continues to steal bases, (29% of the time he is on base he is running.) The offensive improvements are coupled with a defensive improvement, showing improved routes, and quicker reactions.

While there is still plenty of room for improvement still, a mid-season promotion to Binghamton should be in the cards. He will never be confused with a Mookie Wilson but if the trend of improvement continues a serviceable bench OF could be in his future.