Minor League Player of the Week – Mike Carp (1B/OF)

I know, I probably featured him once already (I don’t recall), but I just can’t help myself as this man’s bat is absolutely on fire. Here’s a short history of this man. Mike Carp was drafted by the Mets in the ninth round (254th overall) in 2004, out of high school in Lakewood, California, drafted for his left-handed power. He hit .267/.358/.393 in rookie ball and wasn’t really regarded as a highly touted prospect. In 2006, he hit .286 with 17 HRs in St. Lucie and was promoted to Binghamton a year later. He was bothered by injuries all year in 2007 which resulted in a down year, hitting only .251 in 97 games.

In 2008, the healthy Carp is hitting .360 with 9 HRs and 41 RBIs in 59 games More stats from this guy: Carp has a .419 OBP and a .559 SLG. Carp’s strike outs are down, only 33 in 222 at-bats. He also has 21 walks.

Over the past 10 days, Carp has been a hitting machine.

AVG: .486
HR: 3
RBI: 12
Hits: 18
Runs: 6
At-Bats: 37

He’s rapidly making his case to be promoted to New Orleans where he will be given the great challenge of better pitching. He’s be known to not hit lefties well, but he’s shown improvement this year by hitting .341 against them. If he continues this pace, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him here in September hitting balls over the wall, much like Mike Jacobs did. 

Minor League Player of the Week – Chris Aguila (OF)

He was selected in the third round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft. Christopher Louis Aguila graduated from McQueen High School (NV) in 1997. While in McQueen, he set the single-season home run record. Although. Aguila may not be a prospect, he is showing signs he belongs with the big club. The 29-year-old outfielder played for the Marlins from 2004-2006 and the Pirates minor leagues in 2007. The Mets signed him in March has been playing with the New Orleans Zephyrs ever since. In 2008, Aguila is hitting .297 with 15 home runs and 31 RBI.

However, in the past 10 games, Aguila is batting a hefty, .457 with 6 home runs and 12 RBI. He has 16 hits in 35 at-bats. These 10 games also included a hitting streak of 8 games which ended last night. His performance even gave him PCL Hitter of the Week.

This is Aguila’s 12th professional year of playing, the majority while in the Minors. But he’s shown poise and maturity. Aguila can play any outfield position, and is ready for a spot. If any of the current Met gets hurt, Aguila can easily take the spot on the bench. With a struggling Endy Chavez and a not so healthy Ryan Church, Aguila may make an appearance if Nunez and Tatis can’t get the job done.