14
2011
Will Reese Havens Ultimately Seize 2B Job This Season?
An article by Craig Lerner
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that Mets second base prospect Reese Havens at Mets camp today and revealed he underwent surgery eight weeks ago.
The procedure shaved an inch off a rib that was rubbing against another rib on his left side and also irritating the oblique. It was performed at Dr. James Andrews’ clinic in Birmingham, Ala., by colleague Dr. William Clancy. Havens called the issue “rib tip syndrome.”
Havens said that he began hitting last week that he is ”finally starting to feel like a baseball player again” and that he expects to be ready to fully participate in spring training.
Before the end of last season, the Mets had actually tinkered with the idea of having Havens undergo back surgery, but in the end they opted for rest and rehab instead. This recent procedure was done to relieve the oblique pain that has caused Havens to miss more than three months of last season.
Havens was a 2008 first-round pick for the Mets and many scouts felt he had a higher upside than fellow first-rounder Ike Davis. Unfortunately for Havens, his career has been slowed by injuries, but there’s no question the talent is there and all he needs is a few consecutive healthy months to put it all together and possibly help the Mets at the major league level as soon as late this season.
In 2009, Havens hit ,247/.361/,422 with 14 HR and 52 RBI in 360 AB.
However in 2010, Havens only collected 125 ABs due to numerous injuries, but he did show significant improvement batting .312/.386/.592 with 9 HR and 19 RBI. If you were to project those numbers over a full season, we’re talking 35+ homeruns and 90+ RBI with a great slash line.
While the Mets head into spring training trying to figure out who their starting second baseman will be from a group that includes Justin Turner, Brad Emaus, Daniel Murphy and Chin-lung Hu, I think all of us can agree that the winner will be nothing more than a temporary solution and place-setting for Havens.
All things being equal, Havens is without question the top second baseman in the organization.
All that is left for him to do is to stay healthy and play up to his capabilities in Buffalo this season. If he can do that, he will eventually seize the second base job for the Mets at some point this season and give our team one of the most potent infields in baseball.
Enjoy this video of Reese Havens blasting a walk-off homerun for USC only days before the Mets drafted him with 22nd pick in the 2008 MLB Draft.
I seem to remember “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” being played at Shea Stadium for a few walk-off homeruns of our own. Or am I just delirious? Happy Valentines Day to all you lovers out there!
About the Author: Craig Lerner
I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.
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Shaving a rib? OUCH!
Sissy
-Adam from Eden
better than the other guy (Rustich?) that had an entire rib, and some muscle, removed during th eoff season so it would stop pressing on a nerve.
amazing that a guy who couldn’t feel his fingers could throw 95. Not amazing that he had some control issues!
Reese Havens has to show he can play a complete season before people start anointing him the heir apparent at 2B.
“Being able to stay healthy” is as important, if not moreso, than the other baseball skills like “hitting for average, hitting for power, fielding range, etc.”
the good thing though is that he has proven that he can do all those other things. Unlike some guys who are hurt all the time and you have no idea if they can actually play if they happen to get healthy.
Havens will be the 2B of the future IF he stays healthy.
I doubt he makes the majors this year, no matter how good he does in AAA. IF he stays healthy all year, then he may be a September call-up. We know he can hit, but the issue is avoiding the DL.
BTW, Havens was a USC Gamecock (South Carolina), not Trojan (SoCal).
This article just turned this kid into my hopeful for this year. But the injury issues are the biggest hurdle. My gut tells me this year it will be a platoon of a combination of Murphy, Turner, and Hernandez.
I have been very high on Havens ever since they drafted him. Really, really hoping he finally stays on the field all year.
this is a case where you can say it was a good thing that he had surgery. Assuming, of course, it corrected the underlying problem, you have hope that it won’t recur. If they had just gone with the rest it and hope approach, much better chance it happens again.
and this at least explains why it took so long to heal last year. Almost like a bone spur in a joint, you can rest for a long time and it feels better, then as soon as you ramp up activity boom, it hurts again. Remove the spur (tip), and maybe no more damage. Frankly, it must hurt a bunch having a rib tip poking you in the side every time you twist!
as to when he arrives? If he is 100% finally, and no down time, and plays like he did last season, easily mid year if the other options at 2B aren’t getting the job done.
I still think that he he had not gone down with the oblique (June?), he would have been up getting all the late season PT that went to Tejada.
There are some very talented minor league players trying to come back from major injuries this year:
Fernando Martinez
Brant Rustich
Reese Havens
Francisco Pena
Zach Lutz
Stephen Matz
Robbie Shields
Nick Carr
Matt Bouchard (remember him?)
If most, or all, return to form, it could be a real shot in the arm for the farm system.
David Lennon of Newsday was just on Wheelhouse saying Mets have a dearth of talent in minor leagues.
I dont know what all this talk is about having such a bad minor league system. Just because they may not produce a major superstar doesn’t mean they don’t have good talent there either. Looks like they have some nice talent and maybe a couple of guys like Ike Davis, Reese Havens may become big stars… maybe Mejia down the road? Maybe Gee will become a good major league pitcher….Vaughn?
Looks like a nice minors to me. How many prospects do you want to be ready to help the big club at the same time?
most of the guys who rate the systems give much heavier weighting to top end studs. much rarer and harder to find than good to solid ML types.
Just like 1 lincecum is worth 5 Kyle Kendricks or some such equation.
Ike also graduated, so he doesn’t count. And some of them overlook Mejia, since he used up his rookie eligibility.
I agree that the mets seem to have more interesting talent than many people give them credit for. And maybe no “can’t miss” guys, but a few with some potential to be studs.
And don’t forget neither Backman or Dykstra were can’t miss players either.
There was only two on the 86 Mets, Gooden and Strawberry!
Agreed Pete. The potential is there but right now it has yet to be determined if this not the next round of the Pulsiphers, Milledge and Preston Wilsons of the world to name a few.
Here’s to hoping that Ike, Niese, Thole, Mejia and possibly Parnell turn out to play a considerable role in turning the Mets fortunes around. God knows were due.
I’ve been raving about Havens on the shoutbox for the past few months and I believe that not only is Havens the dark horse in this 2B competition, but he can be this year’s “Ike” and blow everyone away. Now that I know he’s reporting to Port St. Lucie, Havens is my current pick to be the starting 2nd baseman. Yes, the question may be “Can he stay healthy?” I think he can.
On a related side note, I’m also hoping Lucas Duda puts on a show in Spring Training and prove to Collins that we NEED him in the lineup.
I am right up there with you with the man crush on Havens.
But, I don’t think there is any way that he can win the job out of ST. After missing so much time last year, limited (but very good) ABs, and still getting over the surgery of 8 weeks ago, it would be a huge shock if he didn’t get started in the minors.
Now, given the uncertainty about 2B, he very easily could follow the Ike path. 4-6 weeks in the minors with no physical issues, hitting like he was last year, combined with poor production from whichever player(s) wins the 2B job, and he could be back soon.
Coming off injury the best thing for him would be to start off in the Minors while they allow the 2B competition to go on with the big team and if the rest of the team is performing and competing, bring him up in the middle of the season if that 2B experimentation goes nowhere.
The guy will need to get back into his swing and it’s not wise to force him to do that against MLB pitching.
Better questions- Can havens hit 250? Can he get 250 ABs? If he’s the 2B you can see how bad the other options are.
“Havens was a 2008 first-round pick for the Mets and many scouts felt he had a higher upside than fellow first-rounder Ike Davis.”
Hey oldtimer, It’s spring, hold off on your negativity for at least a month or two, won’t you?
The most important question is whether he’s healthy enough to play in most games. The rest should take care of itself. If he stays healthy, I see him getting to the ‘bigs’ by July or August, especially if we have problems at 2B.
So many unknowns at this time, but count me as an optimist, regardless of what happens to the team in April.
I hate saying ” if he stays healthy.” But if he stays healthy we got a second baseman.
He will go to the minors. He would only come up if he is healthy and the Mets have an injury at 2nd base later in the year.
he should. and highly likely he will.
But, you never know. If he looks physically fine and plays great, and tears the cover off the ball, and the other guys suck in the field and/or hitting, then he just might shock us all and win the job.
The thing to remember about Havens, is that he has only 68 AB’s above A ball, for his career. Even if he does stay healthy this year, he is no way ready for the big leagues, having had such limited minor league experience. Hopefully he can play a full year, at AA and AAA, with no setbacks, and we can be having this discussion about him winning the 2B job next year.