5
2011
MMO Top 20 Mets Prospects – #6 Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF
An article by 
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF
Let’s go back to the June MLB Amateur Draft from 2008. With their 3rd round pick, the Mets selected a virtually unknown outfielder from Azusa Pacific University named Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Since then, Nieuwenhuis has been the model of consistency as he has steadily worked his way up to the highest level of the minor leagues. Had he not had his 2011 season end prematurely in June, as the result of a labrum injury to his left shoulder, there is no doubt he would have made his major league debut last season. With his advanced skill-set, and over 1500 minor league AB’s in his career, he is indeed very close to making a splash at Citi sometime in 2012. These are some of the reasons why he is ranked #6 on the MMO 2012 Mets Top 20 Prospects list.
After signing with the Mets, it didn’t take long for the toolsy left-handed hitter to make a favorable impression on his new team. After making a stop in Brooklyn, as a 20-year-old in ’08, where he hit .277 in 285 AB’s, he skipped over Savannah and opened 2009 in St. Lucie, A+. He picked right up where he left off the previous year and hit .274 with 16 HR’s 71 RBI’s and 16 SB’s in 482 AB’s, while putting up a .992 fielding% in CF.
The 2010 season was a big one for Nieuwenhuis, as he not only made the significant jump from high A to AA ball, but he hit the ground running at AA and established career highs in batting average and SLG%. In 394 AB’s at Bingo, he hit .289 with 81 runs, 35 2B’s, 16 HR’s, 60 RBI’s, 13 SB’s, and a .510 SLG%. This earned him a promotion to AAA Buffalo at the end of July, but he struggled his first time through the league, batting only .225 in a 120 AB’s, with 2 HR’s and 17 RBI’s.
Nieuwenhuis who has at times gone by the nickname “Captain Kirk”, did not let a little thing like AAA get in his way. He worked hard in the off-season last year, and made the necessary adjustments to succeed at Buffalo. When the 2011 season started Kirk was poised to have a huge year as the Bisons’ center-fielder, and number three hitter. Mets fans who follow the minor league system began to dream of Captain Kirk getting beamed up to Citifield and racing around the OF at warp speed for the Mets, but this was not to be. In a AAA game in late May, Kirk made a diving catch in the outfield, and injured his left (non-throwing) shoulder. At first the injury was not believed to be serious, but after several weeks, when the pain and stiffness did not go away, further tests revealed an injury to the labrum, and it was determined that surgery would be necessary, which took place in July. At the time he went down Kirk had a slash-line of .298/.403/.505, with 6 HR’s and 14 RBI’s in 188 AB’s.
Kirk was hoping to get clearance to begin “baseball related” activities by the end of November, and since it is not his throwing shoulder believes he will be ready for 2012 ST on time. If he does indeed start the season with no limitations, he will literally be ‘just an injury away’ from the call up to the Show. It’s not like he is a ready made big leaguer though, he does have some holes in his game that need to be plugged. The biggest thing Captain Kirk has to work on is to cut down on his strikeouts. He is a very aggressive hitter and as a result his K/BB ratios leave a lot to be desired. In 2008 his K/BB was 70/29, ’09 it was 127/57, 2010 132/41, and 2011 59/32. As you can plainly see he strikes out way too much, and he will have to show some improvement there if he is ever going to reach his potential.
As a fielder Kirk is very solid and has a good enough throwing arm to play RF. His speed is well above average for a baseball player, but merely average for a center-fielder, so there is still speculation about whether he can hold down the CF position on a daily basis in the bigs. I believe he can, using smarts and positioning to help counter any range limitations, but there is a distinct chance that he could wind up in RF when he reaches the Bigs. Either way, the Mets have a very useful and talented player emerging from their system, and the way the 2012 major league team is shaping up, there should be every opportunity for Kirk to come aboard, and take command.
In a report from early November, Patrick Teale at Inside Pitch had some interesting quotes from Nieuwenhuis about the severity of the injury, the surgery, the rehab and the recovery: Captain Kirk Interview
Here’s a video interview with Nieuwenhuis in January 2011, where he discusses his imminent promotion to the bigs.
More Captain Kirk video links: Homerun vs. Kyle Gibson 4/21/11 & Great Catch from 8/25/10
Check back on Thursday when we unveil the #5 ranked player on our list!
2012 MMO Top 20 Prospects
6. Kirk Nieuwenhuis OF
7. Juan Lagares OF
8. Wilmer Flores INF
9. Cesar Puello RF
10. Reese Havens 2B
11. Cory Mazzoni RHP
12. Jordany Valdespin INF
13. Darin Gorski LHP
14. Phillip Evans SS
15. Jefry Marte 3B
16. Collin McHugh RHP
17. Juan Urbina LHP
18. Akeel Morris RHP
19. Michael Fulmer RHP
20. Danny Muno INF
About the Author: Peter Shapiro
The first time I went to Shea was not for a Mets game, it was for the Beatles concert there in August of '66. My first Met game was '67, a guy named Salty Parker was the interim-manager then. My first pennant race was 1969. As a 12 year-old that summer and fall, I managed to get to the park for 3 games. The first was the beginning of the Miracle which actually started on Tuesday July 8, 1969 with a day game against the Cubs. I was there a lot in '73. I saw games 3 & 5 of the 1973 NL Playoffs against the "Big Red Machine", from the upper deck behind home plate. It was from there that I witnessed the fight between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose, and the mayhem that ensued. And that sweet victory in game 5! I saw a couple of WS games at Shea that year against that legendary Oakland A's club. I was there in 1985 for every single game Dr. K pitched including his two 16 strikeout performances, and the day he one-hit the Cubs on an infield single and the Mets won 1-0. I loved being a Met fan in those days. Hopefully we are once again preparing to emerge from the darkness.
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Petey, once again thanks for providing good articles like this instead of the crap we have been putting up with.. i hope this kid does good, he’s got the tools to be a good player for this franchise, too bad if he does become a good player, most likely he’ll be let go for draft picks and some idiots will defend the move by saying he got overpaid or he’s not worth the contract…
You are telling him thanks for a new fresh topic yet are whining and crying about the previous topic. Which do you want? More articles about things other than Reyes or more articles that allow you to wallow in pity?
It was a bummer when he got hurt last year. He would have been a very intriguing guy to have as a platoon partner in RF for Bay!
??? doesn’t bay play LF?
I think Any like most of us sees that Bay’s little value left to the Mets is as a RF so Duda can move to LF.
well here’s what’s going to happen:
Jason Bay is arguably the best defensive Left Fielder in their history so he’s not moving.
Lucas Duda will be in RF barring a trade.
Lucas Duda will NOT be playing LF he will be playing RF
Jason Bay will NOT be playing RF he will be playing LF..and oh..he’s NOT PLATOONING with anyone
Bayonne, do you realize is sabermoney sandy at the helm? he at all cost will try to prevent those bay options with the team to kick in. sooner or later bay will be traded or release.
LOL, so now you WANT Bay’s option to kick in? Do you like spending money just for the hell of it to show your parents you are in charge?
??? i don’t get it.. parents?? what are you talking about? the only kids in this blog are satish, who’s a well mature guy and the other 2 you seem to fond very well with, donal who’s like 22 and jesseP who’s like 25..
I get younger and younger in your eyes, I love it. You’re so good to me Alex
Reference Alex. Saying that spending for the sake of spending and blowing money you don’t have is something that mostly kids do.
K-Mac was the best defensive LF in team history.Not even close.
Oh my gosh any a young person getting hurt. better release him. Anyway why do you care. Oh my gosh those 4 can’t miss pitchers miught get hurt too… better tell sandy there is a risk so he better get rid of them…. hurry before they all get hurt again. Sell them for some fenceposts.
don’t know how many millions of times you must be told that Bay is NOT PLATOONING WITH ANYBODY – any.
Bay would not have platooned with anybody last year and he’s NOT PLATOONING with anybody next year.
UN-BELIEVABLE
By the end of this year if he is still hitting .700 OPS he may be platooned but you are right I would not bet on in. Better bet for Kirk is in CF.
That being said, yes he is a good defensive LF yet Duda is a horrible OF and LF is much easier to play. I think that topic will come up again if and when Duda does a terrible job in RF.
Duda does a terrible job in RF”
if he hits like he did for the second part. and provide a thumper we much needed since DELGADO left, i am fine with that, funny how you sh** on duda who’s basically a rookie, yet you’re overrated 3B gets a pass from you right, and last i checked, he’s a TURRIBLE defensive third baseman.. stop nitpickin.
Come on Alex be honest, I like Duda, but defensively are you saying the Mets would not be better off with Duda in LF and Bay in RF?
And for the record, Wright DID play terrible 3B last year and I hope that improves tremendously this year. For your goals, getting rid of Wright, you better hope he does as well.
hopefully that had a lot to do with playing with the back problem for a while, then with the after effects.
2 things that will massively help this team next season are Wright and Davis having full, healthy seasons.
I’ll tell you where you can shove your OPS.
Here’s what puts food on the table for Jason Bay and his family – his ability to hit HRs and drive in runs – RBIs
If Jason Bay hits 25-30 HRs and drives in around 90-100 RBIs then you can figure out his OPS at season’s end. That’s what I want from Jason Bay – HRs and RBIs if he does what he normally does in those 2 departments everything else will be there
I’m not in disagreement with you, OPS is generally a “wrap up” stat in my eye. It gives a summary of what has happened, but generally speaking a guy .800+ OPS should have the numbers you suggest Bayonne.
Just one thing. It’s RBI not RBIs. Runs Batted In. Not Runs Batted Ins. Since we pretty much agreed I figured I’d stay consistent and disagree with something where I can be right on.
I usually like OPS because it gives more value to someone like uh… that Marlin SS than just HR. However, of course if you are hitting HR then your SLG% is going to be higher thus your OPS will most likely be higher. RBI? That can be based tremendously on the players in the lineup surrounding you.
Right.
I think realistically if Jason Bay hit 30+ Drove in 100+, at this point nobody here would care what his OPS was.
It’d come up when evaluating his entire year, but for the purposes of immediate need+result, HR+RBI would be fine for Bay.
Shut up hypocrite.
Wow, well that’s just ridiculous. Regardless of how I feel about you or how differing our opinions are… can you see me posting that to one of your comments?
I know you are going to tell me about your history with this guy and blah blah blah…. Above you are saying you are no longer a child yet here you do this?
TRS86. i wasn’t talking to you, that other hypocrite …
LOL yeah I know you were not. But again when I saw your name on here I had hoped you had matured. At times some of your comments it appears you have yet then you make ones like the one above and totally disrespect the comments you have that are actually worthwhile.
Thing is how many players that have 30/100 have a bad OPS? LOL.
To me if Bay comes in goes the following
.298 .398 .480 . 878 with 20 HR and 90 RBI I would be jumping for joy….
that’s another dumb, dumb, dumb concept.
Don’t worry about who’s on base and how they got there. As long as there are human bodies on those bases Jason Bay has to drive them in and since he’s a middle of the order guy COMMON SENSE WILL TELL YOU THAT THE GUYS AHEAD OF HIM SHOULD BE GOOD HITTERS.
I don’t care if 3 rookies making there only season appearance are on base
I don’t care if 3 pitchers are on base – as long as Jason Bay does his job and drives them in is all i care about.
This concept of diminishing the VALUE of the talent of being able to drive in runs because you want to concern yourself with the people in front of him is so stupid I don’t know where to begin. If he’s batting 4th or 5th then the guys in front of him are batting 1-3 or 1-4 and good hitters, relative to the team they’re on, will be in those spots.
The same people who worry about that nonsense are the same people who accept losing while praying at the foot of Sandy Alderson
So, you agree that a high RBI total requires base runners in front of the hitter?
- and to catch a TD you need the quarterback to throw it.
- and to protect your QB you need a good defensive line.
That’s sports
This is getting dumber and dumber and dumber. Unbelievable.
Duhhhhhhh u need someone on base to get an RBI duhhhhhhh
and yet you have such a hard time realizing it.
Since now you agree that base runners are a requirement for a high RBI total, do you think that maybe RBI total may be a deceptive number when determining a hitter’s prowess? Wouldn’t it be better to look at exactly what the hitter himself did to drive in those runs?
don’t put words in my mouth you stinkin’ wise ass. That’s not what i’m saying at all you piece of garbage. That’s why i despise responding to any awful smelling stench that emits from the direction from the hole in your face that acts as a mouth.
I’m passed the “How does baseball work” or “How does basketball work” or “how does football work” we all learned how all sports work when we were little kids.
So now you’re saying you don’t need baseunners to have a high RBI total?
So confusing.
the thing is, when I was a little kid, I realized RBI total is an inaccurae way to determine a hitter’s prowess. And this was long before Billy Beane or Moneyball. Michael Lewis was still in college I think. Odd how a Real Baseball Man like you can’t seem to wrap his head around
RBI= base runners + good hitters and that the more you have of one of the addends, the higher the sum is going to be.
LOL OPS is not even necessarily a Saber stat. It is just good to compare different offensive talents.
OPS gets the assumptions out of the way. Of course in theory the 1-3 hitters should get on if you play for a good team… you just said if you play for a good team. What if Pagan and Tejada are the 1-2 hitters next year and they struggle. Will that not affect the RBI opportunities that Bay has? Isn’t it feasible he could have a year with 30 HR and RBI’s in the 80′s?
It’s a two way here. They are so closely related I don’t really care to start that debate.
Generally because you need a good OPS to get lots of RBI. That and for guys to get on base for you.
and as for this silly, silly, silly talk of Kirk in CF – let me see him play FIRST in Spring Training then I’ll give you my assessment of Capt. Kirk.
Obviously you can’t slot him in anywhere. But at this point because of Bay and Duda wouldn’t you agree if there is a hole/potential vacancy it is most likely in CF?
Here’s wright on losing reyes:
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/36892/david-wright-on-losing-jose-reyes
So what is your reaction to that Alex?
“Unclutch response by Wright”
Shut up hypocrite
LOL but no seriously I want to know the reaction to the article.
I kind of wonder what would happen if the mets turned around and offered Wright the 5/90 to tear up the last year + option he has left?
I know you weren’t asking me specifically but don’t you think his words there were a little telling? As in ‘I’ll play out my 2 years and then I can get off this sinking ship or if I’m real lucky, they’ll go into full rebuilding and get me out of here next July’?
LOL….but seriously…..first time I ever heard Wright say something like ‘play out my 2 years and go from there’ type comments.
LMFAO!
TRS86 no reaction, just being helpful and posting a link… in here we all try to help, except for a few jerks this site is pretty cool to be a part of..
“cuz we’re the 3 best friends that anybody could have!”
There’s only a few jerks? Has “the core” shrunk again?
are you kidding, the met fans are in hiding because of your lover sandy, more people are with the core than with your leader sandy. if you notice for the most part it is only blog writers defending the mets because they want more bs conference calls with sandy and they think they can keep the mets relevant. met fans are bleeding faster than the wilpons are bleeding cash and you have your hero to thank. in case you forget your anti winning anti world series leader.
Not that I am a big Metsblog fan, you did notice that 70% over 10,000 fans voted that the Mets should not have matched the offer?
what do you expect, that is the blind leading the blind over there. anyway i was referring to the direction of the team since sandyball took over, nothing but recycled trash pickups and a anti winning meanally, jessep and donal type of baseball.
“your anti winning anti world series leader.”
anti world series?
Is that like the World Series for dark matter or something?
and does anti winning it mean you win the regular World Series?
Or are you saying Alderson is against the post season playoff system that determines the champion? Is he trying to implement a BCS system for baseball?
Well go back and read it again and try to come up with one… LOL.
As for you Jessup, y’all stop this crap so I can read. I feel like my day teaching 9th grade has not stopped.
Bayonne, Bay has been useless for HRs and RBI production since he has been here. So ignore every summary stat, by that measure, he has been worthless.
He has also played a solid LF, but no, he is not the best defensive LF the Mets have ever had.
And I will guarantee that short of a miracle revitalization of his career, he will be getting platooned this year (at least semi-platooning). And if some LH bat steps up, it will happen a lot sooner than you might think.
oh, and in case you forgot, last year, JASON BAY GOT BENCHED A FEW TIMES. I put it in caps so you would not miss it. Yes, he got sat down for some stretches to try and clear his head, find himself, or some such psycho babble way of saying he sucked.
If the FO was willing to let Reyes walk, you honestly think they are afraid to platoon bay, or shift him to RF? You are big on defense, so you should be championing the idea of putting the best defensive squad ont he field.
Last couple of years, Bay made Castillo look like a silver slugger vs. RHP. No particular reason to assume that won’t continue, and if it does, he should only be facing LHP, and that has nothing to do with his option.
When hitters are in prolonged slumps they always get benched so that’s nothing new in baseball history. What the hell is wrong with you?
Who was a better defensive LFer than Bay in Mets history? Kevin McReynolds? Name one
In case you forgot the fences are being lowered and moved in.
BUT HE WILL NOT BE PLATOONING. PERIOD. I capitalized that in case you missed it because you always seem to be missing it.
Have any new “creative accounting” ideas for us?
At what point does it stop being a slump and you just face the fact that the guy can’t hit his weight?
2 years of ineptitude is past being a slump. this is not a star having a couple rough weeks and getting a day off as a breather.
I honestly can’t see why you are so sure they are going to keep running him out there every day if he is sucking, especially knowing he has a a vesting option based on PAs.
hell, he may skip platooning and go straight to DFA if his bat doesn’t come back to life..
like I said, if the team will let Reyes walk, they sure as hell won’t worry about hurting bays feelings.
and you are (rightly) all about winning, so if putting Bay in RF and only having him face LHP makes the team better (as in, win more) they certainly should do it.
If the lowered fences and shortened fences don’t help jumpstart Bay than we’re witnessing the end of a career most likely and in that case he’s not going to be platooning he’ll just lose his job most likely
Yes K-Mac way better than Bay.He was a CF playing LF.
Nice job yet again. Thank you.
So are the top five Nimmo, Wheeler, Harvey, Familia, and Mejia is some order or will we be surprised with someone else bumping one of these five guys off the top five list?
“…Nimmo, Wheeler, Harvey, Familia, and Mejia is some order…”
I meant “…*in* some order…”. Just a typo.
C’mon AV, don’t spoil the “surprise”! Lol