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2011
MMO Top 20 Mets Prospects – #7 Juan Lagares, OF
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The Mets first signed Juan Lagares out of the Dominican Republic as an IFA in 2006, just two months after his 17th birthday. At the time Lagares was a highly regarded hitter who also happened to be a shortstop. He spent that first professional summer learning the basics in the Dominican Summer League. The smart move for 2007 would have been to start Lagares out in rookie ball, since he was only 18. But the man calling the shots at the time for the Mets, Tony Bernazard, has never been accused of being very smart.
Bernazard’s legacy as Met farm director is not a good one. He not only had a terrible attitude, and used to bully and intimidate the young players, but he habitually promoted the young prospects in the system far too aggressively, and is probably responsible for ruining more than his share of promising careers. Current players like top prospects Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores, Jefry Marte, Jenrry Mejia, and Cesar Puello were all rushed through the lower levels of the minor leagues, and as a result, their development has slowed to a crawl. This is the reason why Lagares has spent so many nondescript seasons toiling away in the minors, in absolute obscurity, before breaking out in a huge way in 2011.
In 2007 the Mets started Lagares out as an 18-year-old, in Savannah, where the average age of a player in the South Atlantic League is 21 to 22. As a result, he hit only .210 that year, and played horribly at shortstop, posting a .911 Fielding %. The next year was split between Savannah and Brooklyn, but Lagares didn’t fair much better, batting a combined .253, and a .938 Fielding % at short. At this point the decision was made to move Lagares to the outfield for the 2009 season.
Now 20-years-old, Lagares was still overmatched at Savannah in 2009. He batted .274 that year but had practically zero extra base hits. In 168 AB’s he had only 6 2B’s, 2 3B’s, 0 HR’s, and 13 RBI’s. In 2010 he started to put up some decent numbers playing most of the year at Savannah and finishing up with a stint in the Florida State League at St. Lucie. In 423 combined AB’s that year, he hit .279 while scoring 58 runs, with 118 hits, 18 2B’s, 9 3B’s, 7 HR’s, 55 RBI’s, and 25 SB’s, all career highs.
And then, it was 2011. The season opened for Lagares in St. Lucie and the guy started raking, big time. In 308 AB’s he scored 51 runs, and compiled 104 hits with 15 2B’s, 6 3B’s, 7 HR’s, 49 RBI’s, and posted a slash-line of .338/.380/.494. This led to a promotion to AA Bingo in July, where he played for the remainder of the season. Normally the jump from high A ball to AA is considered the toughest transition to make for a minor leaguer, but in Lagares’ case it was easy as falling off a log, and he simply got better. In 162 AB’s at AA, Lagares batted a cool .370, with a .391 OBP, and a .512 SLG%. His totals for the season: 470 AB’s, 72 runs, 164 hits, 26 2B’s, 9 3B’s, 9 HR’s, 71 RBI’s, 15 SB’s, and a combined slash of .349/.383/.500.
After having such an astounding season, the Mets rewarded Juan with a trip to the Arizona Fall League, where he played CF for the Peoria Javelinas. In 66 AB’s in Arizona Lagares continued to hit, batting .303, with 2 HR’s and 18 RBI’s. This winter he’ll be playing for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League.
Now aged 22, standing 6’1″ and 175 lbs., Lagares, who is a RH hitter, should open the season at AAA Buffalo. Playing in the same outfield as Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Adam Loewen, and FMart. A similar performance as last season should get him to Queens at some point next year, especially with the way this Mets team is stagnating this winter. This pathetic excuse for a big league team can use all the help it can get.
Lagares has a fairly good throwing arm, and although he is not a “burner”, has above average speed. He’s still adjusting to the OF, but the recent time he has spent in CF is something the Mets must watch and consider very carefully, to see if that could be a permanent landing spot for him. He really doesn’t profile too well as an everyday corner outfielder, due to lack of HR power, and he isn’t ideal for CF either because his speed is just adequate for the position. The most likely scenario for Lagares at this point could be as a fourth outfielder in the big leagues. That way he would not be exposed by playing everyday, yet his speed and bat coming off the bench could be a very valuable asset.
Juan Lagares Video Link: Swing
Check back on Monday when we unveil the #6 ranked player on our list!
2012 MMO Top 20 Prospects
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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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 25 | 18 | .581 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 21 | .523 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 23 | .477 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 17 | 24 | .415 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 12 | 32 | .273 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/19/2013
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Dark horse in CF?
So, for all his promise, he’s a 4th OF? ick.
Lagares is a stud imo, but he needs to gain some weight.. he’s lenghty and even though he’s 6’1 it appears he’s longer.. the kid will be good, i really hope to see or vaughn become part of the mets for years to come… thanks as usual for this report petey…
You are right Alex, Lagares has plenty of room to grow, not in height, but he should put on a bit more muscle once his body fills out. He’s still only 22 which is nice. The interesting thing is that now that he has caught up in age, to his competition, his skills are starting to emerge on the playing field.
He’s still only 22 but remember once a MiL player gets past the age of 24 his chances of a long MLB career diminish.
That gives him two years to get promoted.
There are plenty of studies that show the younger you get into the MLB the longer your career is likely to be.
I think he can do it personally but with the way things are around here, chances are more liekly we will trade him before he starts his first MLB game.
Lagares 2011 was very impressive and if he can have a good spring and build on it in Buffalo next year he could very well see some action in the bigs at some point during 2012.
The ability to stick in CF will be important for Lagares value, if he can’t he’s probably a 4th OF as the article says, but if his play in CF is good enough he could be an every day player at some point.
I’d also like to see him increas his walk rate since it will be hard to sustain his .439 BABIP from AA last year.
Hopefully Juan follows up 2011 with another big year.I’m not too concerned with his HR power if he comes anywhere near his 349/383/500 slash at the big league level that will more than suffice.
Power is great but if the kid can maintain a near .300 BA then the power isn’t all that important!
We shouldn’t try and pigeon hole these kids to say he SHOULD do this and that.
It should come down to can he hit for average and play a position well enough to get into the lineup without costing you.
Murphy is a fine example of this. If not for Davis or Wright Murphy would be an everyday player right now! There would be no question about it!
And where his glove is suspect now would not be an issue with two years of regular play and one position. Improving your fielding is not that hard to do!
Well Pete you made some interesting notes there.
While it is common for people to say we rush and promote too quickly some kids the fact that promoting Lagares (despite his numbers at the time) actually helped him to improve on those numbers.
It does tend to show that looking at the stats from any level are maybe not as relevant as other things that can be seen in the player that merit promoting.
Each Level has it’s own focus and target for training.The lower levels work on Mechanical purity while others focus on other aspects like plate discipline. And while the numbers may not on the outside look good to us it might just be that the kid got what the focus was and showed he was ready to move on as he was good at what they focused on.
Gee once said something similar about his rise though the minors and noted that in one level they focused on mechanics and pitch location and not giving up hits. They didn’t care if you walked the guy just as long as you showed you could nibble and locate. Then when he got promoted it was all about throwing strikes and not walking people. SO he just threw strikes and got promoted again.
If you do what they ask you to do in the Minors they move you up regardless of the numbers it would seem.
And considering Lagares has done better as he moved up it just goes to show the numbers are not really important until you get to AA and AAA. And even then good AAA numbers still does not prove you will have good numbers in the MLB.
At some point the kid has learned all YOU can teach him (that doesn’t mean someone else couldn’t make him better) and it’s time to promote him and give him his shot!
That is more about knowing the player than merely his stat line!
I don’t know what will happen with Lagares in the future but he does appear to be rising to the occassion whenever he is given a bigger challenge and that can only be a good thing!
I agree Metsie, you make some very valid points, thanks for your comments!
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