11
2012
MMO Mailbag: Is Jordany Valdespin A 2013 Starter?
An article by 
JetsMets13 asks…
Is Jordany Valdespin an everyday player for us next season and is he finished as a second baseman?
Sean replies…
No – and it will all be tied to his lack of plate discipline. Valdespin provided plenty of late-inning heroics as well as pinch-hitting power, but struck out in nearly 25% of his AB’s and only walked in 4.9% of his AB’s. Valdespin is easily fooled with breaking pitches, and swings for the fences every time. While conducive to power hitters with decent contact abilities – it is not conducive to a guy who swings as hard at a belt-high fastball as he does at a splitter in the dirt.
Defensively, Valdespin has no real home. At shortstop, he had a horrible season, at second he played decent, but received most of his play in the OF. Valdespin is raw in every aspect of defense from route-running to throwing, but his athleticism will keep him with the big club.
Valdespin will remain on the 2013 Mets team due to his utility status, speed and power-potential while he learns some plate-discipline and backs up nearly every position on the field minus catcher, first and third.
About the Author: Sean Kenny
Sean Kenny is a student/writer currently attending school at the City College of New York. For more Mets news, notes and thoughts follow him on twitter @TheSeanKenny
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he has power and could be a very important utility guy for us
Member of the team? Sure why not. He can be our Roger Bernadina.
Starter? Sure the hell hope not.
Agree with Sean’s opinion here on Valdespin. Starter, not even close right now.
Hell just turn him into the catcher, LOL.
Utility guy or Trade Bait.
Valdespin is a prima Dona bitch. I count down the days until he is traded away. And no…he’s not a starter.
That’s a little excessive. If he cut down on the strikeouts and fielded well, would you being saying the same thing?
yup…he’s a prima donna…the same way Ike Davis is “aloof”
Why?
Cuz Matt Cerrone said so
Impossible question to answer either way until Spring Training comes
I completely agree though I think it’s unlikely. Time will tell.
If Murphy is traded this off-season, like many speculate, he may get a chance to start at second base…who knows though at this point.
i honestly dont think murph is going anywhere…
for the next 2 years, he is pretty cheap…cost-controllable…and if he has a breakout year….will have much more trade value come July…
personally i like murph…he’s not the most athletic player….but he when he is on fire…he is damn near money in the clutch…and he always gives 100%…
it sounds like im talking out the david eckstein school of scrappy over-achievers…but Murph truly is a beast when he is on his game
No player is as bad as they look when they are going bad and no player is as good as they look when they are playing good. I think Mets fans tend to overreact and throw young players under the bus too quickly. Valdespin is an intriguing young player because of his blend of power and speed. He works out with Robinson Cano in the offseason and gets advice from Jose Reyes. My guess is he is going to be the Mets second baseman next year. The Mets need to get speed from somewhere and will provide better defense at second and I look to the Mets to start focusing on pitching and defense. I expect Murphy to get traded and what makes it easier for the Mets to let Murphy go in a trade is they have Justin Turner in the wings if Valdespin crashes and burns. I expect both Murphy and Duda to be gone.
among the young mets, Valdespin is the fastest one…also the one with the most raw power…the one who can play all 3 OF positions…
so of course some met fans will make up some BS that doesnt matter ( his attitude ) in favor of some gritty unathletic player who works hard at hitting .250 with 9 HR’s over 640 AB’s…
then said player will blossom somewhere else, and we’ll all say he couldnt handle NY
LMAO @ Met fans
the problem with valdespin isn’t any of that though, it’s that he never walks.
LMAO
they said the same thing about Jose Reyes….he led ALL MLB SS in BB in 2007…
they said the same thing about Carlos Gomez…the Brewers are pretty happy with Mr. Gomez
and again…VALDESPIN IS A ROOKIE !!!!!
Valdespin has the best combination of POWER AND SPEED…now he doesnt “walk” enough…he walks around the bases pretty well when he’s banging HR’s
For all of you that think that Valdespin does not walk enough his percentage of walks isn’t that much different than Murphy or Tejada and may be if he was getting consistent playing time at his natural position of second base may be he would calm down his approach.
Valdespin surely had some good moments but he is a dumb player!
Trade him!