16
2012
Valdespin Playing Right Field During Winter Ball, What It Means For The Mets
An article by 
Adam Rubin of ESPN tweeted yesterday that Jordany Valdespin would be playing right field in the Dominican Winter League. This went against what most believed – that Valdespin would be playing second base this winter. I recently did an end of the year review for Valdespin on another Mets website, so this is the perfect time for me to share my perspective on what this means for the Mets in 2013.
My Thoughts on Valdespin
Valdespin is easily the Mets most athletic player right now. When you factor in Valdespin’s athleticism, the notion that the transition from the middle-infield to the outfield is usually a much easier transition than trying to transition to the outfield from other positions on the diamond, and the fact that the Mets are in dire need of outfielders, it seems like a no-brainer that Valdespin would continue to be transitioned to the outfield. The minute I heard the news, I started thinking that if Valdespin is playing right field during winter ball, it must mean that the Mets are committed to Daniel Murphy as their second baseman of the future.
Transitioning Valdespin to the outfield seems like the exact thing the Mets should do, if they are truly intent on building from within, and sticking with the moneyball philosophy. The issue with Valdespin is that he isn’t the prototypical moneyball type player. He doesn’t get on base a lot. In fact, during his 2012 campaign, he had just as many strike outs as he had hits. His on-base percentage is awful. With his speed, his primary goal should be getting on base, but he only drew ten walks in 2012. That being said, he showed some nice power (broke the team’s pinch hit homerun record), and ability to get some clutch hits. His athleticism and pop had fans drooling in 2012.
Is Valdespin in the outfield the right move?
As an everyday player, Valdespin could have a 20/30 season in his sleep. He has tons of potential if he could be more patient at the plate. He is aggressive to a fault. In that respect, he reminds me a lot of Jose Reyes when he was first breaking into the big leagues. Once Reyes started working the count and getting on base more, he was a much more effective player. The same can be said for Valdespin. During winter ball, the goal should be to get Valdespin to take more pitches, and work the count in his favor. The Mets already have gone on record as saying that will be the team’s offensive philosophy going forward, so Valdespin will have to “buy in” if he wants to have significant playing time.
Transitioning Valdespin to the outfield is absolutely the right move. His speed and athleticism make a perfect fit for an outfield position. He has shown enough flashes in 2012 to think that he could be a major contributor to the Mets in 2013. Don’t be surprised if Valdespin eventually wins a starting job at some point either. I also like the move because it frees up the Mets to try and move Ike Davis, which has been a hot topic since early September. Valdespin is a much better option to play a corner outfield position than Lucas Duda, who then could move to his natural position of first base.
The Mets have already said that they do not expect to go after any free-agents to fill in their outfield this off-season. That could mean one of two things – they either make a trade to fill some of those gaps, or they fill the gaps from within the organization. Having Valdespin transition to the outfield only strengthens the Mets position to do both of those things. The importance of Valdespin making this transition should not underestimated by fans who want to see Valdespin take over at second base.
My Valdespin Prediction
Valdespin wins the right field job out of spring training. He has a confidence level that I love to see in players, and I think the Mets will have a very solid player at their disposal if they can get him to buy into the offensive philosophy. When it’s all said and done, he may be their best option for right field next year – partly due to the fact that he may be one of the only options when it is all said and done. I would love to see what he could do if he worked the counts into his favor a little more, and got a chance to play everyday at the big league level. Worst case scenario, he will have a similar role as he did in 2012, and the Mets will have a very good bat coming off the bench and a solid fourth outfielder. The problem is the Mets already have enough of those.
You can Follow Mitch Petanick on Twitter for more New York Mets and baseball insights by clicking here.
About the Author: Mitch Petanick
26 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
MMO Mets Chat
Recent Comments
- Djmurphy: on Wilmer Flores: It’s Time For Another MLB Debut: This guy is a hitting machine. When...
- Djmurphy: on Wilmer Flores: It’s Time For Another MLB Debut: Trade murph his value has nvr been...
- Fonzie13: on Mateo Had Tommy John Surgery This Week: This sucks. I'm just as high on...
- Russell's Mets: on Marcum Can’t Find Win Column As Mets Fall To Braves 5-3: Now you're just trolling, Giants won...
- Russell's Mets: on Marcum Can’t Find Win Column As Mets Fall To Braves 5-3: a 22 year old playing in low...
Latest From Mets Minors
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1334 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
hey Mitch – good to see you hangin in there and writing still
This reminds me a little bit of the 2B situation the Mets had 2 years ago when they basically brought in any warm blooded person to try and earn the job. (Emaus!)
It makes sense to put Spin there for now but I cannot say I have confidence in him. He looked to me like a great pinch hitter, not an everyday hitter.
I have to say, I hate the idea of trading Ike for the sake of moving Duda to 1B. Hate it. Duda is going to be the LF – that’s the plan.
He’s not a better hitter than Ike and he’s certainly not a better fielder – if they are looking to deal one then I’d rather them deal Duda to somebody who wants him as their 1B.
Mitch, thanks for writing, this site needs writer like you to write more articles more often. We all know some of the people who write here usually write garbage
With that being said, I think he somehow will be on the team because hairston probably priced himself out of sandy’s range. he’s not coming back regardless, so you’ll need as many bodies to man the OF he weakend in less than 2 years by trading away an AS MVP type player and a very good and serviceable pagan. Now we may see a bunch of guys trying to compete for the job, luckily we won’t be in the same position we were a few years ago of drafting pure garbage out of the Rule V and having a guy (Eamus) who suck (Eamus) to be shove down our throats just because he fit perfectly their phylosophy of walking and having a good OBP.
There are major flaws in your thoughts about Valdespin……Much like Jose Reyes was, Valdespin was all about speed and athleticism. The difference was that Reyes had a position in the field and was outstanding there. Jordany however is not a good defensive player and worse than that has shown that he is not baseball smart.
The Mets are not playing him in RF to move Duda to 1B. Duda, can hit but he is not the player that Ike Davis is, so if anyone is going to be traded it is Duda
Playing him in RF in winter ball does not translate into the starting job come opening day. His power numbers are misleading. Most of the long balls were against pitchers who had no book on him. Once the word went out on him….he was swinging wildly and looking bad!
Send him packing!
I compared him offensively to Reyes when he first broke into the major leagues regarding his aggressiveness at the plate – I never compared them defensively or even alluded that he was as good of a player.
Based on my memory and stats V-Spin is K’ing at a much more alarming rate than Reyes was when he came up.
I never remember seeing Reyes swing from his heels in every AB regardless of the situation.
Again it was a comparison to his AGGRESSIVENESS only
he is also 6 years older, so much lower odds that he is actually going to change/develop now.
Actually quite he opposite…he doesn’t lack skill he lacks mental maturity which should actually improve as he gets older. Valdespin is his own worst enemy.
“He looked to me like a great pinch hitter, not an everyday hitter.”
Agreed, also he is most likely learning to play the OF to be a good utility player which is about what I see. I hope I am wrong and that he develops into a great player but that hack and miss attitude and inability to play solid defense at any position…
More or less my same opinion of Valdy as well.
I have less of a problem with him being an every day RF then I do right now seeing his bat in the line-up every day. He needs much work at the plate yet.
Personally I see no point in him being a RF. He isn’t going to have the defense or the arm (especially the arm) to warrant his bat in RF. At least Duda could get it back to the IF.
How do you know he isn’t going to have the defense? It’s really not a difficult transition to move from middle-infield to an outfield position and that is coming from direct experience. If he was a corner infielder I wouldn’t agree with the move to the OF, but he’s a dynamic athletic player that should have no problem with moving to the outfield. The reason they are starting him off in RF is because its the easiest outfield position to play and thus gain outfield experience. If what you say about his arm being too weak for right field is true, he will eventually settle in left field.
Valdespin has tons of potential if he can get it together mentally. He has what seems to me a very immature approach to the game…but if he gets it together he can be an excellent player. This winter can be a huge stepping stone for him.
You obviously have never seen Valdespin play the OF…his first day in the OF he threw a bullet to Daniel Murphy to throw out a guy trying to stretch a single into a double…
of course Murphy mishandled the throw…but still…Valdespin is probably the MOST athletic player in our ENTIRE ORGANIZATION.
He doesnt remind me of Reyes as much as he does of Carlos Gomez. It took Gomez til age 28 to get it together..
Spin acts like he has Dave Kingman ideas on the first pitch. He swings all out as if he’s going to relive his earler-in-the-year successes before teams had a book on him. It’s possible for him to develop all-star numbers offensively. It’s hard to tell what he’ll become because he’s so immature. Time will tell but Terry may get tired of him. If so, 23 skidoo.
Good, provocative article Mitch.
Spin can look terrific. Spin can look terrible. Sometimes in the same game. It’s going to be interesting to see which characterization prevails. In the meantime, we Mets fans had better fasten our seat belts to witness the Spin2013 version.
could this be as simple as Dominican winter teams play guys where they need them/want to play them, and not where the parent club tells them to? Meaning that it could have nothing to do with the Mets plans for next year (or Spin in particular).
Me, let him come try to win a job. But Duda (if still here) will be over in LF, and no longer has anything to do with the RF opening. Nor does Ike, since he is not going out there.
I don’t think based on what he showed this year that Spin could possibly be a starting RF next season, but I suppose stranger things have happened. Hell, if I was going to put him out there, I would rather he was in CF since at least he has speed.
Winter ball is for development, and where these guys are positioned is where the parent club wants them to play. I think having him play RF says a lot about their plans for Spin
Is Patience a virtue? Not in Spins case. Valdy actually worked the count after he was called back from the minors and was noticeabily less dynamic and effective. He is not a leadoff or a 2 hole hitter. As a 7 slot hitter he can hit doubles and let the eighth place hitter become more effective by getting fastballs to hit with Valdys threat to steal. Maybe 8th place gut walks to clear the pitches spot. Also Valdys power could drive in runners from middle of the lineup. Valdy a poor man’s Ron Gant type. I’ll tke it.
I love your analysis and agree 100%
I see more Mookie type aggression than Early Reyes myself but not much of a difference really.
Some interesting stats that could be telling here are:
Times facing an opponent:
SP 1st – 50PA .133BA 5BB 11K .220OBP .311SLG
SP 2nd – 35PA .235BA 0BB 8K .235OBP .265 SLG
SP 3rd – 25PA .522BA 1BB 2K .560OBP .739SLG
It tends to suggest that the more he sees of a Pitcher the better he gets and perhaps the more PAs he gets in the MLB the better he might get in general as far as hitting goes.
Tough to say with such a smal sample size exactly what he is at this point or what he might be.
Most of what people liked about him came as a PH which fits his hitting style better as Relievers are all about the fastball and strikes where a starter is about setting you up not just for this AB but for later PAs as well.
I hope you’re right about Valdespin…. but we’re still way too left handed. Part of that will be solved, though, because I think they are going to use Ike Davis as a trade chip and move Duda to 1B. WAIT A MINUTE… WE’RE STILL TOO LEFT HANDED!!!
Good breakdown here Mitch. Would you say then that Valdespin playing RF is a sign that the Mets no longer feel he can play CF or is it more about having more options?
The one thing that stands out about V-Spin in 2012 was that he was hitting well those weeks before they sent Duda down and from the day they sent Duda down V-Spin just stopped hitting. It left me wondering if under the pressure of maybe him thinking he has to step up with them having sent Duda down could have affected him or was it the league catching up to hom or a little of both?
I don’t think he is ready defensively for centerfield just yet…although I could see him eventually being utilized in centerfield. I think some of his offensive collapse in 2012 was a result of pressing – trying to do too much, just as you alluded. Some of his offensive woes are simply a result of his aggressiveness – which is why he looked foolish on many of his swings in 2012 as has been pointed out by other commenters in this thread. Valdespin is really his own worst enemy. He can continue to try and hit the ball out of the park on every swing, and he will be nothing more than a pinch hitter…or he can mature as a hitter, be more patient, and be an integral part of the Mets success in 2013 and beyond. It’s really up to him…but the ability is definitely there.
I also think they have plans to put Kirk in Center where he can help both Corner OFers cover ground.
Metsie I think with Valdy at right,Duda Left field Sandy will try for a Center Fielder with pop.He will use Kirk as a backup forall of them. Short on funds the rest of money will go to Bullpen.
Well Jerry I think if they get an OF with Pop where he plays will determine where the others fall into place.
The real problem is all of the guys we are talking about are LHB. Thats the biggest problem right now.
I am not sure they will find or afford anyone with any real pop and will look more towards a Hairston type that they can platoon Duda with and then if Duda manages to put together a decent season move the platoon RHB to RF with Valde.