thats like calling Matt Den Dekker the next Josh Thole

Last year in spring training, he didn’t do so well, although he hit a lot of balls foul really, really hard. One thing I noticed was that he appeared a little too busy in the batter’s box while during the pitcher’s wind-up.

One other thing I noticed was that he has a “tall” batting stance. I thought that if he shifted his weight back just a little, “sat back” just a bit, he would quiet down in the batters box and be able to use his legs a little more to drive the ball.

But he really appears to have natural skills, which will become more prominent as he matures physically, like when he’s 27, 28, etc… I’m really looking forward to seeing him at the ML level.

Willie Mays Hayes!!!

He’s a natural outfielder and, by analogy, reminds me of Jeff Keppinger. I recall in 2004 or so, Keppinger hit .340 and everyone said he was limited defensively, didn’t have any pop in his bat, etc… He’s had a fine major league career. When I saw Keppinger play, I didn’t see any of the defensive deficits that others were talking about. He appeared sure-handed and anticipated well, but wasn’t producing web gems like his weak-hitting counterpart, Anderson Hernandez.

I consider Lagares in the same vein. He’s a smooth, if unspectacular ball player that will extend innings with his bat, and make key defensive plays in the outfield. Over time, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with a .300 avg., 30+ doubles, 5+ triples, and 10-15 homers with an OPS that scrapes .800. Take those numbers and add effective base running and solid defensive play, and you’ve got yourself a solid MLB outfielder.

That’s my 2 cents on Lagares.

Since the Mets haven’t spent money really since 2009, think about where they’d be if Sandy didn’t trade Beltran and Dickey…

This year, they’d have RA, and a great rotation, but nothing on the horizon to point at and say there’s a chance they’ll win consistently any time soon. They sure weren’t going to resign Carlos.

Now, they don’t have RA, but the rotation is surely not the weakness of this team and they have 2 of the top 10 prospects in the game. One is the best catching prospect in the game and the other is a future ace…hopefully.

Also, they got another future ace in Syndergaard who placed within the top 30 prospects in the game.

Without those two trades, when mlb’s top 100 prospects came out, they wouldn’t have had a single player on it. There would be zero hope for the future.

Now, imagine Aldy actually drafted the best players available in the last two first rounds.

but the guy does seem to have a bunch of talent.