7
2013
Prospect Pulse: Analyzing Second Base Prospect Reese Havens
An article by 
Player Name: Reese Havens
Bats: L Throws: R
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 195 lb.
Position: Second Base
Age: 26
MMO Top Prospect Ranking: NR
ETA: 2013
Background:
There’s not much that I can tell you about Reese Havens that you probably don’t already know. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of the University of South Carolina. Many experts thought he would go on to have the best career of any Mets player drafted in 2008. We are still waiting for him to live up to those expectations.
Everyone knows Havens’ story: tons of talent, can’t stay healthy. Even in a NY Times interview last March, Havens’ father was shocked that the injury bug has bitten Reese during his professional career, because he had never been affected by injuries in the previous years. Brent Havens, Reese’s father, said this about his son’s injuries:
It has been extremely uncanny, the injuries he’s had, because he was never hurt as a youngster. His high school and college careers were basically injury-free. And if he did have an injury, he always healed quickly.
Even Havens’ father can’t seem to figure out what is going on with the string of injuries Havens has suffered the past few years. Hopefully that is all put behind him now, and he can get his career back on track.
Analysis:
There are some Mets fans out there that seem about ready to give up on Reese Havens. I’ve seen some people go as far as saying that he isn’t a prospect anymore. My response is: thank goodness these people don’t work in the Mets organization. I would really hate to see the Mets give up on this kid and then have him turn out to be a superstar with some other team. When the Mets added him to the 40-man roster this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, it showed the baseball world that the Mets still believed in his talent.
And what’s not to believe in? So what the guy had a couple of nagging injuries. That doesn’t mean he can’t play. Look at this quote from Terry Collins, regarding Havens, from that same NY Times article noted earlier:
“He’s one of those guys where you just know the ceiling. If we can get him in the lineup, he’s going to play in the big leagues.”
Terry Collins doesn’t seem worried that Havens won’t be a big leaguer, so why should the fan base?
Havens is a gamer. He oozes baseball talent. He has a solid glove, hits for average and has a ton of power for a second baseman. He also gets on base, and has great patience. He has all the attributes you want in a player. In 2012, Reese may have still been recovering from a back ailment. He may have only hit .215 last season, but his OBP was .340 because he had 58 walks. That’s promising.
What is also promising is his 2011 season where he displayed mastery at the Double-A level hitting for a .289 average, and a .372 OBP across 58 games. Don’t look into 2012 too much, because when it comes to back injuries, it tends to take a season to really feel comfortable again swinging the bat.
This is where I’m going to start making bold statements. But don’t worry, I stand by all of them and believe them to be true. If Terry Collins announced tomorrow that there would be an open competition for the Mets starting second base job this spring, there is no doubt in my mind that Havens would beat out Daniel Murphy on his sheer talent alone. The Mets are dying to get an excuse to get this guy to the big leagues. There’s been a lot of talk of Wilmer Flores converting to second base of late, but it’s surely a backup plan for if Havens never nips this injury bug. Havens is the real deal. He just has to get on the field and prove it.
Age is just a number. Don’t look at his age as being a negative. The guy can play ball, and it shouldn’t matter how old he is if he can help the Mets win. Havens is the future second baseman of the Mets. Murphy is just a stop-gap, and the minute Havens is ready (which won’t be long), he will be showing everyone why he was a first-round selection in 2008. You might want to pre-order to Reese Havens jerseys now, because it’s going to be a hot seller in the very near future.
Havens will get his career back on track in 2013, because guys with his kind of baseball ability just don’t go away. He is my sleeper prospect for 2013. He has top ten prospect ability, and will start the season with Triple-A, but don’t be surprised if he gets called up as early as May (if he performs up to his potential in spring training). He may not have many minor league at-bats under his belt, but mark my words, he’s ready…if he can stay on the field.
For more Mets minor league and prospect coverage, you can follow me on Twitter @FirstPitchMitch.
About the Author: Mitch Petanick
Mitch is currently an Editor and Minor League Analyst for Mets Merized Online. His baseball experience includes being a former All-Conference collegiate baseball player who had numerous professional tryouts, and he is currently a hitting instructor. He has been involved with the game of baseball for over 30 years now as a player, coach, and consultant. Mitch is also a former Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @FirstPitchMitch.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 24 | 18 | .571 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 20 | .535 | 1.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 32 | .256 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Great stuff Mitch. I always thought this kid had ‘special’ marked on him. He’s like a gym rat in basketball. The injuries are freak. The talent is there. If healthy, He’s better then Murphy. Better glove, more power, Good eye, classic stroke, leadership capabilities…hope they don’t give up and give him away…
Ahhh yes, ceiling… talent.. stud… minors. all of that doesn’t translate success in the bigs though right? We’ve seen many kids who have “IT” but somehow don’t find it in the majors or even lose it in the minors. that’s basically the life of over 80% of prospects in the minors.
I agree Alex. But hope the ‘kid’ has turned the corner health wise. Baseball is results oriented…but i’d like this kid to make it, with us. Another asset can only give the bufoon GM more bullets to shoot whebn he decides to ‘unholster his weapon’ lol.
Fair enough… Lol
Mitch, I really hope you are right. I was really high on this guy early in his career, and still hope that he can come back all the way, but I am not holding out hope. Or more that I think he can, but doubt it will happen as a Met (if he doesn’t come up and take over 2B this year, he likely will have to do it with another team as a FA).
that initial rib injury (that hurt his ab/quad muscle) came at the worst possible time. He was destroying AA (something like 10 HRs in a short period), but got hurt just before Castillo went down. Otherwise IMO he would have been called up and installed at 2B (PT that ended up going to a very young Tejada Ibelieve).
I was really high on this guy early in his career”
Sounds like most of the mets prospects throughout the franchise history no?
I say if he starts doing well in the minors, trade him. we dont need him. we have plenty of potential second basemen coming up and for now, murphy is doing a very good job. Reese, in my opinion, has worn out his time in the mets organization
Jose Batista, Edwin Encarnarcion, Ryan Vogleslong, R.A Dickey, and Chase Headley, are just small examples of why not to give up on talent.
Glad to see other Reese Havens supporters here. I always thought that swing was too smooth and natural not to become a threat at the plate.
Looking at the 40-man roster crunch that is bubbling up, I think Reese gets DFA’d.
Hope not, but if he does, very possible he gets through waivers. especially if they time it right, when every team seems to be in the same crunch.
there are a few other guys that could go first I bet.
And sitll possible a trade can happen.
Well I always thought Havens would be here by now but he just can’t stay out of the doctors office…
Should we give up on him? Tough to say as Murphy seemingly has his position locked up and will continue to do so until he proves a liability there.
But there is more to this than just the loss of Havens to think about….
We all talk about the worry of rushing a kid to the MLB (not the case with Havens) but by the same token there is the risk you are holding back other players by giving some kid too long to get to where he is supposed to be and holding up everyone behind him due to lack of playing time.
We all love Flores as well but it’s clear he will not be playing 3B for us until after 2020 and the only spot left for him is 2B. If he gets promoted to AAA will he get the playing time he needs or have to share it with Havens?
Is that a GOOD thing to do with a guy who seemingly is on a track to the MLB in another year?
Do you stunt his development trying to salvage a promising pick from the past who has not lived up to that promise or merely based on a fear that if you traded him he could become what you thought and have someone else reap the reqards we seemingly could not?
There comes a time where you have to fish or cut bait. And as promising as a kid might be, taking too long and wasting too much time on him can have a ripple affect on all the guys picked after him at his position.
And then you risk ruining 5 picks in the name of saving one promising one.
I have no doubt that Havens will wind up in the MLB at some point. And I still believe he will be a good player when he finally gets there.
But you can’t wait forever for it to happen. Not at the expense of development of the other players in the system.
So we had better hope he develops to what he is capable of THIS year and from that decide if he makes Murphy a trade chip or becomes a trade chip himself.
But you can’t wait forever on this kid.
it should work out. Reese may have to start at AA. Plus, they plan to give Flores time at 3B and 2B, so they can both be in Vegas, and havens will either sit or DH when Flores plays 2B.
havens is already fine on defense, he relaly just needs to get the bat working, so DHing so Flores can have some starts at 2B isn’t going to hold him back.
A lot will depend on how they look in ST (Flores with the glove too, and both hitting)
But Van since Flores can’t possibly be of any use to us as a 3B and if 2B is ever going to be a position for him he should play 2B everyday to learn it better….
Hope you are right Mitch! I asked about Havens after you guys came out with your top 25 prospects list, and he wasn’t even an honorable mention, i figured everyone gave up on him, im glad im not the only one who still believes in him
His Swing reminds me of Robin Ventura.
Health is a skill Reece Havens does not have. Not going to happen for him.
BUST.
Murphy and Tejada are really stopgap athletes. Murphy has a great swing, but ultimately needs a position. Tejada needs some spinach in his bat. There’s nothing outstanding about him. Both are valuable bench players to a winning team.
Actually you are 100% WRONG.
Ruben Tejada can be a valuable starter on a championship team. Again what were Buddy Harrelson’s, Rey Ordonez’s, & Rafael Santana’s numbers while playing for some of your favorite Mets teams of all time?
That’s if you were even alive for any of those eras. I can just tell by this guy’s post he’s a stat goon who probably has blurred the line between fantasy baseball and actual real competition
actually, you are wrong. Tejada is not close to being the top shelf SS that Rey Rey was, or even Santana.
and Buddy was a slick glove too, and played in a different Era so you can’t really compare that far back.
just because a couple of Met teams carried a glove-only SS does not mean that you want to have a weak hitter there if you can help it. Certainly not if he is just a solid, average at best glove.
Ruben is a good defensive SS. He isn’t great, but he’s good.
right. pretty much a solid, average ML SS. Not the 2nd coming of O. Smith.
murphy/ruben are our 2 best hitters in the clutch
Middle Infielld: Let me try to respond to you without calling you names when I disagree with what you said unlike others.
I think Tejada can be a SS on a winning team but I think you need to have your corners locked up with solid offense. Having a defensive minded SS who can hit a little really isn’t so terrible, especially in the NL.
Last year, the NL had 10 SS’s with at least 400 plate appearances.
6 of them had an OPS under .700, including Tejada at .685.
Desmond, Reyes, Castro and Rollins were the only ones above and Reyes is gone and Rollins is approaching the end of his career.
So really, as long as Tejada improves his defense which to me is more likely than suddenly becoming a big hitter – he can be a very valuable piece to any winning team.
We all love Flores but it’s clear he will not be playing 3B for us. Since he can’t play 2B because his range is poor, he’s a goner. Only exception is If Ike flops, look for the Mets to try Flores at 1B.
All Murphy does is hit doubles… A bad year for him is .280. He played a better-than-average 2B last year and will likely improve in 2013. Does anyone doubt he can hit .320? Why would you even think about trading a guy who is under team control with that performance? Because of Jerry Manuel’s rushing him into LF a few years back, he is one of those players downgraded here, but coveted elsewhere. I would not trade him, but will bet that if he is traded, he will join a very long list of regrets.
As for Flores, you just signed Wright for the rest of his career – so 3B is blocked. Why wouldn’t you make him a corner outfielder at Las Vegas, let him play there and bring him up in Sept?
interesting…
what happens if Wright is slumping….and you have a top 3B prospect hitting really well….
how long til the wolves come out…
You wolves have been out for quite some time. I expect that the first game Wright goes hitless you will be calling for his head.
Who am I kidding, you already are.
LOL
that already happened in 2010
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/new-york-mets-fans-wrong-boo-slumping-david-wright-article-1.166015
now that he is the official captain/ambssador and highest paid player in franchise history….i think the expectation level from fans will be higher than before….
Accept that he’s not the highest paid player in team history. If you true the dollars up for inflation, and we ain’t seen nothing yet on that front thanks to our solons in DC, Santana signed the richest deal in team history.
You think he’s lived up to his contract? That 8+ era he had last year after his no-hitter was special, wasn’t it?
wait….now David didnt sign the biggest contract in franchise history ( by a petty 500K) ????
the fact that you are trying to make the bullseye on his back a teensy bit smaller is pure comedy
yall already conceded he was “overpaid” …got paid for more than his production on the field…and is a “relative bargain” compared to some perrenial MVP winners + candidates
Pujols can play 3B, 1B and LF…..no sweat…still rakes…put him in a bad lineup…still rakes…big ballpark…still rakes…elbow or shoulder surgery? no problem !!
Wright?
Not so much!
he is a pauper in the presence of royalty…please never mention his name alongside Phat Alberts
Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t understand inflation and how it affects the real value of money. Besides, Santana’s contract was for 6 years, Wright’s 8. Let’s see how much money Wright actually gets.
And no, I never conceded that Wright is overpaid. In fact, I think his contract is very fair. You can make fun of him all you want and call him dimples or whatever name you can think of but he is a career vet, better, a career Mets vet, playing with a very young team who seems to respect and like him a very great deal. That has value to the team. He’s also a damn good 3rd baseman even if you don’t agree. By today’s standards, he’s not overpaid in the least.
I didn’t mention Pujol’s name in this thread or any thread so I’m not sure why you had to bring him into the conversation. Other than you feel the need to mention some Latino player in every thread.
yes, u are also forgetting that Santana DEFERRD a good chunk of that contract, bringing the PRESENT day value to 125 mil, or 13 MILL Less than DW
and i apologize, i did get convo’s mixed up, another poster was comparing Wright’s contract to Fielder/Pujols/A-Rod
not sure where u get the whole latino thing…
its hard to talk baseball w/o bringing up a latino at some point…
i guess like omar…when a latino does it, theres an issue…
Always been a huge Havens fan since he was drafted. I wonder if the injuries Havens have had over the years are the result of poor conditioning?
Also, where exactly is Havens starting the season? Binghamton or Vegas? Should he start out finally healthy the first 2-3 months of the season, he’ll be with the big club before the break.
Can any of Haven’s injuries be attributed to steroid use?
Nope.
who knows? that’s like us asking if some people’s anger issues are related to potential roid rage?
Havens had back issues, an oblique, an uncommon rib injury – not really items you find connected with steroid use?
the way I understand it, the Rib issue caused the oblique problem (and kept it from healing) and I think that all led into the back. So in theory, having the rib tip clipped should have fixed the root cause, which means it is a matter of doing the right rehab to build back up his core strength.
Good points Van…the rib was actually hitting a nerve and anyone who has had nerve issues in the lower back could attest to how debilitating it can be.
havens is a backup up major league infielder at best, think Jeff keppinger type
Mitch, I agree with your assessment about Reese Havens. I see the B-Mets play often and I love the upside Havens brings to the table. The kid has an incredible work ethic and plays the game hard. He can be a solid major league hitter.
No doubt last year was a tough season for Havens. I worried that the stops and starts and the injuries have started to get in his head. I’m hoping the Mets sit him down and tell him at spring training he has a legitimate chance to make the big squad, then let him play, a lot, to see what he can do. If they do, he’d come north in April and not to Binghamton.
I too am waiting for the Havens Train to arrive in Flushing.
I hope that when and if he comes up he is not relegated to a bench player because if he hits in AAA this year and the need is there for Havens to come up then Terry had to play and if he stays healthy, IF, then he could move Murph out 2nd base and free him up for a trade come June/July.
Here’s hoping for great year for Reese Havens, future Mets 2B.