A couple of weeks ago I profiled Josh Satin and called for him to be promoted and at the very least platoon have him with Ike Davis at first base as he continues to struggle against left-handed pitching.
Rob Brender, a contributor to Mets Minor League Blog, got a chance to ask Satin a few questions last night and spoke to him about his early-season success and what he needs to work on to get back to the major leagues.
Rob Brender: You’re having a great season so far, batting .346, which is second on the team to Andrew Brown (.357 BA). You must feel pretty good about the way you’re swinging the bat?
Josh Satin: Yeah, I changed a few things up last year to make myself feel more consistent. I was a little too hot and cold last year and in previous years. I like where I’m at right now. I’m still working on a few things but I like where my swing is right now.
Rob Brender: You’ve hit four home runs and seven double (this season). Have you noticed that the home runs have come as a result of your approach at the plate or is some of it because of the altitude?
Josh Satin: I really think it’s learning how to hit better. Home runs come in certain counts and when you give yourself certain opportunities to take a chance. In previous years, especially the beginning of my career, I didn’t really know how to take a chance and never really did, so every homerun I hit was kind of a mistake. It just happened. This is my fifth year in professional baseball so I’ve learned when and how to take a chance better.
Rob Brender: Does playing in the high altitude of Las Vegas give you any added confidence as a hitter?
Josh Satin: I personally don’t think that Vegas has been that much of a hitters park at this point. It hasn’t been that warm. I know it’s going to get better. I think the only advantage so far is the ground is so hard that balls get through. I don’t know if the pitchers have a fear of letting the ball getting in the air. As a hitter, it’s definitely a better feeling knowing that if you square a ball to the opposite field you’re going to get better results. Sometimes last year in Buffalo the wind would blow in from right field off the water and I would get scared to hit the ball the other way because I thought it was an out. It’s definitely a welcomed change that that’s not the case.
Selected by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California-Berkeley, Satin wasted no time at all proving that his bat was legit. The big right-hander hit the ground running from the moment he signed his first professional contract and has posted an.865 OPS during his minor league career with the Mets. He has made the Minor League All Star Team every season since 2009.
The first baseman is a huge part of the Las Vegas 51s offense and is batting .330 with a .427 OBP, .545 SLG and ranks second on the team with a .973 OPS. Satin is pacing the team with four home runs and has 17 RBI and 20 runs scored in 88 at-bats this season.
Satin has always been a great and disciplined hitter and one look at his career .397 on-base in six minor league seasons should have the suits in the front office with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, as would his .466 slugging percentage.
I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of watching Ike Davis suffocate this offense and have been calling for a reduced role for him since the season began. He’s not suddenly going to magically begin teeing off against lefty pitching as a few lingering fans still believe. That’s a wooden bat he has in his hands, not a magic wand.
Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best. I’ve said that before and continue to stand on that position.
Josh Satin deserves a chance to prove he belongs. He’s paid his dues and has nothing left to prove in the minors. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long. Let’s give this kid his well-deserved shot.
I know some of you would rather see Andrew Brown called up before Josh Satin, but as bad as the Mets outfield and first base situations are right now, it shouldn’t be a question of one or the other – both of them need to be on the Mets roster and there’s plenty of dead fish that needs to be tossed overboard already. (Lets start with Collin Cowgill and Mike Baxter)
The worst thing that a team as bad as the Mets could do, is to keep trotting out the same undeserving and underperforming ballplayers while some hidden gems waste away at Triple-A when they should be here instead helping the team score runs.
