For a third spring training in a row, the Mets have invited Hayden Senger to major league camp. Senger played in Saturday’s opener and hit the Mets’ first home run of spring training.
The 26-year old was drafted by the Mets round 24 during the 2018 MLB Draft out of the Miami University of Ohio. Since being drafted he has played in five minor league seasons for the Mets (skipping 2020 of course) from the Kingsport Mets all the way to the Syracuse Mets.
Senger was a solid hitter in college, slashing .272/.359/.409 over three seasons. Over five seasons in the minors he has hit .236/.328/.359. Last year was a particular tough year for him where he spent the entire season in Binghamton (Double-A) and hit only .188/.307/.295.
Senger’s age and talent’s put him almost in a different depth chart than the other catchers (Kevin Parada, Yovanny Rodriguez, Ronald Hernández). Senger is a more defensively-minded catcher. He’s effectively competing for depth chart space in case of an emergency situation. If the Mets need a catcher to round out the roster for a couple of days, they aren’t going to call up Kevin Parada. So, Senger’s main competition this spring is Tomás Nido and Austin Allen, which puts Senger fifth on the catching depth chart.
The Mets used five different catchers in the major leagues by the end of May last season. The 2022 Mets used four different catchers throughout the season. Things got so crazy in the COVID-shortened 2020 season that the Mets used five catchers over 60 games. It’s not probable that Senger gets called up, but it’s possible.
Specifically, it’ll be interesting to watch how much playing time Senger gets and how long he stays in major-league camp. How does his performance compare to Austin Allen? Does Austin Allen play so well that he ends spring on another team thus moving Senger up the depth chart?
