Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Now that we’ve covered catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and corner outfield let’s finish the defensive alignment and focus on center field.
Big League Starter
Make no mistake here, Starling Marte was signed this offseason to be the New York Mets starting center fielder. That seems to be the case even if it is quite debatable whether he is actually the best option for the team.
Marte is coming off his best season since his 2016 season when he was an All-Star and Gold Glove left fielder for the Pirates. In his 120 games between the Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics, he had a 4.7 WAR, which is the fourth best of his career. It was also more than the WAR he had accumulated over the previous two years combined.
At the plate, Marte is coming off a career best 134 wRC+. That was partially fueled by a high .372 BABIP. However, it should be noted Marte has a career .344 BABIP partially due to his speed. That speed also helps Marte be an elite base stealer.
Of note, Marte’s speed is in decline with his sprint speed dropping in each of the past three seasons. That’s problematic with his exit velocities dropping below 88 MPH in each of the last three seasons. However, it should be noted Marte made tremendous strides with his eye at the plate leading to a better walk rate allowing him to then wreck havoc on the basepaths.
Defensively, Marte has been an average center fielder. Since 2019, he has averaged a 2 OAA in center. DRS paints a much different picture with him being a -14 over the past three seasons.
It would seem that over the course of Marte’s contract, he will have to move off center. Perhaps, that is better done sooner rather than later with Marte only having once played 145+ games in his career. In fact, the last time he played at least 140 games in the field was in 2018.
Big League Depth
As Brandon Nimmo told Tim Healey of Newsday, he believes he proved in 2021 he was a Major League center fielder, and he wants to stay at the position. With his being repositioned deeper to start the season, Nimmo had a very good year defensively with a 4 OAA and a 4 DRS.
It should be noted these are complete outliers for his career. That said, it is really up to the Mets to decipher if these results are indicative of what Nimmo will provide in 2022 and future seasons. To wit, he is actually faster than Marte even if Nimmo has yet to translate that ability to stealing bases.
Like Marte, Nimmo has his own durability issues. On that front, Mark Canha has some experience in center. Over the last two seasons, he played 253.0 innings in center for the Athletics with a 1 OAA and -1 DRS. In many ways, you could say the Mets have never been deeper in center.
Upper Minors Depth
In recent years, the Mets have been very shallow in the upper levels of the minors in terms of outfield depth. However, with new additions and the development of other prospects, the Mets minor league depth has vastly improved.
Jake Mangum continues to impress since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He had a 117 wRC+ in 25 games for Double-A Binghamton in 2021, and he continues to show promise as a good defensive center fielder. He could begin the season in Triple-A, and depending upon injuries and/or his performance, he may at one point force himself into the conversation this season.
Beyond Mangum, Nick Plummer and Khalil Lee each have center field experience. However, both are better suited to playing a corner outfield position. Of course, their versatility is of increased importance should they need to be called up to the majors.
On that note, the center field depth in the majors could permit the Mets to focus on calling up any outfielder. Arguably, we are most likely going to see the best performing of Lee, Plummer, or even a Carlos Cortes or Daniel Palka could be called up to play the corner. That said, if the Mets were going to go that route, it may be much more likely we see one of Brett Baty or Mark Vientos, each of whom have experience in left field.
Top Prospects
The most outstanding Mets center field prospect is Alex Ramirez. He was so impressive in his first season of professional baseball Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him as his 100th best prospect. The 19-year-old prospect will look to continue his upward trajectory in Single-A to start the 2022 season leaving him more than a few years away.
On the international front, the Mets signed Simon Juan and Willy Fañas during the past signing period. Both have been tagged with the five tool ability moniker, and their talent is at such a level where they are already regarded at top 30 prospects for the Mets.
