I haven’t done one of these in a while mostly because after the Hot Stove season winds down in January, we don’t get as many questions and email until we start getting closer to Opening Day, which I am happy to say is in 12 days. 🙂

What prospects do you think we’ll definitely see play for the Mets in 2012? – Adam

I’m not sure that we’ll definitely see anyone in particular with regards to our top prospects. But there’s a good chance that Matt Harvey can work himself into the equation if he gets promoted to Buffalo and excels there. That might not happen until late in the season if it happens at all. Further down the Mets top prospects list I could see Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Reese Havens get their first cup of coffee, providing they can get past their health problems. The fact is Havens would have been here by now if not for his back and side issues. I don’t believe Matt den Dekker will see any major league service time regardless of what Terry Collins said yesterday. After that, it’s a crapshoot. Maybe we’ll see Jordanny Valdespin, maybe not. Josh Edgin and Robert Carson could make an appearance as well. That’s all I’m willing to commit to for now.

I’m so happy you placed Gary Carter’s No. 8 patch on your banner and I hope it stays there all year. As you can tell by my email address I’m a big Gary Carter fan and I’m glad to see that his patch and your heart is in the right place. – Lisa

Thank you.

Do you think Daniel Murphy will be the second baseman for the entire season? – Anon

I couldn’t really tell you. There’s too many factors at play. If he starts costing the team games because of his defense, I would imagine he’d see less and less playing time at second. The flip side to that is that he becomes one of the Mets top hitters this season and the Mets will continue playing him at second because they can’t afford to have his bat out of the lineup. Whether or not David Wright is still here after July 31 will play a factor too, as they would most likely shift Murphy to third base if that happened. Havens or Valdespin could also push the envelope down in the minors and force the Mets to make a move. Anything can happen at this point, but the best case scenario would be to have Murphy elevate his defense at second to at least league average. If that happens it gives the Mets plenty of options moving forward, and you can never have too many of those.

You can send your Mets questions to me at [email protected].