This post is not about Zack Wheeler, Travis d’Arnaud, Brandon Nimmo or Noah Syndergaard. I hope that is okay with you as last night I was informed by several people at SNY that those four are all that average Mets fans care about as far as Mets prospects go. I’m sure not all SNY connected bloggers feel that way, or at least I hope not.
I was told that 99% of Met fans don’t cares about any of the other prospects after I asked SNY why all they ever talk and write about are the same 4-5 prospects – as if the other 200 players in the Mets system meant nothing. Are Wilmer Flores, Rafael Montero, Jack Leathersich and Logan Verrett pariahs I asked? “Average Mets fans don’t care about them”, I was told. Really? Four of the best prospects in the Mets entire system? I’ll have much more on that later. Much, much more…
As one who was the first site back in 2005 to post daily minor league reports and have been for the eight years since, I found some of what was said to me very disappointing. I expected a better response.
Meanwhile, for the 1% of Mets fans out there that do care about the Mets minor league system, or so I was told, and those of you who ARE excited about the future of this organization, this one’s for you.
Meet Josh Satin, professional slugger extraordinaire…
In previous Mets Minors Reports this week, the best Mets Minors Report you’ll ever see anywhere, I’ve been calling for the Mets to promote corner infielder Josh Satin. I wrote about my disappointment during the end of spring training when I learned he wouldn’t be making the team. I look at what he’s doing now and shake my head wondering, “what more does this kid have to prove in the minor leagues?”
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 to all that his bat was legit, his intensity strong, and his determination was off the charts. However there was one slight problem, Satin was a third baseman, and a great one at that, but how was he going supplant the fixture at that position – face of the franchise and team captain David Wright?
“The guy’s the best third baseman in the game, and I happen to be a New York Met,” said Satin. “Even though that’s probably my best position, it’s not going to happen.”
Give Satin props for seeing and understanding the obvious. If he was going to crack the Majors, he was going to have to do it as a first baseman or even a second baseman perhaps.
The math was simple, if he pulled it off he could at least become a useful corner utility player for the Mets and perhaps even start a game or two when a left-hander was on the mound in light of Ike Davis being the everyday first baseman.
“I’ve kind of realized that if I’m going to be a player on this team, that’s the kind of role that I have to take.”
However, here we are in 2013, Satin now 28, and yet he still toils away at Triple-A… What’s wrong with this picture?
Lets check in on him and see how Las Vegas is treating him so far this season:
Satin currently leads his Mets Triple-A squad in Batting Average (.383), Slugging Percentage (.723) and On-Base (.473), as well as Runs Scored, Home Runs, RBI, Hits and Total Bases.
A fluke?
Not a chance… Satin has been hitting 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, and has made the Minor League All Star Team as the starting third baseman, first baseman or second baseman every season since 2009. Wow…
The fact we have Ike Davis batting .136 this far into the season is fast becoming a concern. Some might say it’s too early, but what about his performance against left-handed pitching in his last 200 starts and 380 plate appearances?
Would that be a big enough sample size for you?
It would seem so to me and so I ask you non-believers to please explain his dismal .214/.277/.362/.619 output against southpaws throughout his career? And it’s only gotten even worse this season.
I think it’s time to tell it like it is…
Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best.
Enter Josh Satin, who despite the gaudy stats I already posted, is even better against left-handed pitching. He torches southpaws unmercifully like a demon from Hell.
My conclusion?
Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long and give Josh Satin his well-deserved shot. The fact that it’s taking this long is a cardinal sin.
To the 99% of Mets fans who don’t care about the Mets minors, my deepest apologies… 🙂
