According to a post by Adam Rubin on ESPN New York, it now appears that Josh Satin’s hot bat will be keeping Ike Davis in Triple-A Las Vegas longer than what some may have initially thought.
Satin, whose RBI single in the bottom of the ninth forced extra innings last night, went 3-for-6 with two doubles and a walk in the Mets comeback win.
He has now reached base safely in 12 straight games and is batting .395 average this season in 38 at-bats.
Rubin says that Satin’s performance will undoubtedly contribute to delaying Davis’ return, especially now that the former first baseman is slumping. Davis was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Monday against Fresno and is 3-for-22 over his past six Pacific Coast League games.
Terry Collins is bursting at the seams…
“Josh deserves some at-bats,” Collins said.
“He’s getting big hits. It doesn’t matter if they’re left-handed or right-handed [pitchers]. He’s getting big hits for us.”
“I’ll tell you what: Every team has someone that surprises you and saves you. And right now he’s our savior, because this guy has come up and filled a big hole for us.”
Keep on swingin’, Josh…
Original Post 6/30
I’ve been a huge fan of Josh Satin for a couple of years now. I was pulling for him to make the team out of Spring Training this year, but it wasn’t meant to be.
There were too many who were down on Satin and focused too much on a handful of sporadic at-bats (16 games) during two previous September call-ups. They had already judged him as the typical Quad-A prospect. But now we know that wasn’t the case all.
It’s easy to look at Satin’s age and say that if he was any good he’d have been here already, but that is simply not fair. Especially if you don’t know why the journey took as long as it did.
You see Satin was a third baseman by trade, and on a team that had David Wright entrenched at third already, there was no chance of making it to the majors that way.
The Mets knew that and decided to begin developing Satin as a second baseman almost from the get go, but as Daniel Murphy began to emerge as the team’s second-bagger, they had to shift course again with Satin and handed him a first baseman’s glove.
Along the way, Satin bid his time and never griped. Instead he posted the best On-Base Percentage in the entire system during the span of 2008-2012. I’ve written plenty about this young man’s offensive prowess in the past.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Despite the gaudy stats I already posted, is even better against left-handed pitching. Let’s right a wrong that has gone on for far too long and give Josh Satin his well-deserved shot.
Finally on June 10, the Mets promoted Satin and he would made his 2013 debut three days later as a pinch-hitter and he flied out. His first start would come on June 18, when he’d go 1-for-3 with two walks and a pair of runs scored. There was the player I recognized from the minors. Those extended at-bats, the walks that he’d gladly take as long as they kept throwing off the plate, and that line-drive swing.
It looked like even Terry Collins became intrigued and wanted to see more. At last, Josh Satin would get a real shot to prove that the major leagues was where he belonged.
In Friday’s 6-4 loss to the Nationals, Satin started at first base and went 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. After another hit and a walk on Saturday, he is batting .357 with a .500 on-base in 37 plate appearances. His slugging percentage checks in at .464 for a .964 OPS. It’s a small sample size, no doubt… But do we just disregard it. or take a look at those career numbers he posted in the minors once again?
Satin now has a five-game hitting streak and throw in the walks and he’s reached base safely in ten straight games.
“Josh Satin right now has done a great job,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “And he’s given us as quality a bat in the middle of the lineup as anybody.”
Satin isn’t doing anything different. He’s keeping that same focus and philosophy he’s always had and that is to make every at-bat count.
“Here, everyone’s got good stuff, everyone knows what they’re doing,” Satin said. “I just really tried to grind out at-bats and that’s kind of been my mentality here, just do whatever I can to get on base or put the barrel on the ball.”
If only Ike Davis understood the importance of that, and speaking of the demoted first baseman, where will he fit in once he comes back?
Well maybe, Collins will do what I suggested from day one of this year and that is to platoon Davis with Satin. As I mentioned previously, Satin is absolutely lethal against left-handed pitching and it’s my opinion that Davis may just be the long end of a platoon at best in the major leagues.
“We’re not going to bring Ike back to be platooned,” Collins said yesterday. “I can tell you that.”
There is nothing left to prove for Satin in the minors. He was having a very solid 2013 season before his promotion, batting .305 with 14 doubles, nine home runs and 32 RBI. His on-base was .420 and he boasted a .491 slugging percentage.
What I really love about Satin and why I feel he needs to stay here is his approach. While the Mets jump up and down trying to teach their philosophy to the rest of the lineup, Satin has always been the poster boy for it. In 220 at-bats he’s struck out just 45 times, but he has also drawn 43 walks.
I don’t know how this will ultimately play out, but for now just sit back and enjoy the spectacle. I’m glad Satin got that third opportunity, and this time it’s proving to be the charm.
