You have to give Terry Collins some credit for being a good soldier throughout this whole process – he has always said the right things and tried to keep a positive outlook about his team. One of the more recent comments Collins has been credited with was a quote about seldom discussed prospect for the Mets, Zach Lutz. Lutz was a fifth round pick in ’07 and has impressed with his power potential for years.
“There’s nobody in this system who’s a bigger threat of hitting a homer than Zach Lutz is,” Collins said.
Now at first glance, you might be wondering where Collins picks up his kool-aid – and believe me, I was too. Off the top of my head, and speaking in terms of raw power, I think I would rank Ike Davis and Lucas Duda ahead of Lutz, but with that being said, Lutz is definitely an interesting prospect to keep tabs on. He is projected to be competing with Justin Turner for a bench spot, and has been taking reps in the outfield recently. Remember that the Mets protected him by sliding him onto the 40-man roster this Winter as well.
Given the state of the Mets outfield, if Lutz can show a knack for patrolling left field, he has always had the offensive capabilities to succeed – he was just blocked by positioning. Zach has spent most of his time between third base and first base – where we have a budding star in Ike Davis and the $138 million dollar man.
The Mets are shallow in terms of right-handed power – and even shallower in terms of position players prospects. The whole situation pieces together a nice chance for Zach Lutz, who got his first cup of coffee with the Mets last year. He managed only a single hit in 11 plate appearances, but he was coming off a 300 plate appearance campaign in AAA where he mashed 10 HRs and 16 2Bs while batting .299.
When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, Lutz could impress in Spring and find his way onto the MLB bench – and with the state of the Mets outfield, those bench players could become platoon players or even regulars in a heartbeat. Do not count him or his power potential out because we just might get lucky…for once.
