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New York Mets Spring Training 2006 Report
The Mets continue to develop more names soon to be of household quality with the Shea faithful. One is currently the buzz, while a handful show great promise. There is also one player, who, like King Kong, may come to dominate New York.
The club outsources more than Dell. When the Puerto Rican team for the World Baseball Classic came to Port St. Lucie to work out, someone told the players that the Puerto Ricans not on the squad would be allowed to eat lunch with them. One player quipped "Hey man, that leaves three guys eating lunch by themselves!"
Of course the New York major media buzz has been about Lastings Milledge, whom we've featured in our MLN FAB50 rankings in 2004 (38) and 2005 (24).
He looked good this Spring, but on the edge as a permanent addition to the New York roster. Even if he makes the club, we think 2007 is looking like his year to shine.
Arms
RHP Brian Bannister cleaned up in the minors, with a 9-4 record at AA Binghamton and a sterling 2.56 ERA on 109 innings of work. He went 4-1 with Norfolk in the AAA in 2005 with a 3.18 ERA.
We'll have to see if LHP Juan Perez, who made the list this Spring, does a bit more for the Mets than he did at Pawtucket last year with the Red Sox. Meanwhile Pawtucket pal Jeremi Gonzalez, who sported a 5-2 record with a 2.61 ERA made the NRI list.
Further down the line on the Non Roster Invitee (NRI) list is RHP Jason Scobie, who delivered a 15-7 record at Norfolk with a neat 3.34 ERA.
Anderson Garcia, who had a nifty 2.97 ERA at Florida State League (Class A) St. Lucie, but struggled a bit more at Class AA Binghamton is being considered a more serious contender.
The Mets Step/Early Camp often indicates some early interest by the organization, as it did with Wright and Milledge. Of the minor league arms that we saw there, Evan MacLane, a lefty from Sacramento, California, was one of the few standouts.
King Kong is Coming to New York
There is a sound that a great hitter makes when he connects with a ball, whether it's a game or batting practice (BP).
There, on the outer practice field at St.Lucie, banging bombs at 500 ft., and even a couple in the 600 ft. range, was NRI infielder Brett Harper.
One ball even cracked a car window at just under 500 feet! When someone told him about the window, he started to apologize. The guy who told him said "No, that's good baby! You keep that up!"
Harper's average was a credible .280 at St. Lucie, then .273 at Binghamton. He's a power hitter, with 20 home runs for the St. Lucie Mets, and another 16 dingers when he was promoted to Class AA Binghamton.
More noteworthy is that he's not a bad situational hitter either. He brought in 60 RBI in Class A ball, and then another 42 more for the B-Mets! He also draws walks well, with 21 at St. Lucie and 26 at Binghamton. His strikeouts counts are pretty good for someone of his size and power, in the 60s in Class A and the mid 80s at AA.
When the Mets are ready to unleash him on New York, he will be a "wow."
Julio Ramirez, coming in from the San Francisco Giants organization, with 23 home runs and 60 RBI for the Fresno Grizzlies last year, will be good if he can get his strike count under the century mark to let his average float over last year's AAA .241 mark.
Catcher Andy Wilson, who hit .284 with 89 RBI for St. Lucie will be interesting to watch progress.
- Brian Ross
