Sean Ratliff

[Edgy MD]

Somebody needs to ride this white pony, and that somebody is going to be me.

Sean, who spells his name according to the Irish standard, has had a solid start in St. Lucie, going .275 / .331 / .432 // .763. Not great, but solid for a centerfielder.



But solid enough that he got the call up to AA when Kirk Nieuwenhuis developed a sore shoulder. Joining the team with Silky Smooth Josh Satin, his first seven games there have been Power City, going .323/.323/.677 // 1.000. Yeah, no walks and eight strikouts isn't the golden path to success, but he's new at this AA business.

Sean shares Chris Carter's Stanford pedigree. (Sociology major, yuck.) I'll additionally have you know that he went 4-0 as a part-time pitcher his senior year (with a 6.68 ERA --- thank you, Pac-10). His Stanford career, in fact, added up to a hell of an MLB season, hitting .307, with 152 hits, 115 runs scored, 26 doubles, eight triples, 34 home runs, 117 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 150 games (123 starts).

He was the Mets fourth-round pick in 2008, has had a steady minor league career, but was looking like an organizational player in search of a breakthrough season. And you don't want to waste that sosh degree by becoming a rotting organizational player. So with two homers yesterday against the New Briton Rock Cats, maybe this is his moment.

[Edgy MD]

Seannie-Boy headed up to Bingo to replace Nieuwenheis, and threw up five homers and 12 ribs in 13 games. Girls love that sort of shit.

"I was excited to get the call-up and see what I was made of at a higher level with a little bit better pitching. The fact that I came out and swung the bat well the first week here was big for me, and I had to make a statement to show I was ready to play at this level."

Oh, yeah, bland and beautiful.

Isn't chew banned in the minors now?

[Edgy MD]

Foul weather and foul music can't stop the B-Mets and Sean Ratliff:

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: Foul weather and foul music can't stop the B-Mets and Sean Ratliff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQa9XQhSBTU

Thanks, Edgy.
I like Ratliff a lot, and was thisclose to adopting him myself.
Two things from that video:
1) Satin pronounces his name just like the fabric.
2) I laughed when the announcer said "If that's fair, its gone". It went over the right centerfield wall.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

John Sickels chimes in with some thoughts on Ratliff:

[A] reader asks me about New York Mets outfield prospect Sean Ratliff, currently hitting .340/.372/.614 in 37 games for Double-A Binghamton. He'd hit .275/.331/.432 in 57 games for Class A St. Lucie before his promotion in June, and the reader wonders if his superior performance at Binghamton is a breakout.
Ratliff was a fourth round pick in 2008 out of Stanford. The book on him in college and the low minors: excellent power potential from the left side, but hyper-aggressive at the plate and unable to handle good breaking stuff. He fanned 141 times in 496 at-bats last year in A-ball, with just 31 walks, stats which fit the scouting report perfectly. Despite the .340 mark in Double-A this year, his BB/K remains unimpressive at 7/33 at Binghamton, 24/99 overall on the season in 375 at-bats. On paper at least, it looks to me like he's getting lucky right now with the BABIP. That said, Ratliff has solid tools, including a plus throwing arm and decent running speed. He doesn't have to become a walk machine, but even a marginal improvement in his pitch selection could go a long way towards making him successful.

[MFS62]

Ratliff is hitting .329 with 14 home runs and a .977 OPS in Double-A (in 52 games) in his second full season in the system. This is a fourth round pick showing his wears. He's giving the Mets another value bat at the upper levels. You've got to like that.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Just in case it isn't clear, Sean is sitting 2011 out.

Mets prospect Sean Ratliff broke six bones and suffered a partially detached retina when a foul ball struck him in the right eye while he stood in the on-deck circle during a game this spring.

I'l be using this thread to update you on his sprints and weightlifting and doing sosh research.

[Edgy MD]

I was kinda hoping Sean might take his broken face to the AFL. I'll be watching for him in the winter leagues, but man, a random line drive in the face in spring training leads to no season whatsoever. Got to get my man back on the horse.

[MFS62]

Edgy, your kid is finally back in the saddle.
He went 1-3 for St. Lucie last night.

Later

[MFS62]

The comeback wasn't working out.
He announced his retirement.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/playerpage/1666196/rss

Shame.
Later

[Edgy MD]

Only 25 plate appearances. Wish he talked it over with me.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He's seen the future, and its name is Darrrell Ceciliani.

[Edgy MD]

Cecliani, Nieuwenhuis, Nimmo, sure. But these guys will need backups. That's real money, too!

But a shattered foot and a detached retina... I know I would never be digging in with confidence again.

Good luck, Seannie. See you on the front lines of the revolution.