Expectations of Eleven: Nick Evans

[Edgy MD]

Nicholas R. Evans



Pos: 1B, LF, RF, CF, 3B, in that order, I think; BR-TR

Born: 1/30/1986 in in Phoenix, Arizona (got a condo made of stone-a, and he'll be 25 in 2011). As he was coming into the light, the 1986 Mets were signing Rick Aguilera to a one year contract for $110,000, and scoffing as the Pittsburgh Pirates signed former Mets pitcher Dwight Bernard. Somwhere in LA, Mr. and Mrs. Duda were anxiously awaiting the birth of wee Lucas, which would follow four days later.

Acquired: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 5th round of the 2004 amateur draft on June 7. Signed with them on June 16. No holdout, he. His signing went unnoticed by us, busy as we were talking about the trade of David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths for Richard Hidalgo.

2010 Stats:

Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	BB-R WAR	FG WAR
Binghamton	EL (AA)	88	391	347	62	102	30	0	17	55	0	1	40	65	.294	.366	.527	.893		183	12	1	0	3	2	3, 5
Buffalo	IL (AAA)	37	157	140	26	44	14	1	6	25	0	0	15	23	.314	.385	.557	.942		78	3	1	1	0	0	3, 5, 9
Minors	All	125	548	487	88	146	44	1	23	80	0	1	55	88	.300	.371	.536	.907		261	15	2	1	3	2	3, 5, 9
NYM	NL	20	37	36	5	11	3	0	1	5	0	0	1	10	.306	.324	.472	.797	115	17	1	0	0	0	0	7, 9, 8	0.2	0.1
Total	All	145	585	523	93	157	47	1	24	85	0	1	56	98	.300	.366	.532	.897		278	16	2	1	3	2	3, 7, 9, 5, 8

Wifey: Married the former Anne Gluvna on January 8 of last year. I can't find a photo, but they paid $308,000 for their home, which ain't bad.

Last Word: Out of options, Evans is generally thought of as a favorite to crack this year's opening day roster. His long exile in the minors this year helped him, if nothing else, establish the versatility of a major league bench player, getting some useful time at third base for the first time since the low minors.

Best Day in 2010: On September 26, Nick opened up on Cole Hamels and the Phillies, going 3-5 with a double and two RBIs, securing the final series for the Mets. His OPS at the end of the day was .986, hopefully leading Omar Minaya to wonder why he had the Nicker in AA all season. Most encouraging part about the day is that hitting the Phillies' lefthanders hard is exactly the sort of performance we need from the guy.

What do you expect of Nick Evans in 2011?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Fifth outfielder, little playing time, at least until Beltran is dealt, and possibly after that.

I say he'll end the year with about 150 plate appearances.

[Ceetar]

I like Nick. I think he'll make a case to be the 'favorite' bench guy in that he'll make the occasional backup start for Wright/Murphy/Bay and Beltran (by way of RF and Pagan in CF i imagine) and be the "pop" guy off the bench in pinch hitting roles.

I'm not expecting a ton of playing time over all, but I think he'll have some big moments, hit some big home runs/doubles and be a pretty useful and versatile player over all.

AND I'm going to try to get his autograph. so there.

.8 WAR.

[TransMonk]

I'd love to see him finally stick with the big club. I don't see him ever being a long-term starter, but I wouldn't mind rooting for him off the bench.

[Guest attgig]

agreed. becomes the bench guy, and becomes duda's platoon partner after beltran gets dealt.

84 games.
10 home runs
.289 BA
.440 SLG
shows + defense in RF

[ashie62]

Mets bench guy as he passes through on to a long career as a AAAA player.

[smg58]

Difficult to gauge the plate appearances, as that will likely depend more on other players than him. I figure a .260/.330/.450 line, with fairly sharp platoon splits.

[Gwreck]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Fifth outfielder, little playing time, at least until Beltran is dealt, and possibly after that. I say he'll end the year with about 150 plate appearances.

Who do you see as the 4th outfielder?

---

I expect 250 ABs from Evans, getting some platoon starts, spelling Pagan and possibly Davis. I won't say he'll be Jose Valentin against lefties in 2006 but I'm hopeful he'll be close if Collins gives him the ABs.

[Edgy MD]

Those 47 doubles he had in 2010 would have been a Met record if he, you know, hit them all as a Met. It would be a darn shame if he doesn't get more attention from Collins than Jerry gave him last year.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Got to be the one organizational filler who'd benefit most from the new regime. Seems to me to be the kinda player who could be really useful given the right circumstances and opportunity (and also, guidance). I get the feeling managers generally, and Jerry and Willie particularly, prefer their bench jockeys not to need the kind of attention that rookies need. Evans tends to look worried up there, it'd prolly do him a world of good to know someone's got his back.

Optimistic 2011 Ripped From the Headlines (Matt Diaz, 2006)

124 G, 62 GS, 7 HR, 15 2B, 32 RBI, 327/.364/.425 // .839

[Benjamin Grimm]

Gwreck wrote: Who do you see as the 4th outfielder?

Good point! I guess I was still looking at it as if we were in the Omar/Jerry regime. Now that you mention it, Evans probably is the most likely number 4 guy. I'm pretty sure he'd slot above Harris or Duda.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Got to be the one organizational filler who'd benefit most from the new regime. Seems to me to be the kinda player who could be really useful given the right circumstances and opportunity (and also, guidance). I get the feeling managers generally, and Jerry and Willie particularly, prefer their bench jockeys not to need the kind of attention that rookies need. Evans tends to look worried up there, it'd prolly do him a world of good to know someone's got his back. Optimistic 2011 Ripped From the Headlines (Matt Diaz, 2006) 124 G, 62 GS, 7 HR, 15 2B, 32 RBI, 327/.364/.425 // .839

There were times the last few seasons one wondered why he wasn't getting the call up and when he did you wondered why he wasn't being used...a gy with some upside that seems to have gone backwards through no fault of his own I think....

[Edgy MD]

Well, there was certainly fault in him being bloody awful through most of 2009 with Buffalo.