2014 IPP: Matt den Dekker

[Benjamin Grimm]

It was moderately popular last year, so we'll try it again this year. IPP stands for Individual Player Predictions. These will be threads where we share our expectations of how a player will perform in the current year. Feel free to make your predictions as specific or as vague as you like. (You can find a listing of the 2013 IPPs here.)

I'm not so sure that Matt den Dekker will see much playing time with the Mets in 2014. I'll predict that he'll spend more time with Las Vegas than with the Mets, and that he'll get about 150 plate appearances for New York.

[Lefty Specialist]

With at least 4 other players already competing for 3 spots, Matt will be seeing entirely too much Celine Dion and Cirque de Soleil this summer. Not a factor except in garbahge time in September. Less than 50 AB's with miniscule stats.

[Ceetar]

I think Lagares eclipsed him as the mostly-glove outfielder and there is no real room for him. If Lagares struggles, which is possible, you might see him more, or if he completely figures out AAA pitching you might see him steal a 5th spot if a trade/injury openings up, but I'm figuring..

75 PA, mostly in September.

2 HR, 2 spectacular catches, 20 Ks, 3 doubles, a stolen base and one 12th inning pitch running appearance.

[ashie62]

Sold to a Korean League...

[MFS62]

The two K's in his name are very descriptive.
He'll have to cut down on his strikeouts in order to make a major league team as anything other than a defensive replacement.
If he plays any (significant) time with the Mets this year, some really weird stuff must have happened.
Later

[smg58]

Doesn't make the team, and winds up a small piece in a trade.

[Edgy MD]

dD didn't fail last year. He spent the better part of it hurt, but when he got on the field, he did quite well (even cutting his strikey rate) I wouldn't expect his marginalization so much.

68 games. .276 / .322 / .433 // .755.

Becomes something of a popular item with teenaged girls.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

19 G, 53 PA, .222/.240/.430 (he'll run into a couple), 2 HR.

I wish I were with Edgy on this. Prove me wrong, kiddo.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Enjoy Japan!

[Zvon]

Mid season down in LasVegas he runs thru an outfield wall and keeps running until he lands with the D'Backs.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Steve Dorsey, MLB.com wrote: den Dekker playing his way onto Mets' roster JUPITER, Fla. -- Matt den Dekker would like to head to New York when the Mets break camp in less than two weeks, and so far this spring, the 26-year-old outfielder is making a decent case for a roster spot. Den Dekker entered Monday's 10-7 loss to the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium with a .375 batting average and a .426 on-base percentage, both of which ranked fifth among all National League players. Den Dekker, who attended high school less than an hour away at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, made his MLB debut last August and is vying for a roster spot this spring. Den Dekker knows, however, that there's a chance he could start the season at Triple-A Las Vegas. "There's a lot of competition out here," den Dekker said. "I'm just enjoying playing, and whatever they decide, they decide. I can't really worry about that too much." Den Dekker sustained a broken wrist in Spring Training last year and said he spent some extra time with his weight training to gain more strength. "I feel a lot stronger with my swing," den Dekker said. "I've had a pretty decent spring. Everybody out here is competing for jobs. Obviously, I'd like to be in New York. That's where everybody wants to be." Den Dekker has played mostly center field, but he started in left on Monday. "I've played center field all my life, but I can go to left or right as well," den Dekker said, adding that he doesn't care where he plays if he makes the final cut. Mets manager Terry Collins said that he thinks den Dekker, who was 0-for-2 with two walks in Monday's game against the Marlins, has a solid chance to break camp with the big league club. "Yep, definitely. He's played very well," Collins said.

[Lefty Specialist]

As a 5th outfielder where the 4 ahead of him are competent to excellent defensive outfielders, he's not going to see a lot of playing time even if he does make the team.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Neiuwy (300/432/533 in 30 AB) is having a very good spring too, and I'd have thought he was the last guy who'd threaten to make the team.

Of course both he and den dekker are still whiffing alot.

[Vic Sage]

I'm not sure if Lagares has shown enough progress yet in his plate discipline to warrant going north with the team and, if Lagares starts the season in AAA, i can definitely see a place for dDekker, along with either Brown or Nieuenheis on the bench.

But if Lagares makes the team out of ST, he'll play CF, with CYoung moving to LF and EYoung becoming a 4th OFer / utility player who can cover all the OF positions (and 2b). With Lagares and CYoung starting (and EY a switch-hitter), they could use another LHed bat on the bench, arguing for dDekker over either Nieuhey or Brown. But with 4 OFers able to play CF reasonably well, there is more of a need for a LHed bat on the bench than a CF glove (particularly with Satin on the bench as the RHed bat). If Duda doesn't win the 1b job outright, they could prefer him to dDekker as the 5th OFer/LHed PHer. In any event, i don't see either Nieuenhies or Brown making the team if Lagares is there.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, Duda is still in the picture until he isn't.

[Edgy MD]

.156 / .224 / .200 // .424 in 17 games.

Even with the defense, this adds up to "not an asset." At least, not an asset to a major league roster.

I'm thinking hard about Nieuwenhuis.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

den Dekker is den Sukky.

Lagares would do be doing everyone a favor by staying healthy. Can't build around unreliability.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Did I mention he was adopted? Yeah, he's adopted.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: .156 / .224 / .200 // .424 in 17 games. Even with the defense, this adds up to "not an asset." At least, not an asset to a major league roster. I'm thinking hard about Nieuwenhuis.

Now, think hard about us winning the World Series.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I'm hot.

I'm thinking hard about...
...Matt Harvey developing some self-awareness.
...Travis d'Arnaud returning like the insane and uncontrollable YY-chromosome offspring of Johnny Bench and Josh Gibson.
...complete games; glorious complete games.
...a complete recovery and a return to public life for Tom Seaver.
...a juggernaut of a second half by Brandon Nimmo.
...Ruben Tejada slugging like Uncle Miguel.
...a sock drawer full of Matt den Dekker's castoff hose.
...Met victories slathered one on top of the other like condiments and toppings on a Dagwood sandwich, impossibly innumerable and unwieldy, yet somehow consumable to a hungry populace.

[Edgy MD]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: den Dekker is den Sukky.

Matt jef Duncan.

[Edgy MD]

Going .261 / .346 / .304 // .651 since his return, after hitting an unspeakable .156 / .224 / .200 // .424 in his callup earlier in the season.

The performance doesn't argue for it, but I'd like to see him get a few turns batting leadoff and playing center before the year is over.

Anybody?

[Lefty Specialist]

Well, it's got to be better than batting Granderson leadoff.

[Gwreck]

Edgy MD wrote: Going .261 / .346 / .304 // .651 since his return, after hitting an unspeakable .156 / .224 / .200 // .424 in his callup earlier in the season. The performance doesn't argue for it, but I'd like to see him get a few turns batting leadoff and playing center before the year is over. Anybody?

These sound like fine experiments to me. I'd be fine with some wholesale outfield shuffling. Let Granderson try playing left for a while as well.

[Zvon]

In my perfect world Lagares would be molded into an Agee like lead-off guy. Of course that would require a bit of improvement at the plate.

I figure Lags is here to stay. Dunno about denD. Not against giving him a look/see.

[Frayed Knot]

Getting Granderson out of RF and getting a real arm out there is a good idea regardless of whatever happens with MdD - although I suspect we'll have to wait at least until the off-season to see a Grandy to LF shift.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm not interested in wussy singles hitters who strike out too much playing right field, as Grandy has amply demonstrated this month.

[Frayed Knot]

Well if Granderson is going to hit like shit for the foreseeable future then he's not going to be a better fit in LF than he currently is in RF
But whatever he does, ideally I'd rather not have that arm in RF. The problem is that we essentially need an OFer who can hit with a bit of pop, and cover some ground, and hopefully throw a bit as well.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Honestly if the Mets believe in MDD's bat he's got to be the center fielder and Lagares the one they should dangle on the trade market.

I'm fine with Grandy in left. Howie Rose says the Mets acknowledge the need to make the move but don;t want to interrupt all this great momentum they have going to make the switch in-season. He also speaks of it as a simple switch with MDD, but I don;t believe they would do that unless den Dekker turns into Mike Vail's steroid-shooting little brother in a hurry.

[Edgy MD]

They moved Grandy for the sake of Abreu. Why not for MdD? Grandy must be the most cooperative player in decades. They move him on offense, they move him defense, and he's just the sort of high-profile, highly paid vet who you'd think would feel he has the juice to push back, and he says, whatever you need, Skip!

I like the notion of keeping Laggy and dD around together and maybe building a Dykstra/Wilson leadoff-hitting-centerfield-platoon-corner-outfield-sub-defensive-replacement machine. A machine!