Top Prospect
Alert - Danny Garcia
DOB: 4/12/80, Age: 23, Height: 6’0’’, Weight:
180, Bats: R, Throws: R. Acquired: Mets - Drafted in the 5th Round of the
2001 Draft (Pepperdine). 2002 Stats: (High-A - St. Lucie) .273 AVG, 432
AB, 34 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 13 SB, 53 BB, 77 K, .369 OBP, .403 SLG. 2003 Stats:
(AA - Binghamton) .333 AVG, 117 AB, 12 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 2 SB, 10 BB, 20 K,
.391 OBP, .530 SLG; (AAA - Norfolk) .291 AVG, 151 AB, 9 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 6
SB, 10 BB, 22 K, .349 OBP, .364 SLG.
Danny Garcia is a mediocre
middle infield prospect that is still young enough to warrant some
interest. Drafted out of Pepperdine in the fifth round of the 2001 amateur
draft, Garcia has moved all the way to AAA Norfolk in just two years. He
handles the bat very well, and should be expected to hit for average, but
most of his hits will be of the one and two base variety. Garcia has hit
69 doubles in his brief minor league career, so there is a chance that
some more power will develop, but college players are (for obvious
reasons) much less likely to develop a lot of power after their first few
minor league seasons than high school players, so my expectations for
Garcia’s HR totals would be in the 8-12 range over a full season by the
time he reaches his prime. His plate discipline is decent, but not
outstanding. All in all, he has a small amount of each of the offensive
skills, which is just enough to keep him in the “prospect ranks.” On the
basepaths, Garcia has good speed. He doesn’t quite have the skill set to
be a leadoff hitter, but he could be expected to steal 10-20 bases if
given the opportunity. On defense, Garcia is probably at his most
valuable. He is a fairly good second baseman, even though he is a recently
converted outfielder. His best position defensively is probably still
center field, but he could also play left, third, and short if need be,
which almost certainly (along with his limited offensive skill set) seals
his fate as a future utility man. All in all, he (and Reyes, of course) is
the kind of player that the Mets should be using, instead of paying Jay
Bell and Rey Sanchez almost $2 million to bring them that special 70-win
feeling. Everything would have had to go perfectly for the Mets to have a
shot at contending this year, and when your core involves the number of
players past their prime that the Mets have, the likelihood of a few
wheels coming off becomes greater and greater.
The Mets are going to be
in a state of flux under the new regime, so a lot of players that would
otherwise be seen as marginal may have a shot to prove otherwise. Garcia
is certainly one of those players. Mike Piazza, Ty Wigginton, Cliff Floyd,
and Jose Reyes are the only positional players that appear to be locks for
spots in 2004, so the two spots that Garcia can play the best (2B and CF)
may be open. The Mets will still be terrible for a few years at least, but
maybe they’ll find a player or two in the rebuilding process. Garcia’s
best shot will be at second, where his most likely competition will be
Marcos Scutaro. I expect Garcia to eventually settle into a utility role,
much like one of his best comps: “Super” Joe McEwing. Scutaro is a better
player than Garcia, so I doubt that Danny will end up with the starting
job for the 2004 Mets, but he does have a reasonable chance (perhaps 25%).
I expect that Garcia will get a cup of coffee this year, and should get at
least a few hundred at-bats with the Mets next
season.
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