Portland Seadogs vs. Binghamton Mets April 17, 2009 Report

This was my first trip of the year down to Binghamton to watch some AA ball. The prospects that I was most interested in seeing were Lars Anderson, Josh Reddick, and Angenis Diaz as these guys were in the Redsox Top 20 prospect lists. At the time, there were no standouts playing for the Mets as Ruban Tejada and Josh Thole had days off. Pitching for the Mets was Dylan Owen a short right hander with average at best stuff. This day, he didn't show anything other than throwing batting practice to the SeaDogs. Owen only lasted three innings allowing 6 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He did manage to hit 93 on the gun which surprised me, but he was 89-91 most of the game. The one guy who surprised me though was Mark Wagner who struggled greatly in AA in 2008. In the first inning he ripped a shot to left center that was a no doubt homerun. Later on he added a double, but struckout on a breaking pitch from a reliever in for Owen. Wagner could be a nice backup catcher somewhere in the majors. Reddick played solid in this game as he was working the count nicely and nearly hit a homerun out to right center. He laced a triple down the right field line and showed solid speed. Reddick might steal 7-10 bags a year in the majors. However, I noticed he is a pull hitter and will have to learn to hit the ball the other way better. His defense in centerfield was okay, but not great. He got a ball hit over his head for a double, but his arm is a cannon as no one would test his arm to advance a base. Lars Anderson may have had a terrible 2009 season, but he hit a ball harder than anyone I have seen this year. Now granted the pitch he hit for the homerun was an 87 MPH Batting Practice Fastball but he hit it well over 400 feet dead center. Anderson felt like he got a monkey off his back after he hit the homerun. Anderson was almost to patient at the plate and ended striking out chasing a pitch out of the zone and showed frustration in the dugout. He slammed his bat and other items in anger. He also got in an argument with a fan before the game for not signing baseball items and was cocky about it. Anderson played a solid 1st base and scooped a throw out of the dirt, but he is not going to be anything else but a 1st baseman. He has below average speed and not much range in the field. Argenis Diaz, looks like a future utility player and will likely not hit for power or average. He is very good in the field and has very good range to get to balls that most fielders don't get to. Overall I thought that this was a good game to watch, but here were the first of Anderson's frustrations on a rough season for him.