Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Blog Archive » Nick Evans: Better Hitter and Just as Versatile as Tatis

Nick Evans: Better Hitter and Just as Versatile as Tatis


By Mike Silva ~ June 13th, 2010. Filed under: Mets Minors, Mike Silva.

Last night I covered the Trenton Thunder/Binghamton Mets game at Waterfront Park. During batting practice I took notice that Nick Evans spent a considerable amount of time taking groundballs at third base. Should this be a surprise? Maybe not, as Evans has played six games at third in his minor league career, but it did make me wonder if he is trying to diversify himself enough to get back to the big leagues. In speaking to B-Mets manager Tim Teufel last night he said “versatility helps, but sometimes corner infielders taking grounders at other positions can help get their feet moving.” It appears the exercise is just as much about improving Evans defensively as it is about making him desirably for the big league club.

If you look at the Mets 25 man roster the most obvious spot for Evans would be replacing Fernando Tatis who, after an 0-3 night, is hitting .200 on the season. Tatis main strengths- hitting left handed pitching and versatility- are traits of Evans who did a nice job at times filling in the past two seasons.

This season Evans has been at AA Binghamton and has 12 homers, 37 RBI, and an .857 OPS. Why he is two levels down after serving time with the big club? That question confuses many around the game, but the Eastern League is very competitive so the numbers shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The Mets have slowly incorporated some of their organizational players like Ruben Tejada, Chris Carter, Jesus Feliciano, and Ike Davis on the big league roster. I think Nick Evans might be the next player they should consider. He can play both corner outfield spots, first, and perhaps now third. He also has an OPS over 1.000 against left handed pitching.

Is a Nick Evans promotion realistic? I am unsure since it appears certain players get buried and fall out of favor in this organization. One thing is for sure, Evans can produce at a higher rate than Fernando Tatis and for about half the price.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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2 Responses to Nick Evans: Better Hitter and Just as Versatile as Tatis

  1. Shamik
    June 13th, 2010 at 1:01 pm

    I suspect that they want Evans to get as much experience as possible down in the minors to A) improve his game should he be needed in the bigs as a starter and B) to improve his stock if he is used in a trade. I think his development is hurt if he’s buried on the bench on the Mets.

  2. John
    June 13th, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    I think Evans is a much better choice than Tatis; however, Tatis is the emergency catcher so I don’t see that happening.
    What I don’t understand why is Evans is at AA and they waste space in Buffalo with Jacobs. Evans can’t hit a curve ball from a right hand pitcher so he will probably only be a platoon player, but we know that Jacobs will never be anything more than he is. Which is not as good as Evans.

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