A Look at Three First Basemen Drafted in 2011

The Mets drafted three first basemen in 2011: Ryan Hutson (Rd 36), Tant Shepherd (Rd 24), and Cole Frenzel (Rd 7). All three are currently playing for Mets farm teams.

In his last 10 games with the GCL Mets beginning with the July 7 game, Ryan Huston has been swinging the bat much batter. In that span he’s hit .310 with nine hits in 29 at bats. Five of those were extra base hits, which gave him a slugging average during that period of .552. As a result, he’s upped his average by 45 points. Before July 7, it was .205; now, it’s .250. His OPS is .778.

Surprisingly, the right-handed batter is hitting righties much better than lefties. Against righties he’s hitting .269; against lefties, .188.

Tant Shepherd, who played first base for the University of Texas, has been switched to third base by the Kingsport Mets. The move has not helped his bat. He’s currently hitting only .167 in 42 at bats with only two extra base hits, both doubles, and one RBI. In contrast, in his final season at Texas, he hit .303. The Mets might want to consider returning him to first base. His OPS is .514.

In Brooklyn, Cole Frenzel is manning first base. Frenzel is hitting .297. In 37 at bats, he has seven RBIs but only two extra base hits, a double and a triple. The left-handed batter is hitting well against both righties (.294) and lefties (.333). His OPS is .765.

Though Shepherd is not currently playing first base and is in a batting slump, those three draftees seem to have improved substantially the Mets farm system’s future at first base.