With the 22nd pick in the 1st round of the 2008 draft, the New York Mets drafted Reese Havens, a shortstop out of South Carolina. Now you may be asking yourself, "why would the Mets draft a shortstop when they already have Jose Reyes, arguably the second best shortstop in the game?"
Well, the first reason is that Havens, who could probably stick as an average to below-average defensive shortstop, probably projects better as a second baseman. The second reason is that Havens is an extremely gifted, patient hitter.
In his final season with South Carolina, Havens posted a line of .359/.486/.645 and blasted 18 homeruns in just 248 at-bats. Havens also showed excellent patience, walking 58 times while only striking out 44 times. Of course, college numbers are much less dependable than professional numbers, but Havens did play in the SEC, which is one of the toughest conferences in college baseball.
Havens made his professional debut in short-season A ball last year, where he compiled a line of .247/.340/.471 and hit 3 homeruns in 85 at-bats. It's very hard to judge a player with such a small professional sample size, but it appears that Havens has started to make a successful transition form college to pro ball. While Havens' strikeout rate is up, which is expected; he is still walking 11.5% of the time, which is very solid.
If he can continue to improve his offensive game and successfully make the transition from shortstop to second base, Havens could blossom into an elite player at a typically scarce position. He will probably start 2009 in A-, but if he can continue to excel offensively, he should move quickly through the system. Look for Havens to be showing off his effective blend of power and plate discipline in the big leagues by mid-2011.
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