Daniel Murphy
From The Met Wiki
| Age: 25 (born April 1, 1985) |
| Position: 1B (was 3B, will also try 2B and OF) |
| Bats: Left Throws: Right |
| Number: 28 |
| Acquired: Amateur draft |
| Contract: 1 year, $400,000 |
Injury Update: Murph's out for the 2010 season after a high-grade tear of the medial collateral ligament on his right knee while being taken out trying to turn a double play for the Buffalo Bisons. Murph was playing second base because he lost his first base job to Ike Davis after spraining the same ligament running the bases in a spring training game.
Daniel Murphy came out of nowhere in 2008 to capture Mets fans hearts, and he's maintained their support despite an awful 2009. Murph's a hard worker who plays with tremendous discipline and passion, and will get everything he can out of his talents. The question remains whether or not that's enough.
Daniel Murphy was Carlos Delgado's replacement at first base, and then his successor. Murph is a very patient hitter who hits well the other way, but has struggled with inside fastballs and was terrible at the plate for two and a half months in 2009 before improving during the second half. A mediocre third baseman in the minors (a position occupied by David Wright), Murph was put in left field where he was OK in 2008, but terrible in 2009. When Delgado went for surgery Murph became the Mets' primary first baseman. He made rookie mistakes there, but looked far better there than he ever did in the outfield, and gave hope that he would turn into a good defensive first baseman.
In 2010 Murph struggled in Spring Training and then got hurt. Mike Jacobs was awful as his replacement, and the Mets brought up Ike Davis who got off to a tremendous start.
Murph's young career has been characterized by ups & downs:
- A 13th round pick in 2006, he wasn't considered a serious prospect as he began 2008 in AA
- An excellent 3 months in AA earned him a call-up into the Mets' injury-depleted outfield
- He starred for a couple of months, but faded at the end. Had an .817 OPS in 131 big league at bats in 2008, and then tore up the Arizona Fall League.
- Began 2009 as the Mets' starting left fielder
- Looked awful in left field and was banished from the outfield forever
- Found a new home at first base, but has struggled at the plate
- Made what people have been calling the play of the year, the Murphy reach around.
- Got injured in Spring Training in 2010 and replaced by Ike Davis.
The Mets lost 2 of their first 13 games because of routine fly balls dropped by Murphy. In each case, the drop led to a 2-run tie-breaking inning from which the Mets failed to recover.
In 2008 and early 2009 Murphy pitchers pitched to Murphy like a normal rookie, but Murph exhibited patience, unusual success when behind in the count, and the ability to drive the ball the other way. But while he continues to excel in those areas, he hasn't done nearly enough damage when ahead in the count, and he's too often beaten by fastballs and other inside pitches. The areas of the game where he's excelled are the complementary aspects -- the stuff you have to do when pitchers are avoiding giving you good stuff to hit. He has yet to succeed in the primary aspect, pulling inside fastballs early in the count.
In late 2009 he suddenly became a different hitter. He started hitting aggressively and well, with 27 second half doubles, but he stopped drawing walks.
[edit] 2009 Rookie Status
Murphy had one too many 2008 at bat to maintain his rookie status. Were the playoffs not on the line in the final game, Murph would have surely been taken out so he could compete for the 2009 Rookie of the Year. Of course, if during that last week Murphy had successfully laid down a sacrifice or taken Zambrano's 3-2 pitch in the dirt, he also would have maintained his rookie status. Rookie status is the only status determined by at bats and not plate appearances. As 2009 began this seemed like it might be an issue. As it turns out, rookie status was not the only thing preventing Murph from getting Rookie of the Year consideration.
[edit] Defense
Murph was considered a mediocre third baseman in the minors. Though he played well in left field in 2008, he struggled terribly there in 2009, and appears to have neither the arm necessary for that position nor the ability to read fly balls. The Mets tried him at second base in AA and then in the Arizona Fall League, but don't seem to think he can handle the position.
But once Delgado went down Murphy finally surprised people positively with his defense. Murph has picked up the position nicely. He's made some mistakes from over-aggressiveness, but as he gains experience he may become very good defensively at first. Of course, he's going to need to really develop offensively if he's going to be a starting first baseman.
He may learn to play second well enough to be a valuable utility player, but probably not well enough to be a regular there.
[edit] Analysis
Murphy has great at bats, takes a lot of pitches, hits to all fields, and gets on base. But that's not enough. Unless he can successfully play second base, which now looks unlikely, he's going to need to find some power if he's going to become a valuable Major Leaguer. He'll also need to improve his defense, wherever he plays, but there's reason to be confident that he'll develop into a good defensive first baseman. Unfortunately for Murph the two positions he plays may be locked down by David Wright and Ike Davis so Murph's future may be elsewhere, or as a utility player.
