Final 2002 Scouting Report: OF, Esix Snead

The Mets claimed Esix Snead off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001. The Cardinals selected Snead in the 18th round of the 1998 draft out of Central Florida University. At Central Florida, Snead played baseball and football. Esix Snead was the second recipient of the Brian Cole Award. Snead had become a close friend of Cole when they were teammates for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League in 2000.

At AA, Snead has had a total of 32 extra-base hits in 2 full seasons. Therein lies the problem for Snead. He demonstrated in 2000 at Potomac a willingness to draw walks at about 1 per 6.8 AB. As pitchers improve their command, at higher levels, they have no fear of his bat and simply pound Snead's "slash and run style" with fastballs. Snead dramatically improved his contact in 2002 and his 3 HR represents a career high in 5 seasons.

Year	Team	AVG.	AB	Hits	HR	RBI	R	SB	BB	K	OBP	SLG
2002	Mets	.309	13	4	1	3	3	4	1	4	.357	.538
2002	Binghamton	.252	401	101	3	42	62	66	45	72	.335	.327
2001	New Haven	.233	520	121	1	33	71	64	44	115	.307	.282
2000	Potomac	.235	493	116	1	34	82	109	72	98	.340	.302

*Stats as of 10/01/02.

Batting and Power. Esix Snead needs to learn to drive the baseball if he is to draw enough BB to have a good OBP and take advantage of his speed. He also needs to continue improving his ability to make contact.

Base Running and Speed. Snead has outstanding speed and is an excellent base runner & base stealer.

Defense. Snead is a good defensive OF.

Projection. At best, Snead is a marginal prospect.

ETA. Snead already made his debut in 2002 hitting a game-winning home run. He should bounce back and forth on the AAA shuttle and perhaps eventually land a job as a reserve OF unless he can dramatically improve his ability to drive the baseball.

Centerfielders	Team
Jeff Duncan	A - St. Lucie Mets
Angel Pagan	A - St. Lucie Mets
Wayne Lydon	A - Capital City Bombers
Derran Watts	A - Brooklyn Cyclones
Roberto Solano	R - Kingsport Mets

COMMENTS

Despite the Mets trading Alex Escobar to the Indians and the tragic loss of Brian Cole, the center field positions seems to be in good hands. Pagan and Solano appear to have star potential. Duncan and Watts are at least solid prospects. Wayne Lydon is having a break through season. With the exception of Solano, the current CFs don't possess Escobar's or Cole's power.

1. Roberto Solano can run, hit for power, play defense, and throw. Solano clearly needs to develop better plate discipline to determine if he'll hit. Still, he may one day challenge for the Mets best prospect. But, that's a few seasons away. Nonetheless, Solano will be an exciting prospect to watch develop in the Mets system.

2. Jeff Duncan, who struggled mightily at Columbia in 2001, arrived in 2002 with good seasons at both Columbia and St. Lucie. His stolen base success rate of 85% (20 of 23) was down a bit from 2001. He shows excellent plate discipline. He has drawn a combined 35 BB and having 37 K in a combined 190 AB. With his 19 extra-base hits including 5 HR, MLB won't just bust him with FB after FB. He's a polished defensive CF who bunts very well.

3. Angel Pagan remains very raw and -range prospects. Joey Cora has taken Pagan under his wing and Pagan has played for a team Cora is a part owner of and is the manager.

4. Wayne Lydon, who converted to a switch-hitter in 2001, has had an excellent season batting over .300 with an OBP of .386. He has successful stolen 64 bases in 70 attempts (91.4%). He needs to demonstrate that he can drive the ball.

5. Derran Watts is a toolsy speedster who plays good defense and has gap power. Watts has the best arm among the CFs.

6. Jesus Gamera , a power hitting CF playing for Universidad de Carabobo (VSL), is another player to watch.

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