High hopes for New York Mets prospect Desmond Lindsay are not looking so good with a slow start in Single-A to begin the 2019 season.
When players get drafted by an organization, their vision tends to be a straight shot to the major leagues after spending some times in the minors. No one ever truly thinks they’ll be in the minor leagues for an extended amount of time. For New York Mets prospect Desmond Lindsay, it’s been anything but a cakewalk since he began his professional career.
Since being drafted in the second round of the 2015 draft, he has yet to move past the Single-A level. Although his age is a major factor in that, as he was drafted at the age of 18, his bat has yet to show why he should have been promoted any sooner.
Most players improve as they climb up the rankings of minor league baseball, but some of Lindsay’s numbers have actually declined as he has gotten promoted. Across three stints in the Gulf Coast League, Lindsay batted for a .310 batting average and an on-base percentage of .421. Those are impressive numbers in 32 games and over 100 plate appearances.
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But as Lindsay advanced onto the Short-Season A Brooklyn Cyclones, the numbers did not carry over. Although he hit 4 home runs and drove in 24 RBI across two stints with Brooklyn, his batting average dropped to .269 and his impressive OBP dropped to .387.
Lindsay has played a total of 99 games in his career for Single-A St. Lucie. His power numbers stayed the same as he hit 4 home runs and drove in 35 runs, but the batting average and OBP dropped again. In St. Lucie, Lindsay’s average dropped to .214 and his OBP dropped to .310.
So far in 2019 its been less the same slow start to the season for the young outfielder. In 15 games and 59 plate appearances, Lindsay has an average of .196 and an OBP of .305.
This year Lindsay has also managed to hit just 1 home run, driving in 5 runs, and record 2 doubles. Lindsay is currently on the 7-day IL, which makes it 3 straight years Lindsay has had at least one trip to the IL in a season.
The good news for the Mets organization and Lindsay is that he is still young enough where he could potentially figure things out and make an impact for the team in the future. Now 22 years old, many injuries have held Lindsay back as many scouts say he has been hesitant on the base paths due to the leg injuries.
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The Mets have had their fair share of flops when it comes to early round draft picks and if Lindsay can’t get things together he will join that list of guys who just didn’t pan out.