New York Mets Prospect Nick Evans

In his major league debut, Mets 1B prospect Nick Evans started in LF and went 3-4 with three doubles and his first two major league RBIs.  This helped lead the Mets to a 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.  (ed:  Didn't a Rockies starting line-up that wouldn't qualify for B-game status in Spring Training contribute just as much?  FT:  Just because Matt Holliday and Todd Helton were the only two Opening Day starters in the line-up, doesn't diminish the excitement Evans brought with his debut.)

In AA Binghampton of the Eastern League,  the 22-year-old Evans had a slashstat line of 292/356/538 prior to being recalled to fill-in for the injured Marlon Anderson who was filling-in for the DL-ed Moises Alou.  His debut has bought him some more prospect capital.  Here is what two leading prospect luminaries wrote about Nick Evans. 

John Sickels The Baseball Prospect Book 2008 :
His power production continues to increase [.419 SLG in 2006 to .476 in 2007], and he's made major strides improving his strike zone judgment and cutting his strikeouts [.320 OBP in 2006 to .374 in 2007]...His glove is OK at first base, and his string arm is a nice leftover from his days as a thirdbaseman....if he can maintain his plate discipline, he has breakout potential. Grade C+

Baseball America Prospect Handbook 2008 :
...One scout with a National League club said he turned in Evans as a prospect despite considering him below-average as a hitter, runner, fielder and thrower.  The reason is that 5th tool.  Evans has more usable power than any Mets minor leaguer from the draft.  He has a swing that can get long, but he has enough bat speed to catch-up to good fastballs when he's looking for them.  he's exceptionally strong and can drive the ball out of the park to all fields.  In fact, using all fields and improving his two-strike approach were key improvements he made in 2007....absolutely mashed left-handers (1.036 OPS)....with Carlos Delgado aging less gracefully than New York had hoped, 2008 could be a huge year for Evans to see if he can move ahead of Mike Carp as the system's best hope for a homegrown first baseman of the future. Ranked #20 in organization