Player Profile: Travis d'Arnaud

     Travis d'Arnaud at 6'2 weighing in at 210 pounds is a pretty good defensive catcher. He showed signs of what he could be after coming back from a minor league send down in the middle of the season. His number for the season last year are: .242 avg, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 48 runs, in a 108 games and 385 at bats. He will hopefully play 30-40 games while getting around 500 at bats. He should be somewhere around his stat line this year hitting: .250-.260, 12-15 HR, 50-65 RBI, 50 runs. He hit .180 at the start of 2014 and couldn't hit his way out of a paper bag. On June 7th he was demoted to the minor leagues. He hit .436 in the minors and made his case for coming back to the majors. Upon returning (June 24) after a 15 game stay in the minor leagues, he hit significantly better. From the first game he looked much more relaxed at the plate when he hit a 3-run home run.
   
     He will start off as the Mets every day Catcher. Hopefully he continues his hitting from last season. He is someone that the Mets pitching staff has come to like to pitch to. His skills behind the plate are average. He had nine errors and 12 passed balls. His caught stealing percentage was .194 so hopefully that goes up. He will probably bat sixth or seventh. As long as he doesn't get off to a slow start or get injured he should be able to get a whole year behind the plate. The Mets should give him every opportunity to succeed at this level. Catchers usually develop slower than other position players. Whether it be that they are focused on understanding the pitchers or what but even Yadier Molina didn't become this great bat until he was 28. Yadier did however have decent numbers before that but he built himself to become the best defensive catcher in the league. I would like d'Arnaud to become a very good defensive catcher first and then he can focus on the hitting. I think he can be a very good piece to the Mets as a team. I like his persistence to use the trip to the minor leagues as a time to get his head straight and not put as much pressure on himself as he did at the start of 2014.