Cutnpaste: Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz, Nick Evans, Lenny Dykstra, Maikel Cleto

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Jordany Valdespin - Not to beat a dead horse, as I recently described Valdespin in detail, in both the LH hitter post, and the Shortstop post, so all I’m going to say about him is since he is finishing this year at Buffalo, it makes perfect sense for him to man shortstop there next year. As far as him being able to help the Mets next year, the question right now is whether he can improve enough in three areas to warrant a call-up to the bigs. First he needs to cut down on his errors, second he needs to stop getting caught stealing so much, even if it means running less often, and third the coaching staff must decide that he has left his lack of maturity issues behind for good.

9-3-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/7#/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/2  - Even though Ike Davis basically has first base locked in for the New York Mets in the foreseeable future, they have a young prospect by the name of Zach Lutz that could eventually give him a run for his money.Lutz, who also plays third base, has been compared to Lucas Duda in that his power is borderline legendary and that is his greatest asset.

In Terry Collins' eyes, a significant gap exists between what Nick Evans is capable of doing in the Major Leagues and what he has thus far had the opportunity to do. "If Nick Evans, at this level, got 450, 500 at-bats," the Mets manager said, "I bet you'd see 25 homers out of him." To date, Evans has produced eight home runs over 330 career plate appearances, including three in 53 PAs since becoming a full-time starter late last month. Neither he nor the Mets may ever know for sure how he would perform over a full season, given the likelihood that Evans will break camp as a reserve player, not a starter, next season - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110907&content_id=24365506¬ebook_id=24365510&vkey=notebook_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym  

Former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles for allegedly exposing himself to women he met on Craigslist. City News Service reports Dykstra is accused of exposing himself to several women who responded to ads for personal assistants and housekeepers between 2009 and 2011. The 48-year-old former baseball star has been jailed since June in lieu of $455,000 bail on car theft and drug possession charges. He also faces bankruptcy fraud charges. A pretrial hearing is scheduled Oct. 5 on the indecent exposure misdemeanor charges. - http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6941919/lenny-dykstra-pleads-not-guilty-indecent-exposure  

Prospect of the Day: Maikel Cleto, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals - If you like fastballs, pay close attention to St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Maikel Cleto, just promoted to the majors. Keep in mind that it takes more than pure heat to make a successful pitcher. Cleto was originally signed by the New York Mets as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2006. After a pair of mediocre seasons in the low minors, he was involved in the December 2008, 12-player, three-way J.J. Putz trade which landed him in the Mariners system. More mediocre numbers resulted in 2009 (5.33 ERA in 25 innings in the Midwest League, with a 24/11 K/B but 35 hits allowed), then he was hit hard in the difficult environment at High Desert in the California League last year (6.16 ERA, 83/44 K/BB in 102 innings, 125 hits). - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/9/7/2409092/prospect-of-the-day-maikel-cleto-rhp-st-louis-cardinals