2014 Mets' Organization All-Stars | Boilers in Pro Ball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball alumnus Kevin Plawecki was recognized as the New York Mets' Organization All-Star at catcher for the second year in a row after enjoying another successful season in Minor League Baseball.
MiLB.com recognizes the players who had the best MiLB seasons in their respective organizational farm systems. The Organization All-Star teams were compiled by position and without bias to age or prospect status.
Plawecki (2010-12) started his third year of pro ball at Double-A Binghamton and was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas in late June. He finished the summer with a .309/.365/.460 slash line to go along with 24 doubles, 11 home runs and 64 RBI. He's a .295 career hitter in the minors.
"We were really pleased with the year he had," Paul Depodesta, the Mets' vice president of player development, told MiLB.com. "He spent the first half of the year in Double-A and didn't really miss a beat, then went up to Triple-A and continued to perform very well. For a guy that was drafted just in 2012, we're extremely pleased with how quickly he's made it through the system. He's continued to make progress offensively and defensively. Offensively, we're starting to see some of the power that we always believed was there. Defensively, he's a strong receiver and his throwing is starting to get better. "
The New York Mets also won the fan vote for best farm system in MiLB.com's annual MiLBY awards.
Purdue alumni Dan Black (Chicago White Sox), Nick Wittgren (Miami Marlins) and Plawecki were all recognized as MiLB.com Organization All-Stars at this time last year.
Plawecki's promotion to Triple-A happened within hours of his selection to the MLB Futures Game, where he served as the starting catcher for the U.S. Team in the minor league showcase game held at Target Field in conjunction with the MLB All-Star Game festivities. In his first game (June 26) with the Las Vegas 51s, Plawecki hit a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning of a nationally televised game against the Sacramento RiverCats on the CBS Sports Network. Fellow Purdue alum Josh Lindblom (2007-08) was the starting pitcher for Sacramento that night.
Plawecki helped Las Vegas win the South Division of the Pacific Conference of the Pacific Coast League. The 51s have won consecutive division titles the last two years after not qualifying for the PCL playoffs from 2003-12.
Lindblom was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates Dec. 8 after he and outfielder Kyle Blanks were designated for assignment by the Oakland A's when the organization completed the Nov. 28 trade that sent Josh Donaldson to Toronto. The A's received four players in return, three of whom were on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster. One player of note in the deal was pitcher Kendall Graveman, who Purdue faced in February 2013 while he was pitching at Mississippi State.
Lindblom would not have been returning to Sacramento in 2015 regardless. The San Francisco Giants selected the RiverCats as their new Triple-A affiliate, while Oakland's affiliation changed to the Nashville Sounds.
Now Lindblom could end up as teammates with fellow Greater Lafayette native Clayton Richard with the Pirates in 2015. The Pirates signed Richard to a minor league contract earlier this month. Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate is the Indianapolis Indians of the International League.
Ten former Boilermakers were active in Minor League Baseball during the 2014 season and two others were pitching in the independent American Association. Dan Sattler (independent Wichita Wingnuts) and Wittgren (Double-A Jacksonville Suns) were both part of league championship teams in 2014.
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So excited to have my friends @JoshLindblom52 & #ClaytonRichard joining the @Pirates ..cant wait for baseball season to start again!
-- Jordan Comadena (@Funky2414) December 8, 2014