Cyclone Alum aims to catch on with Mets

Just two years after his Brooklyn Cyclone debut in 2012, catcher Kevin Plawecki has made a quick ascent in the Mets minor league farm system. This season, Plawecki is the starting catcher for the Double-A Binghamton Mets, a level that many consider as the showcase level for a call up to the major leagues.

Rated as one of the top three collegiate catchers in 2012, Plawecki was drafted from Purdue by the Mets in the first supplemental round to start his professional career for Brooklyn. Advancing to the next minor league level to Low-A Savannah, Plawecki earned mid-season honors as an All Star that got him promoted to High-A St. Lucie.

After his promotion, Plawecki racked up impressive figures at the end of the season to earn the Mets Sterling Award Co-Player of the Year, which was presented at CitiField in September, 2013. Between Low-A Savannah and High-A St. Lucie, Plawecki hit .305, and had 38 doubles along with 80 RBIs over 125 games.

Plawecki’s .305 average, the fourth highest in the Mets minor league system, has quickly established him as an “offensive catcher,” a rare commodity in today’s major league game. After his successful 2013 season, Plawecki maintains that he’s the type of hitter that knows that his job is to put the ball in play and to get on base for the team.

Now playing on a team that is looking to repeat to win the Eastern League’s East Division, third year Manager Pedro Lopez (Brooklyn 2009) looks for Plawecki’s high on-base percentage to help surpass the team’s last season’s first place finish with a record of 86-55.

Although the Binghamton Mets finished with the overall third best record across all levels of the minors in 2013, they were inexplicably swept by the rival Yankees Trenton Thunder team in the first playoff round.

Currently, Plawecki projects as the Mets number five organizational prospect for 2014 by Baseball America. Given the uncertain start of this season’s Mets position behind home plate, Plawecki could have a fast rise to Citi Field if he continues to improve this season.