I’ve covered a variety of prospects here over the past few months, and one of my main topics of interest has been the potential center field vacancy that could be looming for the Mets in the very near future. While it seems likely the Mets will tender Angel Pagan a contract this offseason, he becomes a free agent after next year. That said, I uncovered this write-up over at Baseball America on Mets prospect Matt den Dekker, another name to toss into the discussion as a future option in center.

Keep An Eye On: A fifth-round pick last year, Matt den Dekker finished the season in Binghamton, and the 24-year-old could continue to climb quickly because he’s a rarity in the Mets organization as a true center fielder.

Scouts questioned den Dekker’s feel for hitting while at Florida, but he hit .296/.362/.494 in 267 at-bats for St. Lucie prior to a bump to Double-A. He showed good power with Binghamton (11 homers, .426 slugging), but his strikeouts rose and he hit just .235.

“We were hoping to help him get better against lefthanders,” Wogan said, “which is something he did improve on early on in the year. We also want him to be able to continue to improve his approach at the plate . . . We saw that he was patient to get his pitch, and yet his power wasn’t compromised. He made progress.”

He clearly has a way to go yet, and was a bit old for the lower minors, but seems intriguing enough. While all these prospects are great to speculate on, will the Mets really go this route? With their budget, a big name free agent signing may be the eventual route the club takes. The great thing about prospecting is that it always keeps you guessing, and this situation is sure to keep my interest going forward.