Does Lucas Duda’s defense determine 2012 decisions?

Lucas Duda has unquestionably been one of the bright spots for the Mets in 2011. Not many knew what to expect from Duda after his September call-up in 2010. He looked overmatched his first two weeks and then finished strong, yet his overall numbers for the Mets produced just a .678 OPS. Part of the reason for the skepticism is that Duda was never mentioned as one of the club’s top prospects and then he had such an outstanding season in the minors, as he had a .967 OPS between Double and Triple-A in 2010. Duda made the Mets out of Spring Training but hit just as poorly at the start of 2011 as he did a season ago. He was with the club for eight games, including four starts, and in 20 PA he had a single, double and two walks and earned a trip to Buffalo. He came back in May and got into two games before being sent down again. At this point he had a .100/.217/.150 line with 6 Ks in 20 ABs. The Mets called him up for this third stint with the club on June 10th and he has been hitt...