Batting average .249 Role Baseball player Salary 235,462 USD (2015) Name Matt Dekker Weight 93 kg | Runs batted in 25 Height 1.85 m Home runs 6 Nationality American Education University of Florida | |
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Current team Washington Nationals (#21 / Outfielder) Profiles | ||
Baseball cousins matt den dekker and kevin chapman
Matthew Gerrit den Dekker (born August 10, 1987) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder in the Detroit Tigers organization. He has also played in MLB for the New York Mets and Washington Nationals.
Contents
- Baseball cousins matt den dekker and kevin chapman
- Mets Minor League Report Matt den Dekker
- Family and early life
- Amateur career
- New York Mets
- Washington Nationals
- Miami Marlins
- Detroit Tigers
- References
Mets Minor League Report: Matt den Dekker
Family and early life
Matt den Dekker was born to Gerrit and LouAnn den Dekker in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has an older brother, Brandon, and a younger sister, Jessica. The den Dekker family traces its roots back to Indonesia, formerly a longtime host to Dutch colonies. Gerrit den Dekker was born in the Netherlands before emigrating by boat with his ten siblings to the United States.
In 2014, Matt married Christine McNamara in Palm Coast, Florida.
Amateur career
After his freshman year of high school, den Dekker transferred from Coral Springs Christian Academy to Westminster Academy Christian School in Fort Lauderdale, in order to play outfield and pitch alongside his cousin, Westminster's ace pitcher, Kevin Chapman. den Dekker also played with future Washington Nationals teammate Michael A. Taylor at Westminster when the former was a senior and the latter was a freshman. As a junior, den Dekker finished with a .350 batting average and was named to the Miami Herald's All-Broward County First Team. However, the few college recruiters who showed interest were mostly small schools that wanted him to pitch. Den Dekker's only Division I scholarship offer came from a University of Florida recruiter who had attended Westminster's practices and games only to scout Chapman.
When Chapman signed on to play college baseball for the Florida Gators, den Dekker quickly followed suit. As a freshman, he batted .234/~.324/.418. As a sophomore, den Dekker hit .333/~.413/.507 with 20 steals in 20 tries and 55 runs in 55 games. The center fielder was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection as an outfielder. Den Dekker was then chosen for Team USA's college edition. He batted .176/.375/.176 in the 2008 Haarlem Baseball Week; noted for his defense, he made one error and noted for his speed, he was thrown out in his lone attempt (gunned down by Cuban defensive legend Ariel Pestano in the Gold Medal game). Den Dekker batted .227/.292/.409 in the 2008 World University Baseball Championship and did not attempt a steal. In the Gold Medal game, he almost drove in the winner, singling in the 12th, but Tommy Mendonca was gunned down at home by Keijiro Matsumoto.
Den Dekker hit .296/.409/.412 as a junior with 17 steals in 18 tries. He was still rated 92nd overall by Baseball America among prospects entering the 2009 Major League Baseball draft – then was not selected until the 475th overall pick, when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the 16th round. He returned to Florida for his senior year, hitting .358 with a team-leading 64 runs scored and a career-best 49 runs batted in as the Gators reached the 2010 College World Series.
New York Mets
After college, den Dekker was selected by the New York Mets in the fifth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He made his pro debut that summer with the Gulf Coast League Mets, hitting .278 with 5 RBI in 5 games before being promoted to the Savannah Sand Gnats. In 2011, den Dekker played for the St. Lucie Mets and Binghamton Mets. He was invited to spring training in 2012.
In 2013, den Dekker received his third invitation to the Mets Spring training camp. He played in a career high 19 games and posted a .205 batting average as he went 9 for 44 with one home run and seven runs batted in while striking out 16 times. On Sunday, March 24, den Dekker broke his right wrist attempting to make a play on a fly ball hit by Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson.
On August 27, 2013, the Mets promoted den Dekker to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 29. He hit his first MLB home run on September 1, 2013, off Ross Ohlendorf of the Washington Nationals.
Washington Nationals
On March 30, 2015, the Mets traded den Dekker to the Washington Nationals for pitcher Jerry Blevins. On June 26, 2015, den Dekker hit his first home run with the Washington Nationals and the second of his career. He came up with a two-run homer in a tied game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 18, 2015, providing the winning runs for the Nationals.
Den Dekker was optioned to the Syracuse Chiefs at the end of Spring Training on April 1, 2016. He was recalled on April 6 when Ben Revere was placed on the disabled list, and hit a two-run double in his first at-bat of the season. After the Nationals optioned him back to Syracuse later in the season, den Dekker hit just .208 before being taken off the 40-man roster and outrighted to the minors on September 3, 2016.
Miami Marlins
During the 2016 offseason, den Dekker signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins. On May 2, 2017, he opted out of his contract, becoming a free agent.
Detroit Tigers
On May 16, 2017, Den Dekker signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. He was called up by the Tigers on June 23.On July 5, 2017, he was designated for assignment and sent outright to the Toledo Mud Hens four days later.