Context: Outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis ranked No. 4 on Toby Hyde’s Top 41 list of Mets prospects. He crushed Triple-A pitching for the first couple of months of 2011 before falling victim to a shoulder injury that cost him the rest of his season. Terry Collins said yesterday (among other times) that if Nieuwenhuis hadn’t been hurt last year, he’d be in the mix for a starting job in the Mets’ outfield this spring and said the outfielder reminds him a little bit of a lefty-hitting Jim Edmonds. Nieuwenhuis is 24 and has played most of his Minor League games in center, though some doubt his ability to stay in center field as he grows.

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