From the day Azusa Pacific University’s baseball coach Paul Svagdis first saw tape of Kirk Nieuwenhuis from his Denver high school, he thought he found a special talent.
“We always felt like he had tremendous upside,” Svagdis said. “You’re looking at a kid who was a three-sport athlete in high school. I thought we were getting a guy that had great upside, but had to develop, and that he would just by getting a chance to go into a college environment and just focus on baseball.
“Even when he got drafted, I was telling scouts there’s so much left in there that I’m excited to see what he does.”
Since the Mets made the former NAIA star their third-round selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, Nieuwenhuis has done nothing to change his old manager’s expectations. The 6-foot-3,
210-pound center fielder has moved quickly through the Mets’ system, and after Thursday night’s game is hitting .301 with six homers, 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases for Double-A Binghamton.
“Well, we were hoping that he would do what he’s doing right now,” Mets field coordinator Terry Collins said. “I was [in Binghamton] recently, and he plays a great center field, and he grinds out at-bats.
“The only thing that will keep him out of the big leagues is if he gets hurt.”
The 22-year-old Nieuwenhuis entered the season as the No. 13 prospect in the Mets’ system, according to Baseball America, after an impressive first full season in professional baseball.
Nieuwenhuis, who bats left-handed and throws right-handed, hit .274 with 16 homers, 71 RBI and had 16 stolen bases for High-A St. Lucie, and he led the Florida State League in runs, doubles, and slugging percentage.
One person who hasn’t been surprised about Nieuwenhuis’ immediate success is his old college coach. Svagdis said that whenever Nieuwenhuis went up against other elite competition with playing for Azusa, he never failed to raise his game to that level.
“I can’t really think of a defining play,” Svagdis said. “But I can think of when we were facing the best guys in our league and the country at our level, that he looked the best in those moments.
“He’s blessed with some great physical attributes . . . but he’s a competitor. For the three seasons we had him, he was the ultimate competitor.”
Along the way, he also has impressed at least one scout.
“I think you’ve got a big leaguer there, for sure,” the scout said. “I think he’s gonna lift the ball and hit homers. I could only guess [how many] now — maybe 20 — but it could be more than that.
“When this kid figures it out, he’s gonna be a pretty good player.”
Collins said wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Nieuwenhuis getting a shot at Triple-A Buffalo at some point this season. But, either way, he said he was confident Nieuwenhuis would do what it took to join fellow ‘08 draftee Ike Davis in Queens at some point down the road.
“He works so hard, and plays so hard, that stuff will come,” Collins said. “He’s not gonna let anything stand in his way.
“You tell Kirk Nieuwenhuis that he needs to work on his secondary lead off second base, and he’s gonna do it that day during batting practice. That’s just the way he is.”
tbontemps@nypost.com
Down on the farm
Andrew Brackman, Yankees
RHP, High-A Tampa
In his last two starts, the 6-foot-10 right-hander, who was the 2007 first-round pick, is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA. He has allowed one run over 12 innings, striking out 12 and walking two.
Mark Cohoon, Mets
LHP, Low-A Savannah
The left-hander, a 12th round pick in 2008, has allowed two runs or fewer in all 10 of his starts this season. Cohoon is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA, striking out 47 and walking 12 in 631⁄3 innings.
Jonathan Albaladejo, Yankees
RHP, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
The right-hander has been dominant this season while serving as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s closer. He is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA, striking out 27 and walking nine in 231⁄3 innings.