Mets Minor League Blog Report 9-18-08
Toby Hyde
In this issue:
- Mets Re-Up with Gnats
- Flores at #2 in BA’s Appy League Top 20
- BA Chat Wrap
1. Mets Re-sign with Gnats
While the likely AAA affiliation move has received most of the attention, the Mets decided not to make a change in the SAL at the A-ball level. Wednesday, the Mets re-upped with the Savannah Sand Gnats for two more seasons signing a deal that runs through 2010.
The improvements the Gnats ownership group has made to Grayson Stadium was important to the Mets, “The new playing surface, dimensions, and lighting at Grayson Stadium enhanced the experience of our players in Savannah this season. Thanks to great efforts of Hardball Capital, the city, and its fans, our players and staff feel at home in Savannah,” said Adam Wogan, the Mets Director of Minor League Operations.
Without a good reason for change, I like that the Mets are staying put. The Grayson Stadium is a pleasant place to watch a game. Savannah is a cool town.
Moreover, Savannah is the closest SAL team to Port St. Lucie. It’s an easy series of flights through Atlanta or a five hour, forty minute drive.
2. BA: Flores #2 in Appy League
Matt Eddy of Baseball America ranked the Appalachian League’s Top 20 Prospects and put SS Wilmer Flores at #2 behind the Rays #1 overall pick, SS Tim Beckham. He slotted Flores at #2 based on the fact that he and Beckham both have tremendous potential with the bat, but Beckham has a “true up-the-middle-profile.” This is reasonable. He also pointed out that the league this year had “an almost unprecedented depth of talent.”
Here’s Eddy’s Flores comment. My thoughts are italicized.
The Mets' 2007 international
haul is
shaping up to be a bumper crop of Latin American talent, and Flores
could be
the best, as he has drawn comparisons to a young Miguel Cabrera for his
build,
offensive potential and Venezuelan heritage.
I hope his off the field instincts are better than Cabrera who, even as a young major leaguer, seemed to eat all off-season. On the field, this is a crazy-good comp. Miguel Cabrera is a beast.
The youngest player in the league (he turned 17
on Aug. 6),
Flores showed plus-plus bat speed and
a knack
for putting the barrel on the ball. He struck out in just 11 percent of
his
at-bats, the lowest rate among league batting title qualifiers.
Wow. Impressive numbers.
Though he's an aggressive hitter, he keeps his
hands back
well and adjusts to breaking balls. Flores
also showed a willingness to use the whole field when behind in the
count. His
power at this stage is predominantly to his pull side, but his
line-drive
stroke and physicality suggest the potential for plus power.
Carefully
read the last sentence in particular, and you’ll understand why making
judgments about 17-year old baseball players or 17-year old humans in
general,
is so hard. He could fill out and
develop “plus power” or he could not.
Whether he develops that special, explosive power to all fields
(like Cabrera)
will determine whether he’s a big leaguer or not, and a special one at
that.
Flores has sound infield actions and hands. But he has
below-average
speed and lacks first-step quickness, making him a below-average
defender
overall at shortstop. His solid-average arm would play at third base,
though,
and his bat figures to profile at any position.
So he makes the plays he gets to, but right now does not have MLB range. That’s fine. This is something to monitor over the years as Flores bat approaches MLB readiness.
BA will write up the Pioneer League Thursday, and hit the NYP League Friday.
3. BA Chat Wrap
Eddy’s chat, in which he fielded a number of Flores questions was particularly good. He elaborated on Flores’ defense, plate discipline and contact ability and pointed out that no other Mets were top-20 worthy.
Q: JAYPERS from
IL
asks:
At this point, would you award the Mets' top
overall
prospect to Flores over Martinez? 
A: Matt Eddy: For me, it's still Fernando Martinez. Flores is an intriguing talent, but let's see how he performs in full-season ball, dealing with the grind of playing a full season.
Matt Eddy: Of course, the chief complaint against Martinez is that he hasn't gone injury-free for a whole season. You're going to have to wait for the Eastern League Top 20 to get the full dirt on Martinez, but after an uneven start this season, the 19-year-old batted .275/.359/.462 with 3 HR, 6 2B, 12 BB and 16 SO in 24 August games.
Q: Joe LeCates
from
Easton, MD
asks:
Maybe the most impressive number put up by Flores was only 28 strikeouts in 245 AB's at his
age. I
know it's the Appy, but how good is his plate discipline right now?
A: Matt Eddy: Flores' contact ability (coupled with impressive power) is what stood out to me, too. Plate discipline will have to be polished against more advanced pitchers, but Flores' pitch recognition is already quite good, as he he has has the hand-eye coordination and reflexes to put all types of pitches in play.
Matt Eddy: You can see by his month-by-month walk totals that Flores became more selective later in the season, and that the higher strikeout totals resulted from his working deeper counts. As word got around the league about his ability, Flores began to see a lot more offspeed pitches early in counts. But in a positive sign, he recognized the pattern and looked offspeed early in his at-bats.
Q: Joe LeCates
from Easton, MD
asks:
With Marte as another young, talented third
baseman in the
Mets system, do you see he or Flores starting to learn a corner OF
spot, or do
the Mets just wait for Flores to move
himself
off SS and deal with it then?
A: Matt Eddy: Flores will be developed as a shortstop, at least early in his career. He led all Appy League shortstops in every cumulative defensive category — total chances, putouts, assists, double plays, etc. And his fielding percentage was above the league average.
Matt Eddy: Flores and Jefry Marte (Dominican signee and a top GCL prospect) could conceivably play the left side of the infield for the Sand Gnats next season. What's interesting about Flores' development at short is that, according to the Mets, he played mostly third base and outfield in his native Venezuela, so that the organization had to instruct him in the finer points of shortstop play in extended spring — things like making plays in the hole and getting his feet behind him on throws.
Q: Landon from Pittsburgh asks:
I dont understand your logic on Beckham over Flores. Flores
is a year
younger. Just as athletic. More advanced, and has 35-40 HR potential
and a plus
hit tool. Explain why Beckham is ahead please.
A: Matt Eddy: One more Flores question . . . Beckham ranked ahead of Flores, just as the capsule says, because of his true up-the-middle profile. Because Beckham has major league actions and a strong arm, he'll have little trouble sticking at shortstop — and it's much more difficult for clubs to find strong hitters at short than it is at third base or on an outfield corner.
Matt Eddy: The jury is still out on Flores at shortstop, but the consensus was that he lacked the quickness to play short everyday at the higher levels. Players ranging from David Eckstein to Jed Lowrie have overcome this stigma to play SS in the big leagues, it should be noted. But in the case of the Mets, Jose Reyes will be just 28 in 2011, the most optimistic arrival time for Flores, so the SS question may be moot.
Matt Eddy: While true that Flores' offensive ceiling appears to be higher, Beckham is no slouch. He's got the bat speed, and he's mature enough and coachable enough to develop into a plus offensive player. He reminded one Appy League manager of B.J. Upton at a similar stage in his development.
Q: Bobby Joe
from
TN asks:
Any other Kingsport
Mets
besides Flores looking good? A:
Matt Eddy: The only other Kingsport Met to receive any kind of consideration was RHP John Holdzkom. But being a third-year pro and not having a refined secondary pitch kept him off. He gets plus sink on a 92-96 mph fastball and he throws a fringy slider that hints at average potential. But most times, Holdzkom struggles to repeat his release point for the pitch and his command suffers.
Toby Hyde has written about the Mets organization since 2004. Please pass this along to friends, family, co-workers, and Mets fans of all stripes. To sign up for the email newsletter, click here. Even better, please visit my site at http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com.