The Mets’ offense is bad.  They just don’t score a lot of runs… face it, they don’t score a little runs too often.  With not much offense coming from anyone not named David Wright or Daniel Murphy, I think I have the solution: It is time to bring Wilmer Flores up.

Wilmer Flores is hitting .308/.349/.488 in AAA and he’s driving in plenty of runs 52 in 66 games.  He’s played mostly second base and the common problem people bring up is that Murphy already has the position covered.  With Ike Davis demoted to AAA and hitting poorly in AAA the Mets have an opportunity to bring Flores up to play second while Murphy moves to first.  But… what happens when/if Davis is ready to come back up?

Well… the Mets already know that there isn’t much sense in holding onto both Murphy and Flores.  Both are hitting second baseman who will not be remembered for their gloves.  This trade deadline will likely see one or the other traded to a contending team.  (My money is on Murphy being traded.)  Bringing Flores up now gives the Mets more offense and allows them to showcase the paring on more equal footing.

The only reason not to would be if the Mets are gunning for a protected draft pick.  This wouldn’t be a terrible idea as with $45 Mil to spend they might want to be able to sign free agents who have declined arbitration.

AAA:

If not Flores… then Zach Lutz – Lutz is hitting up a storm in AAA and could come up to be the everyday first baseman for a while.

Jack Leathersich is auditioning in Vegas – He’s given up runs in both his outings but he’s still striking players out left and right.

Rafael Montero out of AA for good – He’s got two solid AAA starts under his belt and is just an injury away from the rotation.

AA:

Chill about Travis Taijeron – Sure, he’s putting up great numbers and could be useful.  He’s played all of 7 games in AA.  There is an old saying about putting the cart before the horse.

Allan Dykstra needs to get promoted – You are probably also hearing his name and as soon as there is room in AAA he should be headed up.

A+:

Noah Syndergaard is leveling off – He’s just not blowing me away at this point in the season.  Might finish year in FSL.

Rainy Lara is Montero Jr. – He will likely follow Montero’s path and start 2014 in AA and see his name in the Top 10 Met prospects.

Full Season A:

Jayce Boyd is heating back up – Needs to keep on this power tear he’s been lately on.

Brandon Nimmo picked up where he left off – Nice to see no slide once Nimmo returned from his injury.

Luis Cessa looking good – He’s had four VERY pretty starts in a row in Savannah.

Gabriel Ynoa statistically sharp – He’s not got the greatest stuff but his results are continually good at this level.

Short Season A: GAMES START THIS WEEK!!!

16 comments on “Mets Minors: Finding a reason for Wilmer Flores

  • Name

    Murphy is one of our better hitters right? So I don’t understand why Murphy is the one that must accomodate other players, especially Ike Davis or even Flores who have proven nothing. If anything, we should be doing all we can to keep him comfortable because he is only 1 of 2 that is actually hitting consistantly. He’s our 2nd baseman and that should be that!

    • Jerry Grote

      I’d like players to be in position … I’ve made that abundantly clear. But if this team is committed to playing Murphy at 1B, then you should be maximizing talent..

      The next best second baseman in this organization, at least from an offensive standpoint, is playing in Las Vegas.

  • Jerry Grote

    The Mets have an oversupply of 1B prospects not quite good enough, and Dykstra probably will get included in the next trade. Possibly Lutz or Satin instead of him.

    I love Travis’ numbers … he’s swinging *hard*. 10 of 19 in AA for balls in play. OTOH … 11 Ks in 30 ABs. Funny thing about Travis … people gripe about being old for his competition, but when successively destroys the comp he’s wearing away the excuses not continue to accelerate his moves upward.

    Something that gave me some pause … last week, in back-to-back games, a Pittsburg prospect took Rainy and Noah yard in back to back games. You just never know who’s going to make it and who isn’t.

    Love the commentary about Flores.

  • blastingzone

    I think Flores would give the mets a spark and be a monster! You need to bring him right now and see what you have for next year and beyond! TC has already said if Spin doesn’t work out
    he is going to move Murphy back to 2nd and try Satin and Turner at first, Yehaa TC has no clue
    and either does SA! I know SA hasn’t bought up Flores because of his fielding but his offense
    is worth it and if he plays everyday hopefully his defense will improve and if not this is
    the time to find out after all the mets aren’t going anywhere this year anyway!!

  • za

    At the Major League level, we’re going to see Cowgill and Satin sent down shortly. Lutz and Brown will come up to replace them, and Flores could really come up at any point but I would like to see him spend another few weeks in the Minors. If he’s only hitting slightly above average in an extreme run environment, I don’t see him making an immediate impact yet. I definitely want him to be up sometime in July, though.

    I think the author is definitely underselling Syndergaard (2.60 FIP) and Ynoa (3.09 FIP, turned 20 a couple of weeks ago and gaining velo). Ynoa projects to improve his fastball, which has already hit 95 and sits low 90, has a feel for changeup, and is working on his curveball. That’s plenty of stuff when combined with projection for a guy who turned 20 at the end of May and manages to pitch incredibly efficiently. He and Cessa are guys we should keep an eye on.

    And Syndergaard is pitching better than Wheeler was at the same age; he’s third in the FSL in FIP and the 3.09 ERA isn’t bad by any means. That to me justifies moving up a level after the ASB for a guy with his kind of stuff. I think the brass would be okay with him spending a year between AA and AAA, which would work out perfectly if he gets moved up to AA soon. Team says they like at least 20 starts in the upper (AA/AAA) minors before calling a guy up. I’ll take that timeline.

  • Metsense

    Since the Met FO is waiting for the second coming of Ike and they moved Murphy to first anyway then logically the next step would be to promote Flores. Instead TC is deciding between Satin or Turner at 1B? Go figure.
    Lutz deserves a chance also, but TC didn’t give Satin a chance yet and he might not get a chance if Flores comes up or Turner goes to first. Go figure.
    Dykstra was a good pickup 2 years ago, bats LH and also deserves a promotion but the second coming of Ike is in the way (and deservedly so) holding back Allan.
    The Gnats should lose Boyd, Plawecki, Nimmo, Ynoa after the SAL All Star game.Ynoa and Cessa both have great k/bb rates. David, check out Maikis DeLaCruz as the next player with some potential for the Gnats in the 2nd half. Congrats to the Gnats for the 1st half title.
    Finally, Andrew Brown also deserves a ML look but Duda is in LF and like Lutz he will just need to wait his turn.

  • Jerry Grote

    Here’s the thing about the Mets …
    Torres … veritably unscored on in what? two months? including LV and 2 against the Cubbies
    Edgin … since call up, 4 scoreless ip. 42K / 38IP lifetime
    Aardsma … since call up, 4 scoreless ip. two time, 30 save relief pitcher
    Leathersich … averages around 16 K p/9
    Lyon … two time, 20 save relief pitcher
    Parnell … 9/12 saves this year

    That, right there, has the possibility of being a simply *outstanding* bullpen. TDA gets called up, Wheeler (and Montero) combine with Gee, Heffner and Harvey to give a Cardinal-type rotation.

    Duda to 1B, Travis/Brown to LF, Lagares continues his 700+ CF play. Take on the Ethier contract for nothing … maybe Jayce, maybe Dyktra maybe Aderlin Rodriguez. Combine Niese and Murphy for Junior Lake. Put Flores in at 2B.

    Done deal, Lucille. I know, I know, I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth. I think there is a possibility to return excitement to Citifield this year and avoid 65 losses, if we act soon enough.

    We have the pieces to make this happen. I don’t think there’s a way in heck that Chicago turns down a good pitcher and position player for Lake. You can have Ethier just to take on the terrible contract.

    • David Groveman

      Chicago will want pitching for Lake and Niese is giving them a lot more than you need to.

      I don’t want Ethier at all.

      • Jerry Grote

        P’raps. I don’t know how well Lake fields SS position, but if you can get a legitimate hitter at SS … that’s real value. And perhaps you are a little too close to Niese. In about four weeks he could find himself the fourth or fifth most effective starter in the rotation.

        Ethier … sort of with you on that. I think we’ve already gotten whatever you are going to get out of Marlon Byrd (sort of like all we are going to get out of Buck). EThier’s splits make him Davis/Duda redux, but simply up a few notches. Sit him against LHP occasionally and you might have something. But one way or the other, he’s delivered a solid 2 WAR for most of his career.

        You simply can’t say that about a single Met player (not named David) between 2006 and 2012. Sad, isn’t it?

        • David Groveman

          Lake is part of my $45 Mil plan for the Mets. He’s good but not that good with the bat. He’s probably a #8 hitter but he’s a better hitter than Tejada.

  • David Groveman

    Mets sign second-round pick Andrew Church
    June 17th, 2013 2:22 pm

    The Mets have signed the 48th overall pick Andrew Church, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.

    Church signed for $850,000, Callis said. The Mets were slotted for $1,138,800 for their second-round pick.

    Here’s what was said about Church when the Mets drafted him out of high school.

    AT LEAST HE SIGNED UNDER SLOT!

  • brian

    I don’t think they bring up Flores before the trade deadline. I believe he is ready but his dominant hitting the past few week raises his trade value. If you expose him to Major League pitching it could hurt his value. I think they keep Murphy because he is the known commodity.

    • David Groveman

      I think at this point you are right. I think they will trade whoever they can get more for in a trade and right now I think that is Flores.

      • Jerry Grote

        An argument can be made that Murphy is at least in the top 8 2B in the major leagues; he has a well-established baseline, and the standard deviation on his performance is fairly small.

        Flores has never finished a year when he was one of the top 8 in any league in which he has competed. Other than the last 45 days, he’s been good not great with a bat and NEVER even considered competent with a glove.

        Let’s not overvalue Flores’ latest performance. Teams pay for what they know they will get and Murphy will give a GM 2-3 WAR for the next five years and no onerous contract for the time being. Murphy, straight up, gets you minor league talent that has already shown an ability in the major leagues (I’m thinking Ozuna). Flores is only worth another minor league talent.

        I think there’s a chasm between them.

        • David Groveman

          If the Mets are trading for prospects… which good money says they would be, then Flores being a prospect isn’t an issue. If we could get more for Murphy I trade him in a heartbeat. I like him and his bat but the Mets need to get the best return.

  • Stephen Basile

    Still enjoy reading your reports, David. I’m left scratching my head when it comes to Flores and his lack of promotion. Whether they put him at 2B and make Murphy play some 1B or they stick him at 1B and see what he can do, he needs to be promoted. Especially in a season that’s already over, a Flores 1B experiment would be worth it.

Leave a Reply to David Groveman Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 100 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here