imagesFor the year, we Mets360.com writers surmised that Wilmer Flores would put together a campaign of hitting .265/.310/.400 in 484 plate appearances. We also thought he’d have 11 home runs, and drive in 55 runs. While a full analysis of Flores’ season will not be complete until November, it certainly couldn’t hurt to find out just where we were close, where we were off and how it matters moving forward.

Perhaps surprisingly, we Mets fans were not the most bullish as far as pre-season predictions go. Depth Charts, Steamers and Zips all predicted more home runs, and more RBI than we did. Nonetheless, Flores is surpassing what we and even they expected. He already has 11 home runs, and even though he’ll be seeing less time at second base and shortstop moving forward, he’ll probably add to that total before the year is out. Likewise, he shouldn’t find it too difficult to vault over our RBI projection, as he stands with 42 already. So while we haven’t exactly been wrong so far, we did do a fair amount of underestimating.

His batting line is the one place where Flores still needs to play catch-up. His walk rate is an abysmal 3.5%, which is probably helping to drag down his average and slugging from our projections a bit. But there is still plenty of time for the 22-year-old to improve as the season goes on. Losing a bit of time on the field may actually end up helping Flores in the end, as he doesn’t have to concentrate on being the everyday fielder who might cost the Mets wins with his glove.

More than all of this so far is what happened recently. In today’s media, Flores’ explosive national attention is now old news, but it’s worth repeating just how meaningful the last week has been for the young man, and the team overall. When he thought he was being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Zack Wheeler, Flores showed his vulnerablity and shed tears of frustration and fear while on the field. It was a very rare glimpse of the side of the game most fans don’t normally see. By keeping Flores around after that incident, it not only immediately resulted in a win with his walk-off home run on Friday, it also gave the Mets two things that have been in short supply for a long time; sympathy and momentum.

Flores is now more than simply numbers on a page, he is becoming the heart of the franchise. David Wright is still the soul, but he’s never really been an overly emotional guy, except during a press conference earlier this year regarding his unknowable future dealing with spinal stenosis. Meanwhile, Flores is like the kid brother every teammate and fan never quite had. Not only did he show that he wants to be here with his emotions, but he also showed that he deserves to be here by impacting the team.

That impact even reached outside the clubhouse as well, as Wheeler called Sandy Alderson before the trading deadline to assure his boss that he wanted to stay in the blue and orange for days to come. Reports from both acknowledged that the game is a business, and had the right deal been in place then the call might not have mattered much. Except in this case it did matter. Anderson admitted it impacted his decision, and now Wheeler looks to join a star-studded rotation in 2016. So the emotions of one Met certainly helped direct the emotions of another, and their boss. In his own little way, Flores is like the butterfly flapping his wings, helping to cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. Chaos theory anyone?

Yes, his defense has been routinely sloppy, but Flores has also made some extremely fine plays without much praise. Other than Friday of course, when he received one of many standing ovations. Taking him out of the everyday lineup may help him focus more on what he does best, which is hit. Maybe then he can properly continue to learn his positions outside the spotlights. But make no mistake, Flores needs to play. After all, you don’t win by keeping your heart closed off. You win by putting it all on the field, the way Flores already has.

In short order Flores has become an icon for this team and this season. Maybe when October rolls around, it won’t be the same story. But for right now, when things are finally starting to look good for this team, it’s important to remember how the team got here in the first place. Flores didn’t carry the team, and didn’t make them losers. He was just one more cog in the giant machine that is a major league baseball team. But unlike a machine, these pieces feel and cry and occasionally bring that onto the field for all to see. The faithful of Flushing have opened their arms around this young man, and the team he represents. He’s not perfect, but he’s our’s, and we love him.

 

17 comments on “Wilmer Flores is not doing what was expected, and we love him for it

  • Brian Joura

    Heartless bastard alert!

    The Flores situation the last week is a great story. But that’s all it is, a story. No different than Goodnight Moon, Harry Potter or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

    I feel like Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank. How is the Flores story going to help the team win games? If Flores helps the team win games, I love him. If he doesn’t help the team win games, then I’d rather replace him with someone who will. And it doesn’t matter if that player’s name is Flores, Duda, Granderson or any other player past or present.

    Flores is not a great defender, he’s not a great baserunner — he’s mainly going to help you in the batter’s box. And he has a .668 OPS. Since moving to 2B at the end of June, he’s put up a .652 OPS. The average NL 2B has a .693 OPS this year.

    He’s 2003 Roberto Alomar or 1997 Carlos Baerga or 1970 Ken Boswell or 1966 Eddie Bressoud. Below average players who should not receive extensive playing time.

    How long do we let the Flores story trump the Flores reality?

    • TexasGusCC

      How long until we realize he is in his first full year in the majors and only 23 years old? The Brewers would have loved to have had him. If he never gets any better, then he should be a backup. If the Mets have a better alternative, then fine. However, players are judged in their stage of development and while there are many things we all want Flores to improve on, I’m sure his bosses see that, too?

      His OPS is low because he never walks, that is why he belongs in the #6 and #7 spots.

      • Brian Joura

        If you believe I don’t know the Flores situation inside-out, upside-down then you are sadly mistaken.

        The Brewers are a last-place team with an even worse hitter at shortstop. If they want him, I suggest we make it happen. The Mets won’t miss him, either in 2015 or the future. His is production to be replaced, not hoarded.

        You can live with his lack of walks if he has a high BABIP or a high slugging percentage. He now has 751 PA in the majors with a .264 BABIP, including a .264 mark here in 2015. I’m not sure why we should expect that to go up anywhere close to what Juan Lagares has produced. As for slugging, Flores ranks 59th out of 92 NL hitters with 300 or more PA with a .388 mark. This is his best feature and he’s below average. And since mid-May, his slugging is only .359 over 259 PA.

        The advantage of young players is that they (hopefully) improve. Flores has shown zero improvement from 2014 and he’s gotten worse as this season’s progressed.

        • TexasGusCC

          Last year, he really only played the last two months and without his manager’s blessing. Flores played against other teams’ aces, Tejada played against the back end starters. We all know that. This is his first full season.

          All second basemen this year: 15,830 ABs, .259/.315/.384/.699.

          This includes the guys doing great like Panik, Kipnis (who the Indians were dying to get rid of last year) Wong, DeMahieu, Dozier, Altuve, Gordon, and Kinsler. Therefore, you can see he is pretty much league average.

          One thing you may notice about all the names above: Besides their years of MLB experience, they all play on good offensive teams. That means there are consistently baserunners on base, causing stress and distraction on the opposing pitcher and making him work more often from the stretch, thus nullifying some of his effectiveness. The Mets have not had the success enjoyed by better hitting teams, hence their batters individually have not enjoyed the luxury of having favorable hitting conditions.

          While we can both show numbers, sometimes the eye shows more than the circumstances of numbers will point out. Merely, it is my opinion that the jury should still be deliberating on this player.

    • Eraff

      My intial reaction?…”Curb Your Enthusiasm!”

      Wilmer has a shot at developing as a hitter—the rest of his game will be “hidden” , at best….if he hits. Can’t run…has physical defensive defects.

      I’m in Prayer that Herrera is Next Up for 2b…..he would make a better playoff piece than Wilmer because he fit’s better as a situational late game sub…speed…defense. Dilson’s upside is very big—I hope we don’t lose that.

      Like Wilmer…his game?…mneh!!!

  • Eric

    Baseball is all about the stories. If you dont think his story and how it came about is impacting this team as much as the acquisitions they made, you re crazy. Plus,.three walkoff game winning hits, among the team leaders in rbis, and his defense has been pretty damn good for the last three months or so. #Teamflores.

    • eric

      you also can’t underestimate the effect he has had on the fans energy and in turn that effect on the rest of the team. At this point it wouldn’t matter if he hits .180 the rest of the way. He’s our rally monkey. However, I fully expect him to drive in the game winner in game 3 of the World Series against Wade Davis in the bottom of the 9th to give us a 2-1 lead in the series.

  • Metsense

    The Flores story has turned into a media frenzy and good for the Met PR Dept who are the real heartless bastards that initially mishandled the situation.
    Flores the ballplayer had a good week with some doubles, a walk off home run in an important game and an .833 OPS. TC said that if you hit then you play. Keep hitting Wilmer!
    If Uribe plays 3B then I don’t think Wilmer should play over Murph at 2B.
    If Murphy plays 3B then I don’t think Wilmer should play over Johnson at 2B
    Defensively the team looks better with Tejada at SS.
    If Flores keeps hitting then TC will have to find spots for him until he cools off. It will take many more weeks of an 833 OPS for me to think of Flores as anything more than a good utility man bench player.

    • eric

      every playoff team needs interchangeable parts – I have no problem with Wilmer filling that role this season.

  • RAFF

    On any given day depending on who is being rested. , Flores is no better than your: 3rd choice for 3B, 2nd choice for shortstop, and 3rd choice for 2nd base. It was a nice story. But the catalyst has been the acquisition of a bunch of really good ballplayers and the continued top-notch pitching. We’ll see where this all takes us, but when all is said and done, Flores’ rags to riches moment will be a minor footnote on the 2015 season.

    • eric

      couldn’t disagree more with your last sentence. When all is said and done, Wilmer’s moment will be viewed as the pivotal turning point of the season, when the team truly became a team, the fans got on board, and the surge to the playoffs began in earnest. His walk-off homer will go down as the play of the year. (haven’t lost since have we?)

  • eric

    On the Mets Wilmer is:

    3rd in runs scored
    4th in hits
    4th (tied) in doubles
    3rd in home runs (not including Cespedes)
    2nd in RBIs (again not including recent acquisitions)
    3rd in total bases
    3rd in OWar
    and has only struck out 51 times in almost 400 ABS

    Plus the 3 walk off wins – tied for most in baseball.

    At age 23. In his first full year.

    Perhaps that speaks more to how dreadful the Mets offense has been, but there are far bigger problems on this team than Wilmer Flores.

    • Brian Joura

      It speaks to:

      TDA being hurt
      Tejada spending most of the year on the bench
      Murphy being hurt
      Wright being hurt
      Cuddyer being old and hurt
      Lagares being a similar player Edit: and hurt

    • Name

      And that’s why we look at rate stats instead of counting stats.

      And among Met players with 200+ PA, he’s 6/8 in wRC and 5/8 in OPS+, basically tied with Tejada and only ahead of the offensively challenged Lagares and not-ready Plawecki

  • Eraff

    Flores is not yet a good Hitter…I think there’s a chance for him to gain offensively. He will never be anything more than a physically challenged defender and a very slow base runner. I hope he develops….there’s a 350-400 ab swing guy thered in the short term—maybe he blossoms ala J Turner—but he’s a long way from being “good”. Reciting his team rank stats is to damn him with faint praise.

  • Patrick Albanesius

    I think Flores is almost exactly the hitter he will be moving forward. His batting line, wOBA, BABIP, wRC+, and OPS are almost identical to last year. Maybe he can get his OBP to around .300, but that’s probably wishful thinking. As he stands now, he is a great offensive utility role player. I’ll take a Flores on the team any day over Eric Campbell. No offense to Eric Campbell or anything, but Flores is not bad to have on the team. He just needs to be used correctly.
    The emotional stuff is an entirely different component and cannot be quantified. But that doesn’t make it any less relevant.

    • Brian Joura

      You’re right – the fact that it can’t be quantified doesn’t make it any less relevant. But that doesn’t change the fundamental question – How relevant is it?

      If Flores himself uses it as motivation, and actually improves, then it was incredibly relevant. If from now until the end of the season, Flores puts up something akin to the .668 OPS he has now, then it was incredibly irrelevant. My money’s on the latter.

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