The 2014 season in Las Vegas had been headlined by storylines of pitching performances. Met fans in Flushing sit salivating over Syndergaard, Montero and even deGrom but the 51’s also have some hitting. We mentioned Allan Dykstra, who is still hitting comfortably over 1.000 (OPS) on the year, and the majority of the team sport OPS numbers North of .700, but we had seemingly forgotten Wilmer Flores.
On the year, Flores has decent numbers:
- .290 Avg
- .351 OBP
- .460 SLG
Over the last 10 games, those numbers have been raised a lot. He hit 3 of his four home runs over his last two games and he is maintaining his typical trend of getting on base whenever he plays. Yet, what could the Mets possibly do with Flores? The answer lies in the box scores.
Flores has been playing shortstop more often than we expected him to and he’s even gotten some time at first. If you look back, he’s also been coming off the bench as a pinch hitter frequently and coming out of games late. If we extrapolate and theorize, based on how he’s being handled by the 51’s this season you will get clues into what the Mets might be thinking.
Flores has the ability to fill in for David Wright, Daniel Murphy, or Lucas Duda and he might be used to supplant Ruben Tejada, so long as there is a defensive replacement. We might be seeing Wilmer Flores in Queens before the All Star break.
AAA:
Matt Den Dekker is getting better – The .279 average, 9 extra base hits and 2 stolen bases are nice but, more importantly, he’s not striking out every game.
Zach Lutz quietly hitting a ton – How can someone hit .301/.433/.505 and be forgotten? Ask Lutz!
Rafael Montero is scuffling – His numbers aren’t great over the past couple outings but considering that he’s playing in Las Vegas and in the PCL, he’s still pitching pretty well. 36 K’s in 36.1 IP is very nice to see.
Jacob deGrom is built for Vegas – Pitchers in Colorado used to need a sinker to survive. It is no accident that deGrom has the best numbers in the rotation with his heavy sinking fastball.
Noah Syndergaard’s best start this season – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB and 7 K. It was a good start and brought his ERA under 4.00, which is a nice thing to see for a pitcher in Vegas.
Vic Black needs his control – The only thing keeping Black from returning to Flushing is control.
AA:
Wilfredo Tovar is showing his worth – We know he plays good defense, but Tovar is hitting and has a .794 OPS.
A+:
Brandon Nimmo keeps rolling with patience – In his last 10 games he has 12 walks and only 6 strikeouts.
Steven Matz needs to be watched – He might be the top pitching prospect of 2015 (Assuming that Montero and Syndergaard graduate)
A:
Gavin Cecchini is starting to hit – He has 4 multi-hit games in the last 10 games and he’s got 8 extra base hits and 4 stolen bases.
Dominic Smith waking up slowly – Power is at a premium in Savannah but 5 doubles in the last 10 games is a good start.
John Gant could earn a mid-year promotion – He seems to be having little trouble with the SAL.
Robert Whalen is the best pitcher in Savannah – After a great rookie-ball season in 2013, Whalen looks like a budding prospect in 2014. Drafted in the 12th round, the Mets could have a major steal.
Akeel Morris is great – 14.2 IP, 5 H, 0 ER and 23 K. He’s really good in relief.
Just love these minors updates. Thanks David.
I’m still a believer that Flores can play at least a decent shortstop, while trouncing Tejada in hitting ability.
I have been a big supporter of Flores playing and starting everyday on the mets since last year even if the only position open is SS? I know he’s not the best fielder at SS but I would
rather have an ok or a little worse fielder at SS with a big bat than what we have now especially on a team with a so so offense! If the mets are really against him playing SS then
their are only one other choice, Platoon him at first base with Duda and I bet he becomes
your full time first baseman within a month or less? Satin is a good hitter with 0 power whose
not hitting so far this year and as far as fielding first base Flores can’t be worse than Duda! I like Satin but I see him as a right handed bat coming off the bench not in a platoon or starting!
Nice to see Whalen tearing it up. Hopefully his hand infection doesn’t end up being too serious.
I think you will see Flores up before the end of the month and starting at shortstop. It is not an idea I endorse. deGrom will also join him and pitch in the bullpen. TC said that Duda is not going to sit against lefties all the time and Satin needs more AB’s which I think he will now get with a demotion to Vegas. Brown can play first and provides more right handed power from the bench so he will get the call.
Logically the Flores promotion will open a spot for Tovar to be promoted. Nimmo is hitting and showing a good eye at the plate. Plawecki’s average has been climbing also. It is nice to have some position players having success. Old for the league, TJ Rivera is still over .400 which is still over .400 no matter what league you play in.
You forgot Eric Campbell. He’s hit everywhere and is tearing it up in Vegas. The fact that Kevin Burkhart did a feature on him tells me they are getting ready to promote him and demote Satin. Campbell plays all 4 infield positions. Wilmer has to be in the big leagues. Reports are exactly as expected – ie the lost weight has increased his range enough so it’s now in the poor but acceptable range but his hands are good and quick. I think they just want him to get comfortable turning the DP from the ss side again.
It’s obvious he was scuffling at the plate the first few weeks b/c he was disappointed at being demoted (I believe the same is true for Thor), he has nothing left to prove at AAA after last season.
Maybe developing Flores into a competent shortstop will be Backman’s ticket to CitiField too!