Mets360 Top 50 Prospects: Players 35-33

We continue on our journey upwards, examining the best prospects in the Mets farm system. In case you missed any of the other publications, check them out at: 50-48, 47-45, 44-42, 41-39, and 38-36. Next up is:

Chris Flexen – 35
Flexen was a tough pick for your intrepid prospect evaluators for several reasons. Picked out of Newark Memorial High School in California in the 14th round of the 2012 draft, Flexen had the potential and the size (6’3″ 215 lbs) to make this a rare, successful late pick for the Mets. Flexen debuted with the Kingsport Mets in 2012 and stumbled a bit out of the gate with a .286 average against, a 1.63 WHIP and a 5.63 ERA in his first 32 professional baseball innings. He came back with a vengeance in 2013 for Kingsport, pitching 69 innings to a tune of .209 average against, 0.94 WHIP, and 2.09 ERA, with 62 strikeouts to just 12 walks. He seemed to be on the fast track for high prospect status.

Then 2014 happened and screwed up Flexen’s ascension. His average against and WHIP rocketed back up to 2012 numbers, and he walked 37 against only 46 strikeouts in another 69 innings, this time for the Savannah Sand Gnats. While a new level of competition may have had something to do with it, the fact that Flexen underwent Tommy John surgery and had bone spurs removed from his right elbow this past July leave little doubt that injury was the more probable culprit. This all leaves Flexen is a precarious position as he will most likely now miss all of 2015, and an important year in his development. The good news is that Flexen will only be 21 when he returns to active baseball, and his reconstructed elbow may make his already live fastball a stronger weapon yet, as we’ve seen over the years with starters. 2013’s numbers justify putting Flexen where he is on this list, but its unfortunate that we’ll likely have to wait until 2016 to see where this young man picks up.

Logan Taylor – 34
Drafted in the 11th round in 2012 out of Eastern Oklahoma State Junior College, Taylor is a huge man, standing 6’5″ and in the 230 lbs range. He works an assortment of fastballs effectively; four-seam, two-seam and cutter which range from mid-90s to high 80s. He also possesses a 12-6 curveball that can become a solid off-speed option for him in time. His delivery is repeatable, but jerky, so it will be up to the farm pitching staff to work out the best course for him moving forward.

Taylor started in Brooklyn in 2012, posted outstanding numbers in just 19.1 innings. Between the Gulf Coast League and Savannah this past year, Taylor put up a very solid 1.10 WHIP, 2.37 ERA, and struck out 55 batters while issuing only 16 free bases. He did allow seven home runs, all in Savannah, which is odd since Grayson Stadium is known historically as a graveyard for power. As J.D. Sussman wrote for Frangraphs.com in 2013, “Taylor controls his diverse arsenal well, but he needs to trust his stuff more. Too often he fell behind hitters by nibbling on the corners.” Perhaps coaches in Savannah encouraged pitching over the plate more, resulting in more home runs allowed. Taylor seems to have the natural ability to recover and keep those home runs from piling up, though. Taylor will likely debut or be called up to Double-A at some point in 2015, at which point it will start to become clear whether he’s putting the pieces together to add yet another name to the Mets long list of pitching prospects, or if he needs more seasoning to make his stuff more effective. If it’s the former, he could be New York bound around 2017.

Miller Diaz – 33
Signed as a 17-year-old international free agent out of Venezuela in 2009, Diaz has played for six different teams in the Mets organization. 2014 was perhaps his best full season yet, as he posted a 2.25 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and struck out 79 batters in 68 innings for Savannah. Opponents hit just .183 off of him all year. That is at strange odds with the BB/9 of 3.57 he posted last year, but somehow he made it work. A former Sterling Award winner, Diaz gets a lot of velocity (mid-90s) out of his 6’1″ 210 lbs frame, but critiques of the past have stated he needs to work on his secondary pitches.

His 10.46 K/9 in 2014 is the second straight year of drop-off from his career high of 15.43 K/9 in 2012, but it’s still exceptional. At 22, Diaz is ready to take larger steps forward to show what he can do. He’ll probably see time in Double-A in 2015, and if he can continue to improve on his off-speed pitches, he should be a starter to watch. However, he has seen time as a reliever as well, and it could the place that Diaz finds his best success moving forward. Home grown bullpen talent is a rare commodity, and one that shouldn’t be overlooked. If he does make that switch, it wouldn’t be a demotion, so much as increasing his value. The Mets may still be a year or two away from making that decision, though, which gives Diaz more time to improve his stuff.