The New York Mets have two promising players on their bench this year. Both Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares have had playing time in the majors, and have performed decently. While they could be starting, the Mets were worried about their offensive consistency throughout the year. Flores is not great defensively, but he is not bad. These two players had an On Base Percentage (OBP) below .300 last season, which could be a main reason for why the team decided to look elsewhere.
OBP is viewed as important, because getting on base is what leads to runs. Also you can hit home runs which is pretty convenient. Last season, Flores had an OBP of .295, as he drew 19 walks in 483 at-bats, which is drawing a walk about every 25 at-bats. Not drawing walks is always going to prevent someone like Flores from becoming a viable offensive option.
It is a similar story with Lagares, as his OBP was .289 last year, which was disappointing, considering he had a .321 OBP the year before. The difference in these numbers were mostly impacted by his average, as it dipped from .281 to .259. Last season was not a normal one for Lagares, which could have led to the offensive slip, plus it seemed he was playing injured, which could have impacted his offensive and defensive game.
According to FanGraphs, an average OBP is .320. Lagares had one year of an average OBP, but for Flores, his .295 OBP is the highest he has recorded in the major league. FanGraphs says that .290 is awful, while .300 is poor. The Mets could not afford these two players to be in the starting lineup if they are not going to take their walks.
Although it is Spring Training, this is the time of year where hitters are trying to find their rhythm and change their approaches at the plate. Pitchers are working on new pitches and getting their mechanics right for Opening Day. So far throughout Spring Training, Flores and Lagares have been piling on the hits, but have also been drawing walks.
Flores has eight walks and four strikeouts, which an impressive rate. He is hitting .355 with an OBP of .475. It is highly unlikely that this rate will not continue throughout the spring, nor will it continue once the regular season begins, however this could be a time when Flores is changing his approach, and swinging at better pitches, and letting the pitchers walk him.
The same thing is happening with Lagares, as he has drawn five walks in 23 at-bats, plus he has stolen three bases, which could be a potential tool used of the bench this season.
If Flores and Lagares can continue to draw walks throughout the regular season, then the Mets bench has the potential to have two players that could start for plenty of teams throughout the major leagues. Flores is going to get plenty of playing time, as he will fill in for David Wright when Wright needs a break, plus he could be a substitute for Neil Walker against left-handed pitchers. Lagares could be a defensive replacement towards the end of a game, but if he can draw walks and maintain a decent average, Terry Collins may use him as a pinch-hitter and then make a double switch to keep Lagares on the field. Drawing more walks will lead to better performances from Flores and Lagares. Hopefully they can keep this approach going into the season.
Very nice article James. Honest about where each player stands and willing to allow for the possibility of improvement.
Don’t know if this is a make or break year for Flores, but I would imagine another year for Lagares like last year may get him a one way ticket to Detroit, or another CF needing team.
Thanks for the kind words TexasGusCC! Both players have things they need to work on, as do most players in the big leagues. The lack of plate discipline has prevented them from being big time contributors. Hopefully they continue to draw walks and become more selective at the plate.
I guess English is not your first language.
Wilmer and Juan may both show their abilities this year. This is not the year to move them. Walker is a good player at 2nd, but I like to see Wilmer batting there in lefty situations. Lagares has the speed back as well as his arm. He is a valuable asset, especially if one of the out fielders goes down.
I agree with that comment above.
Both players have a lot of heart. I would hate to see the Mets trade either and see them really blossom somewhere else. Go Mets!!!!
Editor’s Note – Please do not capitalize words in your post, as that is a violation of our Comment Policy.
Good news is that you don’t have to be a complete player to contribute off the bench. Both will play key roles for this team in 2016 and I just hope injuries don’t expose them too much
Great point Matty Mets. The bench is a great place to have certain tools and specialties. Lagares provides great defense and some speed, and Flores provides some pop. Should be a decent bench this year.
The problem with Flores is not just patience. If you look at his hitting zones you see he has the unusual pattern that he hits best when chasing pitches out of the strike zone, especially down and away. There is no reason to throw to him out of the strike zone. His BA rate and Slug rates in the zone of terrible. he rakes on balls out of the strike zone. So he needs to rethink his whole swing and approach to hitting.
In pitches out of the strike zone and down and away, Flores lifetime is 25-106 for a .236 AVG
http://www.brooksbaseball.net/h_profile.php?player=527038&gFilt=&pFilt=FA|SI|FC|CU|SL|CS|KN|CH|FS|SB&time=month&minmax=ci&var=baa&s_type=13&startDate=03/30/2007&endDate=03/24/2016&balls=-1&strikes=-1&b_hand=-1
or he is hitting 359. He is also crushing balls on the top of the strike zone in the middle (3/7) and down and in outside the zone except way down and in, where they pound him for outs. He hits far too often outside the zone.
And where are you getting that .359 from?
You’re not seriously putting weight on a 7-AB sample, are you?
My Eyes say that Flores is a very potent Inner Half guy. He’s a “puncher” on Mid and Out…
…Brian’s stat above: if that’s 2 strike, Pitcher’s Pitch/Plate protecting, it’s not bad!!! If it’s less than 2 strikes, it’s too many Out of Zone, away from strength swings.
I think one of the most difficult things in baseball is taking a close 2-strike pitch. For one, there’s the crime of going down looking; we’ve heard all our lives, “you gotta protect!” I see Wilmer as a guy with a good eye until he has two strikes. Can he walk on a close 3-1 pitch? Yes, I think so. Full count? It doesn’t happen often. He’s swinging if it’s close. To take a walk, you have to be willing to sometimes go down looking.
Flores had 52 PA with a full count last year and ended up with 10 BB and 9 Ks. That seems pretty good to me but I have no frame of reference. Here’s how other starters did:
Granderson – 116, 41/24
Duda – 81, 32/25
Murphy – 46, 8/5
The contrast with Granderson is noticeable, but Granderson also had many more PA than Flores. The Murphy one is pretty interesting. He didn’t get to many full counts, either. It doesn’t seem like Flores did bad when he had a full count — he just didn’t get to enough of them.