Matt Eddy of Baseball America ranked the Appalachian League’s Top 20 Prospects and put SS Wilmer Flores at #2 behind the Rays #1 overall pick, SS Tim Beckham. He slotted Flores at #2 based on the fact that he and Beckham both have tremendous potential with the bat, but Beckham has a “true up-the-middle-profile.” This is reasonable. Eddy also pointed out that the league this year had “an almost unprecedented depth of talent.”
Here’s Eddy’s Flores comment. My thoughts are italicized.
The Mets’ 2007 international haul is shaping up to be a bumper crop of Latin American talent, and Flores could be the best, as he has drawn comparisons to a young Miguel Cabrera for his build, offensive potential and Venezuelan heritage.
I hope his off the field instincts are better than Cabrera who, even as a young major leaguer, seemed to eat all off-season. On the field, this is a crazy-good comp. Miguel Cabrera is a beast.
The youngest player in the league (he turned 17 on Aug. 6), Flores showed plus-plus bat speed and a knack for putting the barrel on the ball. He struck out in just 11 percent of his at-bats, the lowest rate among league batting title qualifiers.
Wow. Impressive numbers.
Though he’s an aggressive hitter, he keeps his hands back well and adjusts to breaking balls. Flores also showed a willingness to use the whole field when behind in the count. His power at this stage is predominantly to his pull side, but his line-drive stroke and physicality suggest the potential for plus power.
Carefully read the last sentence in particular, and you’ll understand why making judgments about 17-year old baseball players or 17-year old humans in general, is so hard. He could fill out and develop “plus power” or he could not. Whether he develops that special, explosive power to all fields (like Cabrera) will determine whether he’s a big leaguer or not, and a special one at that.
Flores has sound infield actions and hands. But he has below-average speed and lacks first-step quickness, making him a below-average defender overall at shortstop. His solid-average arm would play at third base, though, and his bat figures to profile at any position.
So he makes the plays he gets to, but right now does not have MLB range. That’s fine. This is something to monitor over the years as Flores bat approaches MLB readiness.
BA will write up the Pioneer League Thursday, and hit the NYP League Friday.
Toby, where do you think he could rank in top 100 prospects list? And how many of our guys could make it? (Niese, Fmart, Murphy, Marte, Flores?)
The same thing that moved Flores from #1 to #2 in the Appy League – questions about whether he’s a true up the middle guy – would move him down in the top 100. I’d think he’d be somewhere in the middle third of that list, but it depends wildly on who’s putting it together.
Martinez, Flores, Holt and Niese are your best Mets bets for making a top 100 prospects list.