The fact there had been so much buzz among Mets fans on Twitter in recent weeks about a decent — but hardly great — prospect in Wilmer Flores tells you plenty about how hungry the organization is to develop a cornerstone offensive player.
Flores made his major league debut last night, going hitless in four at-bats as the third baseman in the Mets’ 3-2 victory over the Rockies, but has the next few weeks to demonstrate he is more than just a product of the statistical inflation that comes with playing at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit 15 homers and drove in 86 runs over 107 games.
You already know the names of the young, explosive arms that can potentially turn the Mets into a contender as soon as next year. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler are already here, and Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, Cory Mazzoni, Logan Verrett and Jacob deGrom, among others, probably aren’t far behind. That doesn’t include last night’s starter, Jenrry Mejia, who is still young enough at 23 to be considered a prospect.
It gets trickier in trying to identify the position players within the system who can potentially help the Mets anytime soon. There is Travis d’Arnaud, still projected as a top-tier catching prospect, and maybe Flores, provided the Mets find a position for him. Then the drop off is noticeable.
“It’s not as plentiful as the pitching options we have, that is for sure,” general manager Sandy Alderson said.
Alderson agreed with the assessment d’Arnaud and Flores are the immediate hopes from within the system, among non-pitchers.
“Until [Monday] we might have mentioned some additional players,” Alderson said, referring to outfielder Cesar Puello’s 50-game suspension for his Biogenesis involvement.
Puello had 16 homers and a .955 OPS at Double-A Binghamton, but of course you question how much of that may have been fueled by performance-enhancing drugs.
The other Mets player suspended, Jordany Valdespin, is barely a prospect and could be released upon the completion of suspension next year. A person in the organization who spoke to Valdespin after he was suspended on Monday said the flighty utilityman seemed oblivious to the fact he won’t be getting paid during his suspension.
But there are other reasons to hope for the Mets. Juan Lagares, who drove in all of the team’s runs last night, has emerged as a potential piece to the outfield for next season after going largely unnoticed during spring training, so that shows how quickly a player’s stock can rise over several months.
To that end, the Mets still haven’t given up on Matt den Dekker, who missed half the season with a broken wrist and is still trying to reduce his strikeout total (he had whiffed 30 times in 102 at-bats for Las Vegas as of yesterday) for a potential September cameo.
Flores, who committed an error on a Troy Tulowitzki grounder in the sixth inning, has no future at third base with the Mets because of David Wright. He has also struggled with his footwork at second base, according to a talent evaluator who regularly watches Las Vegas. That same evaluator said Flores’ only hope might be as a first baseman. And the Mets presently have a puzzle at first base that hinges on whether Ike Davis is the long-term solution at the position.
Given their choice, the Mets will take young pitching talent over position players.
“You look at the Royals, they had a few No. 1 draft picks on the field, but it’s that pitching that allowed them to win nine in a row and get back in the thing,” said manager Terry Collins, whose team just completed a weekend series against Kansas City.
Even so, the momentum the Mets so desperately seek heading into next season would have a better chance of becoming reality if the organization had something more than just the promise of d’Arnaud and — perhaps — Flores on the offensive horizon.