AFTER bursting onto the scene by hitting .310 with eight homers and 41 RBI for the Kingsport Mets in the rookie-level Appalachian League last year, Wilmer Flores has been considered one of the Mets’ top prospects, and he entered the season as the organization’s second-best prospect behind Fernando Martinez, according to Baseball America.
But despite putting up respectable numbers this season in his first full season of pro ball with Low-A Savannah, where he’s hitting .270 with three homers and 30 RBI, as well as playing in last month’s Futures Game, one scout is less than enamored with 6-foot-3 shortstop’s future potential.
“I was not impressed at all. . . . In fact, I was kind of shocked,” the scout said. “I was expecting an outstanding player, and I saw the exact opposite. I expected to go in there seeing a superstar player, like when I saw Jose Reyes playing in the minors.
“He’s a long way off, let me tell you. For me, when I watched him, he’s the fringiest of fringy prospects, and I’m not the only one thinking that. I thought I might not be looking at this kid right, but other people are thinking of him the same way.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Adam Wogan, the Mets’ director of minor league operations. Wogan, who is now in charge of the organization’s farm system following the departure of Tony Bernazard, has liked what he has seen this season from the 18-year-old Flores.
“Wilmer has performed pretty well in most areas,” Wogan said. “The most impressive thing for him is his control of the strike zone (56 strikeouts in 394 at-bats). . . . Regardless of age, he’s a really difficult player to strike out. He’s kept his ability to make contact, and he keeps getting stronger.
“He’s been steady in many areas, and has been able to hang in there throughout the season.”
But in the scout’s mind, there was no questioning what he saw in Flores.
“When I sent in my report, I had no qualms about it,” the scout said. “I purposely watched that kid, and from what I saw he was not the player he is hyped up to be.”
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Another 18-year-old in Savannah, third baseman Jefry Marte, also has generated headlines since signing two summers ago. The 6-foot-1 native of the Dominican Republic struggled mightily to begin the season, hovering around .200 through May. He has rebounded since then, though, hitting in the neighborhood of .270 since June 1. For the season he’s hitting .237 with six homers and 39 RBI.
One thing that hasn’t rebounded from the start of the season, though, are Marte’s errors. He’s now up to 44 on the year through 111 games — an average of nearly one every two games.
“Jefry didn’t get down despite his early struggles, has stayed strong and has really persevered and come on in the second half of the season,” Wogan said. “His defense certainly has had some inconsistencies, but his defensive mistakes are correctable.”
Though he wasn’t a fan of Flores, the scout did like what he saw from Marte, and said he reminded him of a young Aramis Ramirez, currently the Cubs third baseman and a former All-Star.
“I liked his bat, and I liked the way he went about his business,” the scout said. “He has a long swing, but he takes a good cut, and can go to all fields. His defense certainly needs work, but I do think he could stick there.
“I thought he did a good job. I could see him by 21, 22 years old being ready to handle the high minors and then being ready to contribute in the big leagues.”
tbontemps@nypost.com