Wilmer Flores is the Future

Sep 10, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Colorado Rockies second baseman

(9) slides as New York Mets shortstop

(4) completes the double play during the seventh inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Prior to the 2014 season, the Mets front office was on the fence about SS/2B Wilmer Flores.  While New York does have a glaring hole at short, scouts were unsure whether or not Flores had the ability to play the position at the major league level.  And even though the young Venezuelan projected as a solid major league bat, Flores showed little to back up these predictions with a weak showing in 101 Plate Appearances in 2013.  However, Flores’ recent tear should erase all doubt about his future in Queens.

Over the last seven days, Wilmer Flores has completely taken control of the Mets offense.  The righty has hit a scorching .474, with 3 home runs, 10 RBIs, and is slugging an eye-popping 1.158 with a 1.658 OPS.  Obviously, Flores will not be able to continue this pace, but he still can produce at an above-average level.

If you look at Wilmer’s last 28 days, he’s still been pretty solid at the plate.  A .275 batting average, 5 homers, 14 RBIs, and .864 OPS are nothing to sneeze at.  Project those stats from this 23 game span over a full 162 game season, and you get a .275 hitter with 35 home runs and 98 RBI.  That’s more like the Wilmer Flores we expected to see after he owned Triple-A pitching the last two seasons.  Furthermore, Flores’ BAbip sits at .236 during this period, twenty points lower than that of his major league career average, so there’s a legitimate chance he can approach these numbers over a full season.

Even if you take Flores current OPS of .664, he ranks as the 17^th best shortstop in the major leagues, above guys like Yunel Escobar, Jean Segura, and Andrelton Simmons.  While that’s not premier production, it would still be a major improvement for the Mets organization.  If he can be an adequate defender, Flores could help fill the void at shortstop that the team has failed to fill ever since Jose Reyes left during the 2011-12 offseason.

While much grief has been caused by Flores’ glove, it hasn’t actually been that bad in 2014.  In 49 games at shortstop, Wilmer has made only 4 errors, good enough for a solid .979 Fielding Percentage.  And while no one argues that Flores is a better fielder than Ruben Tejada, the 23 year-old trails Tejada only by .08 points in fielding percentage, and has surprisingly made fewer errors than his shortstop counterpart.

After years without a legitimate major league shortstop, it looks like the Mets have finally found their answer.  If Wilmer Flores proves he can hold his own in the field and hit .270 with 20-25 home runs and 70-80 RBI in a full season, the Mets will be that much closer to making a run at the playoffs in 2015.