Adopted: Wilmer Flores

[Benjamin Grimm]

When he makes the big leagues, I hope his fan club wears these wigs to games:

[MFS62]

OK, why?
Later

[Frayed Knot]

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock ... WILLLLL-MERRRRRR

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock ... WILLLLL-MERRRRRR

Honestly, I'm not getting that reference.
Was it from a tv show?

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Yes it's a TV show.
Think of the female equivalent name to Wilmer ... and then look at her necklace.

[MFS62]

Flintstones?
Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

MFS62 wrote: Flintstones? Later

No, I think he means "Falcon Crest." Because Wilmer's attack is fierce.

Yes, it's the Flintstones.

[MFS62]

In the 13 games since his promotion to St. Lucie, Wilmer has been hotter than the weather.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=527038

Later

[Frayed Knot]

From BA's Ben Badler as part of a general Q & A session:
-- There's only a handful of position prospects I'd take over [Flores] in the minors. It's a special bat and the power is starting to come around even faster than I expected. I'd get him to third base as quickly as possible because that's his ideal position, but he's just a natural hitter.

[MFS62]

Wilmer, who just turned 19, had his best full year (at two A levels):
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=flores003wil
He finally showed some consistent XB power that has come with his body developing.

Later

[Edgy MD]

"When I was 19, I had no idea of the things he knows."

--- Carlos Beltran on Wilmer Flores after spending some rehab time with St. Lucie

[Ceetar]

[Ceetar]

Robert (Queens): What are your thoughts on Wilmer Flores?

Paul DePodesta: Two days ago during a minor league game played on Field 7 (a field that is built precisely to the dimensions of CitiField - walls and all), Flores went oppo to deep right center field. Oppo. Right-center. In CitiField. He's 19. Like him! Seriously, he can really hit.

[Edgy MD]

Wish somebody asked him what position PDP sees him at, because he better get there soon.

[Benjamin Grimm]

What are the possibilities? If it's not gonna be shortstop, is second base possible? Hopefully the guy at third base will be around for years to come. Can Flores be an outfielder?

[Edgy MD]

i think that's the cloudy plan.

But I suspect some in the organization haven't completely written off shortstop, suspecting (with good reason) that there'll be an opening there shortly.

[Frayed Knot]

Most think it'll eventually be either 1B or a corner OF spot. No one believes he has the quickness for anywhere in the middle of the field and even 3B seems to be doubtful.
That said I don't think there's a need to decide on his life-long position in the immediate future.

Of course some of this 'info' probably is just feeding on itself; so many hear it that they simply repeat it as if that's their first-hand opinion too.
The question I would have liked to see DePo asked was whether Flores is as god-awful foot-slow as is rumored. It strikes me as odd that a thin-ish teenager would be talked about like he's practically an honorary Molina brother but that's what I keep reading.

[MFS62]

Many of the projections I've read about Wilmer changing positions have been based on his size - listed as 6'3" and 185 pounds. The writers anticipate that he will add weight to his frame, limiting his range and quickness. But he hasn't added that weight yet. It will be interesting to see if he stays at short if he keeps the weight off.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

The worry about him and SS is mostly about his quickness, specifically about the fact that he has none.
Added years + weight will only made that situation worse.

[Edgy MD]

PDeP ain't moving him yet.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: PDeP ain't moving him yet.

The proper nickname is D3PO.

[Edgy MD]

Is Ricciardi JPD2?

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Is Ricciardi JPD2?

I've never seen him referred to as such, but that'd be perfect.

[Edgy MD]

Toby salutes Wilmer's VWL season.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Bat will determine Flores' future position Prospect projects as an infielder, but not as answer at shortstop By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com | 01/16/12 10:00 AM EST NEW YORK -- Mets trainer Ray Ramirez flew down to Panama earlier this winter, with the sole intent of helping Ruben Tejada develop enough strength and endurance to survive the rigors of a 162-game schedule. The Mets are banking on Tejada at shortstop this season, in part because they believe in him, and in part because they have no other choice. Do not read those words too harshly -- it's not as if there is no reason for optimism regarding the left side of the infield. Twenty-two-year-old defensive whiz kids with .360 on-base percentages are few and far between. Though no one in the organization expects Tejada to match his predecessor, Jose Reyes, in terms of offensive production, the Mets are reasonably bullish that Tejada can at least hold his own as a Major League regular. Strength and experience, they believe, will only help. "I think we're incredibly fortunate to have Tejada," Mets vice president of scouting and player development Paul DePodesta said. "He's a very legitimate shortstop." Scouts have long insisted that Wilmer Flores possesses all the proper tools to become an offensive star. (Mark LoMoglio/MiLB) But what if Tejada's career stalls, as many do in the face of more regular playing time? What if Ramirez's trip was in vain? Two or three years ago, there was a notion around baseball that, perhaps, Wilmer Flores, a middle infielder by nature, would be ready to crack the big leagues by 2012. That hope dissolved when Flores, still just 20 years old, began developing slower than expected. Recently (and hardly unexpectedly), the concept that Flores might ever be the long-term solution at shortstop has disappeared, as well. Because of his frame and skill set, Flores never profiled as a classic middle infielder, even from his earliest days as a prospect. Most projections pegged him as a third baseman or corner outfielder, confident that he would develop a strong enough offensive profile to stick at those positions. "When you have a guy like that, you let him play short until he shows he can't play it anymore," MLB.com prospects reporter Jonathan Mayo said. "To many, that point has come already." To that end, the Mets allowed Flores to play almost exclusively at third base during Winter Ball in Venezuela, where he batted .301 with a .382 on-base percentage. It was the first tangible positive in some time for Flores, who posted on-base marks of .309 and .324 during extended runs at Class A St. Lucie in 2010 and 2011. Now, Flores finds himself at something of a career crossroads. Either the Mets send him back to St. Lucie, where he will no longer be notably young for the level, or they promote him to Double-A Binghamton on the basis of nothing more than projection. "In either case, everybody's going to be wanting to see how he does," Mayo said. "If he goes back to St. Lucie, he'd better come out like a house on fire and show that he's too good for the level, and then get a promotion. But if he goes up to Double-A, that's the leap that's hardest to make." For years now, scouts have insisted that Flores possesses all the proper tools to become an offensive star. The statistics, they have said, will come in time. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen. But Flores has already proven one thing: that shortstop is not likely his long-term position. Though DePodesta does expect Flores to end up somewhere in the infield, the farm boss hesitated when asked last month if shortstop seemed likely. "This may sound sort of backwards, but I think the bat's going to end up dictating it," DePodesta said. "Whatever happens to be available at the [big league level] when he's ready, that could be where he ends up playing." Still, DePodesta indicated that Flores will continue to receive more and more exposure at third base and other positions, thereby giving him less and less time at short. Though it is possible that Flores develops more athletically than most scouts anticipate -- Mayo pointed to Rays former No. 1 overall pick Tim Beckham, who has thus far defied expectations by remaining a shortstop -- he is far more likely to make his permanent home elsewhere. "That's not a bad thing, necessarily," Mayo said. "Does it mean he has slightly less value in the larger scheme of things because he's not an up-the-middle player? I guess, but I don't think it's that big of a deal." What it does mean, however, is that Flores is extremely unlikely to be the long-term answer at shortstop for the Mets, putting further pressure on Tejada to fill that void. Beyond those two, the organization's internal landscape thins considerably. The Mets have high hopes for Jordany Valdespin, a natural second baseman, and have given him significant reps at shortstop each of the past two seasons. (It is worth noting that, although Valdespin has received merely a fraction of the hype, he has posted better Minor League numbers than Flores over the past few seasons.) And the Mets have a reasonable shortstop prospect in recent 15th-round Draft pick Phillip Evans, but he is just 19 years old and has yet to play a single inning above short-season Class A ball. Fortunately for the Mets, time is their ally. This year belongs to Tejada. As long as the shortstop performs adequately in his starting debut, next year probably belongs to him, as well. The rest will sort itself out in time.

[Edgy MD]

Working out at third, from the worm's eye.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That worm took a nice photo!

[MFS62]

Opening the season at St. Lucie. Not a good sign.

Later

[MFS62]

Flores has been en fuego. He's now playing third base and is hitting .323/.355/.523

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]