Wilmer Flores was named MVP of the 2012 FSL All Star Game earlier this season, where he wowed the crowd with his power and ability.
New York Mets infield Prospect Wilmer Flores earned the No. 1 spot Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet. for the week of August 24-30, while pitching prospect Luis Mateo came in at No. 9.
Flores had a tremendous week batting .481 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs in 27 at-bats with three runs driven in and four runs scored.
Baseball America writes about the 21-year old Flores:
One of the top international prospects in 2007, Flores signed with the Mets out of Venezuela for $700,000 on his 16th birthday, then made a huge splash the next year in the Rookie-level Appalachian League, where he hit .310/.352/.490 in 59 games playing most of the season as a 16-year-old. By the time Flores was 18, the Mets had already pushed him to high Class A St. Lucie.
Yet when the 2012 season opened, Flores still found himself in St. Lucie. He had struggled the previous year, but at 20, he was still one of the youngest players in the league and had the same preternatural hand-eye coordination that drew the Mets to him. Now the breakout has arrived. After a strong first half in the Florida State League, Flores got the bump to Double-A in June and has hit .323/.374/.506 in 62 games for Binghamton.
His power has surged, with his 17 home runs nearly doubling his total of nine from a year ago. The Mets have shuffled Flores around this year at third base, second and first, with third base likely the perfect-world scenario given that he has the arm strength for the position but not nearly enough range to profile at second. So while it may seem like Flores has been a prospect forever, just remember that he just turned 21 a few weeks ago.
This was Flores’ fourth appearance on BA’s Hot Sheet this season, and here are his stats for the season:
RHP Luis Mateo has been all kinds of dazzling since being acquired by the Mets as an International Free Agent last year.
Meanwhile, another international prospect, right-hander Luis Mateo, also cracked the weekly Top 10 after hurling consecutive solid starts tossing a combined fourteen innings and allowing just one run on nine hits while striking out 14 batters and walking two. For the week, Mateo posted a 0.61 ERA.
Baseball America writes about the 22-year old Mateo:
Yes, Mateo’s a little older than you’d like to see from a prospect who hasn’t hit full-season ball yet, but don’t get too hung up on the age. Since 2008, Mateo went nearly four years without being able to get his contract approved, first with the Giants over bone chips in his elbow and then a deal with the Padres that fell apart over age issues.
Mateo finally signed with the Mets last year, carved up Dominican Summer League hitters and now is doing the same in his U.S. debut. The numbers are hard to ignore – a 2.45 ERA in 73 1/3 innings with 10.4 strikeouts and 1.1 walks per nine innings – and he has the stuff to back it up with a mid-90s fastball and a solid slider that can miss bats.
Mateo is making his third appearance on BA’s Hot Sheet this season and one glance at his numbers below will tell you why:
For complete coverage of the Mets Minor Leagues, keep it tuned here at Mets Merized Online where our non-stop coverage will keep you ahead of the curve and on top of all the latest news.
