Welcome to this week’s edition of Boom or Bust, where we feature Cory Vaughn. Vaughn is the son of former MLB player Greg Vaughn and was the 4th round draft pick for the Mets in 2010. Vaughn was recently ranked number 13 on our Mid-Season Top Prospect List.

John Bernhardt:

It’s challenging rating up or down when a player has missed a sizable share of the current season due to injury. That’s the case with Cory Vaughn. He has the physical stature of a power hitter. Vaughn’s power numbers at the plate in the minors have been promising: 23 home runs and 51 extra base hits in St. Lucie last summer, along with eight home runs and 17 extra base hits in an injury shortened season so far this summer in Binghamton. Vaughn was off to a great start as a B-Met and is currently batting .301, a big jump from his .243 slate in Florida last year. Good speed for a big guy, adequate and improving outfield play and double digit stolen base numbers add quality to Vaughn’s baseball profile. All things said, I’ll go with boom. Verdict: Boom.

Matt Musico:

I’m going to agree with John on this one. He showed his power last year in St. Lucie, and although it’s in limited time in 2013, he’s shown his ability to hit for average in Binghamton. I like his swing a lot, and it looks like B-Mets hitting coach, Luis Natera, deserves some sort of bonus or promotion. Given what he’s been able to do with guys like Vaughn and Cesar Puello – he has just been unbelievable. Some people may say Vaughn is a little old for Double-A (currently 24-years-old), but I say so what. Look at Josh Satin; he proved that if you continue to hit, you’ll eventually make it, no matter how old you are. Plus, Cory has a good MLB bloodline. Verdict: Boom.

Satish Ram:

Vaughn has a lot more raw power than his numbers in Binghamton show because of injury. This year, he has shown more potential at the plate by raising his batting average to the .300 level, which is very impressive for a guy who can easily launch 25 home runs in a season. Vaughn has a power-speed combination that most scouts would drool over — and he’s now showing the ability to hit for average as well. He’s not a liability on defense in my opinion and I have always thought he would turn out to be quite the player ever since I saw him crush 14 home runs for Brooklyn in just 313 plate appearances. And just to hit on something said above by Matt — whatever Luis Natera is doing in Binghamton is pretty awesome. Verdict: Boom

(photo credit: Gordon Donovan)