7-8: - Ratliff continues to impress with his bat at all levels. He went 4-6 Thursday night, which included two doubles. The left hand hitting Ratliff has showed increased hitting ability each of the three years he has been with the Mets. 2008 was .227, 7-HR, .388-slug with Brooklyn… 2009 was .266, 7-HR, .446-slug with Savannah and St. Lucie combined, and, so far this year, he’s .294, 12-HR, .494-slug combined at Lucy and the B-Mets. Currently, he slots in as the 4th top outfield prospect in the sytem, behind Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Fernando Martinez, and Lucas Duda.
Old stuff on Sean:
The Mets drafted Ratliff in the 4th round of the 2008 draft.
From Baseball America: Stanford's top talent, junior outfielder Sean Ratliff, might have worked into the first-round mix with more polish at the plate. His 18 homers ranked fifth in the Pac-10, he runs well for his 6-foot-3, 225-pound size, and he has enough arm to hit 92 mph off the mound. It's a prototype right-field profile, but Ratliff has an unorthodox swing with holes in it, and he swings and misses a lot. His 72 strikeouts tied for second-worst in Division I entering regional play
From the Stanford website: As A Junior In 2008: On the 2008 Wallace Award Watch List • Leads the team in homers, RBI, and triples (4) • Hitting .285 with 17 home runs, 54 RBI and six stolen bases • Had a torrid career-high-tying 13-game hit streak from March 8 - April 5, going 22-for-51 (.431) with five doubles, two triples, seven homers and 22 RBI • One of three players to have started all 53 games • Homered four times over three-game span (May 4-6) • Has one of the team's three grand slams during the 2008 season (5/4 at San Jose State) • Has made three appearances on the mound, pitching 3.0 innings for a 2-0 record and a 6.00 ERA.
From MLB.com: Hitting Ability: He's not a pure hitter, not being consistent enough from at-bat to at-bat. Power: He's got pretty good power and showed home run pop to the pull side. Running Speed: He grades out as average, at best. Base running: He handled himself OK on the bases. Arm Strength: He wasn't tested in this game, but he's shown a strong arm as a guy who's done some pitching. Fielding: He's playing CF now and looks OK, but he may not be able to stay there in the future. Range: He has average range in center right now. Physical Description: Ratliff is a big, strong, left-handed hitter. Medical Update: Healthy. Strengths: Power bat, with home-run potential. Weaknesses: Inconsistency. He hasn't shown the ability to make consistent contact. Summary: College power hitters are always going to draw interest, even inconsistent ones. Ratliff hasn't always been able to make consistent contact, but he manages to show enough to remain intriguing. A center fielder for now, the team who thinks he'll turn his sometimes power into something frequent enough to man a corner spot will take a chance on him
In 2008, Raliff hit .229/.300/.388 for Brooklyn, in 201 at bats.
In 2009, Ratliff starred for Savannah, going .265/.312/.451/.763, in 468 at bats. He also had 15 home runs (tied for 12th in the league) and 68 RBIs (tied for 11th in the league) before getting bumped near the end of the season to St. Lucie (.286 in 28-AB).
1-1-10 Forecast: - Ratliff earned the bump to A+ and will play the 2010 season there once again. I look for the pop to continue and the home run count to increase.
2-10-10: - Sean Ratliff – It’ a lttle too early to tell, but Ratliff is making quite a name for himself. Baseball Cube gives him a 94 rating for power. But, they also give him a 10 for contact. Had 15-HRs and 68-RBIs for the Gnats last year and will play 2010 for Lucy.
Look. Flores had a decent first half of the season with Savannah, even though he did slump off in the last month, but no one could have dreamed about his start at the A+ level that’s going on right now. Wilmer had three more hits in last night’s first game, and his current Sally League stats at that point were: .444/.453/.524/.977 in 63-ABs. Notice the closeness of the BA and OBP… that’s only one base on balls… guess Flores wants to prove that there is no ball he can’t hit… and, with all the talk about trading prospects for pitching, what a great time to rake…
Old stuff this year on Wilmer:
1-1-10 Forecast: - We never know if the 16-year old bonus babies are going to make out until three, sometimes four, years later. Most don’t, and, frankly, the string is still out on Flores. He had an okay season in A-ball… yeah, I know, he’s old three years old… still, there’s no rush here, what with Miquel Tejada in line to step in if Jose Reyes goes down (or away). I wish they’d play him again in Savannah, but he’s probably on his way to Florida.
I wrote on Feb 10: - Wilmer Flores – everybody on the Mets are still excitied about this kid… me too… he definitely looks like he has what it takes to make it big time. Watch for the Mets to move him to Lucy this spring and take his time with him. There’s no rush since I’m sure Jose Reyes is going nowhere soon. Look for Flores to graduate to Queens in 2013.
4-15-10: - SS- A-Savannah: The 18-year old prospect is repeating A-ball this year, which tends to tell me that the Mets have big, long range plans for Wilmer. As usual, he's starting the season off with less pop, but his .333 batting average after 30-AB leads the team in hitting. I stil look for him to be converted to either right field or first base in the future, but probably not this year.
4-24-10: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/269874.html - Team: low Class A Savannah (South Atlantic) - Age: 18 - Why He's Here: .370/.481/.741 (10-for-27), 2 HR, 4 2B, 11 RBIs, 6 R, 3 BB, 5 SO - The Scoop: Flores struck out for the first time this season last Friday, in his ninth game. But as his contact rate has declined since then, his power has spiked through the roof. Six extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in a week would have been practically unheard of last season, but it could be a sign of a more mature Flores learning to identify pitches he can drive and not simply swinging at the first thing near the zone. Bear in mind, he hit all of three home runs in 488 at-bats for Savannah last season
4-28-10: - Wilmer Flores – SS – A-Savannah – the 18-year old Flores is off to his best professional start. This is his third pro-season and he’s still three years away from the legal drinking age. More important, is the fact that his pop has come around these past couple of weeks, especially on the last road trip. Stats for the season: .338/.384/.525/.909
5-5-10: - SS Wilmer Flores – A-Savannah – 19/yrs. old – Flores went over 100 at bats on Tuesday and has impressed once again at the A level: .327/.376/.535/.911. He especially has stepped up power wise in the last month and seems to be primed for the next level. The only shortstop prospect ahead of him is Reese Havens, who’s playing second base lately. If you live around the Savannah area, get a game in quick. Flores won’t be around long.
5-18-10: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10895 - Wilmer Flores, SS, Mets (Low-A Savannah) - Breakout confirmed? The Mets expected Flores to take a big step forward this year after getting a feel for full-season baseball in 2009, but the advancements so far have been nothing less than staggering, as Flores is 19-for-36 in his last eight games to lift his season averages to .364/.419/.589. The key to everything has been in his approach—his walk rate is way up and his strikeout rate is way down—and scouts are universal in their belief that this is all very real. The continuing thickening of his frame leaves almost no chance of staying at shortstop, but the bat is starting to move into that special category, as Flores is still the same age as many potential high school draftees next month. -
5-24-10: - Wilmer Flores – 3B – A – this is Flores’ second year in Savannah and he definitely looks ready to move on: .330/.388/.520/.907 in 179-AB. He also is leading the team in home runs, with five. The problem with any movement is the fact that St. Lucie gave their shortstop job to 19-year old Wilfredo Tovar, who is holding his own at the A+ level. Yes, Flores is scheduled to eventually be moved to the outfield, but that won’t happen until winter ball. Neither Flores or Tovar would hold their own at the AA level, so my guess is, even though Wilmer deserves the promotion, he probably is going nowhere.
6-17-10: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/405671-mets-prospect-watch-five-young-future-metropolitans - Just 18 years old, Flores is a shortstop by trade and he has plenty of time to develop. At the moment, his path to the Major League level is blocked by Jose Reyes. There isn’t really any predicting where Reyes will stand with the Mets in four or five years when Flores will be fully ready, but it could be safe to assume that Flores will not be a shortstop when his time in the bigs arrives. He could convert to second base, but he’ll need to fend off fellow second base prospect Reese Havens. Flores bats righty, and Havens lefty, so the Mets must determine who fits their lineup better. Flores could end up trade bait, but there is always the potential for Havens to switch positions again. Flores is hitting .285 with the Savannah Sand Gnats right now, and he has some pop as well. He won’t need to be restricted to shortstop. Mets fans will begin to hear his name regularly as the 2013 season goes on.
Kai has been tearing it since being promoted to Lucy… he played very well this year for the Sand Gants (.267/.349/.361/.710 in 230-AB) but
There’s no power here, but that’s okay. He’s a great defensive catcher who the pitchers love for his intelligence.
Old stuff on Kai:
Gronauer was an international undrafted free agent, out of Germany, signed prior to the 2008 season.
He played sporadically for the GCL Mets in 2008… 45-AB, .356/.408/.378/.786… 15 of his 16 hits were singles…
2009 brought a platoon situation with the Savannah Sand Gants. He split time with Jean Luc Blacquiere (who was promoted to St. Lucie ahead of him) and finished the year: .243/.294/.352/.646 with 0-HR and only 6-RBIs in 230-AB.
4-28-10: - Kai Gronauer – C – A-Savannah – Gronauer platooned last year at Savannah and returned this season as the number one backstop. He’s off to a great start which included a torrid week last week. For the year, Kai stands at: .321/.410/.453/.863
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