Puello signed as an international free agent in 2007. He passed on Latin ball and came straight to the GCL Mets in 2008: .305/.350/.364 in 151 at bats.
In September 2008, Baseball America listed the top 20 prospects coming out of the GCL league, and Puello was ranked 12th. In September, Toby Hyde wrote: RF Cesar Puello – .305/.350/.364 – 6 2B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 32 K, 13/18 SB – 151 AB, 40 G - I was a little surprised when I first saw Puello. He’s not built like the typical 17-year-old baseball player from the Domincan Republic. Nope, he’s got some strength and size in his chest and arms. He hasn’t turned that muscular frame into power yet, but he was just 17. Instead, he showed a really nice feel for the barrel of the bat which he was able to translate into line drives into both gaps. He didn’t use his lower half much for power, but when he integrates that into his swing, he will start driving the ball more.
February 2009: - Toby Hyde on his # 17 – OF Cesar Puello (#5 on Mack’s Mets Prospect List): Puello was impressive in his professional debut as a 17-year old in the GCL, showing a nice swing that produced line drives to the big part of the park. He’s strong across his upper body and has solid batspeed, but wasn’t yet driving the ball consistently in games in July. That will come as he learns to use his strength. He has the range and arm to handle right. 2008: Puello’s OPS increased in every month from .537 in June to .605 in July and .867 in August. In August, he hit .357/.410/.457, walking three times and getting plunked four times in 70 AB. Projected 2009 Start: Savannah
February 2009: MYOB on: - Cesar Puello OF - Only a $400,000 sign out of the DR. He likes to chase breaking pitches and doesn’t have one stellar tool, except his arm, which is a tick above average. Cesar hit .305 but stole 30 bases. His 5 to 32 walk to K ratio still needs some improvement.
In 2009, Puello played exclusively for Kingsport, a far lower level than originally projected. He hit .296/.373/.423/.796 in 196 at bats, hitting 5-HR and only 23-RBI. His BA and OBP were 15th in the league.
1-1-10 Forecast: - As much as the Brooklyn fans would love to see him, Puello is ready to jump to a full season team and will join the Savannah Sand Gnats in the spring of 2010. Hopefully, he will begin to develop more pop in his bat.
5-30-10 from: - http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?cat=42 - The Mets had a good haul from the Dominican crop in 2007, signing Wilmer Flores, Jefry Marte and Jeurys Familia. Cesar is just another name in that group, signing for $400,000. He showed a bit more power last year while not sacrificing in the average department. With his speed that could be a valuable combination. He is now playing in a full season league, striking out too much (43 K’s) and hitting just .234. He does have 19 steals in 21 attempts.
6-17-10: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/405671-mets-prospect-watch-five-young-future-metropolitans - Puello is a young outfielder who can bring a ton of speed to the table. He won’t strike out much at all. He brings a plate presence similar to Luis Castillo to the game. But, he really, really needs to work on drawing more walks, even though it might not fit his style of play. In 89 games between 2008 and 2009, he drew a whopping total of 15 walks. He looks better this year, drawing 17 to this point. He will need to work on that though. His average is down this season, but he has shown signs of being a capable leadoff man. On a side note, he is becoming notorious for getting hit by pitches. The Mets may very well have their top-of-the-order base stealing threat in Puello, and he could be tried out in that role in 2014
7-16-10 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/16/1572497/mets-farm-system-mid-term-review - He's fallen off somewhat from a year ago—what little power he had fell off a cliff and his average dropped to .258—but he moved up a level and he's still young for the league. And most importantly the patience has held up: his isolated discipline is .088, up .011 from his mark in Kingsport last season. With his speed, if he can make more consistent contact in the second half, he'll really improve his chances at making it as a leadoff hitter. What bothers me the most, however, is that he's been playing right chiefly; Zapata's a good defender in center, but Puello carries far less value in right, where his utter lack of power is big negative. Put a gun to my head and ask me right now, and I'll say Puello probably needs to repeat Savannah, but a big second half could change my mind.
8-4-10: - there’s been very little press this year on Puello, who’s doing a decent job for Savannah (.296/.369/.367/.736 in 368-AB) this year. The 19-year old hasn’t showed much pop but he has produced 27 doubles and walked 30 times. Let’s remember he’s still a teenager and I expect him to move on to St. Lucie for the 2011 season.
8-5-10: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/8/5/1606179/2010-top-20-new-york-mets - Cesar Puello, OF, Grade C: .293/.377/.363 with 44 steals in 53 attempts for Savannah. Loads of speed, plate discipline is so-so, lacks power, just 19 years old.
8-6-10: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/2610479.html - Why He's Here: .538/.600/.654 (14-for-26), 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBIs, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 SO, 7-for-8 SB - The Scoop: Stop me if you've heard this one before. Puello projects as a five-tool right fielder—but only if his bat develops. Well, develop it has. When Puello and the Sand Gnats hosted Kannapolis on June 7, the teenager had slumped to a .229/.315/.276 batting line. Visions of a demotion to the short-season New York-Penn League must have danced in his head. But in 52 games since then, Puello has taken the Sally League by storm, batting .374/.456/.465 (70-for-187) while smacking 12 doubles and showing an exemplary 18-to-26 walk-to-strikeout ratio and a 26-for-33 (79 percent) showing in stolen bases. How far has he come? Puello now ranks 10th in the SAL in batting (.299) and second in steals (45) and runs scored (79).
9-1-10: - 2011 Forecast: Let's first remember that Puello played the 2010 season as a 19-year old. There is so much ceiling here... 404-AB, .292/.375/.359/.734, 22-doubles, 45-steals... he batted .305 for GCL in 2008... .296 for Kingsport in 2009... and .292 for Savannah in 2010... and... he's only 19. Yes, this is another Mets prospect with little pop, but isn't that There's no doubt that Puello will move on in 2011. My educated guess is St. Lucie to play in a possible all-star outfield with Darrell Ceciliani and Cory Vaughn.
9-15-10: - SAVANNAH (A) OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE: CESAR PUELLO (OF) - Height: 6-2 Weight: 195 Bats: Right Throws: Right Born: 4/1/91 Resides: La Romana, Dominican Republic - Obtained: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2007 - Signing Scout: Ramon Pena, Ismael Cruz & Marciano Alvarez - Rightfielder Cesar Puello hit .292 (118-404) with 80 runs scored, 22 doubles, 34 RBI and 45 stolen bases for Savannah. The 19-year-old speedster ranked fifth in the SAL, and first in the Mets organization, in stolen bases and led Savannah in hits, runs scored, doubles, and total bases.
10-9-10 from: - http://baseballanalysts.com/ - Cesar Puello, OF, A - Experience: 3 years - Age: 19 - Puello produced promising numbers for a teen-aged speedster in 2010. The right-handed batter produced a triple-slash line of .292/.375/.359 in 404 at-bats, while also stealing 45 bases. He continues to make adjustments and his walk rate has improved in each of his three seasons and was at 6.8% in 2010, which is OK but not great. Although he hasn't shown much power in his ISO rate, Puello has seen his line-drive rate increase dramatically since 2008 (9 to 13 to 15%). Defensively, he made some over-aggressive errors but shows good range.
11-18-10 from: - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-10-prospects-the-new-york-mets - Notes: The more you watch Puello, the more you like him. The young prospect showed good offensive potential in low-A ball in 2010 and hit .292/.375/.359 in 404 at-bats. Puello exploded in the second half of the season after he made adjustments to his batting stance and closed some holes in his plate coverage. Speed is the main strength of his game and Puello nabbed 45 bags on the year. He’ll need to show more on-base ability to take advantage of his legs, as he posted a walk rate of just 6.8 BB%. He has long strides while running and has good first-step quickness but he also excelerates well going first-to-third. He’s a solid defensive player who has played right field almost exclusively in his career. He certainly doesn’t have prototypical power for the position (.067 ISO rate in ’10) and projects to have 10-15 homer ability, at the very most. Consider him a sleeper for 2011 and he could zoom up the Mets’ top prospect list.
11-24-10 from: - http://www.metsgeek.com/showthread.php?658-Mets-Top-Twenty-Prospects&p=187156 - 5. Cesar Puello. If this guy makes it, he will be a fan favotite. I hate using phrases like “this kid plays the game the right way” but that is the best way to describe him. A very smart player, Cesar gets the most out of his tools. I haven’t seen a throwing arm in the low minors that is as accurate as his arm. He is a very smart base runner, a good bunter and has a nice, projectable bat. He played some centerfield in instructs and it will be interesting to see him in center for St Lucie this spring. He made a rather impressive adjustment in his swing this summer for a kid his age, which has helped him make better contact and should help him reap benefits of his power game soon enough. Best case scenario is a good major league starting outfield able to do a little bit of everything to help his team win. Worst case scenario is being unable to make adjustments to hit advanced pitching.
12-20-10 from: - http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b7Jdl - Cesar Puello, outfielder – A stockier Carlos Gomez, if Carlos Gomez raised his OBP by getting hit by a lot of pitches . . . and was better at baseball. Puello posted a .375 on-base percentage, 45 steals and 8 outfield assists from right as a 19 year old at Single-A, but just 1 home run.
12-20-10 from: - http://mets360.com/?p=5755&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29 - The Dominican native was signed by the Mets in 2007. Last year was his third season playing in this country but he was only 19, one of just five teenagers in the SAL. Unlike many Latin players, Puello is willing to take a walk, with 32 BB in 404 AB,. Puello also had 22 HBP, following up on a season where he was hit 14 times in short-season ball. He also has plus speed, as he stole 45 bases in 55 attempts. Puello hit just 1 HR last year, but he draws praise for his approach at the plate and scouts predict he will hit 20 HR by the time he matures.
12-22-20 from: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=12623 - Cesar Puello, OF
Year in Review: This teenage Dominican recovered from a slow start to put up impressive numbers at Low-A.
The Good: Puello is arguably the best athlete in the system. He's a plus-plus runner, and some scouts project some power for him down the road based on his size and strength. His arm is another plus tool, and he made some adjustments to his swing as the season went on, leading to more consistent contact.
The Bad: The debate over Puello's power is wide-ranging, as some see him becoming a real power threat, while others see a line-drive swing and more of a leadoff profile. His second-half breakthrough came with a far more aggressive approach at the plate, and he'll need to find some balance there. He's a poor defensive outfielder who needs his speed to make up for poor jumps and routes, which have so far limited him to a corner.
Ephemera: Moved around the Sand Gnats' lineup throughout the year, Puello played in double-digit games while batting second, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the lineup.
Perfect World Projection: If the power comes as some scouts believe, Puello could become a monster. Without it, he's a unique talent as a corner outfielder with a center fielder's skill set.
Fantasy Impact: He'll post a solid average and have plenty of stolen bases, so if the power comes, he's a monster.
Path to the Big Leagues: Puello will make his Florida State League debut just days after his 20th birthday. Even if he begins to drive more balls, it won't show up in the stat sheet until he gets to Double-A.
ETA: 2013.
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