Mets: Dylan Owen, Manny Acosta, Jon Malo, Wilmer Flores

 1-11-12 -  http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/01/2012-mets-top-prospects-s-41-50.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29  49.  Dylan Owen (RHP) Owen has quietly worked his way up through the Mets minor league system, taking on each challenge so far and adjusting well at each level. He was drafted in the 20th round of the 2007 draft, one pick before the Mets took Dillon Gee in the 21st round. They are both very similar as pitchers, right-handers that can make up for the fact that they don’t throw real hard, by being able to get advanced hitters out with good command of several quality pitches. They both change speeds well and work off their low-90′s fastballs with breaking stuff and good change-ups. Owen also throws a sinker, a cutter in the mid-80′s, and a curveball in the low-to-upper 70′s. In an interview I did with Dylan earlier this winter when he was playing in Venezuela, he told me that his focus moving forward is command, location, and situational pitching. His record this winter in 7 game starts covering 41.2 innings, was 2-3 with an ERA of 1.73. He should most likely open the season at Buffalo, either in the rotation or the bullpen, and if he continues to pitch well, should be making his major league debut, when needed, sometime next season.

Originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Yankees in 1998, Manny Acosta never got a shot to pitch for the Mets’ crosstown rivals prior to his release in the summer of 2003. From there, he went to the Mets’ divisional rivals in Atlanta and finally made his big-league debut in 2007. He made 103 appearances with the Braves over the course of three seasons, pitching to the tune of a 3.55 ERA despite walking a boatload of opposing hitters and not striking out all that many. The Braves decided to cut ties with Acosta just before the 2010 season, and the Mets picked him up, shuffling him between Buffalo and Queens early in the season before he became a fixture in the bullpen for the latter half of the season. In 41 games, Acosta posted a 2.95 ERA, thanks in large part to his rate of 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He was still walking opponents too often, though, which helps explain his 3.63 FIP and 3.52 xFIP. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/16/2707571/2012-mets-player-profile-manny-acosta

It’s been a storybook four months for Jonathan Malo. Over that stretch, the Joliette, Que., native was named a World Cup all-star, won a gold medal at the Pan Am Games and on Saturday night, he was recognized as the Senior National Team MVP at the annual Baseball Canada awards banquet. “It’s awesome to get the MVP award,” said the affable 28-year-old, “but there are so many guys on that team that could have been the MVP. Andrew Albers, just to name one, was lights out in both tournaments – the Pan Am Games and the World Cup. It was really a team effort.” But despite his international heroics, Malo, who split the 2011 campaign between the New York Mets’ double-A (Binghamton) and triple-A (Buffalo) clubs, is currently a free agent. http://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/articles/canuck-gold-medal-winning-mvp-malo-a-free-agent/

1-16-12 - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120115&content_id=26355832&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym - 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. 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.