The Keepers - #15 - OF - Cesar Puello

15.                 Cesar Puello

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.

Puello signed as an international free agent in 2007.

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

Mack: Same philosophy as Carson. Puello is easily the 2nd top Mets OF prospect, though he’s only 4 years old. Still, he’s a beast so far and everyone involved in the minor league Mets system is high on this kid. I hope Tobi is right about Savannah. I can’t even begin to imagine Puello, Flores, and Marte all playing for the Sand Gnats at the same time. Woop, woop.

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.

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.

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.

6-21-11: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110620&content_id=20786072&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&tcid=tw_share   - Cesar Puello delivered a two-out double down the left-field line in the bottom of the 11th, driving in Travis Ozga with the winning run. Ozga, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, drew a one-out walk to set up the run. "It was unbelievable," manager Pedro Lopez said of the reaction in the dugout. "I thought that Puello came up with a big hit for us. I was just hoping the ball wouldn't bounce over the wall (for a ground-rule double) and make things more interesting. Ozga did a helluva job drawing a walk after being down 1-2 in the count."

8-11-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/baseball-americas-mets-top-10-list-prior-to-2011-where-are-they-now.html - OF – Cesar Puello: Speedster outfielder who has all the tools to progress through the ranks at a quick pace. Like Flores, he has not put up big numbers in the low minors and because of that he has not progressed through the system at the pace team officials had hoped.  He has shown some pop this season which has surprised some, but the rest of his game needs more seasoning. Started 2011: Single-A  Currently: Single-A

10-25-11: - http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2011/10/25/2011-top-20-new-york-mets-prospects  - 2011 Top 20 New York Mets Prospects - 7.Cesar Puello, OF (High Class A): Speaking of high upside with little results, the Dominican outfielder does have quite a bit of power and speed, but somewhat less formidable plate discipline. With a 3.7% walk rate and strikeouts coming 21.1 percent of the time at high A, plenty of work still needs to be done. His promotion to high A has seen a decrease in walks, a rise in strikeouts, and a lower rate of stolen base success, with only a solid improvement in power numbers to offset the developmental losses. Fortunately the tools are still there. For him it all hinges on better plate discipline and pitch recognition.

11-18-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/11/mets-top-position-player-prospects-were-disappointing-in-2011.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29 - Cesar Puello: Cesar’s season was not terrible, but it was not great either.  He surprised some people with his power display, which most of it game during a hot streak in middle of July.  He played an exceptional center field, and is already playing for Single-A St. Lucie as their lead off hitter at just 19 years of age.  However, with that has come with a lot of disappointments.  He has walked just 18 times all season in over 400 total at bats.  His batting average was a mediocre .260, and as a lead off hitter a .316 on-base percentage is just not going to cut it.  Another disappointment is the fact that the young speedster has just 19 steals on the season. Puello was also caught 9 times, so he may have been a little gun shy after getting caught almost 50 % of the time.  This is after he swiped 45 bags last season and looked like the next coming of Jose Reyes.  Scouts rave about Puello’s potential as a 4-tool player, but he showed some pop this season that may translate to bigger power number than originally thought.  If Cesar is going to continue his ascension through the Mets minor league system then he is going to need to progress and mature as a hitter and as a player.  He needs to learn more patience at the plate, and understand how to read pitchers better when attempting to steal.  All of those things will make him a much better player, and a much more dynamic lead off hitter.

11-26-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/11/2011-mmo-top-20-mets-prospects-9-cesar-puello-of.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29v-v The thing about Puello that makes you take notice, is his combination of speed, power, and youth. The buzz about him going around the South Atlantic League in 2010 was that he was one of the strongest players in the league. Although his power has yet to emerge in the form of HR’s and SLG%, it still lies dormant under the surface. At some point Puello will figure out how to turn on an inside fastball, or learn how to hit it squarely with loft and carry, and when he does he definitely has the strength to develop into at least a 20+ homerun guy. Something about him reminds me of Kevin Mitchell when he was in the minors. Mitchell didn’t hit a lot of HR’s either, only 42 in his minor league career over 5 seasons before he made the big league club in ’86. But then, as a big leaguer, he emerged as a “crusher” of baseballs.

1-3-12 - http://mets360.com/?p=8885&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29  - 7. Cesar Puello, OF, Hi-A, .259/.313/.397 in 488 PA - Last year Puello was ranked fourth on this list due to glowing scouting reports combined with a borderline acceptable walk rate. The scouting reports are still positive, but he posted a dismal 3.8 BB% last season. The only reason his OBP cracked .300 last year was due to being hit by 20 pitches. Puello has made steady progress through the farm system but he could benefit from starting 2012 back in St. Lucie. Last year he had a .670 OPS in road games, 78 points lower than his home mark

1-10-12 - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-new-york-mets/  8. Cesar Puello, OF

 BORN: April 1, 1991

 EXPERIENCE: 4 seasons

 ACQUIRED: 2007 international free agent

 2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: 8th

SCOUTING REPORT: Puello is a toolsy outfielder who has the chance to develop into a starting center-fielder but he needs to become more consistent while also improving his approach at the plate. He has just enough power potential that it can mess with his head at times, keeping him from focusing on his key offensive tool: His speed. Scouts feel Puello may eventually develop the ability to hit 15-20 home runs.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Puello faced little adversity in his first three pro seasons, hitting almost .300 during that span. He struggled as a 20 year old in high-A ball in 2011, his aggressiveness and poor pitch recognition getting the best of him. His batting average dipped to .259 and his walk rate was a dismal 3.7%.

YEAR AHEAD: The young Dominican showed improvements during the second half of the season in 2011 but he may still benefit from a return engagement to high-A ball where he can continue to work on hitting breaking balls and learning to see more pitches. He could see the Majors by the end of 2013 if he gets off to a strong start in ’12.

CAREER OUTLOOK: Puello projects to play a corner outfield spot as a big leaguer – likely right field due to his strong arm. It remains to be seen if he’ll develop enough usable, in-game power to be a regular corner outfielder after posting a career best ISO rate of just .138 in 2011.

1-27-12: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6509  9. OF Cesar Puello - Baseball-Reference player profile - Every organization seems to have a prospect similar to Puello, a strong and fast 20 year old prototype right fielder from the Dominican Republic whose biggest challenge to becoming a successful Major League player will be learning some control over the strike zone. Puello fits the bill as a potential five-tool player, with the hit tool the furthest away. He split time between centerfield and right field last year and has the skills to play both, although is arm strength surpasses his speed as a plus tool. After stealing 45 bases as a 19 year old in the South Atlantic League in 2010 but only hitting one home run, Puello’s power took a huge step forward in the Florida State League last year as he blasted ten home runs (.259-10-51/.710 OPS) and began to use the strength in his 6-2/195 frame to drive the ball. As mentioned, the big hole in his game is plate discipline, as he walked only 18 times (vs. 103 Ks) in 488 plate appearances. Puello was hit by more pitches (20) than he drew walks.