Mets: David on 2012, Wilmer Flores, Zack Wheeler, Daryl Strawberry

“It’s obviously different,” David Wright told The Post. “We were looking at team pictures and just to see the difference between the past few years, it’s pretty crazy. Every organization’s goal is to not have a ton of changes made each offseason, but that’s where we are.” And with the Mets in the NL East, a division in which the Marlins and Nationals made significant upgrades and the Phillies and Braves once again look tough, it’s not going to get any easier  http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/wright_direction_bFGvuGhBckBJe61oEldexK#ixzz1mMHQeRrq

2-10-12 - http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/02/10/s2s-2012-team-prospect-lists-new-york-mets/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter   - Third base: Wilmer Flores. Flores is the sort of guy who’s tough to judge because of his age. He’s just a career .280/.321/.394 hitter, but he’s always been very young for his levels. It feels like he’s been around forever, but he doesn’t even turn 21 until August. A longtime shortstop, he’s probably moving to third base in 2012, which is why I have him listed at the position; scouts never thought he could stay at short, and many have projected him to end up at first base. He makes contact, but the secondary skills are going to have to show up at some point, especially if he can’t stick at third. Grade: B-

I think I had Zack Wheeler ranked the highest of us, I’m a believer.  I am usually more aggressive in my rankings of guys I have seen in person, and I had the chance to see Wheeler in the Futures Game in 2010, and again in the Cal League before he was traded.  The Futures Game isn’t really for evaluating starters, they basically get one inning and they are generally airing out their top end fastballs and maybe mix in a breaking ball.  I saw Wheeler pitch in Bakersfield, and it was a forgettable start statistically, but I left impressed with the stuff. He showed mid to high 90’s heat, two breaking balls, and a pretty rough change in the game.  He did throw some good changes in the pen though, which shows that he does have it in the arsenal, it just needs to develop and gain consistency.  He also threw a couple of breaking balls, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ditched one of the offspeed pitches.  The slider seemed to come out of his hand much more naturally, so that would be my pitch to keep if he did indeed drop one of the offerings.  You can see the full recap of that outing here. http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=549:2012-top-100-23-zack-wheeler&catid=21:2012-top-prospects-write-ups&Itemid=5

As a minor league hitter, Darryl Strawberry was powerful and productive and had few flaws. He swings easily, but the ball jumps off his bat. He has enough power to hit balls out to right and left-center field. He can, and does, hit the ball to all fields, but as he matures, he probably will pull more. He likes the ball low and out over the playe where he can take best advantage of the power in his long arms. Off-speed pitches will pose problems for him until he adjusts to the major leagues. He walked frequently in the Double A league–100 times in 129 games last season–but also strikes out too often–145 times. Strawberry should become a solid No. 3 or 4 hitter http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/02/prospect-retro-darryl-strawberry.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29