#25 RHSP Chris Flexen (LR: NR)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 3" Weight: 215 lb
Age: 19
Acquired: 2012 Rule 4 Amateur Draft, 14th round, Memorial HS (Newark, CA)
2013: (R) 8-1, 2.09 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.942 WHIP
2012: (R) 1-3, 5.62 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.625 WHIP
You generally do not expect to get much out of the 14th round of the draft but the Mets may have found a gem in Flexen. Chris signed for an over-slot bonus of $375,000 to commit straight out of high school and forgo his commitment to Arizona State University. The right-hander was widely regarded as talented enough to go in the 4th or 5th round but his asking price of 2nd round bonus money led to his drop on draft day. His repertoire consist of a 90-92 MPH fastball that can be cranked up to 94, a nice hard slider that has plus potential, a sparingly used change-up, and a below average curveball that could be scrapped in the near future.
After getting a cup of coffee in 2012, Flexen showed excellent command in his follow-up re-assignment to Kingsport walking only 12 in 69 innings pitched. The kid seems to have excellent stamina as well as he completed two complete game shutouts including one where he struck out 11 batters. He was also named the Appalachian League's Player of the Year as an added bonus. We should get some excellent exposure to Flexen in 2014 as he should get an assignment to the (A) Savannah due to his 2 seasons in short season ball so we'll be able to see 1st hand what he's bringing to the table.
Anticipated Assignment: (A) Savannah Sand Gants piggyback starting rotation.
Ceiling: Back-End MLB rotation starter
Floor: Career Minor Leaguer
3 comments:
You have a good chance of finding a rough diamond like this in the high schools around the country...
you just need a deep enough scouting system that has the contacts in each of the school divisions
the best information comes from a coach of a different team, talking about someone that beat the hell out of them, or is tearing up their division.
In 2014, there are a good two rounds of quality college juniors coming out... but the draft is deep with quality high school seniors... at least five rounds... especially RHP
Even more impressive about Flexen is that he got off to a slow start last year, but pitched to a 1.33 ERA/0.778 WHIP in July and 1.85 ERA/0.918 WHIP in Aug.
He got tougher when the situation got more stressful:
.215 avg with no one on
.200 with runners on base
.159 with RISP
And all 6 of the HRs he allowed were solo shots.
I need to see his supposed promotion to A-ball to believe it.
There are other pitchers (Dario Alvarez, Logan Taylor) that have earned a slot ahead of him and Whelan.
Let's hope the Mets finally wake up and slot their talent by talent
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