MMs Top 25: #11 OF Cesar Puello

#11 OF Cesar Puello (LR: #4)
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 220 lb
Age: 23
Acquired: 2007 International Signing, Dominican Republic

2014: (AAA) .237/.340/.366, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 13 SB (93%), 28 BB, 65 K
2013: (AA) .326/.403/.547, 16 HR, 73 RBI, 24 SB (77%), 28 BB, 82 K
2012: (A+) .260/.328/.423, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 19 SB (90%), 7 BB, 58 K
2011: (A+) .259/.313/.397, 10 HR, 50 RBI, 19 SB (68%), 18 BB, 103 K
2010: (A) .292/.375/.359, 1 HR, 34 RBI, 45 SB (82%), 32 BB, 82 K
2009: (R) .296/.373/.423, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 15 SB (75%), 10 BB, 51 K   
  
     Puello is the owner of the largest drop between this ranking and the pre-season ranking dropping from 4th to 12th. Honestly, I'm not quite sure what is going on here. After posting monster numbers in Binghamton, Puello looked for sure to be locked in to making his MLB debut in 2014. Injuries, personal life events, and a lack of playing time have derailed that opportunity, though.

     Early in the season, Puello scuffled at the plate, only hitting .244 and posting a paltry .563 OPS during April. This allowed the rehabbing Juan Lagares and the mixture of Andrew Brown, Eric Campbell, and Bobby Abreu to eat away at some of Puello's playing time. After Lagares and Abreu were promoted to the MLB, Puello began playing more consistently and hit a much better .291 with a .863 OPS in the month of May. But then came a personal leave of absence from the team to deal with court cases involving the BioGenesis scandal. Once he returned to the team though, he was not himself and struggled mightly hitting only .137 with a .567 OPS in the month of June.

     He has once again recovered well after getting back in the consistent playing groove and posted a .282 AVG with a .917 OPS in July. However, as has been the story all year, the inconsistent Puello is in another slump during August. As he has seen his AVG drop to .235 and his OPS to .722. Puello continues to struggle to draw BB's which combined with his near 20% K rate is putting pressure on his average and causing it to fluctuate wildly during these hot and cold streaks.

     Puello has also reportedly gotten himself into trouble with Manager Wally Backman causing him to get benched every now and then in favor of Brandon Allen and Anthony Seratelli, both of which are posting better numbers then him despite being older. Puello still has the tools to be a future 15 HR/15 SB guy but now there are questions about whether or not he is going to have the ability to hit at the MLB level. Some additional risk in his floor has developed and its hurting his stock.

Ceiling: 20 HR/20 SB RF with good defense (Jason Heyward)
Floor: Streaky 4th OF, starter on a basement team (Desmond Jennings)