MMs Top 25: #24 RF Wuilmer Becerra

#24 RF Wuilmer Becerra (LR: #28)
Bats: R Throws:R
Height: 6' 4" Weight: 190 lb

Age: 20
Acquired: Via Trade from TOR (w/ N. Syndergaard, T. d'Arnaud, J. Buck for RA Dickey, J. Thole, M. Nickeas)

2014: (Rk) .300/.351/.469, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB (70%), 14 BB, 55 K
2013: (Rk) .243/.351/.295, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 5 SB (45%), 20 BB, 60 K

     Viewed as the throw-in piece to complete the R.A. Dickey trade, Wuilmer Becerra is a legitimate prospect on his own. The tall lanky Venezuelan was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays via the IFA market in 2011 and was immediately brought stateside for the 2012 season. Unfortunately, after only 11 games with the GCL team, Becerra was hit in the face by a fastball which broke his jaw and his missed the rest of that year.


     Once the Mets got their hands on him, he was re-assigned to the Gulf Coast League so that the front office could get an idea of what they hand. Despite a somewhat lackluster 2013 season, Scouts saw what made him one of the best right-handed hitters from that international class. Becerra brings a good combination of physical size, strength and raw power, and some scouts outside the organization felt he had good plate coverage with his swing and an excellent feel for hitting.

     In 2014, Becerra was assigned to the more advanced Rookie Appalachian League and became one of the top hitters that season. His led the Kingsport Mets in SB and was 2nd on the team in OPS, HR,  AVG, RBI, and doubles. Amazin Avenue's Jeff Paternostro, got a first hand look at him last season was was quite impressed;

"Becerra consistently kept everything level and his hands in. The most impressive game swing I saw, he stayed in on a fastball boring in on his hands, and was able to drive it into the LCF gap for a double. He also has more advanced bat control and hand-eye coordination than you would expect given his K/BB ratio."

     Paternostro references his K/BB ratio...this was one of Becerra's main areas of concern so far during his time as a Met. While he has improved his K rate from 29% to 24% year over year, his BB rate also dipped from 9.7% to 6.1%. As Paternostro references in his write up, Becerra has a number of significant, albeit fixable, flaws in his swing. Flipping back and forth between a leg kick and a toe tap, a lengthy hand load, and a tendency to lunge at pitches low in the zone.

     Defensively, the organization seems keen on taking advantage of his plus, potentially 70 grade, arm strength by playing him exclusively in RF. Despite his larger frame, Becerra is a pretty graceful runner and could potentially have enough speed to sneak in 10-15 SB a year. If he can fix his mechanical issues, without sacrificing his power, and continue to improve on his zone recognition skills, Becerra could develop into a potential 15 HR/15 SB MLB player and shoot up this list extremely fast. For now though, I'll hold off on upping his ceiling until I see have he performs in a full season league.

Ceiling: Strong Armed, High K Taxi Squad OF (Robbie Grossman)
Floor: Hits the AA prospect wall and gets stuck in Binghamton
Anticipated Assignment: (A) Savannah starting RF