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Minors: Callis on Flores

by Mike Nichols on September 4th, 2008 at 5:49 pm

In a chat for ESPN.com, Baseball America’s Jim Callis writes that, as of now, Mets 17-year-old OF Wilmer Flores is the organization’s top prospect, ahead of Fernando Martinez.

In 66 combined games this season with Kingsport, Brooklyn and Savannah, Flores hit .315 with 8 HR and 42 RBI, whiles striking out 34 times in 273 at-bats.

In an injury-plagued season, playing only 86 games for Double-A Binghamton, Martinez hit .287 with 8 HR and 43 RBI, whiles striking out 73 times in 352 at-bats.

…it’s hard to comment on players you’ve never seen, but based on reports and production, the proclaimed ‘Teenage Hitting Machine’ has not lived up to his hyperbolic potential during his time in the Mets minor league system…granted he has unfortunately seen his share of injuries in the last couple years and may be a victim of his own hype…

For more on the Mets Minor League system, check out Toby Hyde’s excellent Mets Minor League Blog.