It was just 12 days ago Wilmer Flores was off to quite possibly the worst start he could imagine.
He had made three errors in his first five games, he was just 2-for-16 with four strikeouts at the plate. Fans were calling for Ruben Tejada to replace him, a guy who they couldn’t wait to be replaced just nine months ago.
But in their series finale against the Braves in Atlanta on April 12, Flores seemingly hit the reset button on his season.
Since that series, Flores has not made another error. He’s hit .357 with a 1.114 OPS., three home runs and seven RBI.
His three home runs lead the Mets through 15 games of the season.
Early on, Flores was swinging and missing at an unusually high number of strikes. He was clearly over-swinging and trying to do too much. Often times, it looked like he was swinging so hard he was about to fall over.
But on that Sunday when the Mets beat the Braves, he clearly calmed down both in the field and at the plate. And that’s when his season officially got underway.
He currently has a five-game hitting streak thanks to another impressive night at the plate Wednesday. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, including a game-tying single in the second inning and a game-tying home run in the seventh inning. He’s hitting .421 with three home runs during his hitting streak. He’s had three multiple-hit games in a row, and seven RBI during the streak.
It’s a small sample of course, but he’s beginning to evolve into the hitter the club needs him to be. But perhaps most important, he’s not only been competent at shortstop since the first week, but he’s been impressive specifically around the bag while turning double plays. Last night in particular he looked as quick as he ever has been on a turn while he received a throw from Dillon Gee in the fourth inning, and then again showed quick feet on a double play started by Ruben Tejada in the sixth inning.
He’ll never win a Gold Glove in all probability. But there’s nothing stopping Flores from being competent defensively at the very least. While there have been some rough patches early, he’s done what he can to ease a lot of the concerns and doubt people have had about him.
Just Mets 