The Mets unquestionably have a laundry list of problems before them as they pick up the pieces of a 12-18 run since they started their season 13-3.
But for now anyway, Wilmer Flores isn’t one of them.
As the club’s offense has stumbled, Flores has managed to right his ship at the plate to become one of the more productive players in the Mets lineup. In the month of May, Flores has put together a .250 average and a .738 OPS with three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI in 20 games. Most recently, he has hit .282 with a .744 OPS with two home runs and eight RBI in his last ten games.
One of those home runs was critical, coming yesterday in a 3-3 tie against the Phillies.
With two on and Justin De Fratus on the mound for Philadelphia, Flores dropped a three- run home run just over the blue wall in left field, giving the Mets the lead for good on Memorial Day.
“I still think as we move into this and get into the 400 at-bat mark this guy is going to have pretty impressive numbers,” Terry Collins said after the game. “He’s a good hitter and has got some power. You don’t know how many home runs he’s going to hit. I’m not concerned about that. I just know he’s a good hitter.”
The home run was Flores’ seventh home run of the season. He is tied with Jhonny Peralta for the most home runs of any shortstop in baseball – more than Troy Tulowitzki, Starlin Castro, and Ian Desmond.
“I’m doing what I am supposed to do,” Flores said about his offense on Monday. “Everyone knows what I can do and I know what I can do and you’ve just got to execute it.”
The offense is great. As Flores said, he’s mostly meeting expectations with his bat, although he would become an even greater force if his walk totals rose. However, he doesn’t swing at too many pitches outside the strike zone which suggests he’s following the mantra set forth by the club, which is attacking strikes regardless of the count. He continues to show a quick bat particularly on pitches inside which explains his success on balls driven to the left side. Flores struggles a bit going up the middle and to the opposite field – that could be one of the adjustments he has to make as the book evolves for him.
Overall it’s hard to complain about his body of work considering what’s gone on around him.
With that said about his offense, he’s also starting to do it with his glove as well.
Flores has not committed an error in his last ten games after committing nine in the first 36 games of the year. His throwing has improved, and while his range and speed are what they are, his footwork appears to be better as well. And he’s making the routine plays and throwing the ball accurately and with more confidence, something he was expected to do but simply was not doing over the first five weeks of the year (and definitely cost the team’s runs and wins in the process).
The fourth week of May is the point teams begin to evaluate the identity of their respective clubs. Sandy Alderson mentioned on Monday he is already exploring ways to fortify the roster both from the inside and outside the organization given the titans of injuries and under-performance. While there have been whispers the Mets are seeking alternatives at shortstop, it’s hard to ignore Flores’ improvements on both sides of the ball as of late.
He’s at least earned a longer look, especially if David Wright’s absence is extended indefinitely – they need whatever offense they can come up with right now.
Besides, there are certainly plenty of other areas of concern on the field, and plenty of ways to improve both offensively and defensively while keeping Flores around and his bat in the lineup everyday.
Just Mets 