Cesar Puello makes his mark at number four on our list. Puello is widely considered to be the best outfield prospect in the organization after three years in the minor league system, and he is the highest ranked outfielder on our list. He played 109 games for Savannah last year at the age of 19, playing exclusively in right field. He struggled throughout most of the first half hitting just .249 as Savannah, hitting mostly in the bottom half of the lineup for a Sand Gnats team that won its division in the first half of the season. Part of the reason for his struggles is that he spent time re-working his swing, which caused him to have a pitiful May hitting .192, but then paid big dividends for him in the second half. With Savannah’s better hitters getting promoted mid-season, Puello was thrust into the heart of the batting order and started tearing it up, hitting .303 in June, .356 in July, and .347 in August, while having a multitude of multi-hit games. Puello also has great tools beyond his bat. He has great speed that gives him range in the outfield that goes nicely with his strong arm, making him an asset defensively. His speed also allowed him to steal 45 bases last year.
Puello will be just 20 years old on opening day, but judging from his second half in Savannah last year, he should get the promotion to high-A St. Lucie, where he should expect to spend the whole season. At his age, there’s no reason to rush Puello, so he should get at least two more full years in the minors before there’s any thought of him seeing Citi Field. In the meantime, there are a couple things to keep an eye on as he develops. One is his defensive position. There are some who believe that Puello has a chance to be a centerfielder, which would increase his value. Whether or not the Mets play him in centerfield at some point is still yet to be seen. The other part of his game to watch is his power. Puello hit just one homerun last year, and has seven in his three-year career. If his power does not come along then a move to centerfield would be more likely, and allow him to retain his high value; however, if Puello does develop a lot of power, he could enter the big leagues down the line as the classic 5-tool player who would fit in anywhere in the outfield.
13 comments
stickguy
2/24/2011-4:37pm at 4:37 pm (UTC -4)
hard to see why someone with his speed wouldn’t be tried in CF. Sounds like he was in winter ball from some reports.
He is also a good example of how you can’t just look at stats in the minors when projecting guys, since (especially at the lower levels) you do get guys like him working on new stuff.
Hopefully someone of the puello/ad rod/flores group takes a big step this year. would be nice for a change to have a guy at the top of the prospect list!
metsfan4decades
2/24/2011-6:53pm at 6:53 pm (UTC -4)
This is one prospect I know next to nothing about so thanks for the info.
Just started hearing about him in the past few months and maybe I’m wrong but it seems he must have looked better last year than some thought he would.
hazmet
2/24/2011-7:37pm at 7:37 pm (UTC -4)
Supposedly, one of the first guys other teams ask about in trade talks going back to last summer. I was waiting to see where the kid landed. Seems about right. I often wonder if this kids SB count is where they see the fill in for Jose’s SB’s in a couple of years if Jose’s gone after this year.
metsfan4decades
2/24/2011-7:01pm at 7:01 pm (UTC -4)
On another note, watched some clips from tonight’s SNY shows on SNY’s website.
Bobby O predicts:
- Pelf has an All Star half/season
- Mets win 40 road games, at least
- Mejia should start 28 games in Triple A and come up in Sept. He looks great but he needs to learn the art of pitching.
- Niese wins at least 12 games.
- RA has a better season than last year? Hard to top his last year season but saying that, he will not struggle.
stickguy
2/24/2011-9:06pm at 9:06 pm (UTC -4)
If Bobby is right, the mets have to be serious WC contenders.
Neise I think is the one that will have a big year. Not expecting him to be hitting the wall again like last year.
28 starts from Mejia? that could be pushing 150 innings, or more. Not sure you will be seeing him in NY too after that many, but who knows.
hazmet
2/24/2011-10:00pm at 10:00 pm (UTC -4)
I love Bobby O’s positivity, it does cheer me up. When I read this I thought to myself the following question:
As Mets fans we have been conditioned to expect and wait for the worst. Instead of projecting a win total on what if this guy comes back or that guy performs up to par. How about for a change what would the win total this year be if everything went right for a change? Like Johan back by All Star Break, Pelfrey emerging as a legit 1A, Niese performing like a solid 2 or 3, Reyes healthy and running, Beltran Healthy and hitting, Bay being the old Jason Bay instead of the Jason Bay that’s old, and David cutting down on all those strike outs. Could they break 90 wins if everything broke right or are they at best a .500 team if all breaks right. I think the realistic total is 82-84 wins. But if all went our way, for a change, how about 92 and a WC birth. I’d say we’re due.
stickguy
2/24/2011-10:19pm at 10:19 pm (UTC -4)
my take? Well, I agree that most fans/people assume a low normal for the mets (meaning they expect more to go wrong than right).
that said, my opinion? relative normal (some good,some bad, nothing special, basically hitting the “on paper” target) they are .500+, so say ~85.
If your scenario comes true, even with nothing out of Johan all year, then they can hit 90 wins.
metsfan4decades
2/24/2011-10:23pm at 10:23 pm (UTC -4)
I agree with you on expecting the worst. They don’t call us ‘long suffering Met fans’ for nothing.
I think the predictions of a .500 club are based mostly on the perceived holes in the starting rotation. Our ace out for probably the better part of the season, a rookie, so far a one year wonder and Big Pelf. Since the back end of rotation isn’t set yet, they’re looking at it like no way the pitching is good enough to compete.
That’s before they even get into starting to discuss the ‘health’ of the core, namely Beltran and Reyes.
stickguy
2/24/2011-10:42pm at 10:42 pm (UTC -4)
well, even without Johan, and assuming of course no more ST injuries, the rotation is probably going to be stronger and more experienced top to bottom than it was going into last year. Don’t discount the benefit to not having ollie and maine “anchoring” the rotation this year.
and the rotation really wasn’t a problem last year (even the part beyond Johan).
metsfan4decades
2/24/2011-7:09pm at 7:09 pm (UTC -4)
RA and Thole up first on SNY’s Hot Stove at Duffy’s.
I could listen to RA talk all night. He and Thole have a kind of ‘hidden’ language that ‘I can’t talk about on air’.
Thole is such an enthusiastic, up beat guy for all his youth and technically still a rookie. Looks like he’s having a blast. Says he uses a bigger glove when catching RA but chuckling: ‘I’m thinking about using it to catch the rest of the guys too’.
stickguy
2/24/2011-9:04pm at 9:04 pm (UTC -4)
not sure who was quoted, but someplace today was a quote about Thole haven’t improved tremendously over the winter, defense wise. to the extent that he looks like a veteran catcher.
It will be a huge, huge boost if thole plays a solid C and keeps up some timely hitting and OBP, and they find someone to be productive at 2B. talk about lengthening the line up.
hazmet
2/24/2011-9:51pm at 9:51 pm (UTC -4)
I would be thrilled with solid D, a .260 avg, 20-25 doubles, 50 RBI’s & 5 HR’s and completing a first full year in the bigs. I really don’t know what to expect from Josh as I really like what he’s done in a small sample size. Looking at his stat’s as he’s progressed I think these numbers would be a terrific first year campaign if combined with solid D.
stickguy
2/24/2011-10:14pm at 10:14 pm (UTC -4)
if he combines that with an OBP in the .340-.350 range for the year playing mostly FT, i can live with that. And I think the BA could easily be a little higher.
but those numbers are way better than what they got last year.