6-3 is pretty tall for a second baseman so that doesn't bode well for him there. If he's really as slow as you guys are saying, then I don't think he's a fit for the outfield. Ugh.

Sickels describes his speed as "below average."

I don't think anyone called it a certainty. He's shown power and strikes out very little. He doesn't walk enough, and his best position is third, which is blocked (I don't agree with JC that he's played himself off the position - it's just not going to be his path to the majors with the Mets). He's on the majority of top 100 lists, but not all of them, and he's towards the bottom of the ones he's on. That's about right. I don't think anyone disagrees that the fact that he's the best position player prospect illustrates a weakness in the system.

That's a fair assessment. Jack Carter is the one proclaiming:

Flores' bat (and he's hitting about the way his better projections expected--this wasn't completely unexpected) will play in a corner

I guess that was expressed with certitude. He can speak for himself, but I doubt he would defend the certainty in the statement though.

It should be remembered about Flores that he's a guy the scouts like - the way he squares up, the ball jumps off the bat, etc. etc. scout lingo. So you have to judge what you think of that. Obviously some people give that kind of thing more credence than others. The numbers alone are less impressive than the numbers of plenty of guys who didn't make it.

In my ideal world, the Mets leave Flores at 3B for the year, he has a good season, and then in the off-season he gets packaged with one of their pitching prospects for one of the OF bats they need.

I was looking at some Matt Harvey stats on fangraphs today. If he had enough IP to qualify, he would've had the second highest K% in the majors last year, and he would've been third in average FB velocity, with a swinging strike% that would've been in the top 5 in the majors. Now of course, he didn't have a full season, and you can't compare the numbers directly to those guys, but I have to say I was a little surprised at how good his stuff was. He seemed to have little trouble hitting the mid 90's in the 6th or 7th inning as well. He's a young pitcher, so you never know, but I definitely could see him being a top of the rotation pitcher for a championship caliber team in the next year or so. It remains to be seen, of course, if the Mets put that kind of team around him.

6-3 is pretty tall for a second baseman so that doesn't bode well for him there.

I thought for sure Utley was at least this tall, but BBRef has him at 6'1" - he looks like a lanky giant out there, so 6'3" I guess really is pretty tall for 2B.

They may have been keeping him at third because they thought they'd need to replace Wright.

I think that's a pretty accurate assessment-- it also gave them some leverage with Wright, in that they had an eventual backup plan in place. Same with Tejada and Reyes.

It should be remembered about Flores that he's a guy the scouts like - the way he squares up, the ball jumps off the bat, etc. etc. scout lingo. So you have to judge what you think of that. Obviously some people give that kind of thing more credence than others. The numbers alone are less impressive than the numbers of plenty of guys who didn't make it.

To me, the encouraging thing about Flores in 2012 was that he took a step forward, and finally started to match what had been described as his potential. If he can continue to develop, the Mets will have a potential impact bat on their hands. If not, then all of the question marks raised here are going to hold him back.

In my ideal world, the Mets leave Flores at 3B for the year, he has a good season, and then in the off-season he gets packaged with one of their pitching prospects for one of the OF bats they need.

They need their position player prospects to turn into stars or at least quality regulars. Unless the payroll takes a huge jump, that's what the future of the club hinges on.

I continue to be amazed that this late in the spring, they haven't managed to scare up better options in the OF-- the bar for "better" being set at Byrd and Cowgill shouldn't make that a challenge...

There's a gap between terrible athlete and below average speed. Lots of guys play the corner outfield with below average speed.

Yes. I've never read the "terrible athlete" or "slowest guy in the minors" labels until this thread.

Yes. I've never read the "terrible athlete" or "slowest guy in the minors" labels until this thread.

This is what Sickels has to say about Flores' defense.

Flores moved off shortstop last year and performed adequately at both third base and second base. His arm works just fine at third and he doesn't make an excessive number of errors, but his range is mediocre. His bat profiles better at second base, but he probably lacks the requisite quickness to play there long-term. He doesn't run well enough to be an attractive outfield option, but will he hit enough to play first base?

Here's an excerpt from BA's write-up of Flores as the #19 prospect in the FSL last year:

Though Flores always has shown offensive upside, his position remains in doubt. He's a 20 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale, and his heavy feet severely limit his range at third base. His hands are fine and he has a strong arm, but his lack of speed leaves first base as his only other option if he can't handle the hot corner.

Now, I have a hard time believing any 20 year old who doesn't look like latter day John Kruk could be a 20 runner (I mean, I'm a 36 year old lawyer, and I think I'm probably a 35 - 40 runner), but I think we have to take their word for it. I generally go for the bat over defense, but you just can't put a 20 runner in the OF.

I wasn't aware of Wilmer being a 20/80 on speed. Greg Luzinski had a good career (37 SB, 31 CS), as did Rusty Staub (47 SB, 33 CS). The Mets aren't overflowing with outfield talent at this time. Perhaps they can nudge him out there.