Cesar Puello has finally proved to us 3/5ths through the season why he has been as highly touted as we thought he would be. So far, he’s acted like an MVP for the Binghamton Mets, showing all five tools. Jonathon Mayo said he’s in his top ten prospects, and is absolutely scorching the ball.
What do his offensive stats look like?
Average is .334, and has been hovering around .330 there since an absolutely scorching June for some time.
He has 21 doubles, two triples, and 16 home runs in 84 games. Of his 107 hits, 39 have gone for extra bases.
He’s stolen 24 bases and has been caught seven times, showing above average speed.
He’s a plus right fielder, who threw out a runner at the plate the other day.
In other words, all of his tools are coming together.
The only knock on him? Puello has been a notorious free-swinger. He fished for breakers, and has not laid off the down pitches. Jeff Paternostro of Amazin Avenue noted it as well in a tweet last week, how apparent that he wasn’t being promoted because of that.
He has struck out 77 times and had only walked 27 times. That has changed greatly in the past 10 games, where he has drawn seven walks and has struck out only five times. On the Friday doubleheader, he walked in both games. He’s starting to choose his pitches wisely.
So, now he’s learning to walk more consistently. It seems he doesn’t have much left to prove in Binghamton. So why isn’t he being promoted?
Official word from a Mets Official
I asked a trusted Mets official familiar to player development why that was last week. This is what he officially said:
We are happy with the job that Cesar has done this year. Hitting coach Luis Natera has put a lot of work with him and getting him into a position where he can consistently drive the ball.
The two have really clicked and we would like to see what else we can get out of him. Secondly, playing only nine teams in the Eastern League allows him to face team several times. They get a good feel for who he is as hitter. We want to see him be able to make the adjustments as he is getting pitched very tough. The ability to make adjustments is critical at the big league level.
Lastly, we would like to keep him in the middle of this playoff race in the Eastern League. It is a great experience playing in high pressure games.
I don’t know how people are going to feel about this, but I feel this is a very valid reason to keep Puello in Double-A. If he’s working well with Luis Natera, then why mess that up by sending him up? At this point, we all know the bloated numbers that have been coming out of Las Vegas, and that it’s hard to appreciate how well people are doing in general because Vegas is such a hitter’s paradise. It wouldn’t make sense either to send him straight to the big leagues either, if he isn’t a finished product yet.
I agree with this decision, and others around me have found it to be logical as well. It continues to test Cesar through one whole season, high pressure situations, and keeps his confidence high. With all these great players coming together on the field and producing such a great Double-A team, why not keep him there until they go into the playoffs?
The most important part of this news was that my source expressed to me that it had nothing to do with biogenesis, whatsoever.
What do you guys think of this?
(photo credit: Kelly Madden)
I think he has done all there is to be done at AA. Right now he should be playing at Vegas getting ready to be the starting RF either at the start of 2014 or mid 2014.
To hold him back on technicalities makes no sense development wise in my view.
These Mets need him more than AA.
Great post, and the reasons are valid. Of course, the whole little of a possible suspension plays a part, but there are real baseball reasons that make sense, particularly considering his age and current level.
“development wise”, aside from suspension worries,is why they’re holding him back.
Also, jumping from AA to the bigs isn’t unheard of, he doesn’t need to check into Vegas to get here, though he probably will, it’s not mandatory.
It isn’t technicalities. Why ruin development and take players away from their confidence? it won’t do them justice to go to a team with bloated numbers and Quad-a pitchers. Why change from a hitting coach, who has brought the best out in the player?
Thank you.
I’ve given a lot of thought to the whole Puello situation. Yes, he is tearing the cover off the ball, but I see him in largely the same boat as I see THOR. He is developing brilliantly on a winning club. You see it in the bigs every year, a club with youth is on the cusp of something great, then a player or 2 make their debuts and the new young blood with a thirst to win drives that team into greatness. Not a year goes by that we don’t see it at least once. My biggest hope and dream is that they both show up to Spring training and absolutely blow away the staff, earning their way onto the big club and inspiring this team full of potential into playoff contention.