Ranking The NL East: Shortstops

Sep 17, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets shortstop

(4) is forced out at second base by Miami Marlins shortstop

(3) on a ball hit to the outfield by New York Mets right fielder

(not pictured) during the second at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

 4. Wilmer Flores (New York Mets)

Depending on what general manager Sandy Alderson does the rest of the offseason, the Mets could see a different player manning the shortstop position, but for now, it’s the 23-year-old Flores from Venezuela. He got the bulk of his workload last season the final months of the season. While he hit just .247 with six home runs and 29 RBI’s last season, most of the shortstop’s numbers came in the month of September.

In 23 games, he hit .267 with four home runs and 13 RBI’s. Flores has shown signs of a power bat that got him called up from AAA Las Vegas, where he has hit 28 combined home runs in the last two seasons. He hit over .300 in each of his last three seasons in the minors, but can that hitting success translate on the Major League level?

While New York’s attempted trade at Ian Desmond did not happen, New York has shown confidence in Flores based on the fact that they haven’t been seriously linked to any other shortstops this winter.

He is one of those players that can play multiple positions, but at shortstop, he had four errors in 51 games last season. That being said, he still is a strong defender at his position that can improve as he gets more playing time. Clearly, the experiment of playing Ruben Tejada is gone after a substandard 2014 (.237, 5 home runs, 34 RBI’s). While Flores is number four on my list for 2015, he does have a chance, if he puts up good offensive numbers, to move up this list in 2015 at only age 23.

Next: Number Three