Wheeler & Flores to Futures Game; B-Mets win 2nd straight

6/21/2012 (Updated 11:07:36 PM)

NEW YORK -- In the nearly 11 months since the Mets acquired him in exchange for Carlos Beltran, Zack Wheeler has transformed himself from a promising young talent to one of the preeminent pitching prospects in baseball.

It's time for him to showcase that skill set to the world.

Wheeler and infielder Wilmer Flores will represent the Mets at next month's Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, providing glimpses into the organization's rapidly improving Minor League system.

The 14th annual Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game can be seen live on MLB.TV, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD and followed live on MLB.com's Gameday on Sunday, July 8, at 5 p.m. ET. In addition, XM Radio will broadcast play-by-play coverage of the event live on MLB Network Radio XM 89. MLB.com will also provide complete coverage before, during and after the game. Fans can stay updated by following @MLBFutures on Twitter and can send/receive tweets to/from the U.S. and World team dugouts during the game by following @USDugout and @WorldDugout.

Major League Baseball, along with the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, MLB.com, Baseball America and the 30 Major League baseball clubs, selected the 25-man rosters.

Wheeler, 22, is 6-3 with a 1.88 ERA in his debut season at Double-A Binghamton, establishing himself as one of the top starting pitching prospects in all of baseball -- despite playing against mostly older competition. MLB.com slotted him 22nd amongst all prospects prior to this season, ahead of much-hyped Mets teammates Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia.

In the Futures Game, Wheeler will share a U.S. dugout with blue-chip pitching prospects such as Trevor Bauer of the D-backs, Dylan Bundy of the Orioles and Gerrit Cole of the Pirates.

Joining Wheeler in Kansas City will be Flores, now in his fifth Minor League season, but still just 20 years old. Also a Futures Game participant in 2009, Flores recently earned a promotion to Binghamton after breaking out at Class A Advanced St. Lucie, hitting .289 with 10 home runs in 64 games. MLB.com ranked him the Mets' sixth-best prospect and the 10th-best third-base prospect in baseball prior to this season, according to MLB.com.

Flores will share an infield with World team members including Francisco Lindor of the Indians, Jurickson Profar of the Rangers and Jean Segura of the Angels.

Harvey and third baseman Jefry Marte represented the Mets at last year's game.

AKRON, OH  -- Eric Campbell smacked two RBI doubles and the B-Mets got solid contributions from three newcomers in a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over the Akron Aeros at Canal Park on Thursday night.

Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, Campbell tied the game by ripping an RBI two-bagger to center and added insurance with another RBI double in the eighth.

Prior to the game, the B-Mets welcomed three additions from the St. Lucie Mets. All three had a hand in the win. Catcher Francisco Pena ripped a solo home run, third baseman Wilmer Flores provided the go-ahead single in the sixth and Wilfredo Tovar made a pair of terrific defensive plays at short.

Binghamton had to play catch-up from the start as the Aeros grabbed the lead in the first against starter Gonzalez Germen. Juan Diaz started the rally by smacking a double to left. Chun Chen promptly brought him home by stroking an RBI single to left centerfield.

Binghamton responded in the third. In his first Double-A at-bat, Pena led off the inning by crushing a 1-1 offering from Giovanni Soto over the left field wall to tie the game at one.

Akron took the lead back in the fourth. Adam Abraham led off the inning by ripping a double off the right field wall. The first baseman scampered to third on a wild pitch and came home on a passed by Pena, giving the Aeros a 2-1 advantage.

The B-Mets used a pair of timely hits to take the lead in the sixth. Soto exited the game after issuing a pair of walks to start the frame, leaving a difficult situation for reliever Kyle Landis.

Jefry Marte nearly killed the rally by bouncing into a double play. Campbell bailed him out and tied the game by crushing an RBI double to center field. Wilmer Flores followed by sending a chopper back to the mound. The ball glanced off the glove of Landis and rolled past Diaz at short, destined for left field. Campbell scored on the play, giving Binghamton their first lead.

Germen capped his night with two scoreless innings. The righty posted a perfect fifth inning and worked around a pair of two-out singles in a scoreless sixth. He allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out five in six innings of work. Ryan Fraser entered in relief and fanned three over two scoreless innings.

The B-Mets cashed in on another leadoff walk in the eighth. Reliever Bryce Stowell put Reese Havens aboard to start the inning and paid for it when Campbell scorched an RBI double to left centerfield.

Owning a 4-2 lead, Binghamton looked to Robert Carson in the ninth. The lefty did not make things easy by walking leadoff hitter Ryan Rohlinger. The lefty battled back to retire the next three Aeros to secure his fifth save of the year.

Germen (4-4) earned his third straight win, while Landis (4-2) suffered the loss and his first blown save. Soto took the no-decision.

The B-Mets (33-37) continue their nine-game roadtrip with a four-game visit to Jerry Uht Park to take on the Erie SeaWolves. The series opener kicks off at 7:05 PM on Friday night. LHP Darin Gorski takes the hill for Binghamton against LHP Kelvin De La Cruz.

Courtesy: BMets.com