It’s looking more and more like the New York Mets do indeed have a budding star in power-hitting first base prospect Pete Alonso. It seems like each and every hurdle the organization puts in front of this young man has been cleared with feet to spare.
After having the carrot of an Opening Day roster spot dangled in front of him and an “earn your way” mantra ingrained in him and others by general manager Brodie Van Wagenen earlier in the offseason, the right-handed slugger has proven beyond a reasonable doubt this spring that he belongs among the group of players that head north in a week.
Through 16 Grapefruit League games (49 at-bats), the 24-year-old has a .347/.385/.673 slash line with four home runs, including an impressive opposite-field shot on Sunday, nine runs batted in, four doubles, and ten strikeouts.
There’s really not a lot more Alonso could do to prove his bat is ready for prime-time. After his .285/.395/.579, 36 home run, 119 RBI, 31 double campaign between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas in 2018, a strong showing in Spring Training 2019 should have punched his ticket to Flushing.
Pete Alonso spoke to the Mets’ media corps after Sunday’s 10-5 loss to the Nationals in West Palm Beach (video via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) and kept to his now-consistent message of controlling what he can control, and letting the cards fall as they will.
“I feel like I’ve done a really good job of playing complete baseball. I’ve played well defensively and I’ve done some really awesome things offensively. I feel like I’ve run the bases well, done a good job of doing the little things right,” Alonso said. “I just want to continue having a good spring. I know we’re only a couple of days away but I just want to finish strong and keep continuing to play well. I just want to stay locked in.”
When asked about his mindset on the defensive side of his game, the 24-year-old told the scrum, “I’m so confident right now. I’m very happy with the progress. I just want to keep snowballing and keep putting good days together. That’s about it”, before going a bit more in-depth on his effort to improve this spring.
“They’re really happy with [my defensive] improvement. I’ve been working with Gary DiSarcina and we’ve been going over little intricacies of first base, more footwork around the bag, certain scenarios, just basic stuff like that. We’ve been getting some stuff done and continue to work hard.”
With the umbrella of service time and future payroll implications hanging over the Mets and — through no fault of his own, of course — Pete Alonso, there’s always the possibility he does indeed begin the season in the minor leagues.
That would be unwise and in complete contrast to Van Wagenen’s “win now and win later” and “best 25” declarations. Alonso makes this team better and more complete. Inexperience or questionable defensive skills, be damned.
Just for reference, Alonso has made a total of zero errors in 78 innings at first base this spring. Has he looked shaky at times? Sure. But more often than not, he’s been solid. Just ask Josh Reddick.
Mets skipper Mickey Callaway was asked by of Tim Healey of Newsday if there was a “case against [Alonso] being one of the best 25 [players at the end of camp]”, and there was no mincing of words from the second-year manager.
“At this point? No. Plain and simple. We still have a week-and-a-half left, but he’s done a great job.”
Yes, Dominic Smith has had himself an outstanding spring (.359/.419/.487, one homer, eight RBI, two doubles in 39 at-bats) and, to be perfectly honest, deserves a real shot at first base just as much as Alonso.
But punishing Alonso — and the Mets, and their fan base — by relegating him to Syracuse for a few weeks just to gain an extra year of team control out of the Florida native in a few years from now is plain wrong. Nothing more, nothing less.
