The 2018 New York Mets team bears many similarities to the 2015 National League Champion New York Mets. Both teams started the year hot — in 2015, after going 2-3, the Mets went on an 11-game winning streak to give them a 13-3 record on April 23. In 2018, the Mets had an early nine-game winning streak to start the season 12-2. In both cases, though, they faltered.

After a strong start, the 2015 Mets were 29-23 at this point (coming into June 2), and due to a seven-game losing streak, would fall to one game below .500 on June 24 after hitting the .500 mark the day before. The 2018 Mets did not take as long to reach .500 as they’ve been hovering around the mark for the last couple weeks, but the similarities remain.

So, what was it that propelled the Mets to the World Series in 2015? As late as July 24 they were still one game over .500 with a 49-48 record, so something must have happened around that time to make such a huge impact that a team around .500 in July would go on to win 90 games.

Was it the acquisition of Tyler Clippard? Maybe. Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe? That helped too. Yoenis Cespedes? That definitely played a big part. All that happened around the July 31 trade deadline, but what might have helped more than anything was what happened on July 24. No, it wasn’t the Mets’ 2-7 loss to the Dodgers. It was who made their MLB debut that day.

22-year-old Michael Conforto was called up from Double-A prior to that day’s game and from that point on, the Mets were different. Yes, of course, Sandy Alderson made a plethora of trades, all of which worked out, but Conforto provided a spark that’s still being felt today.

After hitting .283/.350/.462 with seven home runs and 28 RBI through 46 games in Single-A, Conforto was called up to Double-A where he got even better, slashing .312/.396/.503 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 45 games. On July 24, he arrived at Citi Field, and from that point on, the Mets started winning ballgame after ballgame.

Before Conforto arrived, the Mets were 49-47. After he arrived, they went 41-25 to win the National League East Division, beat the Dodgers in the NLDS, and swept the Cubs in the NLCS. The rookie hit .270/.335/.506 with nine home runs and 26 RBI in 56 regular season games, good for a 2.1 bWAR. He would hit .200/.235/.500 in the playoffs, but he was clutch with three home runs and six RBI in 12 games.

Fast forward to 2018, and the Mets not only have a big bat in Double-A, but his numbers blow Conforto’s out of the water. Through 51 games, Peter Alonso has hit .339/.461/.627 with 14 home runs and 44 RBI through 51 games.

The Mets signed Adrian Gonzalez this offseason, probably not thinking Alonso would be MLB-ready in 2018. In fact, they probably did it as a motivator for Triple-A first baseman Dominic Smith, not giving a second thought to Alonso as an option this year. Despite all that, the biggest breakout performance out of all of them this season has been Alonso, and it might be time for him to jump over Triple-A and come to Flushing just as Conforto did in 2015.

This current team is struggling. Every loss is heartbreaking, every lead is squandered, and few are hitting. The fact is, though, this team has talent. Wheeling and dealing at the deadline would make a big impact, just like 2015, but that year the Mets had an x-factor. That x-factor was Michael Conforto, but in 2018, “X” stands for Alonso.