The grumblings had already begun for Dilson Herrera who had just one hit in 13 at-bats going into Wednesday’s finale against the Baltimore Orioles.
“He looks overmatched. ” “Definitely not ready yet. ” “Needs more seasoning.” “You can’t trust PCL numbers.”
But Dilson Herrera silenced all his critics and shut up his detractors with a breakthrough performance at the plate last night, going 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in the Mets 5-1 win over the Orioles.
Herrera, 21, delivered his best performance as a major leaguer, belting his first homer of the season and fourth of his brief MLB career. Only 75 at-bats long to be exact.
He joins Gregg Jefferies as the only second basemen in franchise history to hit four home runs in their first 23 career games.
The future of second base for the Mets set career highs with his three hits and three runs batted in, and spoke through an interpreter after the game.
“I know there are going to be ups and downs,” Herrera said. “But being able to contribute today made me very happy.”
“I let the ball travel a bit more today. Being here last year helped me to get better and get more comfortable.”
Manager Terry Collins knew it was only a matter of time until Herrera would break through.
“It’s all about trying to get comfortable and getting him used to playing back in the big leagues and not trying to do too much,” said Collins. “His swing is good enough. He just managed to do more, not just swinging harder.”
The question I have is what do the Mets do once David Wright is activated from the DL after the weekend?
To be honest, it has been refreshing not having to hold my breath whenever a ball was hit toward second base.
But of course with Daniel Murphy leading the team with 18 RBI, he’s not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
From what I’ve been told, the Mets don’t view Herrera as an option at shortstop and are reluctant to start shuffling their future star around the diamond to try and force a fit.
But what if Herrera really pushes the envelope and delivers a couple of more performances like this over the next 5-7 days?
