There has always been a lot of promise surrounding Michael Conforto. He flew through the minor leagues and came up about a year after being drafted. In 2017, it looked like he put it all together when he hit .279/.384/.555 with a .392 wOBA, 147 wRC+, and earned himself an All-Star appearance.

Of course, the Mets can’t have nice things, though, and he dislocated his shoulder on a swing, needed surgery, and spent the entire offseason rehabbing. It’s probably no coincidence that Conforto struggled in the first half of 2018. Despite those initial struggles, Conforto maintained a good eye at the plate. His chase rate was virtually the same as it was in 2017 as were his in-zone contact rates, swing rates, swinging strike rates, and contact rate among many other things.

Everyone can agree that shoulders are essential for hitters and they need it to be productive on the field. Conforto’s season changed for the better after the All-Star break, though. The biggest reason was health and it showed in his fly balls and line drives.

In the first half of the season, Conforto’s hard contact rate on line drives and fly balls was 45.2% and he only pulled those balls 25.2% while hitting 41.7 % of them to the opposite field.

While you could make the argument his swing naturally takes balls the other way, pulling the ball that little shows that Conforto, with much softer contact than he did before, exhibits that his swing was not as fast as it was in the past.

In 2017, he went to the opposite field a lot, but his hard-contact rate on fly balls and line drives hit to the opposite field was 41.3%. In the first half of 2018, that number hovered around 35%. All of a sudden, his hard contact on balls hit in the air was 53.8% in the second half of 2018. He also pulled the ball more which made him more balanced.

Conforto will be another season removed from surgery so expect a big 2019 from him. He will likely be back to hitting rockets and should also have a consistent defensive home in right field. I am very excited to see him and Robinson Cano hit back-to-back in the Mets order.