Regardless of how this season shakes out down the stretch, the evident strides taken by the New York Mets’ young positional core will undoubtedly soften the blow of (likely) yet another losing season.
Pete Alonso‘s missile-like acceleration from highly-touted prospect into the power-laden arctic beast we know today indicates the Mets may very well have themselves a star in the making.
The 24-year-old’s .263/.366/.607 slash line, .397 wOBA, 152 wRC+ (seventh in MLB), 34 homers (tied for second in majors), and 76 RBIs, in his first 434 MLB plate appearances is simply awe-inspiring; we know that much.
Alonso’s struggled at the plate since the All-Star break (.136/.328/.409 through 58 post-ASG plate appearances), but among the consensus, concerns are wholly limited. He’ll adapt, adjust, and continue to mash.
With Jeff McNeil‘s second-inning, three-run homer on Friday night, he became the fifth Mets player under the age of 27 to hit 10 dingers this season, joining Alonso, Michael Conforto (18), Dominic Smith (10), and Amed Rosario (11) in the double-digit dinger club.
In just over a full season in the majors, McNeil, 27, has forced his way into the conversation of MLB’s elite hitters.
With a .340/.400/.513 slash line, .387 wOBA, 145 wRC+, and 12.8% strikeout rate (14th in MLB) through 375 plate appearances this season, as well as the breakthrough effort McNeil produced in 2018, at the risk of repeating myself, the Mets have another a star in the making.
Amed Rosario, 23, could arguably finish the 2019 season with the most developmental progress made of this entire group.
After a ton of hype leading up to his 2017 call-up but a mostly underwhelming first season-and-a-half in The Show, something’s appeared to click this season (looking past a sub-par May-into-June this year), particularly so over the last six weeks.
Arguably the most impressive aspect of all his recent feats is that his defense has begun to resemble those of a substantially more capable shortstop.
Yes, Rosey’s -15 defensive runs saved and -6.0 ultimate zone rating still rank worst among qualified MLB shortstops, but he’s been much better in recent weeks. We’ll take that. He’s still just 23.
At the plate, well, Rosey’s found quite the groove.
Since June 15 (.325/.362/.508, .363 wOBA, 130 wRC+ — sixth-best among MLB SS over that span — , 15.3% strikeout rate over 131 PA), Amed Rosario’s been one of the more productive shortstops in the majors. That’s extremely encouraging.
Dom Smith, who’s become a linchpin of sorts for this Mets squad, has done all this organization has asked of him and then some, on both sides of the chalk.
To go as far as offering to field a position he had practically no experience playing and doing so respectably (-3 DRS, -0.4 UZR in 223 outfield innings this season), albeit with some speed bumps along the way, speaks volumes of Dom’s team-first attitude.
If things don’t work out in left field for Smith — judging solely on how he adapted to a strictly bench role earlier in the year — there should be no shortage in confidence that Dom can continue to produce more than adequately as a part-time player.
Whatever gets the 24-year-old’s .278/.352/.506 slash line, .361 wOBA, 128 wRC+ into the lineup on a consistent basis should be all well and good at this point, deficiencies aside.
Conforto, 27, has had a roller-coaster year in 2019, but through no real fault of his own.
After starting the season on a very strong note (.271/.406/.521, nine homers, 16.7% walk rate over 180 PA from Opening Day through his injury), he suffered a concussion during a May 16 collision with Robinson Cano, and things got a bit bleak.
From his return to the lineup on May 26, through the All-Star break, Conforto hit just .217/.309/.420 over 165 plate appearances. The player never used his injury as an excuse, but it was clear something was amiss.
Since returning from the break (56 PA), Conforto’s slashing .283/.321/.415. A corner appears to have been turned (encouraging, even in a small sample size) and it couldn’t be a more welcome sight.
Clearly, the positional future of the Mets is a bright one.
The lightning-fast progression of Alonso and McNeil, as well as the star power of Conforto, give this organization three viable, ultra-productive (and extremely marketable) franchise cornerstones.
The question marks that guys like Rosario and Smith have carried with them throughout their development, including some noticeable growing pains for each of them, have begun to fade away.
With this headlining core and a healthy Brandon Nimmo (remember him?) hopefully returning soon, things are looking up, friends.
