Ready or not here he comes…
According to Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record, the Mets will promote their top prospect Michael Conforto if and when they place Michael Cuddyer on the disabled list.
When this happens – and it could be this afternoon – expect lots of fanfare and a press conference with all the bells and whistles.
The majority of Mets fans will celebrate the news, as will most of the New York media including everyone associated with SNY who have been trumpeting this non-stop since Monday.
It will be interesting to see how Conforto will perform as he’s thrust into the heat of a pennant race and joins a team that will look to him to provide the jolt the offense needs.
It’s a tall task, but Conforto seems like a well grounded kid who shouldn’t be too fazed by all the Wilpon-induced hoopla that is soon to follow.
I love Conforto’s makeup and plate approach, and I hope his less than 50 games above Single-A will be enough to succeed at this level.
His first test, if he’s called up today, will be Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Good luck, kid…
My one concern is that I hope this promotion is not in lieu of a trade deadline move to bring in another proven outfielder who can play everyday and add some punch. Because that would be so Mets…
July 22
According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, Sandy Alderson is close to appeasing disgruntled fans and promoting the team’s top hitting prospect Michael Conforto.
Martino says the Mets have heard the cries and have become increasingly open to the idea of promoting Conforto. He has learned that the team will possibly call him onThursday when the Mets open a series against the Dodgers at Citi Field.
I thought the days of having a Mets GM that makes moves to appease the fans were over, and I asked Martino about that, but he didn’t reply.
Conforto, 22, has been a huge topic of debate as he tears through Double-A Binghamton, much like Dilson Herrera did a year ago.
Conforto is batting .325 with a .407 on-base percentage a, .531 slugging and a .938 OPS in 160 at-bats.
Comparatively, Herrera was batting .340 with a .406 on-base percentage, .560 slugging percentage and a .967 OPS in 278 at-bats.
Kevin Plawecki was another top prospect who performed similarly at Double-A (.326/.378/.487), a highly polished college bat, just like Conforto.
However, Plawecki has struggled to produce a .600 OPS in the majors and owns a 67 OPS+ with the Mets.
Hopefully, Conforto can succeed despite so little time above Single-A.
