The New York Mets have an interesting situation named Michael Conforto. While he has shown that he can produce at an elite level for extended periods of time, he has far from proven he can be defined as an elite hitter. Despite his ambiguity, his potential remains, and the Mets want to give him every opportunity to blossom into the slugger we know he can be. At the GM meetings, Sandy Alderson spoke about how Conforto could get more playing time.
To give him more opportunities, the Mets will be exposing him to first base in the spring, as well as revisiting the idea of him playing center field. He has only ever played the outfield during his professional career, so he would have to completely learn first base. On the other hand, he showed that he can play a decent center field, and would only get better with more innings there.
Specifically, when speaking about the 23 year-old Conforto, Alderson said, “Conceivably, he could fit in center field. He played there both at the major league level and the minor league level. I think we were pleasantly surprised at how he adapted to the position. He’s an outstanding athlete.” That outstanding athleticism should aid him in his transition to first base as well.
Much of this depends on whether or not the Mets bring back Yoenis Cespedes. If Cespedes is in left field every day, with Curtis Granderson in center field and Jay Bruce in right, Conforto’s role would likely be reduced to a fourth outfielder/occasional first baseman. If Cespedes were to leave, he would likely play a lot of left field while splitting some time with Juan Lagares in center.
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Keith Hernandez, who certainly knows a thing or two about hitting, diagnosed at least some of Conforto’s issues when talking to the Wall Street Journal: “He wanted to be quick, but that led to swinging at breaking balls out of the strike zone, and then worrying about the breaking ball led to him getting busted inside with the fastball,” Hernandez added. “Going the other way is his strength.”
In 109 games in 2016, Conforto slashed .220/.310/.414 with 12 home runs, 42 RBIs, and 89 strikeouts. He hit .337 with 15 extra base hits and 18 RBI during his first 23 games this season, but then he faced Madison Bumgarner and it was all downhill from there. He went 20-for-133(.150) after that game and was demoted to the Minor Leagues. He was back and forth a few times during the rest of the season but couldn’t put it together. Here’s to hoping his bat comes back around.
