As top prospect Michael Conforto gets set to make his MLB debut tonight when the New York Mets take on the Los Angeles Dodgers, I wanted to share the interview I conducted with him three weeks ago, for those who may have missed it.
There’s some great information and insights from this exciting young slugger who is mature beyond his years and has a great outlook and a contagious enthusiasm about him.
Please enjoy…
MMO – First off I want to congratulate you on a great season and finally getting promoted to Binghamton.
Conforto – Thanks, just playing and coming out everyday like it’s the same! while trying to keep it simple. The day finally came and now here I am.
MMO – You started the year off really well in St. Lucie then the pitcher’s seemed to adjust to you or did they stop pitching to you?
Conforto – It was a combination of both, they started pitching around me a little bit and I started swinging at pitches that I normally wouldn’t if I was hitting well. Then they changed their approach to me by pitching inside more and I started swinging at those pitches which were low percentage for me, putting myself in a little slump.
But that’s baseball you know, those things are going to happen and I just had to find a way to work myself out of it which I did. I got in the cage and worked with my coaches and the hard work paid off. I got the call here with a spot open and have had a good start here too.
MMO – Now what adjustments have you had to make to pitching at the AA level?
Conforto – Just trying to stay simple, staying with the approach that I have and avoiding things I did during my first slump where I got out of my rhythm. It’s good to get that first one out of the way because you know you are not going to be hot all the time.
I need to just stick to the approach that gives me the best chance up there (at the plate), even if I’m facing a good pitcher. I need to make sure I am swinging at quality hitter’s pitches instead off chasing good pitcher’s pitches that way I have a better chance at the plate.
As far as adjustments I wouldn’t say I’ve have had to make many, the difference here (AA) is that the pitchers are more consistent, they make less mistakes and they can throw 3 or 4 different pitches for strikes. I need to make sure I’m keeping it simple here, it’s still baseball and its the same game. The consistency here might change but that doesn’t mean I have to change.
MMO – In St. Lucie you struggled against lefties but to start your career here in Binghamton you have faced seven left-handed starting pitchers in the first 10 games and you have obviously fared better. What do you think the reason is for that?
Conforto – I think it’s all part of coming up here (Binghamton) with a fresh start that allowed me to get back into what I was doing to start the season and in spring training.
I don’t think it was actually a lefty/righty thing as much as just getting back to my approach. I have never had a problem facing lefties, I have always felt comfortable against them it’s not like when I see that a lefty is throwing I say oh crap. I treat it the same way and now that no matter what hand they throw with as long as I keep my approach the same I have a good chance
MMO – When you were drafted there were a lot of draft experts that said you were below average defensively in LF and you might not stick there. Having watched you it seems like you have worked on your defense and throwing while improving both.
Conforto – I knew the criticisms, I had heard about them and the coaches here talked to me about it. I have put work in with them (coaches) and the best time to do it is in batting practice so you can get live reads off the bat.
Getting myself into the right position to throw was a big thing for me that helped me start throwing guys out (6 OF assists this year) and be more accurate. It’s just something that I had to work on, I had to be out there everyday playing and its incredible what hard work can do for you.
MMO – How much attention do you pay to the big club and fans wanting you to come up now? Do you pay attention to all the social media?
Conforto – I get sent stuff from my grandfather who is so into that stuff, he keeps up on everything and knows about anything that comes out. He will send stuff to my dad and he is careful about how much of it he sends to me. I try not to pay too much attention because it doesn’t have too much control on what is going to happen. All I can control is the way I am playing and to keep showing up to the ballpark everyday.
MMO – What do you think you need to improve on to become a better player and to make it to the big leagues eventually?
Conforto – I think I need to be more consistent at the plate to try and avoid slumps like I had in St. Lucie. I also need to continue to work on my defense and putting myself in good positions to make plays.
I also need to work on my baserunning like taking extra bases, knowing when to be aggressive because it’s small things like that which separates the guys here (AA) from the guys playing in the Majors.
MMO – Thanks Michael, good luck this year and hope to see you in New York soon.
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During batting practice, I got the sense other players knew that Conforto was something special and a future star. They all stood around him and watched when his turn came up at batting practice.
Conforto didn’t disappoint them as he kept blasting mammoth homeruns as his teammates watched in awe and laughed at the ridicolous distance on some of them. At one point a teammate turned to me and said “This guy is a f**king joke.” He had just hit one completely out of the park.
I was able to talk to multiple scouts that were there watching the Mets. They were impressed with the power/swing from Conforto. One scout did say that he needs more work on his defense but when I asked him if Conforto could hit in the big leagues right now he said, “Yes, I don’t see why not”.
Thanks for reading.
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