The New York Mets finished the Month of April in second place in the National League East with a 16-15 record. During the first month of the season, there have been a number of pleasant surprises. Picking which one was the most pleasant surprise may be difficult, but that is what our writers endeavored to do in the latest edition of the MMO Roundtable:
Marshall Field – No Doubt It’s Alonso
No doubt Pete Alonso. He set records 10 games into his major league career and continued doing so throughout the month. I wrote a piece on Alonso’s April and was amazed at his accomplishments as I did the research. You never know what a highly touted minor leaguer will do once he gets into the majors, yet Pete has flourished and then some. His walk-off sacrifice fly against the Reds was a fitting end to one of the best months a rookie has ever had. Keep it up, Pete and you’ll be the face of the franchise for years to come.
Jack Hendon – Davis a Trustworthy Bat
J.D. Davis. His defense remains a work in progress/general obstacle, but overall the results have been positive. He puts together smart, competitive at-bats and hits the ball harder than most utility guys the Mets have traditionally rolled the dice on (think Matt Reynolds, Eric Campbell). I’m not fully convinced the stats are sustainable over the course of a full season, but he’s clearly shown something that we hadn’t seen when he was an Astro. Even having trustworthy bats off the bench can go a long way with competitive teams. Just ask the Dodgers.
Mojo Hill – Alonso for Sure
Alonso for sure. Being thrown into the Majors for the first time, I was a bit skeptical about how he would perform early on. But he completely passed my expectations, setting numerous franchise records and posting a 1.024 OPS, and was the Mets’ best hitter in April. It’s hard to ask for much more than that from the rookie, who has been a vital and huge part of this Mets offense.
Matt Mancuso – Alonso a Feared Slugger
Pete Alonso. Everyone knew he would be good. Just how good was the question breaking camp. Well, Alonso has impressed to the point that he’s one of the most feared sluggers in the MLB. At this point, he’s fifth in the NL in OPS, sixth in SLG, first in barrels, and seventh in wOBA. He’s already shattered many franchise records within his month in the bigs and should be a pleasure to watch in Queens for years to come.
Tommy Rothman – DFA
Travis d’Arnaud— I wasn’t expecting him to do us a favor and get his bags packed this early.
Tim Ryder – Matz Has Been Outstanding
Steven Matz has been outstanding outside of that one hellish outing versus Philadelphia. If you take out that six-earned-run-no-out appearance, Matz has a 1.86 ERA with 1.08 WHIP, 27 strikeouts, and seven walks in 29.1 innings. That’s awfully impressive.
John Sheridan – McNeil Still Flying
While Jeff McNeil was the surprise of last season, there was reason to be skeptical he would be able to repeat his performance. Short of Ichiro Suzuki, there are no batters who succeed in the majors with an approach wholly reliant upon a high BABIP. And yet, here we are in McNeil’s first full season, and he is once again Ichiro.
That said, there are reasons why he is succeeding, and frankly an improved player from what he was last year. McNeil has been more selective at the plate, and he is driving the ball more. He has been a batter who the Mets feel comfortable leading off or putting in an RBI spot.
His impact is more than that. With injuries to Todd Frazier, Jed Lowrie, and Robinson Cano, he has played second and third in addition to playing left field. Despite not having played much left field in his professional career, he is continuously improving and has already become playable out there. Given his versatility int he field and in the lineup, you could make the argument McNeil has emerged as the most important player on the roster.
Overwhelmingly, our writers believe Alonso has been the most pleasant surprise this year. Do you agree? Was there another player who was not mentioned? We look forward to continuing this discussion in the comments.
