One of the reasons why people believe Amed Rosario should be called up to the majors is so he can be mentored by veterans like Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes before they are possibly moved at the trade deadline.

As it turns out, the distance between the Mets and the 51s clubhouse has not prevented Reyes from being a mentor to the budding star.

From those that recall, Reyes’ and Rosario’s paths first crossed in Binghamton last year during Reyes’ conditioning stint. During that time, Reyes spoke highly of Rosario’s ability, and Rosario spoke even higher of the impact Reyes had upon him during their all too brief encounter.

In speaking of his mentorship, Reyes told Mike Puma of the New York Post, “You have to work hard, and I tell him never lose that. It’s one thing, when you are a big prospect, I always put this in my head when I was a prospect: Hustle every day. Because one day if you don’t do that you know everybody is going to see it. Always be hungry for the game and play hard.”

Right now Rosario’s offense is on a tear, hitting .412/.432/.537 during his current nine-game hitting streak and hasn’t struck out in his last five games. Rosario is now tied with teammate Dominic Smith for the most hits in the minor leagues with 113.

The two talk nearly everyday on a variety of topics. This is in large part due to Reyes wanting to make sure Rosario becomes the player many believe he can be. Even if Rosario gets called up and takes Reyes’ spot, Reyes plans to be there for Rosario.

Put more succinctly, Reyes said, “I was once in a similar situation, and when he comes up I am going to be open to helping him out.”

At the moment, there is a legitimate question whether Reyes will be around when Rosario is called up. The Mets are selling, and Reyes is a veteran on an expiring deal. Still, if it were up to Reyes, he would stay:

“I would like to finish my career playing here. But I don’t have that in my control. The only thing I can control is continue to play hard and finish this season strong and hopefully put this team in the playoffs.”

Rosario is the Mets shortstop of the future (likely very soon future and long-term) and he’s trying to learn from Reyes who was in the same situation at one point.