There are three Mets I’m really pulling for this season. Sure, we have the stars in David Wright and Curtis Granderson. Yes, we have the young studs in Zack Wheeler and the promise of Travis d’Arnaud. We also have the hopeful comeback stories of Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada.
Of course I’m pulling for all those guys, but I’m really rooting extra hard for three others… Josh Satin, Juan Lagares, and Eric Young.
Why these three? Let’s just say I like to root for the little guys… the underdogs.
Let’s start with Satin. It’s looking like he’s the platoon guy against lefthanded pitchers. While not the sexy choice by any stretch of the imagination, and he’s not a guy with the home run power that is generally craved from the First Base position, he’s a solid hitter. His sample size in the majors is limited (consisting of 249 plate appearances and 219 official at bats), but he’s been on base at a .361 clip.
He does have doubles gap power, as demonstrated by his 16 doubles – which translates to 32 doubles over 500 plate appearances and 39 doubles over 600 plate appearances. The 39 doubles would have tied for 12th in the Major Leagues in 2013. His OBP would ranked 29th. Guys don’t learn to hit at the major league level. He did it in the minors, too – batting .303 with a .398 OBP. He showed the same doubles power and hit them at a clip of 46 doubles for every 600 plate appearances. I don’t buy the argument that he’s not that good because he didn’t make it to the majors earlier. He was blocked at third base by Wright, blocked at second by Daniel Murphy and blocked at first by Ike Davis. I really would like to see what he could do if he were ever really (and I mean really) given a chance to play everyday at the major league level.
Then there’s Juan Lagares. The man is a human vacuum in center field. There’s no doubt about that. He’s the most talented fielder we have, but there are only three outfield spots and four players vying for those positions. Curtis Granderson is going to play. That leaves Lagares and the two Youngs to battle for the starting jobs. Chris Young sounds like he’ll play everyday at least to start the season. Given that Lagares is making the least amount of money and has the least amount of tenure, he’s the easiest one to justify sending back to the minors. But he has a glove that the pitchers would love to have backing them in the field. He’s hit well in the minors. He can hit doubles. He can even steal some bases and has stolen as many as 25 in a season in the minors.
I’m also pulling for one of the men competing for Lagares’ spot – that is Eric Young Jr.. I fully disclose that I like the speed game. When you have the man who led the National League in swipes last year, how can you not want him at the top of the lineup where he can steal second and get into instant scoring position for Murphy and Wright?
I’d love to see him get on base just a little bit more and explode as a major threat. He also seems like a really nice guy, too – so I want to root for him. I became a big fan of his last season when he showed his human side after the Tim Hudson injury.
They’re not the superstars of the team, but all three are players I want to root for.
