METS LOOK AMAZIN’ AGAIN IN SWEEP:
Blasts pair to give Mets new hope in young star
AMED Rosario put that one in the books. The Mets’ young shortstop knows he has had fewer ups than downs in his first half of a major-league season, so a game like Sunday’s is one that he puts in his book so he can try to build off of it.
The Mets have to hope Sunday’s two-home run game is a step that helps expedite his development. Rosario hit his first homer of the season, first in 203 at-bats dating back to August 2017, to tie the game in the sixth inning. In the seventh, his second homer solidified the Mets’ 4-1 victory over the Diamondbacks at Citi Field.
Mickey Callaway is a believer that Rosario can use the confidence from his first career multihomer game to take a big step forward.
But he knows that as a former top prospect, Rosario will always be compared to other youngsters in the game. Sunday, Callaway made the comparison to the Diamondbacks’ young center fielder, Jarrod Dyson.
“Obviously Rosy is still a very young player and needs further development,” the Mets firstyear manager said after the Mets completed a sweep of the series. “I feel like when Dyson got on the bases today there was some anxiety. Rosy needs to have the same anxiety for the other team when he gets on the base. He needs to be a base-stealing threat. He’s got to work on that part of his game.
“We know he has the raw potential, he’ll continue to develop,” Callaway said. “I think something like this today, hitting two homers, can really get him into a spot where he gets a lot of confidence going and he rides it for a while.”
Rosario, 22, was touted as the Mets’ top prospect for years and heading into last season, he was considered by most in baseball to be among the top young players in the game. Since he made his major-league debut last August, however, he has yet to live up to those big expectations.
Through 86 big-league games, Rosario has hit .248 with six home runs and 24 RBI. He is still learning how to approach his atbats, to be more selective. In 311 plate appearances, Rosario has drawn seven walks and struck out 80 times. He also has just eight stolen bases.
His defense has been solid, particularly when compared to Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes, who had been playing shortstop before.
As Callaway said, the raw talent is there, but it is still developing.
“I like him a lot. He has tremendous talent, but right now you aren’t seeing it,” said one scout who has watched Rosario over the last three years. “He’s still developing. It’s not easy to keep a player learning at the major-league level, but he has a lot more talent to tap.” The Mets see progress. Rosario has lowered his chase rate, he is making more contact and his exit velocity is up almost 5%.
But as a player the Mets have touted as the future of this team for years and who wore the mantle of being among the best prospects in baseball, Rosario has high expectations. When you look around baseball at former top prospects, you see the instant impact the Braves got when they brought up Ronald Acuna. The 20-year-old outfielder has two stolen bases, four home runs and eight RBI while hitting .253 with a .790 OPS in his first 22 majorleague games.
Just across town, Miguel Andujar is hitting .286 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 37 games while Gleyber Torres has four homers, 15 RBI and has hit .309 in 24 games.
The Mets think eventually, Rosario will be a star, but he’s yet to back that up.
Rosario was far from a polished product when they called him up last August after they got rid of veteran players in a salary dump. They hoped that time late last season would be part of an advanced learning process for Rosario, but it has been slow progress so far this year.
So the Mets hope Sunday was a big step for Rosario. He knows it will be something to help him get through the rough spots. “I try to enjoy the game. I know sometimes I have bad games, I am learning,” Rosario said.
“When I have good games, I take it and put it in my book.”