Heading into the 2017 season, the Mets were thought to possess an All-Star caliber outfielder. Most assumed that this outfielder would be slugger Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes would end up injuring himself though, opening up room for young Michael Conforto. Conforto spent the 2015 season bouncing between the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s and the Mets last season, never establishing himself in the majors. Conforto stepped into 2017 Spring Training with a chip on his shoulder. He was determined to win a spot on the roster, by any means necessary.
In Spring Training, Conforto stroked a .300 average and 3 home runs to win a spot on the roster as a bench player. As injuries piled up to the roster, the curtain rose for Conforto to make his appearance. And up to this point in the season, Conforto has been one of the only shining lights in a season full of disappointments. Conforto is currently batting .310 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs. The dedication that Conforto has put into the season has been unparalleled to how other bench players have approached the season for the Mets. He could have participated with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, but instead decided to partake in Spring Training with the Mets. It seemed that the hard work and dedication has paid off for Conforto, who is now a regular in the lineup.
With all of that being said, does Conforto deserve to be an All-Star? While his stats may not stand out against other league leaders, he certainly deserves to be an All-Star for the Mets. Other than Conforto, the only other player that comes close to All-Star consideration is Jacob deGrom. Degrom is currently second in the MLB with 76 strikeouts, and has a 3-1 record. On Conforto though, players with lower quality stats have been selected to play in the Mid-Summer Classic. One young outfielder in recent times comes to mind, and that is Joc Pederson.
In 2015, Pederson was a rookie center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although he was slugging massive home runs for the Dodgers, he certainly wasn’t a threat in any other way for them. Through the 2015 All-Star Break slugged 20 home runs. While that stat was impressive, his .230 average and 107 strikeouts at that point in the season certainly opened eyes in a negative sense. To add on to his negative offensive statistics, Pederson posted only a -3 defensive runs saved. At the rate that Conforto is going at, he should be able to surpass Pederson’s home run total and still maintain a higher batting average than him as well.
This season, the MLB All-Star Game will be held in Miami. At Marlins Park, Conforto is currently hitting .286 this season. Will he have the opportunity to hit there for one extra game? If the first half ended today, he would be a lock for the Mets slot on the National League roster. Of course, there are still games to be played before July 11th. For Conforto to make the team, be needs to not only keep the stats up, but also he needs the fans to vote him in too.
>> In Spring Training, Conforto stroked a .300 average and 3 home runs to win a spot on the roster as a bench player. <<
To be clear, he didn't "win a spot" until a late injury to Juan Lagares created a need for an additional outfielder. In addition, if Nimmo were healthy, it's quite possible that he would have gotten the spot. There was no "room" for Conforto in the Mets outfield with Cespedes, Granderson, and Bruce all locked in for serious playing time.
The plan was horrendous.
Horrendous plan, but I think Conforto would have beat out Nimmo either way.
I love love watching Conforto driving the ball to the opposite field, it is a thing of beauty. According to Fangraphs among NL outfielders he is second in wRC+ (175), wOBA (438),OBP (412) and OPS (1.076) and third in WAR (1.6). His stats surely stand out against other league leaders! He has my vote but it will have to be a write in vote because he is not on the ballot.
Michael Conforto has been the MVP of the Mets in every way this season.
I believe that he’s on pace to be in the all star game on merit. That may mean he doesn’t make it off the ballot alone.
Comfort deserves to be in the All-Star game. I enjoy watching him on TV and following him on ESPN on my kindle fire. As life-long OSU Beaver baseball fan, it is great to see him excel in MLB.
No doubt, at this point, Conforto has proven himself to be an All-Star based upon merit, as Metsense so succinctly points out.
Beyond that, he has overcome many obstacles in his path the past year or so. He has done so with true class and humility, while proving to be a true all-around star. He hits for average, hits for power, can run well, has good instincts and certainly draws his share of walks. He also has proven himself to be an above-average outfielder with a strong and accurate arm.
And he’s done all of this while batting leadoff, a spot which was foreign to him until this season.
I’m so glad he is a Met!