Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association (MLBPA) came to an agreement on Friday regarding many aspects for the future and the 2020 season. Play will resume when there are no travel restrictions or medical risks for teams and fans, so we know that it won’t be until June at the earliest. The New York Mets and the rest of the league will have to wait a little and, with luck, COVID-19 will be out of the picture in a few weeks.
While we wait for the season to start, we can speculate and try to guess which player will be the next member of the New York Mets to be considered an All-Star.
Zachary Silver of MLB.com writes that shortstop Amed Rosario, who had an outstanding second half in 2019, is the Mets’ strongest candidate to make the leap from solid regular to All-Star caliber player.
He writes: “Because Amed Rosario has already spent two and a half years in the big leagues, it’s easy to forget that he’s still just 24 years old. Don’t let that fool you. Rosario put everything together in the second half last season, batting .319 with six homers, nine steals and an .804 OPS.”
The Mets have a 3-WAR shortstop with further potential
For the season, Rosario accumulated 2.7 fWAR, not bad for a 24-year old. In 157 games, he had 655 plate appearances, 15 home runs, 75 runs, 72 RBI and 19 steals. His patience could get better, as he only had a 4.7 BB%, coupled with a 18.9 K%.
For the year, he was basically an average offensive performer, with a 100 wRC+.
However, he had a 88 wRC+ in the first half and a 114 wRC+ mark after the break in 2019.
Initially viewed as a liability in the field, Rosario made substantial improvements to that part of his game as the season went on. “Perhaps the most important takeaway in the Mets’ eyes is that he enjoyed dramatic defensive improvements as the season went on, committing just one of his 17 errors in September.”
“New York believes what it saw from Rosario in the second half is sustainable, and if he can be that type of player over a full season, then there’s little doubt an All-Star appearance is in his future,” Silver wrote. The Mets certainly hope that he can be his second half-self, with a .319/.351/.453 and good defense at short. That should be enough to make the All Star in the future.