Amed Rosario Is Finally Starting To Break Out For New York Mets

If the New York Mets are going to contend in 2019, they will need shortstop Amed Rosario to be a key part of the offense. After spending much of the first half batting ninth, the Mets moved Rosario to the top of the order shortly after the All Star Break. Rosario has thrived up top, batting .301 with three home runs, eight doubles, two triples, nine stolen bases, and a .778 OPS, MetsBlog.com’s Danny Abriano points out. Since that date, the Mets have actually played well as a team, going 21-17 over their next 38 games, and Rosario’s offensive breakout has a lot to do with the Mets’ success.

Unlike a lot of the Mets’ hitters, Rosario has game breaking speed, and he is using that to rack up extra base hits and steals. Putting contact hitter Jeff McNeil behind Rosario in the two hole has allowed the Mets to play with a more traditional lineup at the top, with Rosario getting on base and McNeil getting him over with hit and run plays. This allows the Mets to generate offense without just relying on the home run, which was a fault of the past several editions of the team built by Sandy Alderson. In an age of baseball where speed and athleticism is more important than pure raw power, Rosario is the type of player the Mets need to be building around.

This isn’t to say that Rosario is a perfect player yet. The developing extra base power is nice, but Rosario still needs to improve his eye at the plate in order to get on base more consistently. Rosario’s defense has also been a bit more sketchy than anticipated, but with a bit more development he should showcase more of the potential Gold Glove form that scouts drooled over in the minor leagues. It is important to remember that Rosario is still just 22 years old and not even close to his prime, so the fact that he is starting to put things together already is very exciting.

There has been a lot of talk about whether or not the Mets should pursue Manny Machado in the offseason, and doing so could force a position change for Rosario. If the Mets decide to go after Machado, which remains to be seen considering how much money Machado will command on the open market, he may insist on playing shortstop for the Mets. That would mean bumping Rosario to either third base or second, which could alter how the team is built around him. One could argue that getting a player of Machado’s caliber is worth the risk of moving Rosario to another position, but getting the most out of Rosario is going to be an important factor of the Mets’ chances to win in the near future.