05/20/16 milwaukee brewers vs ny mets at citifield queens ny New York Mets lead 3-2 during the 6th innning New York Mets left fielder Michael Conforto #30 hits a 2 run homer in the 6th innning photos by sportsdaywire
When you look back at the 2015 Mets that won a National League pennant there was a trio of factors that put the team in The World Series that year.
Of course, there were the post-season heroics of Daniel Murphy coupled with both the hot hitting of Yeonis Cespedes and Michael Conforto. And that dynamic duo could very well be in lineup together when this truncated season begins in late July. Conforto knows what that means.
“He looks like a monster right now”, says Conforto , “and I can’t wait to see him every day because he is a great teammate that makes everyone around him better.” Think about it for a minute–this Met team could possess three batters in the middle of their lineup in Pete Alonso, Yoenis Cespedes, and Michael Conforto and all 3 of those hitters can carry a team on their back which has already been proven in their time with the team.
We sometimes forget what a terrific RBI bat Conforto possesses but the numbers do not lie as he has driven in 174 runs in the last 2 seasons and in most of that time, Cespredes was on the injured list. So I can readily understand why Conforto is salivating at the chance to bat in front of Cespedes. He will get a steady diet of fastballs and Michael is a spot on dead fastball hitter.
I also asked Conforto if the presence of a DH makes the return of Cespedes more likely and he wholeheartedly agreed with that assessment. Conforto said, “We have a bunch of guys including Cespedes ,like Dominic Smith and JD Davis for instance, that could fill that role as well and with our pitching having that extra RBI bat could make us real dangerous.”
I will go even further than him on that because we all know what a terrific duo they also have in Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo that could consistently set the table for the team’s trio of big RBI bats. Simply put this lineup has a chance to score more runs per game than any squad in team history when you consider I have not even brought up the name of Wilson Ramos yet who had more RBI than any catcher in the league.
But the look in the eyes of Michael Conforto said it all. Cespedes is getting healthier each day and his skills could really put the Mets in a stratosphere few teams in history have reached. This Met lineup could end up being the biggest secret in baseball. Everyone talks about the Met starting pitcher and rightfully so, But don’t sleep on this Met lineup–it could redefine the NL East standings by year’s end.