After a lackluster rookie year, many fans seemed to be giving up on New York Mets shortstop Amed Rosario.
Even though he didn’t have a good rookie year, it’s not time yet to panic. He is far from being a bust, and he has not yet displayed what he’s capable of in the big leagues
Not every young player is destined to come out and dominate in his first year in the league. In fact, the opposite is almost always the case. While the first two years can be highly volatile in regards to player performance, the third year is usually the make or break moment of their careers. This is when most players should show be showing their improved talents and teams start to know the kind of player they really have. This is the year where the truly good players break out, while others simply never develop enough to take their game up a notch.
A lot of fans, however, are too spoiled and impatient to wait on players that don’t immediately show superstar potential and tend to label as busts those who fail to dominate in their first two years.
Rosario hit over .280 in the months of August and September last season and when they made him more of a focal point by letting him hit in the leadoff spot he improved and showed he still has a lot of untapped potential.
Rosario has speed and he played better in offense and defense in the latter half of the year. His biggest question mark is, however, his plate discipline.
Last season, even during his best span, Rosario’s on-base percentage was slightly higher than .300. Furthermore, he finished the season with a .259 batting average, 119 strikeouts and just 29 walks.
That’s a big concern for a guy that isn’t necessarily showing that he can be a power hitter (just nine home runs) and struggles to get on base. With his speed, he can be a great asset when he does get on base, but unless he manages to improve his plate discipline, he won’t be of much use other than as a pinch runner.
Since the Mets are in the process of becoming a win-now team, he doesn’t have a lot of time to polish his game, and that could complicate his development, but he is far from being a complete failure.
He does have red flags, but those are no reason to give up on him yet. If he’s still struggling after this season and showing no sign of improvement at the plate, then the Mets can start to get worried, but unless they can magically come with a better backup plan, they shouldn’t give up on Rosario.
