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New York Mets: Amed Rosario may finally be turning the corner

By Mike Esposito

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Amed Rosario #1 of the New York Mets hits a single to center field in the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on May 21, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Amed Rosario #1 of the New York Mets hits a single to center field in the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on May 21, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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The New York Mets have had a miserable month of May, but shortstop Amed Rosario’s significant improvement at the plate might be the lone bright spot in the club’s month to forget.

After starting the season with a dominant 17-9 record in April, the New York Mets have come back down to Earth. The club has limped through the month of May, compiling a 9-16 record while suffering an almost comical amount of injuries that could derail their season before the All-Star Break. It’s safe to say that the Mets have had a month to forget, but shortstop Amed Rosario may have had a month to remember.

New York’s young shortstop didn’t exactly have the strongest start to the 2018 campaign, but that’s not to say he hasn’t been a strong contributor this season. Rosario has always been strong defensively, even if his fielding stats this season haven’t shown it so far, and he’s consistently displayed the quick feet, soft hands, and strong arm needed to make any play necessary for an out. Yet, his bat has been an issue.

It’s not uncommon for young players to have trouble at the plate, but Rosario was downright dreadful with a bat in his hands the first month of the season. At the end of April, Rosario owned a pitiful .238/.282/.325 (average/on-base/slugging) slash line. To play Devil’s advocate, shortstop isn’t a position historically known for its offensive output. However, that kind of production still isn’t acceptable.

Normally, Rosario’s struggles would be something that the New York media would address, but everyone has been focusing on the Mets’ slide into mediocrity and comical bad luck. While the team has struggled, it seems that Rosario has begun to emerge with everyone off his back.

Rosario has significantly improved at the plate in May, owning a much-improved .268/.282/.415 slash line for the month as of this writing. He’d definitely benefit from drawing a few more walks, as his on-base percentage would indicate, but his aggressive approach at the plate seems to be paying dividends.

A 30 point bump in average is impressive enough alone, but the 22-year-old is also hitting for power and driving in runs. Rosario has hit all three of his home runs on the season and has more than doubled his RBI total in the month of May. He’s also started to be more aggressive on the basepaths, recording all three of his steals on the season in May.

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While encouraging, fans should take this improvement with a grain of salt (especially when you take his .304/.360/.435 slash line for the past seven days into account). The season is still young and one month is a small sample size to work with. Yet, amid all the misery and frustration of what seems to be another lost year, Mets fans should take solace in the fact that Rosario seems to be turning the corner, at least for now anyway. They have to find a bright spot somewhere in this dumpster fire of a season, right?

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