New York Mets: 5 reasons for 2019 optimism – Part 1 Young Stars
By Ed Stein
Empire Writes Back begins our five-part series on why New York Mets fans should be optimistic for the upcoming 2019 season. Part one, young stars ready to break out.
Its been a rough few years for the New York Mets faithful. Since game three of the 2015 World Series, its been a downhill ride. Since then, one thing or another has derailed the Amazins, time after time. Injuries (David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, etc) have set them back as well as the unfulfilled expectations of certain players (i.e. Matt Harvey). There have been mental errors and a whole bunch of free swingers at the plate who couldn’t get wood on the baseball.
2019 is when the New York Mets fortunes turn around. It’s the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Miracle Mets. Manager Mickey Callaway‘s team doesn’t need a miracle nor does he need to be the reincarnation of Gil Hodges to succeed in 2019 and we’ll give you five reasons why. Today we start with a group of young stars ready for a breakout.
Last year the Mets were surprisingly old. Players such as Jose Bautista (37), Adrian Gonzalez (36), Jose Reyes (35), Cespedes, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Todd Frazier (all 32) were integral parts of the lineup at one time or another. While all have not been purged from the roster, most have. It’s time for the next wave of players to take over.
Spoiler Alert: This story is about the break out players of 2019. I purposely didn’t put Peter Alonso on this list. Even if he does make the team this year, his big break out season will be in either 2020 or 2021.