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Mets New Leader In OPS Is A Very Surprising Name
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- Mets New Leader In OPS Is A Very Surprising Name
The New York Mets have an unexpected leader when it comes to OPS, and you could probably win a lot of bets from fans who would name stars like Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor or Carson Benge. The answer to that question is Jared Young, who has been an unexpected answer to the Mets' issues at first base with Jorge Polanco going down early with an ankle injury.
Young is getting a surprising run as the Mets' regular first baseman, and his OPS was .770 after he banged out an RBI double against starterJacob Misiorowski in an otherwise desultory 8-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
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The first baseman was expected to mostly be a bench bat this year, but Young believed in his ability to be an everyday player after he did a stint in Korea in the KBO league.
"I try not to look too far ahead, but I went there with the idea that I knew I could be an everyday big leaguer," Young said about his overseas venture in a piece written by Andrew DiComo of MLB.com. "Whether that happened right away, whether I stayed in Korea, we didn't know how that was going to pan out. But I knew that I could play."
Young quickly proved that he can hit, even after he had to undergo surgery for a torn meniscus back in the spring. He's also weathered the changes as the Mets have occasionally gone with Mark Vientos and a series of erstwhile replacements at first, as interim manager Andy Green noted.
"He handles the tough stuff that comes at you in baseball really well," interim manager Andy Green said. "He's a great teammate. And a really good hitter. There's not a lot of guys in baseball today when you look around the game that are throwing up .775 OPSs and above. It's just very few and far between."
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The Mets won't commit to Young at first going forward, and he knows he has to play well to keep his job. He's been surprisingly solid defensively at first as well, and there are probably plenty of teams who would love to have him if the Mets move on from Young.
"I think getting comfortable and thinking everything is where it needs to be in baseball is a death sentence," Young said. "So I think it's just one of those things where, as cliché as it sounds, play every day, try and play a great game, help the team win, and at the end of the year, you'll be in the spot that you want to be in. So I'm trying to keep [my mindset] like that.
"We [all] know how hard this league is. It's the best league in baseball. So I feel like, yeah, I'm proud of myself, but I know there's so much more work to do. And there's so much still in there, too."
