Mets Minors: It’s time for Conforto to head to Double-A Binghamton

Michael Conforto could play in the big leagues as soon is this summer if the Mets get him on the proper track, says Keith Law of ESPN.

During his chat on Wednesday afternoon, Law, a scout who worked in the front office for the Blue Jays, said the following in response to how well Conforto is doing so far with High-A St. Lucie:

"I don’t get their handling of him, not last summer after he took too long to sign, not now. This guy could play in the majors this summer if they’d just get him on track to do so."

Later on in the chat, Law was asked who between Conforto and Brandon Nimmo could “feasibly” step in if the Mets needed outfield help by August. His response:

"Conforto, if allowed to move that quickly. Cuddyer’s not going to maintain a .452 BABIP for long."

The 22-year-old Conforto, who the Mets drafted 10th overall in last year’s draft, opened the year in St. Lucie, where he’s hitting .346/.426/.615 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 61 plate appearances.

In his professional debut last season, Conforto hit .331/.403/.448 for Low-A Brooklyn in the short season New York Penn League before a brief stint with Low-A Savannah.

There was some discussion before the season that Conforto could start 2015 with Savannah, but the Mets jumped him over that league and placed him with High-A St. Lucie.

Thoughts:

Before the season, I was of the opinion that Conforto should open with Binghamton, but thought having him pass through St. Lucie wasn’t a crazy idea. However, with Conforto absolutely torching Florida State League pitching, there’s no reason to drag this out simply for aesthetic purposes.

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A number of scouts, including Law, felt before the season that Conforto should open with Binghamton, and it appears that he simply may be too good for High-A.

Conforto was drafted out of college as an already-polished hitter who was viewed as the best overall hitter in the draft. Conforto isn’t a lottery ticket or a guy with holes in his game. Rather, he’s someone with a high floor and tons of potential who could be a high average/high OBP guy who could hit around 25 home runs annually in his prime. And his defense has improved to the point where he’s an average corner outfield glove.

Law has always been high on Conforto, but that doesn’t give his opinion any less merit. As Law notes, Conforto could be with the Mets by this summer if a need arises. But that will only be the case if they get him to Double-A soon.

There’s no shot the Mets are going to jump Conforto from High-A to the majors, and there’s very little chance they would jump him from Double-A to the majors unless he’s already been there for a few months and experienced success.

It’s time for the Mets to promote Conforto to Binghamton. Not because of how he opened the season in St. Lucie, but because Binghamton was where he belonged from the beginning.