New York Mets: Fans should get excited about Peter Alonso

The New York Mets may have found their future first baseman in Peter Alonso. Fans should get excited.

For the New York Mets, first base has had a lot of question marks. Adrian Gonzalez is aging. Wilmer Flores is hitting .213 this season and there have been talks about moving Jay Bruce to first base.

While there are all possibilities, the Mets have found a potentially great one in Peter Alonso.

If you haven’t heard of him yet, you should probably learn his name. Alonso was the Mets third selection in the 2016 draft from the University of Florida. He hit .310 over his college career and has raw power at the plate. At 6 foot 3 and 235 pounds, he stands like a prototype first baseman.

Through a little over a month in Double-A Binghamton, his stats jump off the page. He is hitting .370 with 8 home runs and a staggering 1.189 OPS. Those numbers earned Alonso the Eastern League player of the month.

Dominic Smith was the future the Mets expected, but Alonso is here to shake things up.

It is tough to compare the two because of the different sample sizes, but just like the Mets, we will work with what we have.

Dominic Smith hit .302 in his 2016 double-a campaign. Not bad, but so far Alonso is hitting .370. Smith’s OPS was .824, which does not hold a candle to Alonso’s 1.189. What stands out is the power. Smith hit 14, while through one month, Alonso has 8.

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When asked about Alonso Double-A manager Luis Rojas told the New York Post “he reminds me of [Michael] Conforto. … I mean, anything you threw to [Conforto], he squared it. It’s the same thing as Alonso.”(Via Mark.W Sanchez).

Alonso is now the 7th ranked first base prospect in all of baseball, and the fourth overall in the Mets farm system. If he continues to put productive months in, he will continue to rise.

The bat seems to have no holes in it. He has shown an ability to hit for contact, power, and draw walks. The only thing that Alonso needs to work on is his glove.

In his first 22 games, he committed two errors, which goes along with his 19 errors in 83 games last season. While that could be an issue, the reason for the minors is to improve and hone the skills that lack MLB quality. He may never be a gold glove, but if he can rake, the Mets will find a spot for him.

While the sample is too small, Alonso has given the Mets plenty of reason to buy in.

I still have nightmares about how highly touted Ike Davis was compared to the career he had. I do not get that same feeling from Peter Alonso.

My opinion, the Mets have a star just waiting for his chance. There does not seem to be a hole in his swing, and although it has been a short sample size, there has been nothing on the offensive side to signal that he will struggle against better competition.

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While the Mets desperately wait for some offense at the big league level, Alonso will look to continue his hot streak Monday against the Hartford Yard Goats, the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

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