New York Mets: Three Amed Rosario predictions for 2020

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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 27: Amed Rosario #1 of the New York Mets shakes hands with a young fan prior to taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on July 27, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

Going into the 2020 season, New York Mets shortstop Amed Rosario hopes to build on his strong second half from the previous year. This is what I’m predicting we see from him in his third full big league season.

A former number one prospect with the New York Mets, since debuting with the club in 2017, each year, Amed Rosario has taken a leap forward in his development as a major league player. In 2020, he looks to take his game to a higher level once again.

Each year since his debut, Rosario has shown increases in his stats across the board and looks to be close to becoming the force the Mets believed he could be when they first signed him.

Despite having a bumpy start to the 2019 season, Rosario was one of the team’s most consistent players in the second half of the season and was a key part of their late-season run that put them back into playoff contention. Particularly, from the months of July – September, Rosario batted .321 and finished the season with a career-high 15 home runs and 72 RBI.

I believe that Rosario’s second half in 2019 was the preview of things to come. This year we will see him establish himself as one of the top shortstops in the MLB.

Rosario will finish the year with 200+ hits

As I’ve already made clear, Rosario was one of the team’s top hitters in the second half of the 2019 season. Scratch that, he was one of the top hitters in the entire MLB in the second half of 2019. If his consistency carries over into 2020 he could realistically end up in the 200 hits club.

For the 2019 season, Rosario finished the year with 177 hits in 616 at-bats, however, he recorded 97 of those hits in his last 302 at-bats, spanning from the start of July to the end of the season, amounting to a batting average of .321.

If Rosario plays at a similar level for the Mets throughout the entirety of the 2020 season then he very realistically could finish the season eclipsing the 200 hits mark, making him the first Met to do so since Jose Reyes in 2008.

This would be a big feat for Rosario to reach in 2020, but its one that I believe that he could realistically reach, and if he were to do so, I believe it could lead to a second prediction I have for him next season.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 23: Amed Rosario #1 of the New York Mets looks on from the dugout before the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on April 23, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Rosario will be selected to the All-Star team

If Rosario starts the 2020 season strong and is on pace to reach 200 hits, this should definitely warrant a spot for him on the 2020 All-Star team.

Doing this would give him more hits and a higher batting average than any of the three shortstops who represented the NL for the All-Star team in 2019, and while this would not guarantee him a spot, he would definitely be in the conversation to make the team.

Again, Rosario would be the first Mets shortstop to be selected to the All-Star game since Jose Reyes, and would be a nice feather in his cap as he further cements himself as New York’s franchise shortstop going forward.

In recent history, the Mets have had issues getting hitters onto the All-Star team, up until both Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil were each selected to the game last season.

Regardless, for Rosario to be selected to the All-Star game in 2020, he would establish himself as one of baseball’s elite shortstops, further cementing this young Mets team as a force to be reckoned with, and a contender for the 2020 playoffs.

This may be wishful thinking, but he could potentially join Alonso, McNeil and Jacob deGrom if they all replicate their 2019 success, potentially giving the Mets 4 All-Stars next season, effectively putting the rest of the league on watch.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 24: Amed Rosario #1 of the New York Mets slides into second base in the ninth inning of their game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on September 24, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Rosario will steal 30 bases for the Mets in 2020

Admittedly, this one may be the biggest stretch of the three, but I don’t believe it’s entirely unrealistic and I do believe that Rosario possesses the speed as a base runner to make it happen.

If there’s one issue that the Mets have consistently had over the past several seasons, its been the lack of speed by its players running the bases. No Met has stolen 30 bases in a season since Eric Young Jr did for the team back in 2014.

The last player to come close to reaching that mark was Amed Rosario in 2018 when he swiped 24 bags, and hopefully, with a bit of work on his first step from first base and him attempting a few more swipes next season, I believe Rosario may be able to steal 30 bags in 2020.

Granted, if it doesn’t out, I’d much rather Rosario say put at first base than get thrown out at second. However, the ability for a player to move into scoring position is an asset any team could use, and I feel Rosario has the ability to do just that.

While the Mets appear to have better offensive talent going into 2020 than in most seasons, they still are known to have some rough nights scoring runs (particularly when Jacob deGrom is on the mound) and being able to steal a base to more easily score a run can some times be the difference in games.

Rosario is by far the fastest player on the team and just two years ago swiped 24 bases. He if can reach the 30 base mark, all the better, and with heavy hitters like Alonso, Conforto and Cespedes potentially hitting behind him, this will definitely lead to a few more runs scored.

Next. Three Marcus Stroman predictions for 2020

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