3 Mets players who will take a step forward next year, 2 who won't

Ronny Mauricio keeps getting better

Ronny Mauricio introduced himself to big league pitchers red hot and eventually cooled as the season neared its end. He wrapped up his first 108 plate appearances hitting .248/.296/.347. It’s all of the other tools Mauricio brought to the field that can help him excel on the Mets roster and find a permanent place.

The Mets weren’t hesitant to use Mauricio at a variety of positions. He was mostly a second baseman but also saw himself playing third base and even shortstop. The question of “where can the Mets play Mauricio?” hasn’t been fully answered yet. Perhaps it’s one of those multi-answerable questions where instead of marking one bubble you can select multiple checkboxes.

Unlike some of those other Baby Mets, Mauricio seems far more flexible defensively and a solution rather than a problem. He has speed, too, which was on full display as he stole 7 bases in a short period of time with the ball club.

The power didn’t fully take off with only 4 doubles and a pair of home runs to begin his big league career. Nevertheless, this was the best beginning stretch of baseball played by any of the club’s exciting young rookies. Mauricio can make himself valuable for more than just his bat. Continuing to become a good fielder at more than one position and running fast will help him stand out from some of the others.