2 Mets players who will continue to surprise us in the second half, 2 who will decline

Jose Butto will continue to be a bullpen savior

Of all the Mets prospects in recent years to make it to the majors, none bored me more than Jose Butto. Often ranked between 10 and 15 on different lists, there wasn’t anything spectacular about him. There still isn’t except he is finally getting his chance in the major leagues and getting results.

Butto is coming off of a successful 42 inning stint with the Mets last year working as a starter and reliever. Now through 45.2 innings this season, we’ve seen him thrust into the bullpen where he has held things together in miraculous fashion. This isn’t going away anytime soon.

Since his move to the bullpen at the beginning of July, Butto has been the winner or secured the save for the Mets in each of his four appearances. This trend will stop. What will continue is how awesome he has been.

Butto has now gone 7.2 shutout innings in relief with two hits allowed. He has been a multi-inning stopper in relief. He has made Adrian Houser irrelevant in some ways. Houser’s own performance has helped in that department, too.

Bound for a bad outing eventually, Butto has earned plenty of trust alongside fellow first half surprise, Dedniel Nunez. Will Butto get another chance in the rotation? Unless the Mets foolishly subtract, they should keep riding the wave of excellence they’re getting from him as a reliever.