Conforto Trending Upwards, Has Big Weekend Against Marlins
After a slight skid, New York Mets’ outfielder Michael Conforto is getting hot.
This weekend against the Miami Marlins, Conforto homered in back-to-back games, the third time he’s done so this year.
The Washington native has reached base in eight of his last nine plate appearances, and was a perfect 3-for-3 with the homer, a walk and a hit by pitch on Friday. The outfielder reached five times for the second time in his career (also, July 25, 2015 vs. the Dodgers).
Conforto has reached safely at least twice 23 times this season, which is tied for fifth-most in the NL. Cody Bellinger (27) has the most such games.
The 26-year-old is tied for fourth in the majors with 29 walks. He is seventh in the majors and fifth in the NL with a .412 OBP. Additionally, he is hitting .219 (14-for-64) with seven RBI over his last 21 games dating to April 19. The outfielder has 19 walks in that span (.402 OBP).
Mets’ manager Mickey Callaway saw a change in Conforto’s mechanics on Friday when he was tossing batting practice to him, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post.
“I saw it in BP [Friday]. I said ‘Hey, I can tell it’s different. I can tell you’re back,’” Callaway said Friday after the game. “And when he came out [Saturday], I said, ‘I told you you’re back.’ You can just see it in his overall swing and his confidence. I throw to him most days and you can just tell the difference.”
According to Conforto, he didn’t feel like he was falling into a bad way, but him and hitting coach Chili Davis worked on cleaning up his mechanics slightly, and it has made a difference.
“I really didn’t feel like I was swinging it all that bad the last couple of weeks,” Conforto said. “But [hitting coach] Chili [Davis] and I have been working on some things … just to allow my hands to stay on my natural path. That started [Friday].”
For the Mets, with their pitching cleaning up their act, they could use some fire power in the middle of their lineup. They can really thrive if Conforto and fellow power threat Pete Alonso can remain hot.