The first 2016 Mets draft pick with a non-roster invite, Peter (Pete) Alonso last year saw stock soar and Mets fans started to notice him in the latter part of the season once Dominic Smith was called up. Alonso next season is completely tied to Dominic Smith. Smith is facing pressure from Adrian Gonzalez, from below with Alonso. Plus, Smith is facing pressure from Flores looking for AB’s and Bruce once Conforto comes back.
Anyway, this isn’t an article about Smith, its an article about Alonso. Last season between Binghamton and St. Lucie he had 393 PAs slashing .289/.359/.524. In 2016 with Brooklyn he hit .321/.382/.587.
When you post a .969 OPS and then a .883 OPS the following season, especially when the power development was a bit of a surprise, you turn heads, which is what Alonso has done.
Ultimately, something needs to go drastically wrong with the Mets for Alonso to get playing time before September, if he even sees the majors in September but for an organization with a light farm system, it would be wonderful for the Mets to get a surprise from Alonso, even if they trade him before he ever sees time in the majors.
Out of all of the position players with the Mets in camp who aren’t on the 40 man, Alonso is clearly the one to watch.
