SAN DIEGO — An unexpected source has provided the Mets with a needed offensive lift over the last two weeks.
Jared Young began the season as a player clinging to a major league job as a left-handed bat off the bench.
Since returning from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee May 26, he has gradually worked his way into an important role.
Young entered Saturday with three homers in his last six games, posting a .944 OPS in 55 plate appearances this season.
He gives manager Carlos Mendoza an alternative to the streaky Mark Vientos at first base but has also seen action at DH and the outfield.
It certainly doesn’t hurt knowing there is a good chance he will be in the lineup against right-handed starting pitchers.
“That helps, I am not going to ignore that,” Young said before the Mets faced the Padres on Saturday. “It’s easier when you get consecutive games to play and play more often, it gives us more chances to get out there and feel good.”
In Friday’s 5-0 victory over the Padres, he homered in his first at-bat and finished the night 2-for-4.
It was a third multihit game in his last six for Young, who had reached base in 11 straight games as play began.
Mendoza has not hesitated to bat Young in the cleanup spot.
The manager cited Young’s ability to control the strike zone as the key to his consistency.
“This is a guy who is going to go out there and he’s going to compete,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to give you quality at-bats because of his knowledge of the strike zone. He has got pop, but he’s got a pretty good idea in understanding what the pitchers are trying to do to him, so it’s just good to see it and he’s been an impactful bat for us.”
Young produced a .722 OPS in 22 games for the Mets last year, spending most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse after playing in Korea.
Young’s emergence has given Mendoza the option of reducing Vientos’ role.
Vientos, who began Saturday with a disappointing .630 OPS, didn’t play Wednesday and was used as a pinch hitter Friday.
Mendoza credited Young for adjustments that have allowed him to improve against velocity this season.
“He’s shorter to the ball and on time,” Mendoza said. “There was some swing and miss from him, especially against that pitch at the top of the zone, but we have seen him make some adjustments and that is what good hitters do. The more he continues to play it allows him to make those adjustments.”
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Young was off to a hot start this season, yielding an .841 OPS in his first 10 games before the meniscus tear and surgery.
It cost him six weeks, a stretch during which the Mets lost Jorge Polanco, Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr. and Francisco Alvarez to the injured list.
Young steadily began contributing upon his return, and the power surge has followed.
“Baseball is a game of confidence, and you get a little confidence, and you get to play a little bit,” Young said. “You try and take it and run with it and that is kind of what I’m just keeping in mind.”
Is this the most confidence Young has carried onto the field in his MLB career?
“I don’t know about all-around,” he said. “I think it’s a good stretch and you kind of just keep your head where it is and baseball is a crazy game, things can change pretty quick so just keep things as even keel as possible.”
