Michael Conforto has done a phenomenal job since he put on the Mets uniform back on July 24. When Conforto was promoted from Double-A Binghamton after batting .312 with five home runs and 26 RBIs, his New York Mets were floundering. They were hovering around the .500 mark at 49-48 while sitting in second place, three games back of the Washington Nationals. It was no secret that the Mets' offense needed some uplift, and Conforto has done just that and more.
Through 31 games and 90 at-bats, the former first-round pick is hitting .311/.400/.567 while launching five home runs and driving in 17 runs. Impressively, Conforto has shown great plate discipline as he sports a 20-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His defense has been nothing to sneeze at either, contributing three outfield assists. Also, the Mets are 16-9 when Conforto starts and are now four games ahead of the Nationals in the NL East.
But how does Michael Conforto's production compare to other Mets top hitting prospects through 31 games?
Let's first take a look at one of the best hitters to ever don a Mets uniform: Darryl Strawberry. Strawberry was the first overall pick back in the 1980 amateur draft.
His first 31 games for the Mets are ones the outfielder certainly would like to forget. He batted just .186/.250/.314 but did hit four home runs with 12 RBIs. Strawberry also struck out 44 times through 118 at-bats. However, Strawberry went on to hit .262 with 252 home runs over eight years as a Met so his 31 games were hardly indicative of the kind of player he would turn out to be.
Now on to the captain of the Mets, David Wright. Wright's numbers are on par with Conforto's through 31 games. The 38th overall pick in the 2001 draft, Wright hit .293/.320/.520 with six homers and 16 RBIs in 123 at-bats. The home run and RBI totals are very similar to Conforto's, although Conforto has done it in 23 fewer at-bats.
Michael Conforto has also outperformed Jose Reyes through the same number of games. Reyes, like Strawberry, didn't get off to the greatest start with the Mets. The speedster put up a .246 average to go along with a forgettable .252 on-base percentage. He did tally 23 RBIs while swiping four bases. Reyes may have Conforto beat in the RBI category, but Conforto's .311 average is far better than Reyes's .246.
Lastly, first baseman Ike Davis was another highly touted Mets hitting prospect, taken with the 18th overall pick in the 2008 draft. In his first 31 games and 90 at-bats, the Arizona State University product hit .282/.395/.476 with four home runs, 12 RBIs, and 19 walks. Once again, Conforto's numbers are better, though Davis did draw more walks.
It's worth noting that Conforto is putting up his numbers as a somewhat part-time player while Strawberry, Wright, Reyes, and Davis were playing every day through their first 31 games. Conforto was used to being an everyday player in the minors and has had to adjust to not seeing his name in the lineup each game.
Conforto has played almost exclusively against right-handed pitchers in his time with the Mets and Terry Collins has said he expects that to continue down the stretch. His minor league track record doesn't suggest that Conforto cannot hit lefties. In fact, in Double-A Conforto was hitting .333 against lefties compared to .310 versus righties.
At all events, if Conforto's production through 31 games portends the type of player he'll turn out to be, he can expect his name to be penciled into the lineup for years to come.