Michael Conforto scratched with sore thumb

Michael Conforto was scratched from tonight’s lineup with a sore right thumb, according to Marc Carig.

Conforto’s rise to stardom has been, by a wide margin, the best thing to happen to the Mets in 2017. Thus, it is understandable to be worried by even the most minor scrape or bruise suffered by the All-Star outfielder. Luckily, it seems like this injury is not a serious one; Conforto himself was surprised to be scratched, calling it a minor issue. The 24-year-old surmised that the problem was simply inflammation from overuse, so the Mets just appear to be playing it smart with their best position player.

On the season, Conforto is hitting .278/.385/.559 with 27 home runs in 434 plate appearances, pretty good numbers for a guy who started the season as the team’s fourth outfielder. The impressive and consistent performance this season made Conforto the team’s lone representative at the All-Star game, hopefully one of many appearances in the midsummer classic.

Conforto’s all-around game as been on display all season. While his offense garners most of the attention, Conforto’s solid defense continues to exceed expectations, especially considering that he has split time between all three outfield spots. Conforto’s 4.1 fWAR ranks him seventh among outfielders and 16th among all position players.