Second baseman Herrera leads 51s with seven homers
Come September, Wally Backman is confident his team’s home run leader will be right fielder Travis Taijeron.
But in the early going, it’s speedy leadoff hitter Dilson Herrera, who added another to his total on Sunday.
“I know that’s not my game but I’m making good contact so that’s going to happen when I make good contact,” Herrera said after hitting two homers in Friday’s game against El Paso.
Herrrera leads the team with seven. Taijeron and Marc Krauss are tied for second with five.
Backman has said time and time again that he thinks Herrera can be an All-Star second baseman on a championship team. And he thinks his power will translate to the next level, too.
“I think when his time comes, he’s a legitimate 15 to 20 home run hitter in the major leagues,” Backman said.
REYNOLDS PROMOTION?
When Mets infielder Wilmer Flores went on the disabled list earlier last week, they opted to call up pitcher Sean Gilmartin rather than filling out their bench because starter Steven Matz has been dealing with elbow soreness and they needed to skip his start.
But if the Mets decide to fill out their bench, a report from ESPN’s Adam Rubin suggested they are “prepared to promote infielder Matt Reynolds from Triple-A Las Vegas, at least for the duration of Wilmer Flores’ stint on the disabled list.”
Reynolds has been struggling at the plate lately and his batting average is down to .238. He’s hitting .151 in May.
And though Ty Kelly (.398) and T.J. Rivera (.325) have hit better than him — especially lately — Reynolds is on the 40-man roster and they are not.
24-MAN ROSTER
Meanwhile, the 51s are already playing down a man after Gilmartin’s promotion.
Instead of making a corresponding move, the 51s were waiting for shortstop Gavin Cecchini to come off the disabled list. Cecchini was placed on the DL retroactive to May 7 with a sore back.
Cecchini suffered what Backman deemed a “setback” on Thursday, taking himself out of the last round of batting practice because of back soreness.
Before Cecchini plays again, the 51s need to see him do two consecutive days of full activities, which he has not yet completed.
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com.
