With the postseason out of reach, one of the main reasons to watch the New York Mets over the final few weeks will be the team's exciting young players.
Unfortunately, that list may have been shortened by one on Tuesday, as center fielder Juan Lagares was forced from the game with a hyperextended elbow, per the team's official Twitter feed:
As Rotoworld's D.J. Short noted, the 25-year-old has been one of the positives for the 72-79 Mets in 2014:
In his second season, Lagares has improved his offensive numbers across the board, entering Tuesday's contest with a .283/.322/.384 line. Of course, his real value is in center field, where he makes spectacular plays look simple on a near nightly basis.
Lagares' SABR Defensive Index, a metric that factors into Gold Glove voting, is best among NL center fielders at 17.9, according to Newsday's Marc Carig. That's well ahead of of Billy Hamilton, Carlos Gomez and Andrew McCutchen, and many believe he's the front-runner for the award.
"A lot of people say I might win," Lagares said, via Carig. "But I really don't want to think about that. I just want to keep doing what I'm doing. If I win it, that's great. For anybody, that would be great."
With nothing left to play for in the standings, expect the Mets to play it extra cautious with their burgeoning center fielder.
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