Luis Guillorme is a worker. A scrapper. A get dirty type of player. We like that.
As has been the modus operandi for a handful of New York Mets players (we talked about Dom Smith here on Thursday), the 26-year-old still had progress to make as a ballplayer by the time he made his MLB debut in 2018.
A .202/.268/.225 stretch at the plate over his first 97 major league plate appearances (10.3% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate, 42 wRC+; through July 2019) did not resemble the player the Mets had envisioned he’d develop into.
Over seven MiLB seasons (612 games), Guillorme hit .289/.368/.350 with just 314 strikeouts in 2,599 plate appearances, including a 10.5% walk rate.
Clearly, this guy has the ability to be a difference-maker at the highest level. It was all just a matter of Guillorme getting comfortable in the box against the best pitchers on the planet.
Well, he’s getting there. These things take time.
Since August 5 of the 2019 season — his most recent call-up — Guillorme’s been that confident, high-contact hitter he was as he bubbled through the Mets’ system.
Over 115 plate appearances since that point, Guillorme’s hit .313/.407/.448 with a 13.9% walk rate, 10 doubles, and 137 wRC+, albeit an uncharacteristically high 20.9% strikeout rate.
In sporadic at-bats, that’s awfully impressive. Gaining the level of confidence needed to succeed at this level is tough enough. Doing so with a handful of plate appearances per week is nearly impossible. Nearly…
On Friday, Guillorme spoke to the Mets’ press corps regarding his battle to advance as a major leaguer, pointing to a focus on pitch selection, his foundation of patience at the plate, and a dash of aggressiveness as fulcrums for his progress.
“I made my swing more repeatable, working with [Tom Slater] and [Chili Davis] — made it more simple, I think. Having a better approach now, you know?”
“Being a guy that was used to playing every day when I was in the minors coming up and having a different role, I think you had to have a different mindset when you went up to the plate.
“Your approach might not be the same when you’re playing every day than when you’re coming off the bench. So I think I made those adjustments last year and it helped me out a lot.”
“Being out there, looking for better pitches to drive. I’m a really patient hitter and I was coming up, and I think being a little more aggressive helped me out last year. I think that’s honestly what it was. It was being aggressive to the pitches I wanted to hit.”
As for where Guillorme might fit on this crowded-with-talent Mets roster, the Coral Springs, Florida product appeared more focused on the team than himself. Love to see that.
“We just made the team better [this offseason],” Guillorme said. “There’s plenty of guys that can play different positions and we’re all good at it. It makes it fun for you. You’re around guys like that that have a lot of talent, just being around them, it’s really good for us.”
When asked about the atmosphere in the clubhouse, Guillorme was jovial, telling reporters, “It’s great in there. Everybody’s happy, everybody’s out there, energy’s high. It’s fun to be out there with everybody”.
What the Mets may ask of him this year is to be determined.
Guillorme still has a minor league option remaining, so realistically, he is a candidate for a taxi squad-type role, bouncing on and off the 26-man roster. Though, his recent ascent might not make him expendable at all.
Guillorme thrives at second and third base, defensively, garnering +1 OAA at each position in 2020 despite racking up just 102 innings at second and 30 innings at third.
On days when Marcus Stroman or Jacob deGrom are on the mound — both of whom are quite adept at inducing groundballs — Mets manager Luis Rojas may want to employ a glove-first infield of Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, and Guillorme, as opposed to J.D. Davis and Pete Alonso at the corners.
Can’t go wrong there, especially if this offensive outburst is no mirage. In any case, Luis Guillorme seems more than prepared for whatever the team may throw at him.
“Being here, I’m doing what they want me to do and I’m gonna keep doing it,” he said. “Whether that’s start games, come off the bench, play defense late in the game, I’m just gonna keep doing what they need me to do.”
We dig it.
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Love Guillorme, there's something extra appealing about a slap hitter nowadays when everyone is swinging for the fences. Hope he's able to build on what he's accomplished already and turn into a solid role player.
This may seem like a random comment, but why are comments only allowed on a handful of posts and not others?
Anyway, keep up the great work guys!