Jared Young baseball career has taken him from one of the most beautiful places in North America (his hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia), to one of the most snowy and dreary places in North America (North Dakota), to South Korea and back to the United States again when he signed a minor league contract with the Mets over the winter.
There were plenty of other stops in between: community college in Oklahoma, Division I baseball at Old Dominion in Virginia, numerous minor league towns, 22 games with the Chicago Cubs and even the Dominican Republic to play winter ball. It’s been quite the experience for the Mets corner infielder/outfielder, something the club valued when they signed him, and something that now has Young feeling like he can hit the right pitches when he steps up to the plate in the big leagues.
“We like what he brings to the table offensively, off the bench,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “But there’s also some type of versatility there.”
Without Jesse Winker, the Mets have been using Young as a left-handed platoon DH. While he isn’t exactly lighting up opposing pitchers, the club has seen a hitter capable of giving them a big league at-bat with some power potential. In 22 plate appearances, Young has hit just .200, but has two home runs, a double and an .823 OPS. Inconsistent playing time can be tough for hitters, but the Mets like his confidence and versatility.
“It’s confidence in having the right game plan and trusting yourself,” Young told the Daily News. “Baseball is baseball, and the more confident and the more consistent in everything that you do, you’re going to have success no matter where you’re playing.”
Young spent much of last season with the Doosan Bears in Seoul, South Korea, of the KBO League. It’s a flashier style of play with a different ball, different strike zone and crowds that are loud throughout each and every pitch. It’s a league where the ball tends to fly, and Young posted some gaudy offensive numbers in his 38-game stint. The 29-year-old hit .326 with a 1.080 OPS with 10 home runs and 39 RBI.
“It was always something kind of on my baseball bucket list — play overseas,” Young said. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about it from players that I played with. And at the time, I had the offer, and you never know if that offer is going to come back. So it made sense and I made the move.”
Young had to adapt to different pitch sequences and different pitch shapes. The schedule is different and he had to find his way around a foreign country. It was all outside of his comfort zone, which is exactly what he wanted. Young wanted to be challenged.
He also wanted to learn.
“You can take a lot from anywhere you play, and you can learn from the players that you play with and the coaches and whatnot,” he said. “I think it was just another really good experience to learn from a lot of good players who have played a different style of baseball their whole lives, and used it as a kind of tool to help me.”
Under president of baseball operations David Stearns, the Mets have shown an affinity for versatile defenders who can play around the diamond. They have Young working out in the outfield, taking reps at third base and had him playing first base for Triple-A Syracuse. While it’s unlikely he’ll get many starts in the outfield, the Mets are comfortable using him off the bench to play the pitching matchups or give Brandon Nimmo a defensive break.
“He allows me to make some in-game moves when I need to,” Mendoza said. “And on a day where I feel like I need to put more lefties in there, he’s in there. He adds to that mix. You feel good about your chances when you’re riding that lineup.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Left-hander Sean Manaea (right oblique strain) made a rehab start Tuesday night with High-A Brooklyn, throwing 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out four, using 46 pitches. The next rehab start will be Sunday, but the Mets aren’t sure where he will pitch yet.
Right-hander Frankie Montas (lat strain) will make his next rehab start Friday with Triple-A Syracuse, his third with the Triple-A squad. So far, the results haven’t been great. Montas has a 9.00 ERA after four rehab starts (12 earned runs over 12.0 innings), citing some mechanical issues.
The Mets aren’t necessarily concerned about results during a rehab assignment. Mendoza said Montas is technically still in “spring training,” so they could use all 30 days allowed for a pitcher’s minor league rehab assignment.
