Washington Nationals: 5 storylines to watch against reeling Mets

Smith and Rosario lead youth movement

With all the trades the Mets have made, it opened up spots at shortstop and first base for some of their top prospects. The Washington Nationals will get to see Dominic Smith at first and Amed Rosario at shortstop for the first time.

Smith has struggled in his first 14 games for the Mets, hitting .174 with three home runs and five RBI’s. With first base being a power position, the Mets are hoping he adds more power to his game after hitting .330 in 114 games for Triple-A Las Vegas before being promoted.

As for Rosario, he has shown more progress at the plate, but he has been up for more games than Smith. In 23 games, he’s hitting .256 with three home runs, three triples, and seven RBI’s. At Triple-A, he had 19 stolen bases, so he can play a factor on the bases.

While Rosario is known for his defenses, he’s made a couple of mistakes in his first few games. On Sunday, he threw the ball late to first, which kept an inning alive where Jacob deGrom gave up a home run to Giancarlo Stanton.

Due to the Mets being out of playoff contention, Smith and Rosario have an opportunity to make a good impression on the front office heading into next season. Those two players are likely the future at their respective positions.

Of course, these rookies will make their fair share of mistakes, but thee is a level of excitement in New York around these two players that are finally in the big leagues.