Who is your MLB team’s unsung hero so far this season
By Brad Weiss
New York Mets: Seth Lugo
To say the New York Mets underachieved this season would be an understatement, as there was plenty of positive vibes for the team coming out of Spring Training. For the first time ever, they had all of their coveted arms healthy to start the season, and after getting out to an 11-1 start, many in Flushing were thinking championship.
Well, it did not take long for that ship to sail, as first-year manager Mickey Callaway has looked just like that, a first year manager. He has made some poor moves, some incredible blunders, and by the time the calendar switched to June, the Mets were already pretty much out of the race.
It also did not help that teams in their division like the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are much-improved this season, leaving the Mets to fight with the Miami Marlins to avoid finishing in the cellar of the NL East. In a year with not much to write home about, the Mets have gotten a steady contribution from Seth Lugo, who has become the unsung hero of this bullpen.
Lugo was used as a starter mostly in 2017, as 18 of his 19 appearances came in that role. In 2018, he has been moved almost exclusively to the bullpen, and is enjoying the best season of his professional career. Through his first 40 appearances, making only five starts, Lugo has posted an earned run average of 2.77, which is close to his career-low of 2.67 set in his rookie season.
In total, Lugo has struck out 78 batters in his 81.1 innings of work, and has really been a steady hand out of this Mets bullpen. It has become another lost season in Queens, but Lugo has been a bright spot, and is actually a great story, as he is a former 34th round pick of the organization and has really had to work his way to the big leagues.