LOS ANGELES – While New York loves to highlight its biggest and flashiest stars, two bros have been a pair of unsung heroes for arguably the hottest team in baseball.

Their names? Tyrone Taylor and D.J. Stewart.

These guys are pretty new to the Big Apple, as this is Taylor’s first year with the team and Stewart’s second.

Before being a part of the Mets, Taylor was drafted by the Brewers in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft out of Torrance High School in Southern California. He made his MLB debut for them back in 2019 and would be with the organization until the 2023 season before being traded to New York in December of last year. During his time in Milwaukee, he had a slashline of .239/.294/.451.

 

 

While Taylor has not been an everyday starter for the team and is more of a utility man, he is certainly making the most of his chances when given the opportunity. He’s only played two complete games in his last 10 big league appearances, but in that stretch, he’s batting .421, with one homer, seven RBI, two runs scored, and an OPS of .979.

In his first 14 games, he’s hitting .318, with 10 RBI and the one home run, as well as an on-base percentage of .354 and a slugging percentage of .432.

 

 

DJ Stewart AKA “The Big Stew”  

Stewart played high school ball in Jacksonville Florida, and then spent two years playing college baseball for Florida State. He was drafted by the Orioles with the 25th overall pick and made his debut with the team in 2018. His final season in Baltimore was in 2022, where he slashed .213/.327/.400.

He then signed a minor league contract with the Mets for the 2023 season and was eventually elevated to the major league roster on July 4th. From that point forward, Stewart was balling. In 58 games, he had 11 home runs, 26 RBI, with a slashline of .244/.333.506. His play was so impressive that the team decided to bring him back on a one-year deal for 2024.

 

 

Stewart is off to an even better start to 2024. Although he’s not as consistent as Taylor, when he makes contact, look out.

Entering Monday night’s game, he had a .235 average, three home runs, 10 RBI, with an on-base percentage of .426 and a .559 slugging percentage.

Stewart has also been really hot in his last 10 appearances entering Monday, with a .320 average and an OPS of 1.246.

The Mets have had a very up-and-down start to the year, as they were 4-7 in their first 11 games, but have won eight of their last 11, sitting at 12-10 fighting to stay in the NL East mix.

 

Although they made the playoffs in 2022, New York finished way below expectations last season, with a sub-.500 record and missing the postseason. Last year proved for them that it won’t just be their stars that will elevate them from good to great, but it’s going to take everyone. If Taylor and Stewart can keep exceeding expectations, the Mets will be in good shape.