Michael Conforto Gets The Call
NEW YORK CITY – Around this time last year, in 2014, Michael Conforto had just signed his first professional contract and had been assigned to Single-A Brooklyn.
Since then, he’s moved on to Single-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton. On Friday, he made his biggest leap yet when, after just 133 games in the minor leagues, he received a promotion to the Major Leagues and will join the New York Mets for their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In those 133 career games, Conforto, a native of Woodinville, Wash., who played for OSU from 2012-14, batted .308 with 34 doubles, 15 home runs and 73 runs batted in. He was thought highly enough of to receive an invite to the Futures Game, which was held last week in Cincinnati. He went 2-for-2 with an outfield assist in the game dedicated to the sport’s top prospects.
Conforto was continually referred to as the top prospect in the New York Mets system. He’ll wear No. 30 when he joins the club at Citi Field.
Conforto now earns the distinction of being the former Beaver quickest to the Majors since the MLB began the draft in 1968. That title previously belonged to Ken Forsch (drafted in 1968, made debut in 1970), Jacoby Ellsbury (drafted in 2005, made debut in 2007) and Matt Boyd (drafted in 2013, made debut in 2015). Conforto will also be the third Beaver with the Mets, joining Lute Barnes (1972-73) and Eddie Kunz (2008).
Conforto played for the Beavers from 2012-14, playing in 182 games. He holds the Oregon State career record for RBI with 179 and finished his career with 44 doubles, four triples, 31 home runs and 120 walks, including a school-record 55 as a junior. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2012 and earned Player of the Year honors in both 2013 and 2014.
He is the first Oregon State player to be named an All-American three times, and was the first true freshman in school history to be named an All-American.
For more information on the Oregon State baseball team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/Beaver_Baseball, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateBaseball or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverBaseball.
