A.J. Ewing homers, doubles in loss to Cubs

Robert has been on the shelf with a herniated disc in his back since late April. The 28-year-old center fielder’s impending return will complicate New York’s outfield mix, especially since rookie A.J. Ewing has been tearing the cover off the ball recently. The logical move would be to allow Juan Soto to get some extra time at DH with Ewing and fellow rookie Carson Benge in the outfield corners once he’s back. He’ll likely require at least a week or two of minor league at-bats to get back up to speed following the lengthy layoff. The durability concerns aren’t going away, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Robert were an impactful fantasy contributor during the second half based on his raw talent and track record.

He remained in and had a single afterwards. Although he’s striking out a quarter of the time, Ewing has been really good in hitting .279/.359/.422 through 44 major league games. Luis Robert Jr. seems to have started to turn the corner in his rehab from a back injury, but Ewing should stick as a starter against righties if he continues to play like this.

The homer was his second since being called up by the Mets, and he fell just a triple shy of the cycle. The dynamic outfielder is now hitting .267 with a .723 OPS through his first 120 big-league plate appearances. Ewing stole 17 bases in 30 games in the minors this year, and he has seven through 31 contests with the Mets. It’s very early in his career, but Ewing is displaying a roto-friendly profile. The Mets now head to hitter-friendly Cincinnati for a three-game set that begins Monday.

Ewing is hitting .278 (10-for-36) with zero homers and three steals in 10 games since the start of June. The 21-year-old top prospect never projected as much of a power threat and he’s gone deep just once through 29 games. He does have seven steals during that span. It’ll be fellow rookie Carson Benge moving over to cover center field with MJ Melendez getting into the lineup to face Atlanta lefty Martín Pérez.

The procedural move frees up a spot on New York’s 40-man roster and will keep Robert on the shelf until at least late June. The 28-year-old center fielder has been progressing slowly in his recovery from a herniated disc in his back that put him on the injured list on April 30. There is no timetable for his return as he remains shut down from baseball activities. His extended absence gives top prospect A.J. Ewing some additional runway at the highest level.

It’s the highest Ewing has hit for New York since being called up back on May 12. The 21-year-old speedster leapfrogs veteran second baseman Marcus Semien after hitting .281/.425/.438 with one homer and two steals in 11 games to open his career.

Morabito will get a breather after being involved in a couple collisions with the left-field walls at Nationals Park during his big-league debut on Tuesday night. He nearly made a spectacular catch to rob James Wood at the left-field wall, but it wound up glancing off his glove and going for an inside-the-park home run. He also made a phenomenal grab where he reached into the seats in foul territory while colliding with the low wall down the left-field line line. Did we mention that he was also hit by a pitch in the knee during that contest? There was a lot going on as Morabito finished 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. It’ll be Juan Soto back in left field with A.J. Ewing in center field in this one.

He also dropped down a helpful sac bunt in the bottom of the 10th inning after never collecting one of those as a minor leaguer. Ewing has certainly looked like he belongs in his six days since being added by the Mets. The 21-year-old is 5-for-17 with a homer, seven walks and two steals.

Ewing lined the solo shot into the right field bullpen at Citi Field, and he’s off to a .333/.538/.889 start with four walks in his first 13 plate appearances and a stolen base. So that’s not bad. We wouldn’t bet on Ewing being a major power source for the Mets given his size and minor league track record, but he certainly gave them a jolt as they swept the Tigers. Snap him up if he wasn’t already picked up in your league.

Ewing scalded an RBI triple, walked three times and stole a base during his major-league debut on Tuesday night at Citi Field. The 21-year-old top prospect has a relatively unobstructed path to everyday at-bats in center field with Luis Robert Jr. (back) not progressing as quickly in his rehab as originally hoped. He has the skillset required to serve as a dynamic top-of-the-order catalyst, but the Mets aren’t going to put too much pressure on him right out of the gate. Still, Ewing projects as a strong batting average and stolen base source for fantasy managers and is worthy of a speculative roster spot in all leagues until further notice.