PORT ST. LUCIE — Amed Rosario is blossoming at shortstop and as a hitter. The Mets believe he could become an All-Star this season.
“I could see that,’’ hitting coach Chili Davis told The Post on Thursday at Clover Park.
Rosario was batting .249 through June 21 last season, then it all came together. Rosario hit .319 (107-335) the remainder of the season. His OPS went from .687 in the middle of June to .806 the rest of the way.
What changed? Rosario hit the books.
“I think his preparation has been real nice before games,’’ Davis said. “Looking at pitchers and not only preparing for the starter but taking the whole package, the bullpen and the starter, looking at them and seeing how they pitch and see where they make mistakes.
“Mechanically, he uses the whole field. He’s got great hands. He trusts that if he is trying to hit a line drive, his power will show up. He hit 15 home runs last year. He’s getting better on the bases, too. Trying to make him a complete player. He’s got speed, too.’’
Rosario, 24, was one of three shortstops in the majors to produce at least 15 homers, 15 steals, 70 RBIs and 30 doubles. Francisco Lindor and Trevor Story were the others.
Good company.
New manager Luis Rojas worked closely with Rosario last year in his role as quality control coach.
“He did a good job putting together a plan and not just basically showing up with talent and compete,’’ Rojas said. “Before he had gotten away with that, but you have so much talent in the big leagues and guys getting prepared to compete out there with the same talent, so you have to prepare as well so you can win the matchup.’’
Rosario started winning the matchups. He led the Mets with a career-high 177 hits and set career-high marks with 30 doubles, 15 homers, 72 RBIs and 31 walks. His 177 hits were fifth-most in the NL and the most by a Met since 2013 (Daniel Murphy, 188).
In the second half, Rosario changed his defensive setup under infield coach Gary DiSarcina, who spent 12 years as a major league shortstop. And those changes paid huge dividends as Rosario’s range and reliability improved.
Rosario made 10 errors his first 33 games and only seven in his last 120 games, including just one error his final 28 games.
The biggest change was the 6-foot-2 Rosario set up with his glove lower to the ground. He was much too high and that sabotaged his ability to get to ground balls.
“This is one of the hardest jobs there is, I didn’t take a vacation this offseason,’’ Rosario said. “And I wanted to be around my family in Santo Domingo [in the Dominican Republic].’’
Rosario has three sisters, and two nieces were born this offseason. One of his sisters is married to Tigers shortstop Willi Castro.
“Pre-pitch is all about timing, so No. 1, I want focus,’’ DiSarcina said. “No. 2, pre-pitch for me is like a batting stance, they are all different, tall guys are different than shorter guys, but they have to be very much like a hitter when they make contact they all look the same. They have to be down on the balls of their feet and in an athletic position, shoulder-width apart and square to home plate.
“Amed was so off-centered. That was one of the first things we worked on and it was such an easy fix, two days of him just straightening out and he got it,’’ DiSarcina said. “I used to point to his belly button so it was pointed at the hitter.’’
Here is why it is so important to be down low on the balls of your feet and in an athletic position:
“If that’s late,’’ DiSarcina said, “then when you get to the ball you are going to be later and your fundamentals are going to break down.’’
“Everything that [DiSarcina] taught me I was able to put together for success and that is what I am continuing to do this season,’’ Rosario said. “The biggest adjustment for me was staying low. I was staying upright and since I’m tall it’s harder for me to get down.’’