The first time I interviewed Michael Conforto, I opened — as I often do — with a few statistical tidbits that favored the player. I listed some facts about his exit velocity, opposite field power and plate discipline. I got lost somewhere in the list and kind of trailed off at the end.



“Uhh… thanks?” he said, unsure of where I was going.



I rallied eventually and we had a good conversation about his first prolonged major-league slump and what he was going to do about it. But the story still provides context. Not only to my process — flattery always works — but to the fact that I believe in Michael Conforto.



Yeah, sure, he’s had a couple good seasons already. His 2017 season, before it came to an abrupt end, was enough to make him a top-15 bat. But he didn’t have a great batting average that year (.279) and missing a third of the season does nothing for your traditional counting stats, and the memory of his...