WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When Michael Conforto made the NL All-Star team a year ago, he became the first homegrown Mets position player to do so since Daniel Murphy in 2014. And prior to that, David Wright and Jose Reyes were just about the team’s only representatives.

And though the spotlight remains squarely on the pitching staff — and rightfully so — the Mets know they can’t simply rely on an injury-prone rotation to shake off last season’s disappointment.

Conforto, who is expected to miss the first month of the regular season rehabbing his dislocated shoulder, Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith and Brandon Nimmo are among the position players the Mets are hoping finally break through from prospect to star.

“We have a core group of guys who are high-ceiling prospects, and now we need to see it,’’ assistant general manager John Ricco said. “They have high expectations for themselves, and we have high expectations for them. We tried to surround them with some veterans to help them get there, but I do believe it’s about trying to get these guys to reach their potential. If we do that, we’ll have a pretty good team.”

While across town, the likes of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Brett Gardner — not to mention Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks — have either emerged quickly as stars or developed into them, the Mets have been lacking.

If that’s going to change anytime soon, the Mets have a good idea who might instigate it.

Conforto showed more than a flash when he was first called up in 2015 and again last season before he suffered his season-ending shoulder injury that he could be the next in line.

But he spent Thursday back in Port St. Lucie, taking batting practice, likely not to return to the Mets lineup until May 1. Rosario and Smith also continue to deal with nagging injuries suffered this spring that have cost them valuable time.

Nimmo has impressed this spring and may get a chance in center, along with Juan Lagares, while Conforto is out. The outfielder hit a run-scoring double off Stephen Strasburg in the third inning of an 8-5 loss to the Nationals at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and added a triple later in the game.

“I felt like last August and September, people got to see what I can do up here [in the majors] and so did the Mets,” Nimmo said. “I don’t know if it’s about getting to another level. It’s more continuing what I was doing and getting better at little things.”

Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki are two more young players that haven’t reached their potential, and Ricco agreed there should be a sense of urgency.

“Now a few of them have a few years in the league and have the ability to be really good players,” Ricco said. “So I think the time is now. I think they agree with it. They’ve seen what it’s like to compete in the big leagues and at this level.”

Ricco referenced the quick rise of Wright and Reyes and noted how unusual it is to see such immediate impacts.

“It’s rare that players come in and hit the ground running like David or Jose did,” Ricco said. “All these guys have shown glimpses and certain positions, like catcher, are even more difficult to make the transition. It takes some time. Hopefully, that time is now.”