A.J. Ewing got what interim manager Andy Green called a “reset” Friday, as the rookie center fielder’s season has gone a bit sideways in the second half.
Ewing wasn’t in the lineup against San Francisco left-hander Matt Wilkinson, even though the lefty-swinging Ewing has better numbers versus lefties than righties.
Green said it was a “48-hour reset to get going again” coming off Thursday’s off day in the schedule.
Ewing said he understood the decision.
“I’m ready to go, for sure, but taking a second to watch and learn can help sometimes,’’ Ewing said prior to the game. “You pick up things whenever you watch, so it can work.”
Ewing’s issues at the plate date back to right around the All-Star break.
After putting up an .805 OPS over his first 55 games following his May call-up from Triple-A Syracuse — where Ewing played just 12 games — the 22-year-old has been in a funk offensively.
Entering Friday, he had put up just a .494 OPS in his previous 44 games. Only Washington’s Namim Núñez has been worse.
He’s also struck out at a 28.2 percent clip in that stretch — a number that typically is more associated with power hitters.
“I think he’s going to come around,’’ one National League scout said. “His speed and athleticism are too good and with his defense, he doesn’t have to hit a ton. But the strikeouts are a worry. That’s not who he should be.”
Ewing has a few weeks to end his first season in the majors on a high note and insisted Friday his confidence hasn’t slipped.
“One thing I understand is the person going through anything like this right now is the same person that was going the other way [in the first half],’’ Ewing said of his drop-off in production. “This stuff happens and as much as I want to say it’s never going to happen again, it’s going to happen again. But I’m going to get out of this.”
Green, who inserted another rookie, Nick Morabito, into the lineup Friday, struck a similar note regarding Ewing’s future — despite the prolonged slump.
“We know there’s more in there from him in the batter’s box than we’re seeing right now,’’ Green said. “We’ve seen it. Like anybody else, he’s trying to get hits and sometimes you have to take a breath and trust how good you are and the work you’ve put in. He’s a guy we believe in to an incredibly high degree going forward. This will serve him well in the long run.”
At various points of what’s been a lost season in Queens, the Mets could at least say they believed they had found long-term answers in both center and right field with Ewing and fellow rookie Carson Benge.
Ewing’s rough patch since the break has cast some doubt on that, but the NL scout said these could be natural ups and downs from a player who played just two full seasons in the minors before his MLB debut.
“Maybe it will serve him well,’’ the scout said. “Better now than when they’re playing for something.”
