KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Will it be Hansel Robles, sophomore sensation?
The 25-year-old righty grabbed the Mets’ attention last season, when he was thrust into a bullpen in disarray and emerged among manager Terry Collins’ most dependable options.
Now the secret is out: Robles has the potential to become something special.
“He matured an incredible amount,” pitching coach Dan Warthen said. “I don’t know for years to come if he can’t become a possible closer, if necessary. That’s how good I think he has a chance to be.”
Robles, who made his Grapefruit League debut for 2016 on Saturday with a four-out save in the Mets’ 3-1 victory over the Astros, has the raw heat to compete. The next step will be throwing his slider and changeup for strikes on a more consistent basis.
Robles appeared in 57 games as a rookie and went 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA. He followed with three perfect outings in the postseason, including two in the World Series against the Royals.
“He’s got a big-league fastball and when he can throw his slider whenever he wants and works on his changeup, he can be outstanding,” Jeurys Familia said.
It’s Robles’ “foxhole” mentality that has endeared him to teammates. But the Mets also want Robles to be more prudent: He will begin the season serving a two-game suspension as punishment for throwing near the head of the Phillies’ Cameron Rupp on a quick pitch last Sept. 30.
That incident followed a quick pitch against the Phillies a month earlier that nearly sparked a bench-clearing brawl. The objective of the quick pitch is to catch the batter off guard, before he is comfortable in the box.
“The quick step, I think he gets a little carried away with, but he sees Familia do it and he kind of wants to emulate him,” Warthen said. “A lot of times he didn’t use it in the proper counts last year if he was going to use it.”
Familia said he wants Robles to forget the suspension exists.
“He’s young, it’s his first year in the big leagues and it’s something that can happen,” Familia said. “He just has to take the two days that he is suspended and move forward. Forget about it and have a nice year.”
Warthen said he isn’t concerned the incident will have a negative effect on Robles.
“If there is something that you want, Robles will protect his teammates, he will protect his coaching staff, he will protect the people around him,” Warthen said. “I like his makeup a ton. There is absolutely no fear whatsoever in that young man.”
Robles, who hails from the Dominican Republic, looks to Familia and veteran Bartolo Colon for guidance. Familia credits Colon for doing the bulk of the teaching.
Last week, a nameplate that said “Cespedes Jr.,” with Robles’ uniform number (47) was placed mysteriously above Colon’s locker. Colon indicated the nameplate was made as a joke, and Robles got the last laugh by switching it with Colon’s.
“[Robles] got lucky to have Bartolo close to him,” Familia said. “He helped [Robles] a lot last year, he followed Bartolo and I think that is one of the reasons [Robles] is better than he was a couple of years ago.”
Robles was used mostly in the seventh inning last season and likely will begin the season in that role — with veteran Addison Reed ahead of him leading onto Familia. But it’s not inconceivable to Warthen that Robles will become the primary setup option as the season progresses.
“Hopefully we don’t need it,” Warthen said. “Hopefully Reed is able to do it. But if Reed needs a day off, Terry and I both have a lot of trust in him right now.”