44°Good evening
Jaylen Palmer of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Jaylen Palmer of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Credit: Brooklyn Cyclones/Matt Kipp

Jaylen Palmer isn’t used to playing far from home. Nor is his family used to long travels to watch the majority of his games.

But the days of Palmer’s family and friends needing to log hundreds of miles to watch him play have changed -- for now at least. The Brooklyn native, who starred at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, was recently promoted to play for High-A Brooklyn from Low-A St. Lucie.

A sense of familiarity with playing baseball in New York City has returned. For both Palmer and his parents.

"It kind of feels normal," Palmer said. "It feels like we are back to a normal schedule with them being at home and coming to every game, so it feels pretty normal to me."

Palmer, 21, was drafted in the 22nd round (No. 650 overall) in the 2018 MLB Draft straight out of high school. Palmer called himself a "New York fan" growing up, supporting both the Mets and Yankees. But during his high school years in Flushing, Palmer saw the passion of Mets fans up close every day. That added to his excitement to play in his home neighborhood.

"Especially being at Holy Cross, being in the Queens area, seeing how much the Mets run through that part of New York," Palmer said, "it was definitely an honor to be drafted by the Mets."

Palmer, the Mets’ No. 15 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, grew up playing shortstop. He played some shortstop and third base in the rookie league in 2019. But the Mets have converted him into an outfielder for the 2021 season, in large part due to his speed.

The 6-3, 21-year-old stole 23 bases on 28 attempts over 66 games in Low-A St. Lucie this year. He’s 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts through 12 games in Brooklyn.

"I just feel I can be a very dangerous player, especially when I implement my speed along with my game," Palmer said. "But not only on the base path. I can use my speed in the outfield."

Palmer is hitting .209 with 10 runs scored and six RBIs through 12 games in Brooklyn. He hit .276 with 51 runs scored over 66 games in St. Lucie before his promotion. Palmer has seen the competition rise in High-A, but he said for him, it’s most important to stick to a routine and not try to do too much on the diamond.

"I’m just trying to stay true to the player I am," Palmer said. "I’m not trying to do too much and I just want to be in control of what I do. Regardless if it’s me fielding, hitting, running the bases, I just want to be in control of what I’m doing and not play outside my game."

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME