Yoenis Cespedes and Noah Syndergaard may have trotted into spring training for the New York Mets atop horses, but neither the players nor their steeds are what we’d call a dark horse.
No, the dark horses we’re concerned with are those we’d equate with The Simpsons‘ legendary Troy McClure, whose famous catchphrase—”You may remember me from…“—is something we could envision any of the players on our all-dark-horse team uttering as they arrived in camp.
These players aren’t the best of the best. Heck, some of them aren’t even the best of the mediocre.
While there are a handful of up-and-coming prospects included, many of these players never lived up to the hype that surrounded their arrival in the big leagues, while others are past-their-prime veterans looking to keep their baseball careers alive for another year.
They’ve all got the ability—and opportunity—to do just that and crack an Opening Day roster with strong showings this spring. The next few weeks will determine whether they’re able to seize that opportunity.