“He is a tremendous young hitter who makes adjustments during the at-bat. That is very rare for a young hitter, to be able to make adjustments during the at-bat, to be able to spoil pitches, tough pitches, and get that deep into a count. I’m not comparing him to this, but that at-bat he had reminded me of some of those Frank Thomas at-bats. That’s impressive for any hitter, and he’s young.” — Jerry Manuel on Daniel Murphy

Early last month, Mets manager Jerry Manuel announced Daniel Murphy would be the starting left fielder. The plan to platoon Murphy with right-handed hitter Fernando Tatis was scrapped.

A couple weeks later, Manuel told the Mets media, not only was Murphy going to be his everyday leftfielder, but he’s going to be the Mets No. 2 hitter, behind Jose Reyes.

Wait a minute … this kid has only played in 49 major league games. He only has 131 major league at-bats. One year ago, he wasn’t even on the team’s radar. Sure, he batted .313 and had an OBP of .397 in his two-month stint in 2008, but let’s be real here: Murphy was playing at Double-A Binghamton through July 2008. Now he’s batting second and starting in left field?

That’s a lot of pressure for a rookie 24-year old kid playing in the pressure cooker of New York. One dry spell, one hitting slump and this could kill him — mentally. Is Manuel making an error in judgment?

Fast forward: Opening Day 2009. Top of the fifth inning, the Mets and Reds are scoreless. Murphy slams a solo home run to right field. One inning later, with the bases loaded and one out, Murphy is again at the plate. He pulls a ground ball to first, scoring the Mets second run, the eventual winning run.

Mets fans may be surprised, but not those who know him best — his teammates.

Asked about Murphy after the game, David Wright told Newsday:

“It’s no surprise. He’s got a tremendous idea of what he wants to do when he gets up to the plate. He did some things today that aren’t necessarily going to show up in the boxscore that helped this team win the game. I like how he went up there with a plan, staying under control. When he needs to get into one, he can do it.”