World Series Stars Who Need to Step Up Before It's Too Late

The New York Mets picked up a critical win Friday night in Game 3 of the World Series to avoid the death sentence of falling behind to the Kansas City Royals 3-0 in the series.

Now it all comes down to this final week of baseball, as the Royals will look to get over the hump after coming one win away from hoisting the trophy last year, while the Mets will aim to cap off their impressive push back to contention with a title of their own.

While there are a number of players performing at a high level on both sides right now, there are also some notable guys who need to improve their play before it's too late.

What follows is a look at three players from each team who need to right the ship quickly in order to give their team its best chance of winning it all.

DH Kendrys Morales, Kansas City Royals

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World Series Stats

3 G, 1-for-8, 0 RBI, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Overview

With the World Series shifting to New York and the National League, Kendrys Morales found himself on the bench in Game 3.

That doesn't mean he won't have a chance to make his presence felt the next two games, though, as he immediately becomes the team's top pinch hitter and could find himself stepping off the bench in a big situation as a result.

"He will be missed in the everyday lineup," second baseman Ben Zobrist told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. "He's an impact bat who can change a game with one swing. But it will be nice to have that bat coming off the bench."

For the record, Morales was 1-for-7 with a walk in eight pinch-hit appearances during the regular season.

However, there is no question he was an impact bat when he was in the everyday lineup, as he posted an .847 OPS with 41 doubles, 22 home runs and 106 RBI to rank sixth in the AL in that latter category.

All of that after signing a two-year, $17 million deal to replace the departed Billy Butler in the offseason.

2B Daniel Murphy, New York Mets

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World Series Stats

3 G, 2-for-13, 0 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K

Overview

There may have been no one in baseball history who wanted five days off less than Daniel Murphy did between the National League Championship Series and World Series.

He closed out the team's four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs as hot as any hitter in postseason history, as he was working on a string of six consecutive games with a home run.

Overall, he hit .421 with seven home runs and 11 RBI in nine games between the National League Division Series and NLCS, and those five days off seem to have been the only thing capable of cooling down his bat.

He was 2-for-7 in the 14-inning marathon opener and walked twice in Game 2 and scored a run, so he hasn't completely disappeared.

"He really hasn't gotten too many pitches to hit," Mets hitting coach Kevin Long told Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com. "Pitches are off the plate. Pitches are high. Murph walked twice today. He's doing what he needs to do. I think he can tell you that he's taken what they're given him and they haven't given him a whole lot."

Still, the bar was set awfully high for Murphy heading into the World Series, and he's struggled to live up to that so far.

CF Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals

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World Series Stats

3 G, 2-for-14, 0 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Overview

Lorenzo Cain loves the championship series.

In 10 career American League Championship Seres games, he's piled up 14 hits to the tune of a .400/.488/.457 line with six RBI and eight runs scored.

He took home ALCS MVP honors last year and was the hero in the clinching Game 6 this year when he scored from first base on a single to plate the game-winning run.

He wasn't bad in the World Series last year by any means, going 8-for-26 with two doubles, but that performance was still a bit of a letdown.

This year, the drop-off has been much more significant.

He's just 2-for-14 so far and has yet to tally an RBI from his spot as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup.

But hey, he did win all of America a free Taco Bell breakfast with his stolen base in Game 1.

Cain turned himself into a much more complete offensive player this season, hitting .307/.371/.477 with 34 doubles, 16 home runs and 72 RBI, and the Royals need him to step up and be that player here in the Fall Classic.

LF Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets

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World Series Stats

3 G, 2-for-13, 1 RBI, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Overview

Few trade acquisitions have ever made the kind of impact Yoenis Cespedes did for the New York Mets down the stretch after being picked up in a deal with the Detroit Tigers on July 31.

The slugger hit .287/.337/.604 with 14 doubles, 17 home runs and 44 RBI in 57 games, and in the process, he completely transformed what had been an anemic offensive team into one of the highest-scoring clubs in baseball over the final two months.

After homering twice in the National League Division Series, the Chicago Cubs managed to keep him in the park during the NLCS, though he did have a big Game 3 when he went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.

All told, he entered the World Series with a somewhat uninspired .265/.286/.471 line and seven RBI in nine games.

With Lucas Duda finally snapping out of it in Game 4 of the NLCS and continuing to hit in the World Series, in theory, Cespedes actually has better protection right now than he did through the first two rounds of the playoffs, but that hasn't sparked his bat to this point.

Cespedes has a pair of singles in 13 at-bats so far, and he's 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

SP Yordano Ventura, Kansas City Royals

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World Series Stats

1 GS, L, 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Overview

Assuming we get that far, it would likely be Yordano Ventura taking the ball for the Kansas City Royals in a decisive Game 7.

After a rocky start to the regular season that included a brief demotion to the minors, Ventura finally started to look like the ace the team hoped he would be when he went 7-1 with a 2.38 ERA and 1.235 WHIP over his final 11 starts.

That momentum did not carry over into the postseason, though, as he's gone 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in five starts so far, not going further than 5.1 innings in any of those games.

His worst start came on Friday night, when he was shelled for seven hits and five earned runs in 3.1 innings of work.

"It was just one of those days where he just wasn’t sharp," manager Ned Yost told reporters (via USA Today). "It was cold out there. I don’t know if that affected him."

That said, Ventura has stepped up in a big spot before. He threw the game of his life with the Royals facing elimination in Game 6 of the World Series last year.

The then-rookie scattered three hits over seven scoreless innings to earn the victory, and he certainly has the stuff to do that once again.

A return to Kauffman Stadium won't hurt his chances of duplicating that performance, as he had a 3.84 ERA at home this year compared to a 4.30 ERA on the road.

SP Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

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World Series Stats

1 GS, L, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

Overview

It's going to take at least six games if the New York Mets are going to win the World Series, and that would mean a chance for Jacob deGrom to redeem himself with a Game 6 start.

Heading into the World Series, deGrom had been the most dominant pitcher of the postseason:

• NLDS G1: W, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K
• NLDS G5: W, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
• NLCS G3: W, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

That all added up to a 1.80 ERA and an impressive 27 strikeouts in 20 innings of work, but his Game 2 start in the World Series was a much different story.

The 27-year-old allowed six hits and four earned runs while striking out just two in five innings of work, as he simply didn't have his best stuff.

Could it be a matter of him hitting the wall?

With 216 innings under his belt this year, he's set a new career-high by a significant margin over the 178.2 innings he pitched last season.

FanGraphs' Owen Watson took an in-depth look at the idea of deGrom hitting that wall. It's a piece worth checking out, regardless of whether you believe the Mets will still be counting on him for one more start.

It's been a fantastic season for the second-year starter, but two rough outings in the World Series would make for a long offseason.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.